Russ Writes and Speaks and Teaches

I have written four books and hundreds of articles, I have spoken at dozens of conferences, and I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with others through tutorials and classes.

ClearPurpose

Every week I write a new article for ClearPurpose, my publication at Medium and archive them at blog.sdgstrategy.com.

Books

Russ unboxing author copies of his The Power of Mobility book.

I am grateful to have been blessed with the ability to take complex topics and make them understandable and relevant for all kinds of audiences.

Often this starts as a conversation with a client, colleague, or loved one. They are struggling to understand a concept, or perhaps trying to make a decision that would benefit from some ideas previously beyond their reach. I help them make sense of, and apply this information in a practical way.

Sometimes I realize that others would similarly benefit from this same understanding, so I generalize the situation and write an article or develop a tutorial, and publish it for the gain of many.

A few times one article has become several which then has led to the realization that the content could help many more if it were structured into a book. Writing a book is different from writing an article. Writing a book requires stepping back and understanding the overall goal. What do readers want to get from the book? How can I best structure the information so that everything builds towards the final goal? How can the individual chapters each create value on their own (if readers want to pick and choose), but together they provide the reader with an entire framework they can apply to solving their problem or accomplishing their goal? Finally, how can I write it in a way that will be engaging, entertaining, and helpful all at the same time?

So far I've been blessed to see four of my books be published so that I can hold them in my hands and see them benefit many. I have ideas for more, but if you have ideas for books that you think would be a blessing to you and many others, please let me know!

The cover of the book Six Questions.

Business success requires making hard decisions. Making hard decisions well requires a depth of understanding about the business and its environment that, unfortunately, many business leaders lack, or at least they haven't formulated their understanding of the business into a framework that makes it easy to consistently and confidently apply.

In this book Russell McGuire asks six simple questions that any leader should be able to answer about their business. The answers to those six questions provide a mental framework that can help leaders navigate the challenges their organizations will undoubtedly face. But more than simply asking the questions, McGuire provides the tools and approaches leaders can use to thoughtfully develop the answers to those questions.

Published 2020

Paperback

eBook

Cover of the book A Sprint to the Finish.

For over a century Sprint was an innovative leader in the telecommunications industry. From its humble beginnings stringing wires to homes and businesses in Abilene, Kansas, to helping build the global Internet, and stockpiling the richest portfolio of spectrum for fifth-generation (5G) wireless services, Sprint had an outsized impact on how everyday citizens and the world's largest companies communicate. Over those 100+ years, the company made a number of critical strategic decisions eventually leading to the final decision to merge with T-Mobile to become the second largest wireless provider in the country. Join us for an insider's view as we revisit this pioneering company's strategic journey!

Cover of the book VisuALS: A Startup Strategic Journey.

VisuALS Technology Solutions, LLC is a technology startup birthed out of Oklahoma Christian University to "love our neighbors by restoring independence, dignity, and hope through affordable assistive technology solutions." They help those with debilitating conditions to reconnect with their loved ones and the world around them.

VisuALS: A Startup Strategic Journey follows the startup team from initial concept through to market launch, teaching how to take each of the strategic steps along that journey. The book introduces tools that any startup can use to clarify their strategy, to understand customer needs, to understand the market opportunity, to experiment and learn along the journey, and to launch to market.

Published 2020

Paperback

eBook

The cover of the book The Power of Mobility.

In The Power of Mobility, I predicted that smartphones, mobile apps, and the Internet of Things would have as significant of an impact on how we live our lives, how businesses operate, and how industries compete as the PC did in the 1980s and the Internet did in the 1990s. In January 2007, I submitted his manuscript for the book, and Apple introduced the iPhone. The rest, as they say, is history.

In addition to predicting these changes, I also provided a seven step framework that businesses could follow to be prepared for the new Mobility Age.

Published 2007

Hardcover

eBook

Covers of books that Russ contributed chapters to.

I have also contributed chapters to a number of books including Enterprise City: How Companies Are Changing the Global Urban Landscape (2014), Shift 2020: How Technology Will Impact Our Future (2014), Mobile Future Forward: Essays from Thought Leaders on the Future of Mobile (2010) and Annual Review of Communications (2002 and 2006).

Articles

Since launching ClearPurpose in 2020, I have written several hundred articles on startups, strategy, and integrating faith with work. You can get a taste of the content on the Resources page on this website.

The logo for ClearPurpose.media, Russ' online publication.

Between 2009 and 2018 I wrote a monthly column for MinistryTech magazine (originally called Christian Computing). Over that time I contributed over 100 articles in six different series:

  • The Mobility Revolution (2009-2010)
  • Launching Online (2010)
  • Tablet Time (2010-2011)
  • The Power and the Danger (2011-2014)
  • The Next Revolution (2014-2015)
  • Startup (2015-2018)

My articles were selected as the cover story for the December 2009 ("What is 4G?"), March 2016 ("YouVersion"), and August 2016 ("Mobile tAPPestry") issues.

The cover of an issue of Business Reform magazine. The cover story was "What is 4G?" which Russ had written.

In 2002 and 2003 I served as online director for Business Reform magazine. In addition to building an online business selling magazine subscriptions and books, I also managed a partnership with World Net Daily called BizNetDaily.  I collected and provided editorial support for several prominent contributors including Dave Ramsey and Rick Boxx.  I also wrote over 60 articles myself for BizNetDaily during 2003.  I also contributed articles to the print magazine.  

The cover of an issue of Business Reform magazine.

Over the years I have also contributed articles published in a number of leading industry and technology magazines including CIO, Success, Network World, Wireless Week, Telephony, Mobile Enterprise Magazine, and GigaOm. As an industry expert, I also have been quoted in articles in industry, business, and mass media publications including The Tulsa World, The Kansas City Star, the New York Times, and USA Today.

The cover of an issue of CIO magazine.

Speaking

Russ speaking at the eComm conference.

As a public speaker I have delivered 16 conference/event keynotes, been featured speaker 11 times, and served on two dozen industry panels.  It’s not unusual for the framework that I introduce in my talk at a conference to be referenced by other speakers throughout the remainder of the event.

Some of the conferences and events where I've been a speaker include multiple CIO Executive Leadership Summits; Frost & Sullivan's Growth, Innovation, and Leadership; Wharton Business Technology Conference; MIT/Stanford Venture Lab; Virginia Tech Wireless Symposium; JPMorgan Technology Conference; New Digital Economics; VentureBeat Mobile Summit; Nemertes Navigator 360; Light Reading LINKS; Association of Strategic Planning Annual Conference; ITW Technology Conference; Interop CIO Bootcamp; Information Technology in the Workplace; eComm; Mobile 2.0; Mobile Beat; Open Mobile Summit; Mobilize; Mobile Internet World; The Mobile Revolution; Telco 2.0; Next Generation Telecom; Competitive Carriers Association Conference; Big Data Executive Summit; Connected Planet 4G Salon; TechDirt Greenhouse; LBS World Forum; Utility Executive Leadership Institute; ANA National Mobile Marketing Conference; Korea Technology Preview USA

My approach to these types of opportunities is to clearly identify my goals for the event, understand the audience and other participants, develop a messaging pyramid to structure the topic, and then, if appropriate develop the presentation materials (e.g. speech and/or presentation).

I also tend to be popular with salespeople.  They love to have me present to their customers.  I bring credibility to the topic, provide thought-provoking material, and help structure the complex issues so that the decisions facing the customer become more clear and manageable, leading to quicker decisions.  This has been particularly true when a significant technology change represents meaningful opportunity or threat for the customer.  My presentations, along with my ability to engage the customer with consultative probing questions, can help clarify the urgency for the customer and help move them towards taking action.

Teaching

While I greatly appreciate the opportunity to consult and coach and facilitate and write and speak, I may be at my professional happiest when I am standing at a whiteboard teaching important concepts to eager "students". This may be in a formal classroom setting, but more often it is one-on-one, perhaps even in the context of coaching or consulting.

To give you a sense for my ability to make complex topics understandable and relevant, take a peak at one of the lectures I developed for a college level course on startup business plan development. This particular lecture deals with the financial modeling required before investors will consider putting money into a startup business.

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