This exclusive interview with Paul McGee was conducted by Tabish Ali of the Motivational Speakers Agency.
Paul McGee has spent two decades telling business leaders what many consultants avoid saying: stop overcomplicating people problems.
Known as the “SUMO Guy”, Paul is the Sunday Times bestselling author of SUMO (Shut Up, Move On), a straight-talking framework built around resilience, communication, change and stronger working relationships. His work has now reached audiences in more than 40 countries, with clients including Tesco, Lloyds Bank, Virgin, Adidas, Specsavers, the NHS and Manchester City Football Club.
A Visiting Professor at the University of Chester and Fellow of the Professional Speakers Association, Paul has written 13 books, with combined sales nearing half a million copies. His approach is deliberately practical: no corporate theatre, no abstract theory, just tools people can use at work and in life.
In this exclusive interview with the Champions Speakers Agency, Paul discusses why SUMO still works after 20 years, how leaders can communicate with real impact, why strong relationships matter in business, and what audiences should take away from his sessions beyond a short burst of motivation.
Question 1. SUMO has lasted for nearly two decades and is now used by audiences around the world. Why do you think this approach still connects so strongly with business owners?
Paul McGee: “SUMO is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It’s now translated into 13 languages.
“What’s interesting about that is it was rejected by 13 publishers, but we’ve got it in Thai, Indonesian, Ukrainian, Russian and various other languages.
“SUMO is an acronym. It can stand for “shut up, move on” or “stop, understand, move on”.
“Why has it survived the test of time? I take a no-bull approach to life. I don’t bring corporate into my communication, with lots of business models and theories.
“My material is relatable. I talk about my own personal challenges and my own business challenges. It’s practical. It’s not just theory. I give insights and I challenge your thinking, but I want to make it practical for you.
“The ideas I talk about are also memorable.
“I talk about things like “hippo time is okay”. What do hippos do in mud? They wallow. We sometimes need to have a little bit of a wallow, but remember it’s a detour, not a destination.
“Another one that really stands out for people is the beach ball. I will show a beach ball, and as you’re looking at it, you’re seeing the colours orange, yellow and blue. But when you’re communicating with other people, they might be looking at the same thing as you, but seeing something differently.
“Your view of the beach ball isn’t incorrect, but it could be incomplete. It helps people try to see things more clearly.
“It’s such a strong visual metaphor that organisations end up buying little mini beach balls from me, or getting them themselves, and putting them on tables. They have them in meetings.
“It becomes: “I’m very aware of my perspective, but what’s your perspective?” Or: “As a team, we’re seeing it this way, but how is our customer seeing this situation?”
“If you get something that’s relatable, practical and memorable, people want that.
“Ultimately, SUMO works.”
Question 2. You speak a lot about communication. What do leaders often get wrong when they want their message to land with real impact?
Paul McGee: “I work with organisations, and we sometimes do one-day or even two-day workshops.
“Although I’m seen as a bit of a quirky guy, my background is in psychology. I’m a visiting professor at the University of Chester, and I worked many years ago with one of the world’s leading leadership gurus at the time, Dr Stephen Covey, who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
“Habit number two is: begin with the end in mind.
“Very often, we’ve got a few ideas in our head, but we don’t always think, when we’re communicating to a group or even just having a conversation with one person: what do I want to actually achieve here?
“I teach people to think about KFD, not KFC.
“Before you even open your mouth, you’re saying to yourself: what do I need people to know here? What’s the critical stuff they need to know? That’s the K.
“The F is: how do I want people to feel?
“We often don’t think about that. I’m often hired by organisations through people like yourselves who say: “We want them to be equipped to deal with change, become more resilient and lead other people well. But we want to give them a boost, Paul. We want them to feel, when you’ve finished, inspired, and that the future is a challenge, but it’s a challenge they can meet.”
“I’m often used not just to give people knowledge, but to help them feel something.
“In another context, people may need to feel challenged or reassured.
“So, what do you want people to know? How do you want them to feel? And then the D in KFD: what do you want them to do?
“Very often, we might do the K and the F, know and feel, but then people go: “That was good.” But what actions are required?
“Don’t drown people in detail. You don’t have to tell them everything.
“I’ve just given you a brief answer, but I’ve got a whole one-day workshop on it. I’m not trying to cram a one-day workshop into a two-and-a-half-minute answer.
“Don’t drown people in detail.”
Question 3. In a business world shaped by remote work, AI and constant change, why do strong human relationships still matter so much?
Paul McGee: “Ultimately, as human beings, we are social animals.
“There is a spectrum in terms of how much need an individual has for relationships. Some people, perhaps because they’re very introverted, don’t need many people in their world, but they do need some people.
“Other people are more towards the extrovert side of the spectrum, and they get a lot of energy from people.
“Relationships are always going to be important.
“When you think about the world of AI and the possibility of fake news, relationships become even more important.
“I love this phrase: in a world of iPhones and iPads, don’t underestimate the impact and importance of eyeballs.
“It’s good to have that connectivity.
“If this camera hadn’t been working, you and I would have still had this conversation, but it would have been different because we couldn’t see each other.
“Your nonverbal cues as I’m speaking are reassuring me. From your side of the beach ball, you’re enjoying what I’m saying and agreeing with what I’m saying.
“But if we were doing this via email or our cameras were switched off, we would lose the impact of our communication.
“Relationships are going to be important.
“I’ve just had a call with a client going through major change. There are going to be redundancies, and they asked the senior leadership team: do you want to meet virtually or in the room?
“The overwhelming majority said that although they would save money by doing it virtually, they thought there was real value in being in the room.
“That sums up why human relationships in business and in life are so important.”
