Resources for Meeting Planners

Excellence keynote speaker for meeting planners

As a meeting professional, your goal is to create an event that energizes your audience, delivers real value, and leaves a lasting impression. My goal is to help you accomplish exactly that.

Every keynote I deliver is tailored to align with your event’s theme, objectives, and audience so that attendees walk away not only inspired, but equipped with practical insights they can apply immediately. I work closely with planners to ensure the experience is seamless, impactful, and memorable for everyone involved.

What you can expect when you work with Mike:

01. Discover What Matters Most

Every great keynote starts with understanding.
Before we ever talk about slides or stories, I take time to learn your world—your audience, your objectives, your challenges, and what success looks like for your event.
This isn’t a generic intake form. It’s a real conversation to ensure we’re aligned on what your audience needs—not just what sounds good.
YOUR OUTCOME: Confidence that the message will be relevant, meaningful, and on target.
02. Customize the Message

No “off-the-shelf” keynotes. No recycled presentations.
Once I understand your goals, I build a keynote experience tailored specifically to your audience. That includes aligning stories, frameworks, and takeaways to your industry, your people, and your event theme.
Your audience won’t feel like they’ve heard this before—because they haven’t.
YOUR OUTCOME: A keynote that feels like it was built for them, not delivered to them.
03. Partner in the Process

I don’t show up the day of the event and hope for the best—we stay connected.
From pre-event check-ins to coordination with your team, I work alongside you to ensure everything runs smoothly. Need help reinforcing themes? Want to tie into other sessions? I’m all in.
My goal is to make your job easier, not add to your plate.
YOUR OUTCOME: A true partner who is invested in your event’s success.
04. Deliver an Experience That Lasts

This is more than a keynote—it’s a catalyst.
When I step on stage, the focus is simple: deliver energy, connection, and practical takeaways your audience can immediately apply. And when appropriate, I stay engaged beyond the stage—connecting with attendees, reinforcing the message, and helping extend the impact.
YOUR OUTCOME: An audience that doesn’t just feel inspired—they leave equipped.

Book Mike

aV Requirements

Mike’s presentations are designed to be simple and seamless for event planners and AV teams.

Typical requirements include:

Wireless lavalier microphone or countryman
Projector and screen for presentation slides
Standard audio setup appropriate for room size

Mike travels with his presentation materials and is happy to coordinate directly with your AV team prior to the event to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Travel Accomodations

To keep the planning process simple and predictable for meeting professionals, Mike typically includes a flat travel fee with his speaking engagements to cover airfare, ground transportation, and related travel expenses.

Depending on the event schedule, location, and travel logistics, Mike generally requests up to two nights of hotel accommodations, typically the night prior to the presentation and, when necessary, the evening following the event.

For convenience and efficiency, Mike typically makes his own flight arrangements and ground transportation to and from the airport, allowing planners to focus on the event itself while ensuring travel coordination remains streamlined.

Mike is always happy to work with event planners to ensure travel logistics align smoothly with the overall event schedule.

Mike’s Speaker Bio

Brigadier General (Ret.) Mike Oster is a nationally recognized leadership expert, keynote speaker, and author who has spent more than 36 years leading people in some of the most demanding environments in the world. A retired Army General with senior command experience, Mike is known for his ability to turn complex leadership challenges into simple, actionable frameworks that help people elevate their mindset, strengthen their character, and make excellence their everyday standard.
Mike’s message is anchored in a core belief that has guided his life: when we become better at who we are, we become better in all we do. Across industries—including finance, agriculture, healthcare, sales, and government—audiences trust him because his insights aren’t theoretical. They’re forged through real experience, hard-earned lessons, and a lifelong commitment to service.
Mike began his military career in the Army National Guard as a high school student and rose through the ranks to serve as Battalion Commander in Afghanistan, Brigade Commander, Deputy Commanding General for Mobilization at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, and Assistant Adjutant General for the South Dakota Army National Guard. His leadership earned him some of the military’s highest honors, including the Defense Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star Medal.
He holds a Master of Science in Industrial Management from South Dakota State University and is a graduate of the United States Army War College through a fellowship at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. His blend of strategic education and frontline leadership experience gives him a unique ability to connect organizational performance, human behavior, and cultural excellence.
Outside the military, Mike has held significant leadership roles, including serving as an elected City Commissioner in Brookings, South Dakota; Founding member and past President of Day of Excellence, Inc.; and currently serves on the National Guard Association of the United States Board of Directors. He also supports numerous local boards and civic organizations, reflecting his continued commitment to public service.
As the founder of Oster Consulting, Mike has worked with leaders and organizations who want more than motivation—they want tools. His signature concepts, including “Making Excellence Your Average,” “Leading on Purpose With Passion”, and “It Starts With Attitude,” provide practical steps for creating cultures of excellence and developing resilient, values-driven leaders. His 2019 Bestselling book, It Starts With Attitude, lays the foundation for his widely followed personal and professional development philosophy.
Mike is also the owner of two additional businesses, both with annual earnings in the seven figures range.
Authentic, grounded, and practical, Mike brings a rare combination of humility and authority to every stage. His work continues to transform individuals and teams by helping them show up as their best selves—consistently, intentionally, and with a mindset where excellence becomes their average.
Brigadier General (Ret.) Mike Oster is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, leadership consultant, entrepreneur, and bestselling author of It Starts With Attitude. He has been speaking to, and providing training for, groups and organizations for over 20 years. His work is grounded in a simple but powerful belief: when we become better at who we are, we become better in all we do.
Mike draws on extensive experience from his military service including multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and more than 30 years of leadership experience leading at multiple levels. This includes serving as a Battalion Commander in Afghanistan, and culminating in roles as the Deputy Commanding General for Mobilization at Joint Base Lewis McCord in Washington and as the Assistant Adjutant General for the South Dakota Army National Guard. Throughout his career, he was responsible for leading people through high-pressure, high-stakes environments where culture, attitude, and trust made the difference between success and failure. His top military awards include the Defense Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star Medal.
Mike also currently owns and operates multiple successful seven-figure businesses, serves on multiple advisory and board of directors, and continues to work in varied capacities with multiple non-profit organizations. Mike uses these experiences to provide inspirational and impactful messaging and employable tactical practices to audiences across the country. His universal message resonates across multiple industries—including finance, agriculture, healthcare, sales, government and more—because it is practical, relatable, and rooted in real-world experience.
Mike’s signature frameworks—"Make Excellence Your Average”, Leading on Purpose With Passion, and, “It Starts With Attitude”—equip organizations with tools they can apply immediately to improve performance, create cultures of excellence, and develop resilient, value driven leaders.
Known for his high energy, humor, and authenticity, Mike doesn’t teach theory—he teaches what he has lived. Whether speaking to corporate executives, frontline leaders, or emerging professionals, he challenges audiences to step into a mindset where excellence becomes their standard.
The following introduction can be tailored to better meet the specific needs of your event.
Our next speaker understands leadership and teamwork where it matters most—under pressure, in uncertainty, and when the stakes are real.
For more than 20 years, he has challenged organizations across the country to rethink how they show up, how they lead, and how they define excellence. But his message isn’t theory—it’s forged through experience.
He has worked in Fortune 500 organizations, served as an elected official, served on numerous community and nonprofit boards and currently owns and operates multiple seven figure businesses. His bestselling book, It Starts With Attitude: How to Live in a Place Where Excellence Becomes Your Average, has inspired thousands of people to stop chasing excellence and start living it.
Mike served our nation for 36 years in the United States Army, including two combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, retiring at the rank of Brigadier General. In every arena—from combat to corporate—he has lived by a simple but powerful belief: when we become better at who we are, we become better in all we do.
Please join me in welcoming Brigadier General Mike Oster.