Dave Thackeray — The Dirty Secret Nobody Says in the Boardroom

The Research Nobody Wants to Hear

Strategy is a commodity. Execution is the crisis.

40%

of strategy value is lost to execution failure

— Bain & Company / Harvard Business Review

67%

of well-formulated strategies fail to launch

— Harvard Business Review

#1

barrier to reinvention: the strategy-execution gap

— Project Management Institute, 2025

What Dave Reveals On Stage

Your audience will finally understand why they've been stuck — and leave with the one shift that creates momentum

🔥 Keynote (45-60 min)

The 90% Reality

Why most strategies fail — and it's not what you think. The research-backed truth about the execution crisis.

💀 Wake-Up Call

Why Your Best People Are Your Biggest Bottleneck

The counterintuitive reason high-performers kill transformation — and the "Special Projects" fix.

🎯 Framework

The Problem Behind the Problem

A framework for finding the real issue when everything looks like a symptom and nothing looks like a cause.

⚡ Tactical

Why I Shipped 12 AI Products While Everyone Else Was "Strategising"

The Weekend Shipping method. No frameworks. No sprints. Just output.

🧠 Methodology

Signal from Noise

The journalist's framework I use to cut through chaos and find the story that matters.

🎭 Energy Hack

The Energy That Survives the Screen

680+ recommendations cite my "contagious enthusiasm." I'll show your audience exactly how to transmit energy anywhere.

What People Say

"Contagious energy" and practical ideas that actually work

"If you have a content problem and no-one else can help and if you can find him... then you need to hire Dave Thackeray."

— Clare Newman, Business Manager, Michael Page

"Dave is a mountain of practical and valuable ideas. The volume and practicality of his ideas... He's a machine!"

— Mary Obi, Vet Doctor & Entrepreneur

"He's a connector of dots — and if everyone could connect dots the way he does we would all live in a utopian society."

— Haleh Moravej, Manchester Met

"For me, it was like therapy. Books, movies, and tips for life."

— Angelica Buitrago, Senior UX Designer

Podcast Hosts

Topics that deliver ratings — and takeaways your audience will actually use

I bring energy, research-backed insights, and stories that land. No fluff. No theory. Pure value that makes your listeners hit "share."

Ready to book? I'm available for 30-60 minute conversations on the execution crisis, AI shipping, or the psychology of stuck leaders.

Email Dave

Want to Recommend Dave?

Send this to your conference organiser

Subject: Speaker Recommendation: Dave Thackeray — "The 90% Reality"

Hi [Organiser Name],

I wanted to recommend a speaker for [Conference Name]: Dave Thackeray.

Dave has a talk called "The 90% Reality" — revealing why 90% of strategies fail to launch, based on research from Bain, McKinsey, and Stanford. But he doesn't just present data. He makes it actionable.

His core message: The reason most change initiatives fail isn't strategy or budget — it's that companies try to run transformation with "star players" who are already drowning in day-to-day work. He reveals what the 12% who succeed do differently.

Why Dave?

30 years in journalism, strategy, and coaching — he makes the complex simple
680+ written recommendations citing his "contagious energy"
He's shipped 12 AI products in 4 months — he doesn't just talk, he builds
His promise: "Your audience will finally understand why they've been stuck"

Website: wordandmouth.com | Email: dave@wordandmouth.com

I genuinely think he'd be one of the most memorable speakers on the programme.

Let me know if you'd like an intro.

[Your Name]

The Dirty Secret Nobody Says in the Boardroom