Rules Are Written. Culture Is Led.
Safety conferences and expos, safety council luncheons, stand-downs, safety kickoffs, supervisor development, and awards banquets.
Your safety professionals already own the rules, the training, and the audits, and they are good at it. What no policy reaches is the second where somebody sees something wrong and decides whether to say it. That decision is made on how they have been led, not on what the manual says. Chris Sund speaks to the leadership half of safety culture, alongside your technical content rather than instead of it.
The safest crews are the ones where the newest person feels able to speak up.
My KC Live, KCTV5 Kansas City →Let the room size him up first.
A safety audience decides fast whether a speaker is going to waste their morning, and that is fair. Send a clip ahead of the conference and let people judge for themselves. Chris has been on morning television in six markets and in Forbes, Inc., and the Midlands Business Journal, all collected in the media hub.
Five things a crew takes back to the floor.
No OSHA interpretation, no hazard analysis, no technical training. Your safety professionals do that better than any outside speaker could. This is the human layer that sits underneath all of it.
On what the safety session is about
- Whether the newest person feels able to stop a job. That is the single clearest measure of a safety culture, and it has nothing to do with the policy. It depends entirely on what happened the last time somebody spoke up.
- Supervisors set the real standard. Not the handbook. Whatever a supervisor walks past becomes the actual rule, and most of them have never been told that in plain terms.
- Why people take the shortcut. Almost never because they do not know better. Usually because of pace, pride, or not wanting to be the one who slows everybody down. Those are leadership problems with leadership answers.
- Looking out for the person next to you. Compliance protects a company. Watching somebody else's back is a different motivation entirely, and it is the one that holds at four in the afternoon on a Friday.
- One move, not a program. Every session closes on a single specific action, sized for people who are back on the floor tomorrow morning.
Eight ways safety groups book him.
Conferences usually pair the opening or closing general session with a breakout. Companies usually run the same session more than once so every shift gets it live.
Safety Conference Keynote
Opening or closing general session at a safety conference, expo, or summit alongside the technical program.Safety Council Luncheon
Regional safety council luncheons, celebration events, and member meetings. Sized for a program with awards in it.Stand-Down or Safety Kickoff
The leadership half of safety culture next to your technical content. Speaking up, standard-setting, and watching out for each other.Supervisor & Foreman Session
The people who set the real standard every day. Promoted for being good at the work and rarely trained to lead it.Safety Awards Banquet
Annual safety awards nights and recognition banquets. Built to fit alongside the awards rather than compete with them.All-Shift Company Session
Repeated across shifts so every crew hears it live rather than secondhand. Early, late, and overnight slots all work.Safety Leadership Retreat
EHS leadership, risk managers, and executive teams on standard-setting, accountability, and culture.Conference Breakouts
Repeatable concurrent sessions alongside a general session at a safety conference or council event.Built for the people who send everyone home.
The framework holds across all of them. What changes is who is in the room and what happens at shift start tomorrow.
Safety Councils
Regional and state safety councils, their annual conferences and expos, and member luncheons and celebration events.EHS & Safety Associations
Professional safety societies, state chapters, and industry safety associations running annual education programs.Manufacturing & Plants
All-shift safety kickoffs and supervisor development. See manufacturing speaking.Construction & Trades
Stand-downs, contractor association safety programs, and jobsite leadership. See construction and trades speaking.Trucking & Fleet Safety
Safety management councils, fleet safety summits, and driver recognition events. See trucking and logistics speaking.Utilities & Line Crews
Utility safety meetings, co-op safety programs, and line crew events. See utility and co-op speaking.Risk & Insurance
Workers compensation carriers, risk management groups, and loss control teams running policyholder events.Healthcare Safety
Occupational health, employee health, and workplace safety programs inside hospitals and health systems.Public Sector & Municipal
City and county safety programs, public works, and public risk management pools. See government speaking.Four movements. Ten principles.
Every session runs the same architecture as the book, which is what lets a stand-down and a supervisor session land as one message rather than two.
The Foundation
Ownership and time. What is inside your control when the schedule, the weather, and the pressure are not.The Breakthrough
The comfort ceiling and the inner voice. The section a thirty-year veteran goes quiet for.The Standard
Truth over praise, and the hidden gear. Speaking up, and what a crew does when the newest hand finally does.The Purpose
Finishing, and leaving people better. The close, and the reason everybody goes home in one piece.A copy for every person on the floor.
A stand-down gives a crew a half hour. A copy gives a whole workforce the same ten principles and the same words, which is how a message survives past the week the banner comes down.
You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. An Amazon bestseller from Game Changer Publishing, with a foreword by Ben Newman.
Ten chapters across four movements, written plainly and short enough that somebody working ten hour days will finish it. The free companion toolkit includes a discussion guide sized for a toolbox talk, a self-assessment, and a thirty day challenge. Nothing is gated behind an email address.
The feedback speaks for itself.
Chris consistently brings knowledge, insight, and practical advice. He led two impactful sessions and left everyone with tools they could use immediately.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Chris consistently brings knowledge, insight, and practical advice. He led two impactful sessions and left everyone with tools they could use immediately.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Events already on your calendar.
He led people who had to speak up.
Chris Sund is the bestselling author of You Are Capable of More, a keynote speaker, and an executive leader.
As President and COO of Uniti Med, GQR Healthcare, and Nebula, he helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years and earn the number three ranking on the Inc. Regionals list among the fastest growing companies in the Midwest, while the organization earned Fortune Best Workplaces recognition and Great Place to Work certification three years running.
He is a father of three, based in Nebraska, a Maxwell Leadership Certified speaker, trainer, and coach, Vice President of the NATHO Board of Directors, and the founder of Amplify Speakers. He is not a safety professional and will say so from the front. What he knows is how a leader builds a team where the newest person says the uncomfortable thing out loud, which is the part of safety culture no policy has ever reached.
Details your committee will ask for.
Safety directors and conference committees ask these.
He is not a safety professional. Why does that work?
How does this fit alongside our technical program?
How much does a safety keynote speaker cost?
Will it land with the floor, not just the safety team?
Can he speak at our stand-down?
What about our supervisors and foremen?
Can you repeat the session for every shift?
Can he speak at our safety awards banquet?
Can we get books for everyone?
How do we start?
Other ways organizations book him.
Same framework, built for the specific room you are filling.