Keynotes · Team Offsites · Executive Sessions
Music is the fastest way
to build trust.
A hit songwriter and a global tech executive use the universal language of music to turn rooms full of people into teams that listen, trust and deliver.
Music makes better teams.Better culture.
Photo credits: ICF Converge
NASA · IBM · VeriSign
Mark’s executive track, from the Space Shuttle to the internet
ICF Converge
Featured speakers in San Diego and Paris
“Hooch”
Craig’s hit single, featured in The Waterboy
5,000+ hours
Mark’s coaching time with leaders at every level
Impact
The language of music builds bridges.
Songs get past titles, time zones and small talk. In minutes, strangers become teammates and teammates start really listening to each other.
“All rated it 5 out of 5… so 5!!!”
Connie D. · Workshop facilitator
“My favorite session in over a year.”
REF attendee
“Probably the best moderated offsite I have attended”
SANDS CAPITAL TEAM MEMBER
“What fun. Excellent science and application and openness. Thank you for being human stuff.”
ICF Converge Paris attendee
“This session was amazing! They could have been keynote speakers.”
ICF Converge San Diego attendee
Who we’ve worked with
From the Space Station to the soundstage.
Leaders and teams across technology, finance, government, education and entertainment.
Fannie Mae · Freddie Mac · Sands Capital · Geisinger · UDig · Warner Music · Red Light Management · Department of Defense · Department of Health & Human Services · Pew Charitable Trusts · National Association of Educators · UVA Darden · Virginia Commonwealth University · James Madison University · NC State Parks · NC Department of Forestry
The duo
A hit songwriter and a rocket-science executive walk into a boardroom…
Mark and Craig met in 2011 in James Madison University’s MBA program — Mark was teaching, Craig was a student — and bonded over music and leadership. Today they bring both to the same stage.
Mark and Craig on stage at ICF Converge
Hands up: the whole room joining in
Global tech executive · ICF MCC coach
Mark K. House
Mark’s first career was spent proving things in orbit. He helped produce the first experiment to directly measure cosmic radiation’s effect on semiconductor memory, then built the lab of advanced technologies that won NASA’s computing systems for the Space Station — the Intel 386 his team pioneered is still flying nearly forty years later.
From there came the enterprise: supercomputing at IBM, then leadership roles at Fannie Mae and through the restatement at Freddie Mac, then VeriSign, where he merged mobile, internet and security business units into a single engineering organization. His teams worked across nine time zones and several countries — in the years before video calls — and were recognized again and again for innovation and speed to market while costs came down.
That led him out of the hard tech work and into the harder work of people. One of roughly 2,300 Master Certified Coaches worldwide, he has developed 1,000+ leaders and hundreds of teams, and teaches in the MBA programs at Darden, Duke and JMU. He writes the daily Leading with Music blog, played bass in a bluegrass gospel group for 15 years, and owns way too many guitars.
ICF Master Certified CoachGeorgetown Leadership CoachingFive Behaviors of a Cohesive TeamTeam Effectiveness ModelPositive IntelligenceDesigning Your LifeCertified anthym ConsultantMS Electrical Engineering — Rice
Hit songwriter · ICF ACC coach
Craig Honeycutt
Craig’s first career was spent onstage. As founder and frontman of the band Everything, he co-wrote “Hooch,” the hit single featured in Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy, and logged more than 10,000 hours in front of audiences ranging from one person to 80,000. He went on to write songs for EMI Music Publishing and spent 12 years building an independent music business. His music now streams in 100+ countries, with media clients including Disney, ESPN, ABC, Sony, the NFL, CBS and Warner Bros.
From there came a decade as a digital strategist and consultant, working with leaders in government, education, energy, technology, media and wellness. When one of the largest wildfires in North Carolina history threatened a client’s ranch and community, Craig served as Crisis PR Director, helping leadership communicate with clarity and calm while conditions changed by the hour. As chairman of the Friends of Jockey’s Ridge in North Carolina, he helped grow the group’s funding 15-fold and produced the park’s 50th anniversary, one of the largest celebrations in NC State Parks history.
That led him from the stage to the work of helping people lead. Through Aim Upward, Craig coaches executives and teams, with a particular focus on leaders in music, media and the creative industries. He brings a songwriter’s ear for the hook: the one line a team will actually remember. He is also a certified yoga instructor for people in recovery, which grounds his coaching in resilience and presence. He lives on the Outer Banks, where the stage is smaller but the audience is just as honest.
ICF ACCEMI Music PublishingMBA, Leadership & Innovation — JMUFounder, Aim UpwardY12SR & Trauma-Informed YogaMyWorldView Certified
What we do
Three ways to tune up your team.
In person or virtual, for a ballroom of hundreds or a table of eight.
Side A, track 1
Keynote
A 60-minute, in-person presentation that blends crowd work, research, stories, practical tools — and the whole room singing.
Conferences · all-hands · coaching summits
Side A, track 2
Team workshops & offsites
A series of one to four workshops that use music, research and executive tools to build a stronger team. Entertain, educate, engage and empower.
New, merged, remote and hybrid teams
Side A, track 3
Executive sessions & coaching
Working sessions and ongoing coaching for leadership teams, led by ICF-certified coaches with real executive miles — a place for leaders to keep improving.
C-suite and senior leadership teams
In action
From the main stage to the record table.
Watch
See a room of strangers turn into a band.
A few minutes of Mark and Craig on stage — the music, the crowd and the leadership lesson in between.
Music to make your team stronger
Music is a complete tool for growing stronger teams and culture. We bring the research, the case studies and the practical tools — and help you build music into meetings, onboarding and communication so it lasts beyond one event.
Executives who love music
Music is a powerful, universal — and executive — language. If you love music, you’re one of us. Let’s work together.
Bring the music to your next meeting.
Tell us about your team, your event and the room. We’ll bring the setlist.
A collaboration of
Keynotes · team offsites · executive sessions