Chris Kiklas

Hi, I'm Chris Kiklas

I am a transformational, goal-oriented Product Executive with extensive leadership experience in Product Management, International Operations, Service, Support, Marketing, Sales and Project Management.

Using big picture perspective, process optimization, and sound motivation techniques, I help people and companies solve complex problems, refine their vision, and unlock potential they may not have known was there.

The way we think about work is fundamentally broken.

With some exceptions, people generally look at work as an means of survival. We have a list of things we need to live: food, shelter, transportation, entertainment. We check all of the necessity boxes, then use our time away from work to “escape” the hamster wheel that we have created for ourselves.

Changing Our Views on Work

We focus on getting through life, rather than truly experiencing it.

What if things could be different? What if every single one of us found purpose in the way we earned money? What if, instead of surviving and looking to fulfill those base needs, we instead looked towards a higher goal, something that we were driven to accomplish?

I aim to change the way we think about work and our purpose in life.

My goal is to help create a world where each of us experiences joy and passion in our work. A world where we seek and find (and sometimes create!) a vocation that compliments our personal life purpose while providing the funds we need to explore our deepest passions.

There is more to life than cycles of meaningless work and escape?

It is possible to experience a shift in work and life with a single conversation. The challenge is to keep that conversation alive, and our vision and passion in the forefront. The more we have these conversations about work and about what matters, the more change we can realize.

My passion is to transform the world by revolutionizing our approach to work.

Conversations, research, exploration, openness, transparency, products, and innovation will all lead us to a new future of work.

Download my Resume

Want to know more? Check out my resume.

What People Say About Me

Chris Kiklas was probably my favorite NextStep Solutions Client, since we moved our company to Houston in 2005. He engaged us when he was President of EmLogis. From the beginning, he was a "Unicorn", blending a great grasp of technology and strategic planning with excellent Sales and communications skills. Chris was able to positively interact with customers and all levels of employees, regardless of seniority and expertise. I saw him turnaround an under-performing group, while increasing revenues and cutting expenses. As a Consultant to him, I appreciated how he held us accountable for metrics, while holding himself accountable for results as well. He's great at what he does, and it would be an honor to work for him in the future.

Jack WarkenthienCEO/Founder of NextStep Solutions & Certified Vistage Speaker

Chris is truly an inspirational leader. I got to know him when I made a career decision to choose a boss and not a company, a mentor and not any particular industry. Chris is detail-oriented but never loses sight of the bigger picture. His situational awareness is exceptional, social skills are top-notch and his problem-solving prowess is both enviable and constructively processual - one I try to emulate as much as I can. As a direct report to him, it is hard to imagine a more ideal superior than Mr. Kiklas.

Emmanuel Aladin "Mans" D. TumandaAngel Investments | Government Relations

Chris is a very talented and multifaceted individual. He has skills to manage general administration, finance, accounting, product support, professional services, operations, marketing, business development, sales, product management, product development and investor relationships for a startup companies.

Ravil DesaiEntrepreneur

Chris is a great leader and a pleasure to work with. He is a good listener and knows how to bring out the best in his team in order to achieve big goals. He is knowledgeable in healthcare operations, creative in business development, and a subject matter expert in staff scheduling software consulting and deployment .

Anja F. TimmermanMSHI, CPHIMS

In my 20 years I have seen enough product leaders and they essentially fall into 4 quadrants – no vision/no execution, big vision/little execution, no vision/some execution, great vision/great execution. I put Chris in the latter category 100%. Based on my team’s work with him, he is flawless in zooming in and out when talking about the future and he delivers. Every roadmap for Ready WFM and Analytics we have shown to customers in a webinar or on stage has been delivered as promised and on time. How our Product Marketing team works with Chris has become THE prototype of how we engage with other product leaders in Ready and the enterprise side. Most importantly, I have never seen a more passionate evangelist, advocate, and defender of the Ready portfolio across UKG.

Jayson SabaProduct Marketing Leader

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