Poppy Harlow

Day 2: Navigating Life’s Biggest Changes

Everyone has a Day 2—the moment after life changes forever. This is your guide to how to thriving in what comes next.

What happens when your hardest day becomes your best? For nearly twenty years at CNN, Poppy Harlow had her dream job. She was an anchor and host of the network’s flagship morning show. When the show was canceled, she had to make a crucial decision: would she stay, or would she take a leap of faith? Little did she know at the time that the following day, her Day 2, would be the beginning of a remarkable adventure and set the course of her future. She would move to Paris with her husband and their two young children and would go on to launch a new multi-media company. Harlow’s Day 2 taught her how strong she really is and what she wants most from life.  

In this keynote, Harlow shows us that we all have a Day 2. For some of us, it is planned. For others, it’s unplanned. For all of us, our Day 2 reveals our resilience. 

There are many Day 2 moments in our lives: promotions, corporate transitions and mergers, the birth of a child, a big move, divorce, the loss of a loved one, among others. We are all connected by life’s guarantee: change and transition. And in times of change and transition, we always have a choice: how we navigate them and thrive in them. In times of significant change and transition, people often feel alone, but Harlow teaches us that we are not alone. In fact, these are the times that unite us. We could all use a reminder of that, especially right now. 

Lessons from GOATS

Poppy Harlow has had a front row seat to history for two decades as an award-winning journalist and CNN anchor. She has conducted headline interviews with many of the greatest leaders of all time (GOATs) – in business, sports, and politics. In this keynote, Harlow shares the unique and unexpected lessons she has learned from leaders including Warren Buffett, Melinda French Gates, Jamie Dimon, and Indra Nooyi.  

• You can ask anything with a smile: Why getting candid and compelling answers is all about how you ask a question. 
• The power of the handwritten note: Warren Buffett taught Harlow the importance of writing handwritten thank you notes after their first interview together. 
• The power of brevity: Why saying less often wins you more.  
• Early is on-time: Why treating other people’s time as their most precious asset is key to winning.  
• Let your heart break: Why empathy is a superpower in negotiation and conversation. As Melinda French Gates taught Harlow, you must let your heart break. 
• Get in the kitchen: How kicking off your shoes and getting in the proverbial kitchen helps create key bonds in business and life. 

The Best Question

Poppy Harlow is an award-winning journalist who was an anchor and correspondent at CNN for nearly 20 years. Her decades in journalism have taught her the power of curiosity and of asking the right questions at the right time. In this talk, Harlow explores how she went from asking lengthy, detailed questions to learning that “tell me more” is often the most powerful question one can ask. Harlow teaches us the elements of forming the best questions for key moments in work and life. Teams get better and stronger when we learn how to ask each other the most important questions with empathy, understanding, and candor. Questions are powerful tools to unite. Harlow guides the audience in the art of question asking.  

This keynote topic can also be made into a corresponding interactive workshop with conference attendees where we explore the art of asking questions. 

Moderating

Poppy Harlow’s 20-year career at the top echelons of journalism has made her an expert at moderating live conversations in front of audiences of thousands. From the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to SXSW and beyond, Harlow leads meaningful and engaging conversations with the most respected leaders from the business world to sports, Hollywood, politics and beyond. She imparts her deep economic knowledge by interviewing the world’s top CEOs, including Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, Melinda French Gates, Sundar Pichai, among others. She has also interviewed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and moderated two CNN Presidential Town Halls. As a journalist, she has had a front row seat to history for more than two decades. Her long career as an anchor and correspondent has given her the opportunity to travel around the world and witness humanity show the best of itself while learning about the human condition. It has taught her the power of empathy and vulnerability — and the unparalleled power of a story.