JOHN-ISMS
NOT ANOTHER KEYNOTE FULL OF FLUFF.
FUNNY. DIRECT. PRACTICAL.
I help people make better decisions, stop overthinking and actually get things done.
Drawing on 35+ years in business, leadership and marketing, I use practical ideas, real stories and a bit of laconic Kiwi humour.
No 400-slide theory. No corporate waffle. Just useful ideas and a few lines that tend to stick.
“Humour works — even with people who have had a personality bypass.”
Indecision is a decision - just a dumb one.
“You're not competing with AI. You're competing with the marketer next to you.”
100%
WOULD RECOMMEND
97%
RATED JOHN AS A SPEAKER EXCELLENT
KEYNOTE
THE SKILLS THAT MAKE YOU UNIGNORABLE IN 2030
Everyone is talking about the future of work. McKinsey, Harvard, Deloitte, the OECD and every consulting firm with a nice font have produced lists of the skills people will need to thrive in the age of AI.
They’re not wrong. They’re just missing the most important one: decision-making.
Because all the future skills in the world mean sweet F.A. if you can’t actually make a call.
In this keynote, John Miles takes a practical and contrary view of the future skills conversation. Drawing on more than 35 years in marketing, leadership and commercial roles, he explores the human skills that will matter most — and why they only become valuable when people have the confidence, judgement and courage to decide.
He then takes the audience through his Sod It, Just Do It decision-making process: a practical framework for cutting through overthinking and making the call.
John also reveals three bonus skills he believes successful people will need by 2030 — skills that rarely make the big consulting reports but make a massive difference in the real world.
Funny, direct and practical, this keynote is about staying valuable when technology changes, job titles shift and the easy stuff gets automated.
Skip the coffee on your way to a speaking engagement with John - he'll have your brain up and running in next to no time.
TOBY ALDRED
Managing Director, Saatchi & Saatchi
Last week at Associations Unleashed, I watched, hands-down, the BEST marketing session I have seen in as long as I can remember.
JORDANA BORENSZTAJN
Keynote Speaker & MC, Melbourne
Anyone who's spent five minutes with John knows he doesn't just make decisions-he orchestrates them with sharp intelligence and a legendary sense of humour. His 'John-isms' aren't just catchy phrases; they're a roadmap for getting shit done. This book captures that exact energy-a front-row seat to the thinking of a man who knows how to lead a room and a market."
CAROLINE RAINSFORD
Country Director, Google New Zealand
SELECTED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS.
African Marketing Confederation Conference, Mombasa
US-based AI-Proof Agency workshop
New Zealand Corporates including Air NZ, Sky TV, Lion Breweries, Colliers, ASB, KFC
Associations Unleashed, Sydney
National TAFE Marketing Conference, Australia
Singapore Higher Education Conference
Whether in person or on a podcast, John is refreshingly honest, with a healthy dose of laconic Kiwi humour.
NOT FOR RADIO PODCAST
“Almost a printed version of Ritalin”- Jay Reeve
BEN ON BRAND PODCAST
On brand, business and making the call
MARKETING MASTER
On the traits of great New Zealand advertisements
"Why you need to innovate, innovate, then innovate again"
ASSOCIATION HUB PODCAST