Speaking and training

Help your people connect, adapt, and learn from experience.

David Good speaks about workplace loneliness, resilience, team learning and supporting neurodivergent talent. His keynotes bring practical self-leadership and leadership insight to organizations that want to help their people connect, contribute and do good work.

His flagship corporate keynote is The Cost of Loneliness at Work.

Founder of International Friend Connection, whose work has reached 40,000+ people. Recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

Invite David to Speak Watch David Speak

David Good speaking at Meetup's 20th anniversary celebration

Selected to speak at Meetup's 20th anniversary

David Good on stage

Meetup's 20th anniversary celebration

Speaking appearances

Spoke for the Stanford Center for Neurodiversity and Human Potential Late Diagnosed Autism Group.
Cultural Autism Studies at Yale (CASY Sparks)

Featured on television

“For Meetup’s 20th anniversary celebration, I only asked one person to represent the hundreds of thousands of Meetup organizers around the world. That person was David Good.”

David SiegelOn selecting David for Meetup’s anniversary celebration

Flagship corporate keynote

The Cost of Loneliness at Work

Putting people in the same room does not automatically create connection.

An employee can attend your company picnic, spend two hours surrounded by coworkers, and leave without having had a meaningful conversation. People who already know each other catch up. Someone who knows nobody still has to figure out how to join in.

For leaders concerned about engagement and retention, that deserves attention. Gallup’s research links having a best friend at work with both employee engagement and retention. Read the research.

Through International Friend Connection, David has spent more than a decade bringing people together and personally leading thousands of events. He brings that experience to a practical workplace question: how can organizations make it easier for employees to build meaningful relationships?

Audiences will leave with

A clearer understanding of workplace disconnection and its business relevance.
A way to recognize why existing social activities may miss the people who need connection most.
Practical ideas for creating conditions where meaningful workplace relationships are more likely to develop.

For: HR and people leaders, executives, and managers responsible for engagement, retention, and organizational culture.

Invite David to Speak

“Your dedication to fostering inclusion and reducing isolation is making a meaningful impact, and it's inspiring to see how your efforts are helping individuals build confidence and relationships that enrich their lives.”

Emily L White, LMSW, BCBA, LBAOn David’s community work

Resilience and reinvention

From Bedridden to the Boardroom

When the original plan becomes impossible, find another way to contribute.

After chronic pain and disability ended his software career, David rebuilt his life around community and leadership. This keynote draws on that experience to help audiences reconsider what they can do when the original plan becomes impossible.

Based on the story behind his memoir, From Bedridden to the Boardroom, David shares how he reconsidered his abilities, accepted help, and found useful work he could still do.

For organizations facing disruption, the talk offers a grounded perspective on adaptation: recognizing when to persist, when to change direction, and where existing experience can serve a new purpose.

Copies of David's book, From Bedridden to the Boardroom, are included with this talk.

For: Company-wide events, leadership conferences, change-related programming, and disability and accessibility events.

Team learning and leadership

The No-Fail Formula

Turn mistakes and failure into opportunities to move the organization forward.

Mistakes can leave teams stuck in blame, shame, and hesitation. David teaches a practical way to turn those setbacks into learning and better decisions. Teams also learn to examine success, so useful lessons survive the celebration.

The No-Fail Formula helps people discuss what happened, take responsibility for what they can change, and use the experience to improve their next attempt.

For: Leaders who want teams to discuss mistakes honestly, take thoughtful risks, and put what they learn into practice.

David Good standing beneath the Stanford Neurodiversity Summit banner — David represented International Friend Connection and Cultural Autism Studies at Yale at the Stanford Neurodiversity Summit, at the request of Dr. Dawn Prince-Hughes of Yale CASY.

Workplace performance and retention

Neurodivergent Talent at Work

Help capable people do their best work and give them more reasons to stay.

You hired someone for what they could contribute. But unclear instructions, constant interruptions or a noisy office can make it harder for them to do the work you hired them to do.

David Good draws on his experience with autism, ADHD and software development to help leaders understand these barriers and consider practical changes. He discusses clearer written expectations, quieter places to concentrate and ways for employees to contribute ideas without having to speak up in a crowded meeting.

For executives and HR leaders working to improve productivity, reduce turnover and strengthen profitability, the talk offers a practical starting point: understand what helps each person do good work. David also explores the effort spent hiding differences to fit in, and why an employee’s contribution deserves more attention than how closely they match expectations about how someone should work.

Audiences will leave with

Ways to make instructions, priorities and deadlines clearer.
Practical options for reducing sensory distractions and supporting focused work.
Ways to address communication differences and make questions easier to ask.
A starting point for matching work to individual strengths and assessing whether changes help.

For: Executives, HR leaders and managers responsible for team performance and employee retention.

David has spoken on this topic for the West Michigan Project Management Institute.

Invite David to Speak

Beyond the keynote

Take the work further.

Organizations that want help applying the workplace connection ideas can explore manager workshops or a focused implementation engagement with David.

A workshop teaches managers practices they can apply with their teams. Implementation provides hands-on help putting an approach into practice. A conversation about your organization’s needs is the starting point.

“His different way of thinking, infectious enthusiasm, and touching humility makes him a very unique kind of advocate. His relatability belies his power of persuasion and inspiration.”

Dr. Dawn Prince-HughesCo-Chair, Cultural Autism Studies at Yale

Booking inquiry

Invite David to Speak

What is your organization facing, and what would you like your audience to take away?

Share your event date, audience, and the keynote you’re considering. You can also ask about manager workshops or implementation support.

Open the inquiry form in a new tab