Russ Michaels · Speaking
A human on the podium.
Russ speaks on listening, judgment and what stays human as the machines get brilliant. An attorney, a twenty-year operator, and a coach who has stood in the rooms where people decide what their lives are for.
Russ offers
Keynotes and rooms.
- Keynotes
- Moderated conversations
- Workshops
- Fireside chats
- Leadership offsites
- Guided practices
What people say about Russ
In their own words.
He sees things in people they often can't see in themselves, and asks the questions no one else is willing to ask, with enough warmth that you actually want to answer.
He draws people in, challenges how they think, and makes space for things that don't ordinarily get said. You leave thinking differently about yourself.
He can walk straight into the most uncomfortable conversation in the room without making anyone feel attacked, and leave everyone's dignity intact.
I've seen him in situations where almost anyone else would have lost their composure. There's a steadiness to him that changes the room.
I've never once questioned whether he had my back. Sometimes he was the one most willing to tell me what I didn't want to hear.
Names withheld at their request. Shared with permission.
On stage and in the room
Most requested
Topics.
Every talk is built for your room and your people. Two tracks: the human work of listening, trust and change, and the human side of the machines now in every meeting.
The human work
The Listening Loop
Listen. Hear. Discern. Create. Most teams don’t have a communication problem; they have a listening problem. This is the four-step loop under every Vault Human program, taught so people use it on Monday.
Trust is a daily deposit
Trust isn’t built at the offsite. It’s built in small promises kept, and quietly spent when they aren’t. A talk about the account every team is already keeping.
Yours, or inherited?
How we lead, argue and rest came from somewhere: a parent, a first boss, a hard year. A look at which habits we chose and which we simply carried in.
One small thing a day
Big change rarely holds. Small change, done daily, does. Why the smallest practice beats the biggest plan, and how to build one that outlasts the event.
Who sings the “we”?
Forty voices, one song. What a 1985 recording session teaches about teams, ego and keeping the human part in the room.
Law, life, legacy: one house
Why the help we get comes in pieces, and how families and companies put it back together.
The human side of AI
Let AI get brilliant. Let us get wiser.
The machines are getting smarter every month. The question is whether we are. A keynote on judgment, attention and the parts of a life that should never be automated.
Whose choice was it?
Estate law has a test for decisions that are yours in name only. Russ runs it, live, on the AI tools your people already use.
Hand on the key
Leading when your tools act on their own: who checks the math, who owns the off switch, and who takes the stick when it matters.
The films that saw it coming
WarGames, 2001, Electric Dreams. Classic movies, current headlines, and what they ask of us now.
Fees
Three ways to bring Russ in.
Every engagement starts with a short planning call with your team, so the talk fits your room.
Keynote
45 to 60 minutes, built for your audience, with a planning call beforehand.
Keynote + workshop
The talk, then the room puts it to work. A keynote followed by a half-day session with your people.
Workshop
Ninety minutes to a full day, hands-on, with practices your people keep using.
Fees shown are for live events. Virtual sessions, panels and fireside conversations, travel and recording rights are quoted with your date. A few community-rate engagements are held each year for nonprofits and aligned groups.
Book Russ
Tell us about your event.
Share as much as you can. Russ reads every request and answers within two business days.
About the speaker
Russ Michaels, Esq.
Founder of Vault Human. For over twenty years Russ has led organizations as a CEO, executive director and board president, and he still practices law. He speaks as an operator and a builder, not a theorist: someone who has raised capital, run teams, and stood with people through the decisions that shape a life.
His SXSW 2027 proposal, “Who Sings the We? Optimized Out of Your Own World,” is on the SXSW page. Read his thinking in Writing.
The Vault Key
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