Keynotes & Breakouts

Bring Real-World Leadership to Your Next Event

Great events need more than a speaker who fills a time slot. They need someone who has actually done the work—built teams, made the hard calls, developed people, and lived with the results.

Over a 30+ year career in the utility software industry, I rose from the communications side of the business to Chief Business Development Officer and Industry Consultant, leading people and shaping organizational culture along the way. During that time, I founded RWSmith Education, Training & Consulting with my wife, Lisa. I hold both CPSv and CPE certifications, and I'm the author of They Don't Build Monuments Honoring Managers. Every session I deliver is grounded in lessons I learned in the trenches—not theory borrowed from a textbook.

Whether you need a keynote to set the tone for your entire event or focused breakout sessions to sharpen your team's skills, I tailor the content to your audience and your goals.

Keynote Address

They Don't Build Monuments Honoring Managers

Observations on Leadership and Education's Role in the Workplace

Based on my book of the same name, this keynote draws a clear line between managing and leading—and challenges everyone in the room to choose the kind of impact they want to have. We don't put up monuments to honor people who simply ran the day-to-day. We honor the ones who lifted others, set a vision, and left their organizations better than they found them.

Through stories, humor, and hard-won insight, this keynote unpacks the traits that separate true leaders from people who merely hold a title. Your audience will leave thinking differently about their influence—and inspired to use it.

This keynote can be adapted in length (35 to 55 minutes) and emphasis to fit your event, your industry, and your audience.

Breakout Sessions

My breakout sessions deliver focused, practical soft-skills training in a format built for working professionals. These are condensed, high-impact sessions designed to give your team tools they can put to work the moment they walk out of the room. Topics include:

  • Teamwork — Building groups that actually pull in the same direction

  • Time Management — Getting the right things done without burning out

  • Stress Management — Staying steady and effective under pressure

  • So, You've Been Promoted—Now What? — Making the leap from individual contributor to leader of others

  • Communications — Saying what you mean and being understood

  • Navigating Change - Tackling the mental and physical challenges of change

Each session can stand on its own or be combined with others to build a half-day or full-day development experience. Sessions are customizable to your group's size, experience level, and industry.

Let's Talk

Looking for a keynote, a breakout, or a full slate of sessions for your next conference, retreat, or training event? Let's start a conversation about what you need. Just click “Contact Us” at the top of the page.