Richard St. John

Richard St. John takes audiences on fast, factual, funny and inspiring rides along the road to success, with new insights at every turn.

He has spoken to companies and organizations around the world. The largest bank in Norway chose him as the only other business speaker to do a keynote speech along with Richard Branson at a private VIP event for top CEOs and highest-level government ministers. He has also shared the stage with Bill Gates and General David Petraeus, U.S Chief Commander and one of “The Most Powerful People in the World.” (Newsweek).

On the prestigious TED.com website there are over 700 amazing talks by great speakers, and St. John is consistently in the top 20 “Most Viewed” along with Bill Gates, Richard Dawkins, Tony Robbins, Stephen Hawking, and Malcolm Gladwell.

He has also ranked highest in many TED categories: “All Time Favorites,” “Most Inspirational,” "Funniest," “Most Emailed,” and “Most Translated into Other Languages."

After interviewing many of the world’s most successful people, St. John shares an incredible wealth of wisdom that every person in the audience can apply to their own success, and the success of the company or organization they represent.
 
He achieved success as a corporate employee when he worked for ten years as a member of scientific staff at Nortel Networks R&D labs as a researcher, designer and marketing guru.

He achieved success as an entrepreneur when he started his own marketing company the St. John Group, and over 30 years later they are still going strong. He has won some top marketing awards including best corporate video in the world, and an IABC Gold Quill, the most prestigious award in business communications.

Then one day on a plane a girl asked him, “What really leads to success?” To answer that question he spent ten years researching success, and doing face-to-face interviews with over 500 of the world’s most successful people, including: Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, Richard Branson, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Rupert Murdoch, and Al Gore.

He also studied thousands of other success stories, analyzed and correlated millions of words of research, and built one of the largest, most organized databases on success.

He discovered The 8 Traits Successful People have in Common and wrote a bestselling book: 8 To Be Great. Those who have endorsed the book include Jeff Skoll, billionaire co-founder of eBay and James Cameron, creator of the top two highest-grossing films of all time, Avatar and Titanic.

Business schools where he has spoken include University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, York University’s Schulich School of Business, and Erasmus University in the Netherlands, where he was the closing keynote speaker to business and economics students at the largest, and most prestigious, student-organized university conference in Europe.

St. John’s presentations take audiences on fast, factual, funny, and inspiring rides along the road to success, with new insights at every turn. When he stands on stage, he shares an incredible wealth of wisdom from the world's most successful people – knowledge that every person in the audience can apply to their own success, and the success of the company or organization they represent.

• 8 To Be Great

  In this presentation Richard St. John shows audiences what really leads to success with a fast-paced, multimedia feast for the eyes as well as the ears. Using hundreds of visuals, quotes, and stories, he illustrates the 8-Traits that lead to success in any field. Richard discovered that achieving success doesn't mean having unusual talent, secrets, or luck. Successful people just do some very basic things that anybody can do. Richard himself is a good example. He says, "I could never figure out how an ordinary guy like me succeeded in business, won top awards and became a millionaire. So I started a project to ask other people what led to their success, and it grew into a 10-year journey of discovery." Richard's book and talk provide an in-depth analysis that goes beyond the clichés to distill what the world's most successful people really do have in common. Richard has spoken at prestigious conferences such as the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference in California and the IdeaCity conference in Toronto.

• The Appraisal Institute Board members all thought Richard's talk was absolutely outstanding. It created a real buzz and got the board members talking about how to use his process to increase our success at all levels.

  Appraisal Institute

• The most impressive aspect is that Richard takes a very heavy subject and makes it real and approachable for everyone, with humor and candor. That is the gift of his work. He has inspired us.

  FNC

• Richard inspired and empowered each and every delegate that attended his talk. I must say, it was one of the best sessions we've ever had.

  Impact Leadership Conference

• Richard St. John's presentation to the Singapore Chamber of Commerce was exceptionally engaging and inspirational. His visual way of showing how success is built really captured the audience of CEOs.

  Philips Electronics

• It was the funniest, most insightful, engaging presentation, and a fantastic life lesson.

  Fairmont Hotels

• Richard's talk was wonderfully enjoyable. I received emails with comments like 'inspirational', 'helped me identify what I want to do' and 'exciting speaker.' Everyone seemed completely absorbed in what Richard had to say. Thank you Richard for making us laugh and giving us good tips, no matter how young or old we are.

  Carleton University

• Richard captivated our audience and they really appreciated and absorbed his messages and stories. Our research professionals could relate to the analytical work and his ability to synthesize all of his research. We thank him for inspiring all of us.

  Marketing and Research Intelligence Association Conference

• An awesome presentation! It was a huge success! Great message, combined with the best use of Power Point that I've ever seen. Everybody loved it!

  School of Business, NSCC

• It had an enormous impact. The visuals were right on. The message was perfect. It was one of those "nod your head" moments.

  Clickability

• What St. John is doing is bringing this extremely relevant information to people and putting it in a form where it can be understood and grasped.

  Stanford University

• It was beautiful. It was smart. It was funny. It was great.

  Columbia Pictures Marketing

• Your TED talk was outstanding. Well done!

  Jim Hake, CEO, Pacific One Capital

• It was a very inspiring presentation. Absolutely brilliant. I've very rarely seen such a good public speaker. It was one of those sessions where you walk away feeling great about life.

  BBC

• I usually do a crossword puzzle during the opening speeches, but not this time. Richard St. John’s talk was the best I've ever heard.

  Federal Bank of Boston

• Absolutely brilliant. I've very rarely seen such a good public speaker. You walk away feeling great about life.

  BBC TV

• Richard St. John was rated the ‘Most Inspirational Speaker” at our largest conference for the business community.

  Research Council of Norway

• One of the highest-rated, most inspiring speakers we've ever had.

  Institute of Internal Auditors

• It was the most amazing PowerPoint I've ever seen!

   

  Gary Vaynerchuk, renowned social media expert and keynote speaker

• Funny. Insightful. Engaging. A fantastic life lesson.

  Fairmont Hotels

• Great talk. Best at the TED conference.

  National Geographic Traveler

• The highlight of the conference. He kept people tuned in and listening.

   

  Umbra

• Of all the speakers we've had at our conferences, Richard was the best.

  Youth United for Nuevo Leon, Mexico

• 
  April 2010

  The 8 Traits Successful People Have in Common: 8 to Be Great

  What do the world's most successful people have in common? What did Gates, Buffett, Martha, Trump, and Oprah all do to succeed? These are the questions Richard St. John set out to answer when a girl on a plane asked him, "What really leads to success?" After ten years of research, and face-to-face interviews with Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, Richard Branson, the Google founders, and 500 other very successful people, he discovered the eight traits successful people have in common. These "8 To Be Great" that are the foundation for success in business and in life. This book has been called "The ultimate guide to success" – a practical guide to achievement based on solid research, and also immensely entertaining and inspirational.

  
  
• 
  October 2007

  8 to Be Great: The 8-Traits That Lead to Great Success

  St. John spent ten years interviewing over 500 successful individuals in many different fields, including Martha Stewart, Russell Crowe, and the Google founders. After analyzing all the data, St. John discovered the top eight factors that lead to greatness and shares them with readers.

  
  
• 
  June 2006

  Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and RICH

  Have you ever wondered what leads to success. Do you just need to be smart, great looking, or lucky? Richard St. John says those things dont lead to success. And he should know. He spent 10 years interviewing over 500 successful people, from Martha Stewart, to actor Russell Crowe, to DNA discoverer James Watson, to the top people in many fields. After analyzing and sorting all the information, Richard discovered the top 8 factors that are the foundation for success in any field. He also discovered that many successful people aren''t especially smart, good-looking, or lucky. They''re ordinary people, without special gifts, who achieve success by following the8 factors. Richard himself is a good example. He says, "I could never figure o ut how an ordinary guy like me succeeded in business, won top awards and became a millionaire. So I started a project to ask other people what led to their success, and it grew into a 10-year journey of discovery." The story is in Richards new book, Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and RICH Spikes Guide to Success, an easy-to-read analysis that gets beyond the clichés to distill what the worlds most successful people really do have in common.