Speaking & Coaching
Speaking
Bring Real Retail Wisdom to Your Audience
When your audience needs more than theory, Mike delivers. As the operating founder of one of the nation’s top specialty retailers and the creator of North America’s first mobile sporting goods store, Mike brings unmatched relatability, hard-earned credibility and transferable energy to every presentation.
Whether he’s speaking to frontline store teams, industry executives, or vendor partners, Mike’s talks are customized and built around one goal: helping people build service-centered organizations that last.
Keynote Topics that Resonate — and Deliver
More than just Books.
Each of Mike’s presentations blends real-world retail insight with energizing delivery. These topics are grounded in the core principles of It’s Not the Bricks, It’s the Mortar and customized for your audience.
🧱 The Real Bricks and Mortar of Retail
Bricks are visible. Bricks are valuable. But without mortar, they don’t hold. This keynote introduces the framework of Uninvolved Optimization and Involved Maximization — and the critical structures that allow service businesses to thrive long after the leader and previous influences step away.
📡 A Defining Experience
Creating meaningful, memorable customer experiences doesn’t have to be costly or complicated. Using Mike’s concept of the Broadcast Tower and The Service Quotient, this talk unpacks how to design service experiences that scale across teams and locations.
💬 On the First Day
Value Creation isn’t just a catchphrase — it’s a method. Based on a 3-step framework used inside Mike’s businesses (Investigation, Assessment, Exchange), this session redefines how we build trust, close sales, and form lasting partnerships.
📦 Better Buying Makes for Better Selling
Poor procurement habits cost retailers more than they realize. This session shows how to transform your buying process — improving inventory ROI and eliminating the waste that erodes your bottom line.
Recommendations
People Who Have Worked With Mike
Tailored to Your Team, Your Event, Your Industry
Mike’s presentations are never off-the-shelf. Every session is customized to meet the needs of your specific audience — whether you’re hosting a retail leadership summit, training new store managers, or energizing vendor partners at a corporate conference.
His content resonates with:
- Single- and Multi-unit retail owners & operators
- Store managers and emerging leaders
- Large corporations in the Retail industry
- Manufacturers, Sales Agents and other Retail industry vendors and partners
- Industry conferences, vendor summits, workshops, and panels
“I’m not a consultant or professor. I’m a retailer who is in your shoes — and working hard every day to build systems that work in the real world."
Training
Mike and the It’s Not The Bricks Team maintain a library of training resources that are proven transformative for Owners, Company Executives, Store Managers and Buyers in almost any Retail segment. Equally as powerful, his Team has deep experience working with some of the largest product manufacturers in the world. Please fill out the form below and we will get back to you to customize our materials to your preferences.
Consulting
Mike and his Team also accept a limited number of consulting roles each year. If your organization believes it will benefit from a more consistent presence and complete implementation of It’s Not the Bricks content, please fill out the Training Request Form.