Tim Kirkland

Sales-Building, Service-Energizing, Team-Building Expert, Bestselling Author, Consultant Specializing in Innovative Ways to Recruit, Engage and Retain Today’s Emerging “Generation i” Workforce

Topics: Employee Engagement, Teamwork, Professional Development, Best Selling Author, Business, Business Growth, Business Leadership, Corporate Culture, Entrepreneur, Inspirational & Motivational, Leadership, Thought Leadership, Future of Work, Health & Well-Being

Biography

How do leaders grow their brands and shape the future of their organizations even when economic conditions aren’t optimal? Tim Kirkland shows you how with The Renegade Philosophy™. Companies grow and thrive when they hire right, train right, and treat right. In his engaging and entertaining presentations, Kirkland outlines the proven methods he’s learned in his 30+ years in the hospitality industry.

Kirkland’s best-selling books, The Renegade Server and COACH are used in over 15,000 restaurants, hotels, retail locations, customer service companies, and universities worldwide to improve the engagement and performance of both front-line teams and all levels of leadership. His content and technology can be found woven into the culture and training of some of the top brands in the world. Leading companies that use Kirkland’s materials include Applebee’s, Subway, Buffalo Wild Wings, Marriott, Kimpton, Coca-Cola, Beam Suntory, Sodexo, Reinhart Food Service, and many, many more

Kirkland is a proven operator, executive, and best-selling author; and during his career, he has led training, operations, and marketing departments for numerous respected restaurant brands. He’s been an award-winning operator and successful entrepreneur with a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by the hospitality industry. He walks the talk and shares tools for success.

Kirkland delivers highly customized keynotes and master classes on leadership, team engagement & retention, customer service, and local restaurant marketing. Over 20,000 people attend his live seminars and workshops every year.

Kirkland is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School, where his focus was the Art and Practice of Leadership Development. He is CEO of Renegade Hospitality Group, which serves as a professional advisory resource to the restaurant, hotel, retail and customer service industries.

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Testimonials

It was fantastic and totally applicable to everyone in attendance, including us at the franchisor level! I would have Tim come back 5 times over!

– Karley Hofer, Director of Brand Development, Orange Leaf Yogurt

Tim Kirkland allowed us the opportunity to wrap up our 2 ½ day franchisee convention in a powerful way. Tim understood our unique audience of corporate employees, franchisees and managers and was able to connect with them on a real level. We solicit feedback from our attendees through an online survey after the event and Tim Kirkland’s ratings were the highest we’ve ever seen from a guest speaker. I highly recommend Tim to your organization if you’re looking for a high energy, motivated speaker who can really connect with the audience and share a powerful service message.

– Heather Neary, Chief Marketing Officer, Auntie Anne’s

would definitely recommend Tim Kirkland to speak for other companies in the service industry! I heard a tremendous amount of positive comments from our attendees on the insight Tim shared. Tim had a great way to keep the audience focused on his message, which was chock-full of very valuable and relatable content. His message made sense, simple as that. He had great timing with his message, knowing when to add in the right sparks of humor throughout the presentation, which had our audience roaring with laughter and kept them entertained. We look forward to more opportunities to work with Tim again in the future.

– Jackie Vienneau, Franchise World Headquarters, Subway

Tim was the highlight of our conference. Our GMs were amazed by his paradigm on selling and how he describes aligning the business, the server and the guest to improve sales.

– Wayne Vandewater, Executive Director of Field Training, Applebee’s

Tim captured the audience with his industry insight, his personal real-life stories, as well as his good-natured humor. Tim was highly energizing and provided our restaurant operators endless service ideas to implement in our restaurants. I will certainly call on Tim's services again.

– Philip M. Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer, Huddle House, Inc.

Tim presented a keynote address and two breakout sessions at our National Training Camp. His message was clear, concise, and completely in line with the message of our convention. Tim gave our audience members simple tactics that they could use right away to build their businesses. By far, Tim was the best convention speaker I have seen at any Buffalo Wild Wings convention.

– Nikki Fuchs de Calderon, Director of Management Development, Buffalo Wild Wings

Every, and I mean EVERY attendee I talked to loved your program! I have already sharing my notes with our internal team and we are incorporating your pearls into our training. I have attended many presentations over the past thirty years and your information zoomed you into the top five! The information you presented was relevant to the environment we currently operate in. The tips were user friendly with the “how to” for implementation. Combine all of this with your energetic, straight talk style and our franchisees and managers saw a winning program. Thanks for making it actionable as well as memorable!

– Dennis Laventure, CEO Country Kitchen International

Tim is remarkably easy to work with and has delivered an unbelievable experience for our audience at every event. Tim Kirkland has risen to the top of the list for people we turn to. He engages the audience with riveting on trend material delivered with a mix of humor and attention grabbing dialogue that is both captivating and useful to anyone in the industry.

– Gerald “Chip” McFall, Vice President of Sales Reinhart Foodservice

I’ve been a part of several seminars in my career with 2 other restaurant concepts. I can’t speak for all attendees, but I know for a fact, this was the first time in my life I was eager to get back to my teams to share information I learned from Tim. I’ve began to use the interviewing and hiring practices in our company, and we’ve seen instant results.

– Charles D., Newk’s Franchise Company

Excellent! Tim’s presentation was well put together and delivered with wonderful humor. Feedback from our customers was great!

– Ruth Wik, US Foodservice

Booksby Tim Kirkland

Coach: Being a Better Team Leader by Bettering the Team You Lead

The Renegade Server: Uncommon Strategies for Making More Money in 21st Century Food Service

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Speaker Documents

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Blog Posts

Mental Health Awareness: The Mark of a Modern Workplace

🌎✨ As we recognize World Mental Health Day, we're shining a spotlight on critical mental...

What’s Holding You Back from Managing Your Energy Effectively?

Have you ever wanted to get more energy in your day-to-day activities? https://youtu.be/hltabhE0QRM Have you...

Use Improv as a Mindfulness Practice and Improve your Well-Being

🌟 Mental Fitness Through Improv & Mindfulness 🌟 https://youtu.be/xuAhzUGZ438 Mental fitness is not just about...

Innovative Event Strategies to Inspire Your Attendees with Courtney Mesmer

https://youtu.be/1erTgGFdyW8 Watch this week’s podcast episode here: YouTube • Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon...

Valuable Life Lessons from Parenting & Overcoming Failures

Learn valuable life lessons from overcoming failure and parenting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJTIi-nhq60&list=PLXTlGHk63lLgbS8LN-PENXDzwMdqWAnOm "Life’s greatest lessons come from...

Pink October: Breast Cancer Awareness and the Power of Healing Our Emotional Histories

Pink October: Understanding the Connection Between Emotional Health and Breast Cancer This newsletter is brought...

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Reviews & Ratings

     Excellent  
     Based on 74 reviews 
    
 
 
   
 
 
        
   Tim Mooney 
 August 20, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Seth was on point and tremendous help before and after the event! Two thumbs up!
  
 
       
   Anthony Veneziale 
 August 14, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Seth is the real deal -- he knows the best speakers to make sure your event is successful. I've had the pleasure of working with Seth and The Keynote Curators and he's top notch. Also, his podcast is chock full of great insights and important topics. Thanks Seth!!
  
 
       
   M.D Milloy 
 August 8, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Seth is a great host, very inspirational and professional. Highly recommend!
  
 
       
   Aaron Farzam 
 August 3, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Keynote speaker searches have been overwhelmingl for me and my team.  Seth made the process easy.  Our expectations were exceeded. Great company. Highly recommended.
  
 
       
   Dante Fabro 
 July 29, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Keynote Speaker knowledge is unrivaled by Seth Dechtman and his team at The Keynote Curators.  If your event or conference requires a keynote speaker, call The Keynote Curators.  They are thorough and deliver the goods.  Seth makes sure that you get what you are looking for...in spades. Not to mention, Seth is very down to earth and speaks to people as equals. I really appreciate that. I'd recommend The Keynote Curators any day!
  
 
       
   Jamie Wright 
 July 25, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Found out about these folks through The Keynote Curators podcast - really great stuff!!
  
 
       
   Alison Levine 
 July 10, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Great podcast with a wide variety of speakers, topics, and themes. You can learn something unexpected from every episode!
  
 
       
   Victoria Matey 
 June 27, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I had the pleasure of joining the Keynote Curators podcast as a guest. My experience collaborating with Seth and his team was great - fast, efficient, and most importantly, they are all wonderful human beings!
  
 
       
   Justin Chaffee 
 June 20, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The Keybnote Curators and Seth Dechtman are a class act.

Timely, professional, and most of all hit the mark. Cannot recommend them with more emphasis.

If you need a speaker for your event conference or any program, do not hesitate to contact Seth and his team.
  
 
       
   Brandon Grimm 
 June 12, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Seth Deckman is the only Keynote Curator you’re ever going to need for your events and conferences that require the best Keynote speakers. His attention to detail and true concern about meeting your event’s needs to go above and beyond. I cannot recommend him highly enough call him as soon as you have your speaker need for your next conference or meeting.