Jeffrey S. Buchanan

Jeff Buchanan retired as one of the most diversely knowledgeable leadership experts of our time. After 37 years of Army military service on the front lines worldwide, with all sorts of people, situations, cultures and risks, today he mentors leaders toward exceptional outcomes. As a lieutenant general, Jeffrey S. Buchanan commanded the US Army North (Fifth Army), He expertly led both soldiers and civilians in complex combat and humanitarian operations all around the world. Jeff commanded troops at every level, from platoons (40 soldiers) to theater armies (more than 50,000 troops from all branches of the military). He served four combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. From 2016-2019, Jeff led the military response in support of FEMA for five major hurricanes (Matthew, Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Florence). He also led more than 6,000 soldiers and marines supporting the Department of Homeland Security for security of the southwest border. 

Live Fee: 

$5,001 - $10,000

Virtual Fee:

Contact for fee.

Flies from:

Arizona
Inquire About This Speaker

Suggested Keynotes

"Go to Puerto Rico and Fix It!” Perfecting the Art of Decision Making and Delegation

There are three logical reasons for this: it is easy to overlook small aspects of a problem; every leader is forced to make so many decisions a day, and there is a variable and sometimes unpredictable amount riding on any decision. The fact is, a small problem can become a big crisis quickly. The results of any size decision can be fabulous or disastrous. Mastering decision making is a critical skill for leaders at every level of an organization, and those who hope to become leaders. 
  • There are three logical reasons for this: it is easy to overlook small aspects of a problem; every leader is forced to make so many decisions a day, and there is a variable and sometimes unpredictable amount riding on any decision. The fact is, a small problem can become a big crisis quickly. The results of any size decision can be fabulous or disastrous. Mastering decision making is a critical skill for leaders at every level of an organization, and those who hope to become leaders. 
  • In this clear, well-organized presentation by a former top Army General, your audience members will be introduced to a high-level , battle-tested system to frame or define complex problems so that they can arrive at the best solutions every time. 

Here’s what your audience will get: 

  • The General will reveal the well-proven “MDMP”, the Military Decision Making Process that every military leader learns in the course of training 
  • What happened when General Buchanan was tapped to handle the military response to the disaster (and early disastrous response) to Hurricane Maria, when his superior officer General Robinson simply called him and said, “Go to Puerto Rico and Fix it” and what it means to every leader trying to solve problems in a crisis and without adequate information 
  • The “Magnificent Five” steps to ensure one is correctly framing and defining the problem before seeking solutions: 
  1. Understand the environment, the conditions, and risks 
  2. Identify the stakeholders and their points of view 
  3. List potential problems and determine connections 
  4. Analyze friction points and establish the core problem 
  5. Collect information to validate the problem 
  • Why effective delegation of responsibility requires a shared understanding between the leader and the team, illustrated by how a misunderstanding of the ever-changing nature of the threat had dire consequences for troops in Iraq 
  • An awareness that factors in a complex situation will naturally change over time. When complex problems change, even if the best problem-solving decisions are what elicits that change, then the decision-making factors must be accurately reconsidered and choices recalibrated. This happened in Puerto Rico when troops were delivering desperately-needed drinking water to the victims of Hurricane Maria. Using the hard-won methods General Buchanan teaches in this presentation, leaders will know how to be alert for changes and how to best modify their decisions to accommodate. 
  • Participants will leave with a better understanding of the nature of complex problems, the many variables affecting the options for excellent decisions, how to efficiently frame those problems as they create innovative solutions, and how to stay alert for changes that require new decisions. They will be inspired to excel at decision making, even in perilous or stressful circumstances. 
  • With a sound foundation regarding decision making and its resultant delegation strategies, participants will be armed to face toughest challenges so they can fight and win every time. 

Don’t Get Treed by a Chihuahua and Other Ways Leaders Get out of Balance

Every one of us struggles with balance in our lives, yet we frequently get it wrong. We tend to focus on urgent tasks but lose sight of what is truly important. 
  • Every one of us struggles with balance in our lives, yet we frequently get it wrong. We tend to focus on urgent tasks but lose sight of what is truly important. 
  • As a result, we struggle with an overflowing inbox, we make rash decisions in the moment, and our work/personal life balance is off kilter. Most leaders believe they are long past learning such “basic” skills, but as we progress professionally, the work load becomes progressively, sometimes insidiously, larger. 
  • In this thoughtful, clear presentation by retired Lt. General Jeffrey S. Buchanan, executives learn from an experienced, national-level military leader how to choose what to do – and what to do next – so that they can prioritize their efforts to become both more effective and efficient. The core problem: an executive can get overwhelmed by the ever-increasing deluge of things that are “urgent” can swamp their best intentions to focus on the “important – the business growth, leadership and intentional direction that they intend to take the company. 
  • General Buchanan delivers key insights from his military training, his 37 years in the Army leading more than 50,000 troops, and now his work as a mentor to leaders in the civilian sector. When leaders can effectively evaluate, quickly assess, reorder and deploy the best strategies in the right order to get the most impact from the things they do each day, businesses grow, employees accomplish their missions, and the entire team leaves work each day with a deep sense of satisfaction. 
  • Leaders will discover the most effective ways to put their lives in balance so that they are freed to spend quality time with the people they care about most, doing things that replenish their hearts and souls. 

Here’s what the audience will gain: 

  • A clear-thinking, proven method to easily separate what is urgent from what is important, so they can increasingly focus on only the important parts of their mission. 
  • A combat-proven technique to establish solid priorities and then forge the discipline to live by them 
  • Insight into the economic, mental and social benefit of maintaining a vision and doing the critical strategic planning to achieve it. 
  • A system to recruit, motivate, and leverage a diverse team that allows the leader to focus on important work rather than mundane tasks and provides the implementation support for better decision making.Every single leader in the audience will leave this session with a combat-tested, high level strategy to help them prioritize their actions both in and out of the workplace. Each executive will gain the confidence to make better decisions, ones that are aligned with corporate and personal priorities, and draw on the discipline required to see every project exceed expectations. 

Take Charge of Your Life and Reach Your Potential

Most people figure out how to get by, survive, and do “just fine.”  
  • Most people figure out how to get by, survive, and do “just fine.”  
  • What they don’t figure out is how to truly excel.  Why do people get lost, dragged down and end up suffering?  What prevents some people from reaching their fullest potential?  After decades of observing Soldiers from new recruits in the Army to highest level generals, I’ve realized that many people just don’t understand their own strengths and weaknesses, they don’t see their inherent biases, and they don’t examine their preferred styles of communication, thinking and decision-making.  Because they do not really understand the strengths and weaknesses of their own preferred styles, they don’t leverage what they already have and they fail to reach a level of excellence in whatever it is that they choose to do.   
  • Learn from a top General who thrived through 37 years of service in the Army, including more than five years in combat. General Buchanan led the military response through many of our nation’s most challenging humanitarian disasters and national crises.  This experienced leader is now mentoring others to help them get the benefit of his hard-earned wisdom on how to build and maintain career excellence along with a healthy, happy personal life.  

Here’s what the audience will gain from General Buchanan’s presentation: 

  • Simple strategies to uncover personal strengths and weaknesses, inherent biases, and preferred styles of communication, influence, and decision-making. These memorable tips will allow everyone to experience greater self-awareness for the rest of their lives, if they apply them. 
  • How to realistically assess one’s strengths and weaknesses and find practical ways to to leverage the talents of others to reinforce the strengths and counter the weaknesses 
  • A clever, personalized system of self-development that unlocks unique individual potential and empowers each person to drive themselves toward exceptional performance 
  • A combat-proven method to manage competing demands, live in concert with personal priorities, and maintain the health needed to reach individual excellence 
  • When audience members see their own possible future differently, and are shown the skills they can implement to realistically reach those goals, they’ll be inspired and motivated to achieve the incredible potential level of excellence that each person has. 

About Jeffrey S. Buchanan

Jeff’s rare and unique leadership experience and training comes from hard-won time on battlefields and in crisis situations.  Both the Secretaries of Defense and the Army recognized Jeff for his exceptional leadership and critical contributions to national security.  The Surgeon General of the United States and the Governor of Puerto Rico presented Jeff special awards for his selfless service and leadership successes in saving lives in Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. 

Questions? Contact us anytime:

(800) 278-8706 ext. 711 

WKeller@KellerMedia.com
Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

Videos

“Highly recommend General Buchanan if you’re ready to create a culture in your organization of servant leadership unlike any other you’ve known before! General Buchanan spoke to our entire football staff at Texas AM Commerce and left us with ideas/tools that were able to be implemented in our organization to help our players immediately!”
Billy Riebock- Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach at Texas A&M University-Commerce

Speaker Request Form

An Inside Look at a Thriving Literary Agency & Speakers Bureau

News & Events

Here’s what’s going on right now at Keller Media.  We’re so proud of our authors and speakers!

Newsletter

Join Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter, the Trailblazer Tribune, to get insider access to what’s going on now in the publishing and speaking industries, what’s hot and what’s not, fast-breaking calls for proposals from editors, media opportunities, tips, insights, and lots more. 

©2025 Keller Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved