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James Russell

Unlocking Change Through People | Programme Director | Consultant | Coach

James Russell is a seasoned professional with a background in launching insurtech start-ups and delivering transformation programs in large corporates. His passion for collaboration and innovation has led him to launch getBrisk.com, a company that uses technology to increase well-being and resilience for people. He is currently supporting Fintech, Certua.io, with new partnerships while utilizing his strength in leading change in corporates and experience in working in a fast-paced agile environment that delivers groundbreaking innovation. A former Head of Claims Transformation at esure Group, James is also an ICF coaching qualified specialist who is keen to discover and unlock hidden potential in people. His educational background includes, among others, a B.A. Hons in International Business with Spanish from the University of the West of England. Some of his former roles include Co-founder and CEO of Brisk, Managing Director at Bluecycle, and Senior Consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Overall, James brings a wealth of knowledge and excellent corporate experience to the table.

Highlights

Jun 17 · linkedin

The problem with (most) tech firms and SIs... I went to Insurtech Insights back in March and as I was still with esure, I had about 5 Tech / SI (Systems Integrator) firms pitch to me in the speed-dating break-out area. For all five, I asked the question, "what's the most important thing to get right when you are delivering solutions for your clients?" Only 1 of the five started with 'People'. Yes, technology, AI etc etc is important, but when it comes to a client trying to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to sifting through the hundreds of tech firms out there saying they can transform your end to end blah blah blah, in my opinion it's the people side of things that makes the difference.

  • The operations people who's work you are (hopefully) improving for the better
  • The customers who will ultimately judge the output
  • The software engineers, QAs, SMEs (subject matter experts), designers, Product Owners, architects etc who need to quickly gel as a diverse team and work in extremely rapid cycles of activity
  • The Execs who's behaviour can inspire and enable or overwhelm execution

So let's dial-up the focus on people please!

May 31 · linkedin

Really nailing what your purpose is I'm going out on a limb here to say I've never really got to the core of what my real, deeply grounded purpose in life is. I think many of us struggle with this over the course of our lives so I'm sharing this as it helped me and I hope it could be of use to others.

"There is something incredibly powerful about a person who knows who they are, what they want and why they want it" Dr Tiffany Jana

I was reviewing material for a Product Owner training programme recently and found this simple method that Dr Tiffany Jana shared (section 3 - "Understanding your 'why'")

  1. List the list of things you would do if you were guaranteed success
  2. Ask yourself why you want to do the things on that list?
  3. Keep asking until you get to something that resonates at your core
  4. Understand your strengths and connect them to your purpose
  • Head - list the things you know about, you have studied, you understand (e.g. accounting, languages, specific cultures etc)
  • Hands - list the skills you have - the things you do with your hands. (e.g. gardening, arts, painting music, cooking, sports)
  • Heart - list the things you are passionate about, want to know more about, that excite and inspire you (e.g. children, animals, astrology, movies etc)
  1. Connect your 'why' to your personal goals and actions - see how they align (and identify what you might want to do more or of do less of / stop)

How did it work out for me? Well I honed it down to realise my purpose is ‘to bring people together to succeed’. When I shared my revelation to my wife Hannah she rather uncharitably shrugged and said, “well that’s obvious isn’t it?”. Obvious maybe to others but not always to ourselves. Shame it’s taken me nearly 30 years to finally realise it. Here’s hoping that through deep listening and coaching we can help others find their purpose and get on with living it. If anyone really wants to get into this I'd recommend the very profound and personal book by Viktor Frankl. A 'why' or purpose can help us feel grounded when we feel lost and when we are searching for meaning and connection.

Related Questions

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James Russell
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Location

Norwich, England, United Kingdom