Marcia Adair

Strategy + Experiments

Speaking + Workshops

I started on stage as an orchestral musician, giving recitals and concerts. One of my favourite parts was talking to the audience about the pieces, and finding ways to make a 200-year-old French horn sonata intersect with their own lives.

Eventually I realized I could keep the talking part without practising every day. And I could wear something other than black. Win.

Topics

I love discussing abstract ideas (do we dislike things made with AI because they are poor quality, or because the effort of production is a signal of a product’s value?) as much as running practical workshops built around tangible progress.

Most of my talks and workshops are made for the client, because who is in the room shapes both the content and the format.

On stage

Start Up Your Idea Final, Köln 2026
(testing if my MBA thesis idea could be a business)

  • “I don’t have a good concept for a time machine.” The opening · 0:40
  • “Structure determines behavior.” Five principles · 0:22
  • “Private people have perceived risk.” Q&A, unscripted · 0:37
Marcia Adair, close-up portrait

Book me to speak

Format

  • Lecture
  • Workshop
  • Panel
  • Podcast

Audience

  • University
  • MBA
  • Creative professionals
  • Mittelstand
  • C-suite

Tone

  • Snoozefest
  • Tolerable
  • Memorable
  • Unhinged

Your session

Topic
Event
Location
Format
Audience
Tone