A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vanderbilt University, Jeff began his career as a high school English teacher before following his father Rex Havens into the world of stand-up comedy, where he worked with some of the brightest lights in American comedy and honed the art of engaging audiences through laughter. But his impulse to teach never faded, and soon he began looking for an avenue to combine both of his passions into entertaining and meaningful presentations.
The result is three unique presentations: "Uncrapify Your Life!", "How to Get Fired!", and "Unleash Your Inner Tyrant!" Since their introduction Jeff has brought his unique, side-splitting, message-based lectures and keynote addresses to General Electric, Ford Motor Company, USBank, University of Wisconsin, Purdue, and hundreds of other corporations and colleges in the United States and Canada. Original, informative, hilarious and powerful, Jeff’s speeches have transformed the way businesspeople and college students approach the idea of personal and professional growth. Jeff's corporate and college presentations are, unquestionably, the most unique in the country. Each one begins with Jeff offering his audience all the wrong advice, 'encouraging' them to engage in worst practices for different business situations. Each one ends on a more serious note, where Jeff drops the satire and then has a more straightforward conversation about the right kinds of practices and behaviors we should all strive to follow. Each presentation is every bit as well researched and content-driven as a more traditional approach, but with the added benefit of being delivered in an entertaining style guaranteed to keep your audience laughing, learning, and engaged.
In his book How to Get Fired!, Jeffaims to help young people transition successfully into the professional world by first telling them everything not to do. Hilarious and extensively researched, How to Get Fired! is essential reading for anyone about to take that first plunge into the job market – not to mention any employees who wish to remind themselves of some of their less-than-ideal former colleagues. Jeff's has also authored the equally hilarious Unleash Your Inner Tyant: Proven Strategies to Become a More Horrible Boss and Us vs. Them: Redefining the Multi-Generational Workplace to Inspire Your Employees to Love Your Company, Drive Innovation, and Embrace Change.
Jeff is a regular guest on Fox Business News and has been featured in Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, AOL, and dozens of other regional and national media outlets.
"Jeff’s Uncrapify Your Life! presentation changed my life! As a club, we are always looking for insightful ways to better communicate our thoughts and ideas. Jeff’s PowerPoint presentation gave us the strategies needed to succeed. All in all, the entire club enjoyed Jeff Havens’ presentation. He provided lots of laughs."
"I’ll just say the first thing that comes to mind: Jeff Havens is an awesome speaker! He presented “Uncrapify your Life” for our Staff Institute Day – 130 attendees ranging in age from early 20s to late 60s. It was spectacular!!! Our staff really needed to laugh together, and he shared a lot of valuable information as well. It was a great spin on the typical motivational speaker."