About Gregory Offner | Keynote Speaker | Employee Experience & Engagement | Performance Expert | Keynote Speaker

ABOUT GREGORY

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a performer.

Our family get-togethers often turned into jam-sessions, and I was always right in the middle...

So when I announced I’d be studying music at university, nobody protested.

Upon graduating, however, I discovered that pursuing music full time would mean a decision between making rent or “making Ramen [noodles].”

I opted to put finance ahead of fun, and took a job in sales for a large corporation. Initially, the process of learning how to fit in with a corporate ensemble felt a lot like learning how to harmonize with the musical ones - it was fun.

Maybe I enjoyed that process a little too much as I would go on to have 40 jobs before I turned 30.

What that first hand exposure to 40 different cultures and onboarding processes confirmed was something I had long suspected:

While joining a company was often fun and exciting, the ongoing experience of “work”...left a lot to be desired.

Despite being able to make rent, I didn’t feel like I was making the most of my musical abilities.

I soon found a nighttime activity that put my musical talents to use, as a singer and piano player. I began playing at bars, but soon graduated to performing in dueling piano shows around the world.

I was pursuing a paycheck by day, and my passion by night. Until a summer evening in 2015 when everything changed.

A sudden and unexpected vocal cord injury during a performance led Doctors to believe I would never again sing professionally.

They told me I would permanently lose the ability to speak in a matter of weeks unless I underwent vocal cord surgery. That surgery would require me to remain silent for months while my vocal cords healed. In an instant both my passion and my paycheck were in jeopardy.

Unable to speak while my vocal cords healed, and searching for a sense of purpose, I discovered I wasn’t the only one who thought work - as an experience - was long overdue for a revival.

I became curious about the connection between performing on stage and performing at work.

I began to see how the skills we used in the world of piano bars had a direct correlation to one of the most pressing problems facing businesses today: workforce engagement and retention.

So I set to work reverse-engineering the tools and tactics we used to keep audience members engaged in the performance; to keep customers staying longer; to create passionate fans of our experience so that they’d keep coming back for more.

Thus The TipJar Culture™️ was born.

This framework has allowed me to inspire and equip thousands of people around the world to become better leaders and “take the ‘irk’ out of work” for the people they employ.

Through using these principles of engagement, organizations are reducing turnover, increasing engagement, and reigniting the passion their people have for the work they do each day.

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