Mandy Balak
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CHASING ENOUGH · THE BRAND HALL OF FAME · SXSW · CANNES LIONS · THE WELL PODCAST · 50+ LEADERSHIP TEAMS COACHED ·

Book Mandy to speak

Your best people don't have a capability problem. They have a capacity problem.

Mandy Balak speaks to leaders and teams about the capacity crisis they've been calling success, and what to do about it on Monday.

Check dates See the talks
Mandy Balak speaking on stage at CULT Inner Sanctum
2x

THE GATHERING, IN THREE YEARS

250,000+

COMMUNITY BUILT AND EXITED

50+

LEADERSHIP TEAMS COACHED

160+

PODCAST INTERVIEWS

From the stage

See the rooms she’s held.

Brand festivals, founder summits, leadership rooms and real estate stages.

Mandy Balak speaking at The Gathering in Austin
The Gathering, Austin
Mandy Balak on stage in Cannes
Cannes, Brand Hall of Fame
Mandy Balak in conversation with AG1
In conversation with AG1
Mandy Balak speaking at RISE Conference
RISE Conference
Mandy Balak at the Brand Hall of Fame Gala
Brand Hall of Fame Gala

A note before you book

On paper I was killing it. It was killing me.

I learned early that I had to earn my place. That got me very far, until it didn’t.

Years ago I hid in a bathroom stall at a networking breakfast for fifteen minutes, in my best suit, because I couldn’t walk into the room. I knew exactly what to say. I didn’t have a method, I didn’t have the confidence, and I didn’t have the reps.

Now I build the rooms. I’ve spent almost 20 years building communities, events and stages, and coaching the leaders inside them. What I bring to yours is what I needed back then: a way to want more without paying for it with yourself, and one move to make this week.

Mandy Balak

Keynote
35 to 60 minutes
Fireside or moderation
30 to 45 minutes
Team session
Half day or full day
Client events
60 to 90 minutes, books for every guest

In person or virtual.

What she speaks on

Three keynotes. One team session.

Every one gets rebuilt around your room.

01
Signature

Leading from Full: The Hidden Tax of High Performance

Your highest performers got there by carrying more than everyone else. They pay for it in ways that never show up on a dashboard, and that same habit is now the ceiling. This talk names it out loud, in the room, and gives people a way to want more without paying for it with themselves. Nobody in this talk gets told to slow down.

They leave with

  • Which of three high performers they are: pedal down, parking brake on, or out of mountain
  • The armor pattern running their calendar, named in 60 seconds
  • The Leadership Equation: when demands outrun resources, you get reactivity
  • The difference between chasing and choosing, and the one question that tells them which they're doing
  • One move for this week

Built for your room

  • Real estate and sales: what the always-available business is actually charging you
  • Leadership teams: why your best people are your biggest risk
  • Founders: what got you here is now the ceiling
  • Women's networks: More, and Lighter
  • Book tour rooms: the Chasing Enough version

35 or 45 minutes, with or without Q&A

02

Why Your Best People Are Your Biggest Risk

Your highest performers never complain, never miss, never say no. And they're the ones who quit without warning. A retention talk for the people responsible for keeping them.

They leave with

  • The armor patterns that predict a high performer is about to leave
  • A 10-minute capacity conversation for one-on-ones
  • What to change structurally (it isn't a wellness stipend)
  • How to protect top performers without lowering the bar

For: HR and people teams · Leadership conferences · Executive audiences

03

Built to Last: What the Boldest Brands Do Differently

Mandy was a founding partner in establishing The Brand Hall of Fame and has spent three years programming a festival for the brand leaders behind North America's most admired companies. This talk is what she saw from inside those rooms.

They leave with

  • What brands that stay bold for a decade have in common
  • Why creative courage is the first thing to go when an organization is depleted
  • What to protect structurally so bold work still gets made
  • A read on where their organization sits, and the first thing to change

For: Brand and marketing conferences · CMO summits · Agency leadership · Creative leaders

04
Team session

The Chasing Leader and the Choosing Leader

Half day or full day, for leadership teams.

Your team scores itself on how it actually runs: how urgency moves through the room, whether anyone owns the ask, whether a win ever lands. Then it picks the two rows to fix this quarter. Wanting more stays on the table. The work is paying less for it.

Your team walks out with

  • A finish line for the quarter, said out loud
  • The team's scores on how it runs, and the two to work on
  • Where team capacity is leaking
  • A 90-day plan written by them

Pairs with: a signed copy of Chasing Enough for everyone in the room

Book a talk

Why bookers choose Mandy

She has been the one booking the speaker.

01

She builds rooms and movements for a living.

Mandy has produced more than 1,000 events and doubled The Gathering, a brand festival, in three years. She knows what your room needs.

02

She's lived the material.

She built and exited a 250,000-member community, burned out, and rebuilt on purpose. Every story in the talk is hers.

03

People use it the next morning.

Three frameworks, each one short enough to repeat in the hallway afterward.

What organizers say

“Mandy Balak was an exceptional guest on the aspiHer Power Stage. She has a wonderful ability to share her journey with authenticity and vulnerability while translating her experiences into meaningful, practical lessons for the audience. She brings both substance and heart to the stage.”
Desiree Bombenon, Founder and CEO, aspiHer Women's Business Club
“Mandy was the perfect closing speaker for our ‘Thrive Not Survive’ event! She took the time to reference our events core themes in her talk & it pulled the whole day together perfectly. The room was full of high-producing real estate agents whom her message resonated with greatly. I got instant positive feedback and continue to have it pouring in as we speak. We loved having Mandy at our event”
Darren Langille, Founder, Redline Real Estate
As Featured In

As featured in.

ForbesEntrepreneurThe Globe and MailThe Honest TalkVITA DailyDaily HiveThe Georgia StraightPublishers WeeklyForeword ReviewsCalgary Tech Journal

The Gathering Festival · SXSW Austin · Cannes Lions · RISE Conference · Startup Canada · Wealthy Women Conference · Inventures Summit · Redline Real Estate · aspiHer Power Stage

Chasing Enough by Mandy Balak, book cover

The book

Put the book in every seat.

Every talk pairs with signed copies of Chasing Enough. Send books ahead so people arrive having read it, or hand them out on the way out.

Bulk orders and packages

How booking works

From first message to the room.

  1. 01

    Send the brief.

    The date, the room, and what you want people to walk out with.

  2. 02

    A 20-minute call.

    Who's in the room and what they're dealing with right now.

  3. 03

    A proposal.

    The talk, the format and the fee, written for your event.

  4. 04

    Prep and the day.

    A prep call for run of show and AV. Mandy arrives early and stays for the room, and for the signing if there are books.

Book Mandy

Tell me about your room.

The date, the audience, and what you need them to leave with. I’ll come back within two business days.

Event details