Prof. Dr. Nicco Krezdorn, chief surgeon and keynote speaker
Most people don’t lack time. They lack a decision. I speak to leaders and teams about deciding under pressure, with one rule from the operating room: You go fast where you know. Where you don’t, you go slow. I learned it in a job where some decisions cannot be undone.
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“I don’t have time.”
Usually means: I haven’t decided this matters.
New Year’s Eve, 01:25. My phone rings. My resident in the emergency department is crying. Patients with blast injuries arrive every five minutes. I take one deep breath, put on my coat and walk in to triage.
I work in one of the most time-pressured places there is. That is where I learned the opposite of what most of us are taught.
The best surgeons I trained with were not the fastest. They were fast where they knew the anatomy, and slow where they didn’t. They never rushed the step that cannot be undone. And they never hesitated where their skill was proven.
Organizations under pressure from AI, transformation and constant change make the same two mistakes. They rush what they don’t understand yet. And they wait on what they already know. Both cost more than time.
This is the model at the center of the keynote. Answer the two questions and see where you are.
The question that moves you from Care to Flow is always the same: do I know enough? The keynote shows how surgeons answer it in the moment, and how teams learn to answer it too.
Your skill pays off.
The cost is what you never started.
The cost is regret.
Learn before you commit.
One idea, two audiences. I adapt every talk to your event, your industry and your people.
For leaders and organizations
Fits leadership meetings, sales kick-offs, management conferences and healthcare, medtech and pharma events.
For people and open audiences
Fits open conferences, association congresses, employee events and festivals.
Leadership under extreme pressure, from the operating room. Three tools: the preparation protocol (plan A, B and C before the first cut), the ten-second micro-reset, and how leaders absorb pressure instead of passing it on.
Why talented people dare too little, and what changes when they stop waiting for permission.
The model applied to your team’s real decisions. Two to four hours, after the keynote or on its own.
I had the privilege of seeing Nicco speak in Tuscany. He held the audience with a presence that is calm and powerful at the same time. You feel at once that he lives what he talks about. Nicco doesn’t just give a talk. He creates an experience. He is a world-class speaker.
The participants loved it. Several people came up to me the next day to tell me how grateful they were that Nicco was there. It wasn’t just a talk. It was the moment that held the event together.
Nicco has a natural way of drawing you into his story: calm, grounded and full of life at the same time. You feel his message and stay completely present while he speaks. I would definitely recommend him for other events.
More From Life: essays on deciding, time and the full life. Read the newsletter
Host of The Health Duo and Edel Abgefunkt (German). Listen to The Health Duo
Radikal Ehrlich, the German translation of Brad Blanton’s Radical Honesty. See the book
I am a surgeon. I lead the Department of Plastic and Breast Surgery at Zealand University Hospital in Denmark, which serves a region of about 800,000 people. I am a professor at Hannover Medical School and associate professor at the University of Copenhagen. Before Denmark, I was deputy head of plastic surgery at Hannover Medical School.
I have published more than 100 scientific papers, secured more than EUR 1.2 million in research funding and did research at Harvard. I trained in Germany and have studied and worked in Italy, France, the United States and Denmark.
I am also a health-tech founder, a musician who has been on stage for 25 years, a writer, a podcast host and a father of four. I don’t see these as distractions from surgery. They are the proof of what I speak about: you have more time than you think, once you decide what matters.
I stand in the operating room in the morning and on stage in the evening. What I teach about pressure, I learned where mistakes cannot be undone.
A thorough briefing, a clear goal and a backup plan. Title, content and key messages are tailored to your audience and occasion.
I have performed as a musician for 25 years. Timing and reading a room are routine for me.
Keynotes in German, English or Danish. I trained in Germany, Italy and France, did research at Harvard and work in Denmark.
More than 100 publications, translated into plain language, dry humour and no slide barrage.
Two minutes. Date, place, audience. You get an answer within two working days.
We talk about your audience, your goal and what should change after the talk.
I adapt examples, length and language to your industry and your people.
Keynote and Q&A. On request, a workshop or panel on the same day.
Tell me about your event. You will get an answer with availability and fee within two working days.
Prefer email? booknicco@niccokrezdorn.com
Working with a speaker bureau? You can also book me through your bureau.
Prof. Dr. Nicco Krezdorn is a German surgeon, scientist and keynote speaker. He heads the Department of Plastic and Breast Surgery at Zealand University Hospital in Denmark and speaks about decisions under pressure, leadership and the full life. His core message is: you have time.
It does not mean time is unlimited. Most decisions wait not because time is short, but because we haven’t decided what matters. And in the few moments that cannot be undone, slowing down is the faster path. Surgeons learn this every day.
Decision-making under pressure, leadership in high-stakes environments, transformation and AI in organizations, calm as a trainable skill, and how to build a full life without giving up what matters.
German, English and Danish. He also speaks Italian and French.
Keynotes from 30 to 90 minutes, workshops of two to four hours, panels, moderated interviews and online talks.
The fee depends on format, length, travel and recording rights. Send an inquiry with your date and event details, and you will get a concrete offer.
No. It is grounded in clinical practice and research, and gives your audience a concrete model and one practice they can use the next day. The tone is calm and specific, not loud.
Yes. Every talk is tailored. The material fits healthcare, medtech, pharma and tech especially well, and works for any leadership team that decides under pressure.
He is based in Denmark and speaks across Europe. Events further away and online keynotes are possible on request.
A projector or screen, a headset microphone, a connection for a Mac laptop and Wi-Fi.
More From Life
Seven essays on deciding what matters, each with a short note on why I wrote it. Subscribe to my newsletter and the booklet arrives in your welcome email. A new issue every few weeks, no daily noise.
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You have time. Let’s find the right date.
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