Mo Gawdat

In this seminal talk, Mo Gawdat aims to offer an Engineering approach to happiness based on his International bestselling book, Solve for Happy.

The talk discusses the biggest myth we believe about happiness in the modern world and how to overcome the reasons for unhappiness. It offers a solid model to work with, the 6-7-5 model, and takes the audience through practical actions they can take then and there to start their journey on a path to uninterrupted happiness.

At the end of the talk, attendees are left with a much clearer understanding of the steps they need to take in  order to find happiness even in the harshest of circumstances; and with a clear call to action to invest in their own happiness and the happiness of those they love.

In this talk, Mo Gawdat offers solid research on how happiness affects productivity and performance at work, the difference between employee happiness vs. satisfaction, and how managers and HR managers can build an environment that promotes employee happiness based on his international bestseller - Solve for Happy - and his 11 years of experience as a Google executive.

At the end of the talk, the attendees will be left with a much clearer understanding of the value employee happiness brings to company performance and the clear steps to take in order to create a work environment that promotes happiness.

In this transformative keynote, former Google X Chief Business Officer and bestselling author Mo Gawdat brings a fresh and urgent perspective to one of today’s most pervasive workplace challenges: stress. Drawing from his latest work, Unstressable, co-authored with Alice Law, Mo explores how stress has evolved from a survival mechanism into a chronic state of dysfunction, draining productivity, creativity, and well-being in modern work environments. With his signature blend of scientific insight and human connection, Mo explains how the brain’s misinterpretation of perceived threats keeps professionals locked in a cycle of fight-or-flight, often in response to meetings, deadlines, and inboxes rather than actual danger.

Mo breaks down the three core ways stress undermines performance, through trauma, anticipation, and burnout, and offers an empowering framework to reverse its grip. By teaching employees how to exit the stress zone and build long-term resilience, this talk equips organizations with a roadmap to foster healthier, more innovative, and emotionally intelligent cultures. Attendees will discover how to set clear boundaries, embrace continuous personal growth, and tune into the subtle signals from their mental, physical, and emotional systems, skills essential not only for surviving but thriving in high-performance environments. Unstressable is more than a concept; it’s a leadership philosophy for building teams that are grounded, purpose-driven, and built to weather the pressures of the modern workplace.

In the face of unimaginable personal loss, Mo Gawdat uncovered a powerful truth: even in our darkest moments, it’s possible to create light. After the sudden death of his beloved son Ali, Mo, a former Chief Business Officer at Google X, where he worked on world-changing “moonshot” innovations, embarked on the most important mission of his life: to make one billion people happier. What began as a way to survive his grief became a global movement, reaching millions and transforming lives.

In this deeply moving and inspiring talk, Mo shares how he found meaning and purpose in the midst of tragedy, and how we all can uncover silver linings during our own times of crisis. Originally his most popular keynote during the COVID-19 pandemic, this talk remains powerfully relevant today as people continue to face loss, economic uncertainty, and personal adversity. With warmth, wit, and deep wisdom, Mo offers a practical, science-backed equation for happiness and a roadmap to resilience that empowers us to find hope, even when life feels impossible. This isn’t just a talk about happiness. It’s a masterclass in navigating hardship with grace, and a testament to the human spirit’s capacity to heal, grow, and inspire.

Control is a pervasive modern day illusion. It leads to work related stress and often blurs our judgment, which leads to wrong decisions among professionals in today's work environment. Worst of all, it goes home with us and causes suffering and unhappiness.

Mo is a retired control freak who learned the the truth about control the hard way. In this workshop, he uses methods ranging from a scientific-mathematical approach to the wisdom of ancient philosophy to bust the myths surrounding our concept of control. He clarifies the downsides of our constant attempts to achieve this elusive target and lays forth simple rules to help the audience move ahead in life and at work through calculated prioritization, attention allocation, and committed acceptance. These concepts not only helped Mo advance his career to reach the highest levels of success as the Chief Business Officer of Google [X] but also helped him survive the loss of his son, turning his loss into a global mission to make one billion people happy.

At the end of the session, the attendees will find comfort in understanding the truth about the nature of control. A weight will be lifted, leaving them with the tools they need to achieve happiness and success without the stress resulting from constant attempts to stay in control.

In this talk/workshop, Mo discusses the realities behind the illusion of fear. Although we kicked the tigers out of our towns and villages long ago, humanity has never experienced such a widespread, growing sense of fear as it does in today’s modern world, both on the individual and collective level. This fear has led to suffering, holding us back and keeping us locked in seemingly endless state of unhappiness. 

But fear is nothing more than a conditioned, exaggerated illusion. By sharing the truth behind our most common fears, Mo will empower attendees to realize the true power they have to conquer their biggest fears. He will then share a practical, step-by-step method - an interrogation - that each individual can use to systematically grow stronger and braver as they address their fears one by one. Once the fear subsides, attendees will find a new path to realize their full potential for success and happiness both personally and at work

It may sound controversial, but no suffering in the history of human kind has ever been the result of anything besides the thoughts produced by our brains. The events of life themselves have no power to make us unhappy unless we grant them that power by turning them into thoughts that make us suffer.

In this talk/workshop, Mo dives deep into what makes up our thoughts and our brain’s tendency to regularly think thoughts that make us unhappy. He will discuss the philosophical and spiritual significance of the mind and the brain and then will dive deep into the neuroscience of unhappiness - the hormonal interactions that trap us in depression, anxiety, and addiction - and then offer a practical model to begin thinking happy thoughts instead.

The longer version of the workshop also addresses the 7 blind spots of the brain that distort our perception of the truth, leading us to solve the happiness equation incorrectly and causing us needless suffering (happiness = reality - expectation). By the end of the session, attendees will feel a sense of relief and empowerment to take charge of their incessant negative thoughts, arming them with the practical tools to end those cycles of needless suffering gradually but surely.

This talk/workshop addresses the incredible level of stress that dealing with time
causes us in the modern world. 

Mo uncovers the truth behind the illusion through a concrete scientific understanding of what time really is (and isn’t). It then discusses the varying cultural and spiritual perceptions of time and offers hands-on exercises to help attendees get a practical experience that will redefine their relationship with time.

The session will also explore the biggest shortcut in our brains that enables us to stop the suffering caused by the way we were wrongly trained from childhood to handle time. Further, it offers a solid scientific explanation of why the growing trend of mindfulness actually works.

Between science, practice, spirituality and emotional introspection, this session is frequently called a “life changer” that is not only thought-provoking but thoroughly entertaining at the same time.

AI is no longer just theory, as popular technologies like ChatGPT are proving concretely. In this popular talk, Mo Gawdat openly discusses – through the lens of a former executive at Google [X] - the current rate of advancement of technology and the expected technological innovation that will follow in the next 10 to 20 years. Providing a 30-year tech insider’s overview of the state of technology present and future, Mo goes on to address the pressing ethical question this impending science fiction-like reality will bring. If Artificial Intelligence learns from humans, how do we prevent it from imitating our worst intentions? How do we raise this potentially destructive child in a way that ensures the continued success (and survival) of humanity in this brand-new world?

At the end of this talk, the audience will be given a unique, accurate insider’s view of the incredible - and in many ways, worrying - wave approaching so they may clearly understand the role each of us has to play to ensure our success as it materializes.

The very essence of what makes us human - happiness, compassion and love - is what will save humanity in the age of the machines.”

In this talk aimed at decision makers, innovators and policy makers, Mo openly shares the secrets of Google’s innovation factory, [X], through a look at what worked and changed the world and what needed improvement. With a critical insider’s eye, he shares a systematic approach to building an innovation factory that can transcend the restrictive guidelines of any organization.

By the end of this talk, Mo leaves the audience with an understanding that the difference between the most and the least innovative organizations is a matter of commitment, mindset, and process. He clarifies, at a top level, the details of these differences and leaves the audience with the confidence that they too can foster an environment of innovation, along with a call to action to make it happen.

Mo accepts only a handful of requests for this talk each year, which he gives exclusively behind closed doors for select groups of executives. His insights have been instrumental in affecting directional change for several major organizations and visionary governments since 2017.