Donna McGeorge
PROFILE
Donna McGeorge is a global keynote speaker, bestselling author and productivity provocateur who has spent her career helping people and organisations stop drowning in complexity and start focusing on what really matters. Her journey is as eclectic as it is impactful.
She began her career managing theatre and concert tours across the UK, where she learned the art of engaging audiences, telling compelling stories and keeping the show moving no matter what. From there, she shifted to the corporate stage, leading organisational development for global giants like Ford in Shanghai. It was here she saw first-hand how leaders and teams overload themselves with unnecessary effort, systems and processes that do little more than drain energy.
Today, Donna works with organisations around the world, from boardrooms in New York and Singapore to conference halls and amphitheatres across Australia, helping people reclaim time, sharpen impact and lead with clarity. She does it with a trademark blend of no-nonsense practicality and good humour, sprinkling her sessions with relatable anecdotes and stories that hit home.
Audiences don’t just listen to Donna, they lean in, laugh, and walk away ready to act. She has a knack for lighting up a room and making complex ideas feel not only simple, but also irresistibly doable.
She is the author of more than a dozen books, including her acclaimed It’s About Time series (The 25 Minute Meeting, The First 2 Hours, The 1 Day Refund), the bestselling ChatGPT Revolution, and her latest work Red Brick Thinking. Her books have been translated into multiple languages and are used globally by leaders looking to transform the way their people work.
Donna’s insights have been featured on Channel 9’s Today show, Channel 7’s Sunrise, and in respected publications including Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, Smart Company, The Age and Boss Magazine. Clients who trust Donna with their people include L’Oréal, Unilever, Jetstar, Ernst & Young, Seek, Xero, and the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood.
Whether it’s a small executive retreat or a convention of thousands, Donna leaves audiences with practical strategies they can apply immediately, and the courage to do less of what doesn’t matter. Donna believes work doesn’t have to be hard, we just need to be brave enough to stop, strip back and simplify. When we decide to be intentional, we can surprise ourselves with what we can achieve.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Red Brick Thinking™
The art and science of strategic subtraction
In a world obsessed with doing more, achieving more, and being more, what if the smartest move is to remove? We’re not short on time, we’re drowning in stuff that doesn’t matter.
In this practical and provocative keynote, Donna flips the script on productivity, showing audiences how to subtract what no longer serves and make space for what truly matters.
This is her signature session, based on her bestselling book, and it’s already transforming the way teams think, work and lead.
High Performance Workdays
It’s not what you do, it’s when you do it! Get a ridiculous amount done in your day without having to work long, tedious hours. In this keynote, Donna shares why we should be paying more attention to the clock in our body rather than the one on the wall.
The way you plan your day is the key to your productivity and Donna shows you how to do great work, consistently.
Learn how to:
- Recognise the habits holding you back (and how to rewire them)
- Maximise your first 2 hours and set yourself up for daily success
- Build on your body’s strengths for better performance
- Track your patterns and create a personalised workflow
- Discover the optimum time of day for new business, meetings, emails, projects and more.
Incredible Ways of Working
The future of work isn’t faster, it’s smarter, saner, and more human. Too many teams are trapped in outdated habits, bloated systems, and meetings that go nowhere. Donna helps organisations reset their default settings and build smarter, simpler ways of working.
Drawing on the powerful insights from her bestselling books, Donna shares the real-world principles that have transformed how thousands of people work and lead.
Discover deceptively simple techniques that unlock capability across teams and organisations. Learn why adaptive capacity and not sheer effort, is the real engine of productivity.
Shift your mindset and gain conscious control over your time, energy and outcomes. Be inspired by global examples of leaders creating calm, balance and lasting impact without burning out.
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