About Stephen Shapiro
Stephen Creates Lasting Change
Real impact starts while I’m on stage and continues in the weeks, months and years that follow
Early in my career, I believed efficiency was everything.
After studying Industrial Engineering at Cornell, I joined Accenture and spent years helping companies cut costs and streamline operations.
Too often, “efficient” just meant eliminating positions.
Then came the breaking point: a project that would eliminate 10,000 jobs.
These were real people, with families, dreams, and futures, not numbers on a spreadsheet. That’s when I realized I was solving the wrong problem entirely.
Great companies don’t grow by cutting jobs. They grow by creating value through people.
So, while everyone else asked, “How can we cut costs faster?” I asked, “How can we create value through people?”
That single question changed everything.
It led me to build and lead Accenture’s 20,000-person innovation practice.
Today, I help organizations solve their most critical challenges and create the kind of stability that lasts long after I leave the room.
More About Stephen
Stephen Shapiro is the author of eight books, including his latest, You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck: Why the Coworkers Who Drive You Crazy Are Your Unfair Advantage (April 2026).
He’s also the creator of Personality Poker®, an interactive experience played by more than 250,000 people worldwide.
Stephen’s work has been featured on ABC News, CNBC, USA Network, and TLC, making his ideas as engaging on screen as they are on stage.
He serves as a Senior Research Fellow with The Conference Board, has spoken in over 50 countries, and was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame in 2015.
Offstage, Stephen explores innovation through magic and music, two disciplines deeply connected to creative thinking. Magic gives him a chance to make the impossible possible, while playing the tenor sax lets him practice improvisational jazz, a form of innovation in real time.
Stephen is Trusted by Top Organizations Around the World to Cultivate Innovation and Solve Complex Business Challenges
