Even if it
was free
I'm Paul Russell.
I help people become more courageous
when solving their problems
through innovation and technology.
what do i do
what am i up to
Decades of representing companies at trade events and business shows did not prepare me for my own 'go at having a banner and table'.
In reality it was a fantastic experience.
My goal was to meet new people in my local area and to push myself outside of a comfort zone and I suppose feel a tad exposed. No longer did I have a brand to protect what I said to other people. No longer did I have technology to showcase or wax lyrical about features and benefits. ( though I am not sure I ever did that).
Instead it was me, my banner and my book.
Thank god for the book.
It became a 'thing' I could talk to people as they sauntered past and asked politely 'so what do you do'. I made new connections and even joined the Federation of Small Businesses ( partly because I felt guilty after helping to rip their roller banner - lessons I have learned about those things might be another book!! )
And the event was at my football club - proud Birmingham City fan - so how could I miss up on the opportunity to see the hallowed turf.
Would I do it again? I don't know. I learned a lot about doing something on your own and I got a lot of comfort from telling my story to a really diverse group of wonderful people who kindly gave me a few minutes.
Maybe I will; maybe I wont.
Paul.
what am i Thinking
Is business language getting in your way?
Ever feel like you're talking in circles when it comes to change and transformation? You're not alone. Tune in as Paul Russell and Mark Vincent dissect the 'Language Trap'—the sneaky words and phrases that undermine our best efforts. Discover why these pitfalls exist and how they can lead to confusion, disruption and disappointment.
Good Ideas - Where do you get yours?
Ideas. We all have them. We need them to survive and thrive whether in personal life or in the world of work. But where do they come from? And when we are talking about new ideas does our track record of ideas success (and failure) matter? Should we forget the past and only look forward? Will this time be different? And for those employed to be 'ideas people' can we rely on them alone to be the saviour or can we simply take a look on social media and use what strangers are seducing us with?
The question we rarely ask each other
If we just find the time to ask this question - what question have I not asked you that you feel I should have what would we learn? Questions are the lifeblood of how we grow. They seek information to help us understand each other but too often we are converged too much on asking questions that suit a situation constraining us unfairly into closed mindset moments. Yet the human is desperate to learn more. Why not try the question and see what you learn? It might surprise you.
Fall BACK in love with problems
In our instant gratification lives we are often guilty of relying on the 'heard it before' auto pilot response when thinking about problems. Despite our attempts to think differently at some point or other we can get caught out and miss the opportunity to see something we might miss.
I was never trained to tell stories - were you?
We might be good at telling stories to our children but why do we struggle to tell good business stories? Have we become lazy or too reliant on others or social media to do it for us? But hang on we were never trained to tell stories so we have to go with what we think.
What is the trilogy of temptation?
How we are seduced by technology through innovation that fuels our confidence we can do better and at a greater pace. Where agile and fragile are often too close for comfort. the ChatGPT AI debate in early 2023 sort of underlines my perspective.
My first book
My first book! A book about sales but really about you and me. How we can rediscover our inner Diverger to get more from the conversations we have. What is a Diverger? You and me for a start. It is just years of curiosity gets stripped away from us. My book is about how you can put it back.
The power of diverse thinking
How a community came together joined by the desire to share stories and mutual respect. 48 amazing people.
60 minutes to make a difference
How can we use time better to understand the other person whilst still getting our point of view across - in 60 minutes.
If you're not design thinking, you're not thinking design
Understanding the person with a problem is a much under-utilised aspect of selling today. Instead we prefer to assume.
Curiosity doesn't have to kill the cat
Questioning is like breathing — it’s something that seems so basic, so instinctive, that we take it for granted but often leave blind spots in our wake.
what people say
WHAT DO I OFFER
please get in touch
I love talking through problems with people so if you have a business challenge please do get in touch.