Keynotes

The Fireside Keynote.A curated conversation, never a canned talk.

For leadership teams, conferences and member organizations whose people are working through a reorg, a new mandate, or a market that moved.

Marques Colston on a darkened keynote stage

Audiences and clients have included

01 · Why rooms book this

Your room has key decisions to make. Give them a method, not a story.

You're not hiring a speaker to fill an hour. This conversation is built for a room with something in front of it: a restructuring, a new strategy, a market that won't sit still.

Consultants bring a framework they never had to use. Speakers bring a story. I've been on the other side of your table. So your people hear which of their costs are structural and which are choices nobody has revisited, what the other side sees before they're sitting across from it, and what to do next.

02 · How it works

Before.

A scoping call with the host to find the decision your room is actually carrying.

In the room.

A 60–90 minute guided conversation with live audience Q&A. The room participates instead of watching, which is what makes the insight land on their situation rather than mine.

What you get in writing.

A/V requirements and run-of-show, agreed before the date.

In person, or remote at the same standard. The remote format is built for the screen, not streamed from a stage.

Marques Colston in a fireside conversation on stage
Fireside conversation, CultureBanx

03 · The conversations

Three starting points. Every one is curated to the room.

Creating Separation™: Read the Terms, Make the Move

For leadership teams and conferences in a period of change.

Everyone in your room is working inside terms someone else set: a budget, a mandate, a market. The conversation walks the method in four moves, applied to a decision your people are carrying: read the terms, scout your position, read the field, make the move.

Your team leaves with a shared way to tell the terms they can change from the ones they can't, and a named next move on the decision they brought into the room.

Owning Your Seat: Inherit the Mandate, Then Shape It

For newly promoted leaders, inherited teams, and organizations mid-transition.

Every new leader inherits a seat someone else designed: the team, the budget, the expectations. The conversation separates what's fixed in the role from what's open, and shows how to start shaping the mandate before the first big decision locks it in.

Your team leaves with the questions to ask in the opening months of any new remit, and a clear line between what they now own and what they inherited.

Situational Awareness: Read the Field Before It Moves

For teams in fast-moving markets.

Fast markets punish teams that only watch the play in front of them. The conversation trains the room to read the whole field, from technology and AI to the economics underneath, and to measure a decision so they know it's working before the scoreboard does.

Your team leaves with the early signals worth tracking in your market, and a test to run on the current plan before it's locked into the next budget cycle.

04 · The Leadership Workshop

When the room needs to work a decision, not hear about one.

Ninety minutes to a half day. Your team brings a live decision. We run it through the method together, with your people doing the work in the room. Built for executive teams, offsites and leadership programs.

Marques Colston moderating before a large seated room
Moderating a leadership workshop

05 · Proof

The rooms that trust the work.

“Attendees valued his insights on how his experience equipped him to navigate uncertainties in the business world. With so much changing in the world of tech — from AI, shifting economies — this fireside chat was timely and engaging.”

— Juan Garzón, Innovate Charlotte

“He connected with college students and alumni of all ages. He was accessible and hands-on in planning for the event, and a pleasure to work with… I have worked with Marques several times and hope to continue to do so in the future.”

— Pam Kennett-Hensel, University of New Orleans

“The quality of the video presentation, which we could tell was custom tailored for our event… allowing live Q&A with the students… you did a nice job weaving it all together.”

— Roxanne Moore, Georgia Tech, K-12 InVenture Prize

“Beyond expectations; we don't get access to these insights and experiences everyday.”

— Jinan Glasgow-George, Founder, Neo IP

NFL BizWeek 2025 & 2026 · U.S. Bank × NFL Legends · Innovate Charlotte · World Sports Summit, Dubai · University of New Orleans · Georgia Tech · Louisiana SHRM · Hofstra University

06 · Fees and booking

Keynote, in personfrom $15,000
Remote$10,000
Leadership Workshopfrom $20,000

Engagements are usually booked a quarter or more ahead. Detailed fees, formats and logistics are in the speaker kit.