Ed Jackson delivering a keynote on stage

Sunday Times Best Seller · World Record Holder · Channel 4 · TNT Sports · Universal Pictures · 4 x Paralympics

Sunday Times Best Seller · World Record Holder · Channel 4 · TNT Sports · Universal Pictures · 4 x Paralympics

Speaking

Speaking

Speaking

Ed played professional rugby for Bath, Wasps, London Welsh and the Dragons until 2017, when a spinal cord injury ended his career and very nearly his life. Doctors told him he might never walk again. What followed was not a story of “bouncing back”, but of learning to move forward differently: the highest mountain in Wales a year later to the day, a world record at 6,800m in the Himalaya, a first ascent in Kyrgyzstan, a charity, and four Paralympic Games as a broadcaster. He is a Sunday Times bestselling author, and his Himalayan expedition became The Mountain Within Me, a Universal Pictures documentary.

Ed played professional rugby for Bath, Wasps, London Welsh and the Dragons until 2017, when a spinal cord injury ended his career and very nearly his life. Doctors told him he might never walk again. What followed was not a story of “bouncing back”, but of learning to move forward differently: the highest mountain in Wales a year later to the day, a world record at 6,800m in the Himalaya, a first ascent in Kyrgyzstan, a charity, and four Paralympic Games as a broadcaster. He is a Sunday Times bestselling author, and his Himalayan expedition became The Mountain Within Me, a Universal Pictures documentary.

It also left him with a question he has spent the years since working on: how much of what happens to us is luck, and how much can we shape? His talks take that question to leadership teams, conferences and company events, and apply it to what organisations actually wrestle with: uncertainty, pressure, change, and the conversations teams avoid when they matter most.

It also left him with a question he has spent the years since working on: how much of what happens to us is luck, and how much can we shape? His talks take that question to leadership teams, conferences and company events, and apply it to what organisations actually wrestle with: uncertainty, pressure, change, and the conversations teams avoid when they matter most.

The story is there as evidence rather than the point. Each talk ends with a way of thinking the audience can take back to work and keep using.

The story is there as evidence rather than the point. Each talk ends with a way of thinking the audience can take back to work and keep using.

RECENT AUDIENCES INCLUDE

Client logos including Microsoft, Meta, HSBC, Red Bull, Savills, BCG, CVC, Bridgepoint, the Wallabies and Harlequins
Client logos including Microsoft, Meta, HSBC, Red Bull, Savills, BCG, CVC, Bridgepoint, the Wallabies and Harlequins

Ed’s talks aren’t a story from 2017, retold. They’re built from things he is still doing:

Ed’s talks aren’t a story from 2017, retold. They’re built from things he is still doing:

Expeditions that keep testing the material

A charity that has helped hundreds of people rebuild after trauma

Businesses he has founded and runs

The research behind his books

An MBA from LSE, trained in NLP and psychology

A decade in professional sport, then broadcasting live to millions

The result is material that works in a boardroom, not just on a stage.

The result is material that works in a boardroom, not just on a stage.

One body of work: The Luck Paradox

One body of work: The Luck Paradox

One body of work: The Luck Paradox

After the accident, Ed became obsessed with a question: was he lucky or unlucky? The answer became a research project, then a framework. The Luck Paradox is Ed’s model for why some people and teams consistently create the conditions for good things to happen. It stands on three pillars: Perspective, Participation and Purpose. Every talk Ed gives is an application of it.

After the accident, Ed became obsessed with a question: was he lucky or unlucky? The answer became a research project, then a framework. The Luck Paradox is Ed’s model for why some people and teams consistently create the conditions for good things to happen. It stands on three pillars: Perspective, Participation and Purpose. Every talk Ed gives is an application of it.

Perspective

Shapes what you notice, and what you ignore.

Participation

Determines what notices you. You can’t be found in a locked room.

Purpose

Gives effort a direction. Not a dream to chase, but a reason to stop waiting.

Ed Jackson on stage delivering his talk The Luck Paradox

THE METHOD ITSELF

The Luck Paradox: building the conditions for good things to happen

The Luck Paradox: building the conditions for good things to happen

A working model for creating opportunity rather than waiting for it.

Why some teams consistently get lucky and others don’t. This talk replaces motivation with a model: three pillars leaders can use to diagnose how their organisation thinks, notices and shows up.

Best for: leadership conferences, sales kickoffs, strategy offsites. One hour including Q&A, optional two-hour workshop.

WHERE THE METHOD CAME FROM

From Millimetres to Mountains

From Millimetres to Mountains

What moving forward actually takes, from someone who has had to do it.

Ed’s full story, from intensive care to world records, and the four principles that carried him: Purpose, Progress, Perseverance, Perspective. The universal keynote for any audience.

Best for: conferences, company all-hands, awards dinners. One hour including Q&A.

Ed Jackson on stage delivering his talk Leading Through Pressure

THE METHOD UNDER PRESSURE

Leading Through Pressure: why the best teams talk about the hard stuff

Leading Through Pressure: why the best teams talk about the hard stuff

Silence is the first thing pressure breaks; here’s how to build teams where it doesn’t.

Pressure is inevitable. Silence under pressure is optional. Lessons from elite sport and expedition environments on why communication drops exactly when it’s needed most, and how to build cultures where it doesn’t.

Best for: senior leaders, high-performing teams, mental health programming. One hour including Q&A.

KEYNOTE

45 minutes plus Q&A, one hour in total

In person or virtual

WORKSHOP

Two hours

Working sessions for leadership teams

PROGRAMME

By arrangement

For organisations embedding the framework

Every talk is tailored to your event. Ed speaks internationally and is available for US bookings. To book: contact@edjackson8.com.

Testimonials

Testimonials

“Ed’s story is both heart-breaking and inspirational in equal measure. What makes him different is his very warm, human style, getting really traumatic events over but staying incredibly positive. We asked Ed to speak at a corporate event and it is no exaggeration to say that it was by far the most inspiring and moving session we have ever had. Months later, attendees are still talking about it and, in some cases, referring to it as ‘life-changing’.”

Simon Goldthorpe, Joint Executive Chairman, Beaufort Group.

“Ed delivered an incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking talk… attendees left feeling motivated, uplifted and full of admiration. His session was truly memorable, and he made a real impact.”

Vicky Carter, Deputy Chairman, Lloyd’s of London.

“Incredibly authentic, engaging and thought provoking… it has definitely changed the mindset of a team currently managing a change in structure. I would thoroughly recommend Ed to anyone looking for a speaker to motivate and inspire teams.”

James Metcalfe, Sales and Marketing Director, Urban Pubs and Bars.

“His passion, humour and ability to relate his experiences into the needs of a modern day, growing team within a Financial Service company was excellent… Highly recommended for any team going through a period of change or transformation.”

Gareth Nokes, CFO, PoloWorks.

“A pleasure to work with… his presentation style is confident yet humble, which made for a great keynote talk that was enthused over by all attendees.”

Natasha Preocanin, Managing Director, In-house Recruitment.

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