Sessions and talks
I run sessions for boards, leadership programmes and membership organisations, built on the material in the book.
They aren’t lectures. A short run of stories to open, chosen for what the group is dealing with, then most of the time given over to them. In my experience the useful part starts when someone asks the question they weren’t sure they were allowed to ask. Or were afraid to ask, because they mistakenly think everyone else in the room knows more than them.
What a session might look like
I would want a conversation about what the group is dealing with before I plan anything.
A two hour session might run roughly like this:
Thirty-five minutes of stories from thirty-five years of getting things right and getting them wrong. An hour working through the questions the group brings. Then fifteen minutes where everyone writes down three things they will do differently, with a date against each.
That hour works better as a conversation than a question and answer session. In my experience a group of fifty has seen as much between them as I have, and part of my role is to get it out of them. With a large group I collect the questions in writing at the start and keep them anonymous, so people ask what they want to ask rather than what feels safe.
Longer and shorter formats work. Half a day suits a smaller group who want to go further. A panel or a keynote works for a larger audience where discussion is harder.
Groups of six to sixty. Smaller is better for discussion.
Who they're for
Directors and senior leaders already doing the job. People stepping into a board role for the first time. Emerging leader groups, peer networks and programme cohorts.
If you run a leadership programme, or sit on the board of a membership organisation, this is the sort of thing I’m glad to be asked about.
Where I've done this
Upcoming: IoD Emerging Leaders Programme
Two hour session based on the book – 22 October 2026
IoD Directors’ Masterclass
Panel speaker at five events.
Invest NI Leaders Programme
Half a day on professionalising your board, to twenty CEOs and business owners. Asked back the following year.
“I have seen Paul deliver a lot of the content in person and it certainly didn’t lose impact when written down.”
– Leadership Development Programme Manager
Copies for a group
If you want copies for a cohort or a board, get in touch rather than ordering individually and I will sort the postage and a single invoice.