Rik Moons

Speaker
Moderator
Dutch
French
Rik Moons

Who is Rik Moons?

Rik Moons, after a successful career in the pharma industry, founded his company MoonsManagement. Its focus is on Leadership and Sales. Rik taught communication and leadership at UGent for 20 years and was a professor at EMS-Odisee.

On 15 July 2022, Rik got into an emergency situation with his plane, his plane was uncontrollable. Footage of the accident, in which he came down with his emergency parachute, was circulated worldwide. 

Rik made the decision to activate the emergency parachute in 5 seconds, a directive but deliberate decision. In the next 50 seconds, Rik went over the emergency checklist. In the final seconds before the crash, he performed a manoeuvre that spared the houses and left himself unharmed.  

In this presentation, he lets the audience experience these exciting 60 seconds and describes why it was possible to coolly switch from the emotional brain to the reasoning brain ('executive cognitive functioning'). When a pilot activates his emergency parachute, it is a drastic, irrevocable, directive decision followed by "letting go".

During his presentation, Rik makes connections with price negotiations, leadership and decision sciences in business. During meetings, negotiations and difficult conversations, as a manager you sometimes have to be directive, act fast and make the right choices. Or leave the choices to your employees and still take responsibility yourself. 

Rik wrote two books: Why Your Solution is the Problem in which he describes the input/output model and Stupid Questions Do Exist. The essence in both books is the importance of thorough preparation. Because this is the only way to make the right choices in crisis situations.

Request your offer

    Leadership - deciding and letting go

    On 15 July 2022, Rik met with an emergency situation with his plane, his aircraft was uncontrollable. Footage of the accident, in which he came down with his emergency parachute, was distributed worldwide.

    Rik has 30 years of experience in sales, leadership and decision sciences and has been a pilot for 40 years. He makes connections with business and daring to decide.

    Why your solution is the problem

    To where do you steer as a leader and from where do you let go? Input/output leadership is about the difference between control and trust. With output management, you increase involvement, stimulate creativity and increase motivation. Together with Filip Vandendriessche, Rik wrote the book of the same name 'Why your solution is the problem'.

    Silly questions do exist

    You will get more done from your interlocutor with an extra question than with extra arguments. Rik designed a model of 5 building blocks that guarantee top questions. He reveals the magic of 3 in argumentation and goes over 4 techniques for more active listening. By asking better questions and listening well, you convince more easily, reach your goal more easily and obtain the right information. Rik Moons wrote the eponymous book Dumb questions do exist.

    Do, dump or delegate

    Are you efficient in your work? Are you also effective in your work? How do you respond to extra tasks and better still, how do you make your monkeys jump on other people's shoulders? In his tale of monkeys and bananas, Rik knows how to hilariously captivate you about the particularly difficult leadership style of 'delegating'. He goes over a 9-step plan to make every delegation a success. Rik is also author of the book "Why your solution is the problem" about the difficult boundary between input and output style.

    What you can learn from a plane crash?

    In a keynote lasting about an hour and a half, Rik tells how he ran into turbulence with his sports plane in July 2022. The eventual crash was unavoidable but following checklists ensured that Rik did not panic at any point.

    This experience made him think afterwards about mistakes and risks. How these also occur and can be avoided at work. How do employees react in unexpected situations ? Is there a plan B? Are checklists used? How do you react as a manager when your team finds itself in an unforeseen situation? During his presentation, Rik compares some crucial moments during the crash with situations in the business world or on the shop floor. Afterwards, participants can brainstorm further in workshops and thus improve their working methods.

    Some golden rules on preventive action:
    - checklists are indispensable and are ALWAYS and COMPLETELY, carried out by EVERYONE
    - communication misunderstandings are the most common predictor of errors
    - the 3 magic words are: teamwork, trust and a culture of openness 

    Some quotes covered in the keynote:
    - "having instructions repeated compulsorily is the only way to avoid misunderstandings"
    - "ego and hubris are the biggest killers, it's all about YOU"
    - "a culture of 'laissez faire, laissez passer' kills people"
    - "failing employees like to hide behind failing systems"

Rik's humorous and down-to-earth way of describing the day-to-day struggles we all have with communicating and interacting with our fellow human beings ensures that the audience is sucked into a different, more light-hearted view of sometimes still heavy-handed topics.
At times, I also think "that man deserves an Oscar!"

Nele Weyn

Head of training Gamma

Rik is an authentic storyteller who juggles imagery. His genuine ambition is to share his knowledge with his audience in an entertaining and compelling way.

Sylvie Marissal & Peter Bossert

Human Resources Director | CEO

micro

Rik Moons is a passionate "story teller" who knows how to captivate you from the beginning to the end of his talk. Based on real life situations and experiences, he knows how to connect with his audience and their interests with interactions and a touch of humour. Top speaker!

Nico Samaille

International Director Menarini Diagnostics

Rik's keynotes are truly inspiring and stimulating. He uses useful and applicable elements seized from our reality. I received only positive feedback from all participants.

Joris Spigt

Head of Group Mobility Solutions & My Way, D’Ieteren