With self-help books flooding the shelves of most modern bookstores, much of today’s populace understandably casts a sideways glance. An overabundance of authors and motivational speakers have turned inspiration into a veritable industry, and it can prove difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Rather than focusing on horse-beating buzzwords and tired cliches, Dr. Lorenzo Suter of South Dakota approaches his motivational writings and professional speaking engagements through the lens that matters most—experience. With a wide range of approaches and a focus on giving back, Dr. Lorenzo Suter demonstrates the importance of a valuable message delivered with earnestness and appeal. He utilizes a few key approaches when crafting his speeches that organizations in both the corporate and non-profit sectors may wish to consider when booking their next speaker. First, however, it’s important to understand how he got to where he is today.

Dr. Lorenzo Suter, Experience, Depth and Diversity

From athletes to corporate CEOs, public figures addressing their route to success frequently dance around the concept of “overcoming adversity.” For Dr. Lorenzo Suter, this meant more than simply disproving a few naysayers’ doubts. It meant clawing his way out of homelessness to gain administrative positions in the medical field and eventually take the reigns of a Fortune 500 company. Unsurprisingly, the journey didn’t take place overnight. With little to rely on in terms of outside support or mentorship, Suter was largely self-taught. Nonetheless, he earned a doctorate in healthcare administration and landed his first substantial leadership role by 2003. His two decades’ worth of experience since then have seen him rack up numerous accomplishments, including:

• Administrative roles in numerous hospitals ranging from 70 to over 600 beds
• Executive positions in several states including Alabama, Illinois, Texas, and Indiana
• Reducing infection rates at UnityPoint Health in Sioux City by more than 50%
• A margin increase during that same regional presidency of approximately one million dollars, ensuring vast improvements in resource availability for both the facility and those in their care

A Well-Rounded Approach to Self-Help

His wealth of personal and professional accomplishments in spite of his history only proves useful as a motivational speaker, as he’s able to articulate the strategies that formed the backbone of his success. To achieve that end, Dr. Lorenzo Suter approaches his speeches through a well-rounded variety of lenses that he modifies in accordance with his intended audience. For instance, in his book Call Me an As, Suter uses a combination of faith-based principles and personal anecdotes to teach readers how they can learn to solve problems by looking inward with humility rather than outward with contempt. While he does integrate these concepts into many of his speeches, others often focus on more traditional corporate success tactics such as cost reductions and new service rollouts. Directly resulting from the endless array of skills he needed to develop on the journey from the breadlines to the executive chair, Dr. Lorenzo Suter of South Dakota understands that those in different positions must call upon different skill sets in order to achieve success as they currently define it. To this end, he does not pull every ace out of his sleeve for each and every speaking engagement. He instead follows a process. Before agreeing to speak, Dr. Lorenzo Suter of South Dakota consults with his prospective clients to ascertain their goals, the culture of the organization to which he’ll be speaking, and which style or approach would best serve them. He then dives into research on the client’s specific industry to further tailor his speech around the strategies they need. It’s a breath of fresh air from the cookie-cutter approach used by many speakers in recent years.

Leading by Example: How Dr. Suter Gives Back

In addition to speaking from experience and personalizing his approach to fit his audience, Dr. Suter also believes that the most valuable messages ring truer when put into direct action. To this end, he pays tribute to his earlier life struggles by giving back to those in need. Dr. Lorenzo Suter’s approach to philanthropy takes numerous forms, but two stick out in particular. First, he works to prevent young people from winding up in the same trenches from which Suter himself once had to escape. He does this through his work with the TR-Youth Foundation, an organization that teaches young people to empower the world by paying forward the only resources they have—their own joy, time, and inspiration. Second, Dr. Lorenzo Suter works with non-profits through a unique fundraising program. Suter allows charitable organizations to sell his books, returning an additional 5% of the net proceeds for every ten books sold. If they can sell fifty books, this escalates immediately into a receipt of half the net proceeds. This caps at 60% but is accompanied by a further 60% discount from any speaking engagement they wish to schedule if they sell 100 books or more.

Conclusion

As an author, CEO, healthcare administrator, motivational speaker and philanthropist, Dr. Lorenzo Suter of South Dakota wears a seemingly impossible number of hats. This, however, is precisely what makes him valuable to his clients. Those seeking to inspire their organizations, whether corporate or non-profit, will likely find something in his story of relevant value, provided they allow him the time to tailor his approach as it best serves their needs.