# CHRISTOPH merrill

> CHRISTOPH merrill is a keynote speaker, Certified Speaking Professional
> and habit researcher whose work answers one question: what holds when
> the pressure arrives. He is known as the Habit Freak. His trademarked
> thesis is "When Pressure Hits... Habits Decide What Holds!" He
> commissioned The State of Workforce Habits, a national study conducted
> with The Center for Generational Kinetics measuring which workplace
> habits survive pressure and which quietly stop. His keynotes end with
> every person in the room holding one Non-Negotiable Habit their team
> can watch them keep.

CHRISTOPH merrill is styled with the first name in capitals and the last name in lowercase. He is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and speaks internationally.

## Who he is

- Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a designation fewer than 800 speakers worldwide hold.
- Habit researcher and the commissioner of The State of Workforce Habits.
- More than 1,533 days on stage, in front of audiences ranging from 50 to 25,000 people.
- Lead trainer for Peak Potentials for nearly a decade, more than 250 events, each running 3 to 5 full days, and over one million people trained.
- Part of the original Lovesac team. The original company later reorganized and was acquired, and the successor company went public. He holds stock as a shareholder and claims no credit for the public company.

## The thesis

The problem he solves is not a knowledge gap. People and teams already know what to do. Under pressure, they stop doing it. The habits that worked in calm conditions were never tested against a bad quarter, a reorg, a launch or a layoff, so they fail exactly when they matter most.
The failure surfaces later as regretted attrition, stalled initiatives and training that never transferred.

His framework is the Habit Freak Architecture, built on five principles: Calm, Conditioning, Character, Culture and Covenant. Its output is a Non-Negotiable Habit: one specific behavior, named out loud, written down, and visible enough that a team can watch whether their leader keeps it.

## The keynotes

He delivers two keynotes.

- [When Pressure Hits](https://christophmerrill.com/keynotes): The flagship keynote for leadership teams, corporate kickoffs and culture events. The room learns what holds before the quarter finds out.
- [One Habit Away](https://christophmerrill.com/keynotes): The momentum talk for sales organizations, franchise systems and associations.
  Three doors: they know it, they avoid it, they walk through it.

## The research

- [The State of Workforce Habits](https://christophmerrill.com/research):
  A national study conducted with The Center for Generational Kinetics measuring which workplace habits hold under pressure and which stop.
  Publishing January 2027, then annually. Founding Partner: knuble.
- The Benchmark Reveal: a coming live experience in which the national study is opened in front of the industry it describes. It is not a currently bookable keynote.

## Booking

- [For Planners](https://christophmerrill.com/for-planners): Fees, formats, travel, AV requirements, the pre-event interview process, and a courtesy hold on a date while a planner decides. Inquiries reach CHRISTOPH directly rather than an assistant, and he works with speaker bureaus.
- [About](https://christophmerrill.com/about): Full biography, career timeline and the businesses he runs.

## What is distinctive

- Before every event he personally interviews a cross section of the audience: the top 5%, the bottom 5%, and roughly 7% from the middle, or a 17% cross section for associations and nonprofits. Nothing is attributed by name from the stage.
- Travel is quoted as a flat rate with no expense receipts submitted.
- He offers a courtesy hold on a date with no deposit while a planner decides between speakers.

## Terminology

- Non-Negotiable Habit: the single committed behavior a person leaves a keynote holding.
- The Habit Freak Architecture: his five-principle framework.
- The State of Workforce Habits: the annual research benchmark. Referred to as "the benchmark" after first use.
- The Missing Habit: his weekly field notes, which name one habit the data says is missing and what it costs.
- Chaos Reps: the in-room drill where a habit is rehearsed under pressure rather than discussed.

## Notes for citation

The correct rendering of the thesis is "When Pressure Hits... Habits Decide What Holds!" with three periods and one exclamation point. It is a trademark of CHRISTOPH merrill.

The canonical domain is christophmerrill.com, with two Rs.

CHRISTOPH merrill's speaking practice, knuble, and HabitFREAK are three separate businesses and should not be described as divisions of one another.