Unlocking the Idea of Value That Makes Your Business the Only Choice.

 

Most startup and early-stage founders plateau not because their product is weak or their market is too crowded–but because they’ve lost clarity on the one thing that truly matters: their idea of value. Without it, they chase marketing and sales tactics, competing on features and price, hoping customers care. 
 

Thomson's Signature Talk

Thinking in a Certain Way:
How Founders Build Competitive Advantage From the Inside Out.
 

In this inspiring and practical keynote, business transformation advisor Thomson Dawson reveals why every enduring company is powered by a singular “white hot center”– an idea of value so compelling customers can’t ignore it, employees rally around it, and growth partners invest in it.

Drawing on insights from his book The White Hot Center Manifesto and decades of guiding entrepreneurs and business leaders through moments of transformation, Thomson challenges founders to stop thinking and competing on conventional terms and instead embrace the creative mindset that fuels relevance, impact, influence, loyalty, and growth.
 

Audiences will come away with a new lens for thinking about their business as a living system animated by a powerful core idea. Key takeaway ideas from Thomson's talks:
 

• Define your White Hot Center:
  discover the non-negotiable principles that form the spiritual software of your business.

• Escape the early struggle plateau:
  the mindset shifts required to move beyond $1–5M in revenue and scale with confidence.

• Think on the creative plane, not the competitive one:
  create new value rather than compete for the value created by others.

• Align people, culture, and customer experience:
  why transformation begins with clarity, not marketing.

• Lead with conviction:
  how intuition and authentic belief inspire trust, loyalty, and enduring relevance,

Thomson speaks to founders/business owners of early stage companies, entrepreneur groups, startup ecosystems, professional groups, and colleges and universities in the following formats:
 

Keynotes (30–60 minutes) – founder mindset shifts and strategic and creative insights

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Educational workshops (90–120 minutes) – breakout educational seminars on strategic positioning, strategic narratives, storytelling and brand identity and voice.

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Team intensives (half or full day) – strategic positioning and action roadmaps

 

Watch the highlights from Thomson’s keynote talk on business development practices presented to creative service professional members of the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) Central Coast Chapter Santa Barbara, California.

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