Dennis Geelen

Business Coach | Keynote Speaker | Author of The Happy Accidents newsletter and The Accidental Solopreneur book

I’ve spent most of my career helping people navigate change.

Sometimes that meant working with leadership teams and organizations.
Sometimes it meant coaching solopreneurs who were building something new after an unexpected turn.
And more recently, it’s meant telling true stories that remind us how unpredictable, strange, and meaningful real life can be.

At the core of everything I do is one idea:
people don’t change because of frameworks alone, they change because of perspective.

What I Do

I’m a speaker, author, and consultant who helps individuals and organizations make sense of uncertainty, transition, and unexpected opportunity.

My work focuses on:
 • Leadership and change
 • Human-centered decision making
 • Serendipity, timing, and “happy accidents”
 • Stories that challenge neat narratives about success and control

I’m currently building The Uncanny, a storytelling project exploring true stories that sound impossible but actually happened.

Who I Work With
 • Event organizers looking for keynote talks that are thoughtful, grounded, and story-driven
 • Organizations and nonprofits navigating change, leadership transitions, or cultural shifts
 • Individuals who want practical clarity through focused, one-hour coaching conversations

(I’m no longer actively promoting large programs or long-term coaching, but I still take on select conversations and workshops when there’s a strong fit.)

What I’ve Created
 • Author of The Zero In Formula and The Accidental Solopreneur
 • Host and creator of story-driven newsletters, podcasts, and short-form video content
 • Speaker on topics including change, leadership, serendipity, and starting before you feel ready

Want to Connect?

If you’re reaching out about:
 • Speaking engagements
 • A focused workshop or session
 • A thoughtful one-on-one coaching conversation

Feel free to DM me.

And if you’re someone who loves true stories that make you pause and say, “That can’t be real”…
you’ll probably enjoy what I’m building next.

Founder

Coaching and mentoring to help you start and scale your one-person business.

Most leadership training gets this backwards.

We teach people how to manage others…
before they know how to manage themselves.

And then we wonder why teams struggle.

There’re some uncomfortable truths we don’t like to acknowledge when it comes to leadership: 

- If you can’t manage your own reactions,
you can’t manage conflict.

- If you don’t understand your own personality, you’ll misread everyone else’s.

- If you don’t take responsibility for your results, you’ll blame your team.

- If you can’t prioritize your own time,
you’ll create chaos for everyone around you.

Contrary to what we like to think, leadership doesn’t start with strategy. 

It starts with self-awareness.

In my 12-week leadership coaching program through Zero In, the first four weeks are entirely about leading yourself.

It’s the foundation for everything that comes afterwards (where we then focus on leading individuals and then leading teams).

In those first four weeks, we dig into personality, stress triggers,
how others actually experience you,
how you respond under pressure,
and how you prioritize what matters.

Because once you can lead yourself…
leading others becomes exponentially easier.

If you’re serious about becoming the kind of leader people actually want to follow,
start there.

Speaker | Author | Consultant - Guiding organizations through leadership transitions and complexity

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Some of the most damaging leaders I’ve seen weren’t incompetent.

They were unregulated.

Don’t get me wrong, they were smart,  strategic, and experienced.

But they couldn’t manage themselves.

They couldn’t control their reactions in tense moments.

They took feedback personally.

They blamed circumstances when results slipped.

They said “yes” to everything and then created chaos trying to deliver.

And their teams paid the price.

Leadership isn’t just about vision or communication.

It’s about emotional control.
Self-awareness.
Responsibility.
Discipline with your time and energy.

If you can’t lead your own habits, emotions, and priorities, you end up outsourcing the consequences to everyone around you.

And that’s when trust erodes.

Have you ever worked for a leader who struggled to lead themselves?

What did that look like and how did it affect the team?

Is it your goals?
Is it your habits?
Is it your purpose?

Or is it actually none of those things?

The Legal Profession’s Top Ghostwriter | 25M + views on LinkedIn | Creative Director at CONTENDER | Co-Founder of UNrationed | Author of In the Creative Arena

If you're an attorney, the people you want to talk to—potential clients, referral sources, and talent—are all on this platform. 

And while your traditional marketing channels are intensely competitive, the feeds of the people you want to reach on LinkedIn are ripe for the picking. 

We're still early in the content creation game on this platform, which has more than a billion users worldwide and ~200 million in the United States. 

Very few attorneys or law firms have even made an effort to stand out.

CONTENDER helps attorneys produce LinkedIn content that resonates with the people you want to reach, so they can Know, Like, and Trust you.


ARE YOU READY TO...

- Become a trusted AUTHORITY in your market?
- Grow your audience and dramatically increase your reach on LinkedIn? 
- Build a recognized PERSONAL BRAND?

🟦 GHOSTWRITING SERVICES 
- Our done-for-you LinkedIn content produces results for growing your presence and your firm. 

🟦 LINKED LAWYER BOOTCAMP
- I’ve developed the premier training program for lawyers looking to level up on LinkedIn. 

About Me 

I’m a former lawyer and current serial entrepreneur based in a forest north of Toronto, where I live with my wife and 2 little monsters. 

I’m the author of In The Creative Arena: Why Creativity Is Key To Building Your Future.

I’m also a co-founder of: 
CONTENDER (www.contenderllc.com)
Unrationed (www.unrationed.com)

Anthony Albrecht

I know it's a goofy thing to say...
But LinkedIn changed my life. 

I ignored the platform through my 12 years as a practicing attorney. 

It was only after I left the practice in late 2021 that I started paying more attention to the platform. 

Watching what folks like Darren McKee and Robb Gilbear were doing, I realized LinkedIn wasn't what I thought it was...

The most boring social media network on the planet. 
The world's biggest online bulletin board. 
The place to stash my digital resume. 

I started to see LinkedIn as a place to: 
• express myself genuinely 
• meet interesting people 
• create opportunities. 

I didn't have my own business then. That came later. 

What set me on that trajectory was recognizing that I'd learned LinkedIn the wrong way. 

And if I approached this platform differently, I could get different results. 

LinkedIn empowered me to build CONTENDER, a business that employs 6 full-time people. 
We're going to break 7 figures in revenue this year. 
And we're just getting warmed up. 

I told the fuller story of how LinkedIn changed my life (and it's potential to change yours) in the first video on my new YouTube channel. 
https://lnkd.in/gFyRQ6a3

If you'd be willing to subscribe to my channel on how to magnetize your LinkedIn presence, I'm in your debt. 
Bonus points for leaving a comment. ;-) 

Has LinkedIn changed your life (yet)?

Tony Albrecht

“The Yoda of LinkedIn” for Lawyers | Helping you go from invisible to unforgettable out here.

There has never been a better time to start posting on LinkedIn than right now. 

If that strikes you as the self-serving talk of a guy who sells LinkedIn stuff, fair enough. 

But I truly believe that. 
Here’s why. 

People love lamenting:
• How reach has dropped. 
• How terrible the algorithm is.
• How hard it is to get engagement. 

They’re almost always saying some version of—

My posts are not getting enough attention. 

That’s understandable. Indeed, organic reach appears down in a ton of circumstances. 

But organic reach is not actually the point. 

Nobody pays the rent with organic reach. 
Nobody buys a truck with likes and comments. 
Nobody covers their kids’ tuition with impressions. 

We all want Linky to shower us with organic reach. 
But reach is not the real goal. 

What we’re really after out here…

Is opportunities. 

New clients. 
The next hire. 
More customers. 
The next job offer.
More awareness that you’re the go-to expert in your domain and market. 

If I offered you 1 million impressions or 1 new client, which are you taking? 

I’m taking the client every time. 

And I don’t actually NEED more impressions to land more clients. 

What I can use is MORE people starting to pay attention to LinkedIn for the fist time. 

The more people who do that, the harder it might be to get organic reach. 

But that’s fine. Because it also means there are more people plugged into the network. 

Each of those people is another source of potential opportunities. 

This is why I’m not worried about the drop in reach. 
It’s corresponding with the LinkedIn network getting stronger. 

And if you’re consistently depositing your energy into this network, you’re building up your social capital here. 

That social capital has never been more valuable than it is today. 
And I’ll bet it all that social capital here will be more valuable a year from now than it is today.

That’s why I’ve never been as bullish on LinkedIn as I am right now. 

How about you? 



------
I've got 12 spots left for my LinkedIn Foundations Workshop next Friday, Feb 27th. 

You can find the info here: 
https://lnkd.in/eKD9dcyn

A new client has seen 128,485 impressions from her first 4 posts. My favorite part about this—

I’ve had very little to do with her fast start. 

Over the last 6 months, I've spent a lot more of my time coaching people on LinkedIn. Both clients and my team. 

And nobody has gotten more of that coaching attention than Jess Sargus. 

When Jess joined us in September, she had never written a post for somebody else. 

Our corest of core values at CONTENDER is—

We are all players. 

Everybody here wants the ball.
Everybody wants to make good things happen when we get the ball. 

And we understand that the key to delivering when we get the ball is to prepare. 

Jess is a consummate player. 

Humble. Capable. Driven. 

In less than 6 months, she has gone from 
• Beginner to 
• Very good at what she does. 

It's been awesome to see. 

And for this client specifically, Jess squared these posts up well by: 
• listening to our client sharing stories and opinions she really cares about; 
• shaping them into aerodynamic posts; and 
• crafting detailed, evocative hooks. 

If you're working on developing your skills out here as a writer, creator, and digital networker—

Focus on getting reps.
The results will take care of themselves. 


---------
10 of the 25 spots still available for my LinkedIn Foundations Workshop this Friday. 

If you're interested in leveling up out here:
https://lnkd.in/eKD9dcyn

taplio

The Battle

Dennis Geelen

Anthony Albrecht

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDennis Geelen's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAnthony Albrecht's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Dennis Geelen

Anthony Albrecht

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dennis Geelen's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAnthony Albrecht's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDennis Geelen's LinkedIn Performance