I’m obsessed with the subtle, often minuscule changes lift great talent, to world class talent.
Mark Dobson is a performance adviser to over 100 elite talents across sport, business, and entertainment — and one of the few people on Earth who knows exactly what it takes to win in any arena.
Athletes under Mark’s guidance have won medals at three Olympic Games, conquered the Winter X-Games, broken seven world records, and qualified for World Championships in seven different sports. In business, his clients have closed billion-dollar deals, halved sales cycles, and engineered cultural shifts that made high performance contagious across entire companies.
As a founding member of a groundbreaking university in New York City — praised by President Barack Obama and later modelled by the Gates Foundation to create 63 new institutions — Mark has proven his ability to scale genius, not just unlock it.
His clients include powerhouses like NAB, CBA, Nestlé, Specialized Bikes, Energy Australia, and Bega. Many have kept Mark on for 3–10 years, citing not just his results, but his rare ability to permanently upgrade the way their teams think, act, and perform.
Grant Hackett put it best:
“Mark shrinks what is insurmountable into the activities that really matter. He narrows your focus.”
Mark is known for his no-BS candor, cheeky humour, and storytelling that grips even the most senior executive. His keynotes don’t just inspire — they provide a roadmap for action. Drawing from the boardroom, the battlefield of business, and the world of elite sport, Mark shows leaders how to build performance cultures that actually work — and teams that can handle the pressure of greatness.
Whether you’re chasing your next billion, your next gold, or your next breakthrough, Mark Dobson will show you how to get there — and enjoy the chaos along the way.
Talking Points
Switching Off Isn’t Weak – It’s World-Class
Learn how:Switching Off Isn’t Weak – It’s World-Class
- Recovery is the secret weapon of high performers
- Busyness is a false badge of honour
- True rest creates creative breakthroughs
- Boundaries train your team (and clients) how to treat you
- Your diary must reflect both performance and recovery
Positivity, Performance and Leadership In Tough Climates
Learn how to:Positivity, Performance and Leadership In Tough Climates
- Mentally and practically respond to uncertainty
- Remain invested and actively aligned with the vision
- Establish a resilient culture that will deliver on the vision
- Coach individuals to outcomes
How to Create and be an Elite Team
Learn:How to Create and be an Elite Team
- The 3 traits that all elite teams are built on
- 4 low-effort behaviours that create elite teams fast
- How to collaborate with trust
- Tools for leading accountability
These strategies are so simple and so effective that you will see them alive in your organisation for years.
The High Performance Diary - The Potent Use of Time
Learn how to:The High Performance Diary - The Potent Use of Time
- Build a diary that delivers uncommon results
- Reclaim your calendar as a strategic tool
- Navigate the endless meetings to instead be potent
- Slow time down by mastering the three time zones
- Restructure a workweek to enable performance
- Reenergise quickly
High Performance Sales Skills
Learn how to:High Performance Sales Skills
- Use the four habits of elite salespeople
- Operate and elite sales diary
- Open and close deals in a predictable way
- Refine value propositions down to 3 words
- Build off the back of a bad year
Applying a World Class Approach to Being Specified
Mark Dobson is a long-time advisor to over 100 elite performers across sport, entertainment, and business. His athletes have medalled across 4 Olympics, multiple world championships and set 7 world records. While in business, clients have closed billion-dollar deals, halved the time it takes to close a deal and reduced specification time by 90%.Applying a World Class Approach to Being Specified
Seven years ago, he was asked to turn his focus to the way manufacturers have their products specified in the construction industry. What resulted is the most sophisticated, elegant, and cost-reducing specification software the industry has ever seen.
In this presentation, hear the approach Mark takes to create a world-class outcome. And see it applied to surging revenue and specifications for manufacturers.
Key Takeaways:
- What is a “World Class” approach?
- Distilling specification down to core issues
- The seven key metrics to track when changing the specification process
- Knowing what your customer wants but won’t ask for
- Creating a sustainable single source of truth
- Gaining rapid improvement without bottlenecks
- Resourcing a sales team for a higher return on effort
- Allowing your customer to buy from any platform (Revit, ArchiCAD and other software.)
Video
Mark Dobson | High Performance & Leadership Expert | Saxton Speakers
Dobbo's specific talent is taking people from good to great. He knows exactly what levers to pull to create the change you are looking for and his impact lasts. His clients are elite performers from every sphere - true outliers; CEOs, world champion athletes, innovators, and pioneers. As a result Mark has become one of Australia's preeminent trend-spotters for success, and a go-to strategist for any organisation serious about lifting performance to the next level. And, as a bonus, he is very entertaining.Mark Dobson | Saxton Speakers
Mark Dobson | Mid Year and Missing Sales Targets?
Mark has a clear understanding of the mind-set that is required in order to gain the edge needed for optimal performance. ... keep reading Australian Olympic Swimming Coach
Mark's way gets people excited by the change and always concludes with clear fix to the problem. In my view it is indeed a rare gift. In all of my corporate experience Mark is truly one of its kind.
The transition between planning to delivery was a great experience with Mark and the delivery elevated from my expectations which was a nice uplift.