An inspirational business and community leader, sales and communications specialist, and business growth strategist, Sue and her team are leading the Human-centred Sales and Communication Evolution as Industry 5.0 ushers in a new era of human-centricity and sustainability. Sue says this fundamental shift necessitates a renewed appreciation for soft skills, the qualities that make us uniquely human and enable us to thrive in complex social environments.
Founder and CEO of Barrett, a sales and communications advisory firm (est. 1995), and the Selling Better Movement, Sue is the perfect business adviser on how to build and execute effective go-to-market sales strategies and redefine traditional sales stereotypes to capitalise on the power of business savvy, emotionally intelligent, human-centred communication, sales and leadership practices that attract and retain more of the clients and employees you want.
Dedicated to women’s empowerment and creator of the Sell Like A Woman project, Sue demonstrates why learning to master ethical sales and effective communication practices gives everyone, especially women, in any role, more agency and power over their careers, earning capacity, and life choices.
Sue is also a founding organiser of March4Justice which saw 110,000 people rally around Australia across 200 locations on 15 March 2021 calling for equality, justice, respect, and an end to gendered violence. As a founding member of Voices of Goldstein, Sue became Zoe Daniel’s campaign manager for the federal seat of Goldstein in 2022, leading 1,500 volunteers who helped get Zoe voted in as our Community Independent MP. As campaign leader for Goldstein for YES at the 2023 Voice referendum, Sue led 600 volunteers who delivered a YES result.
Committed to ethical and sustainable business practices, integrity, equality, climate action and representative democracy, Sue has the ability to raise awareness of our interconnectedness as a foundation for empathy, compassion, decency and ethics, which in turn informs our moral cognition – our capacity to ‘do the right thing’ in business and in life. She encourages us to think deeply about how our decisions affect others and the planet, and how to take positive action that affects real change and delivers lasting results.
In 2019, Sue published her first paperback book, ‘142 Days of Gratitude that changed my life forever‘, a treatise on the positive power of gratitude that delivers a masterclass in resilience.
Sue lives in Melbourne, with her family; is a Monash BSc graduate; a competitive swimmer and field hockey player; a community gardener; Cats supporter, K-drama enthusiast and is inspired by David Bowie, Rachel Carson, Kate Raworth, Maria Montessori and the Greek Goddesses Artemis, Athena, and Hestia.
Qualifications: BSc Monash University, Cert (Strategic Mgt.) Macquarie Business School, Blue Ocean Strategist, Cert IV (Accredited Workplace Assessor & Trainer), Accredited Executive Coach.
Media enquiries – Sue is available for media interviews, commentary and public speaking engagements – contact Sue here.
For more information about Sue and her work please refer here to the Professional page and Civic page.
Some relevant articles:
- Our Quest for Goldstein
- A Teal Test of Character
- Selling – a powerful change agent
- World Gratitude Day – The Moral Case for Gratitude
What others say about Sue
‘Sue is a brilliant leader who moves mountains. I worked with Sue on Zoe Daniel MP’s campaign – Sue was the campaign manager. Many people watching the campaign commented that it seemed to run with military precision. So much of that was due to Sue and her organisational genius. At all times, she demonstrated enormous diligence, intelligence, kindness, grit, and creative flair and inspired everyone around her to go that extra mile. What a privilege it has been to work with Sue and I hope to have an opportunity to do so again.’ Alex Fein, Political Strategist (quant/qual, demography, digital, policy); Consultant Advisor to Zoe Daniel
‘Sue is a highly competent and effective person – outcomes driven, positive and resourceful, I have no doubt that Sue can achieve anything she puts her mind to. However, Sue’s greatest strengths are in communication, sales, coaching and training. In all these things, she combines astute observation, intellect, intuition and compassion. She is able to hone in on what is most relevant and important and articulate it powerfully to others. Sue cares deeply about the world and human beings, especially those she works with. Sue is generous with her knowledge. I am very grateful to have worked with and been mentored by Sue during that time. I learnt a great deal and will continue to seek out her wisdom and advice.’ Katerina Gaita, Community Builder and Organiser, Facilitator, Trainer, Manager and Leader
‘Sue is simply the best writer on business and sales issues that I’ve ever come across. That reflects her highly organised thinking about business growth strategies, ethics and sales issues, and her drive towards solving real-world problems. She’s also a delight to work with.’ David Walker, Principal, Shorewalker DMS.
‘Sue won’t be bullied or tyrannised by prevailing views and attitudes…Her courage, optimism and independent thinking underpin all her leadership roles’ Year 12 high school report card by her school principal at an elite private boys’ school that had turned co-ed.
‘Sue is a future thinker who is highly tuned to the operating environment, innovations and disruptors that might influence an organisation’s future; an absolute specialist in sales, proud of the profession, and champion for ethical, customer centred selling wisdom in self and in others.’
‘Sue and her team have skilfully guided us through a key transitional time in our company when it was critical to build our strategy and define the processes and tools that would support our key business objectives moving forward.’
‘Anyone how knows Sue will not be surprised by the subject matter. Here’s an invitation to peer into the heart of a spark.’
‘Sue is a true pioneer in the world of sales and business. Her commitment, passion, energy, honesty and values-based business methodologies have stood the test of time.’
Some volunteer feedback from Zoe Daniel’s 2022 winning federal election campaign
‘Dear Sue, a mammoth challenge, met with amazing talent and grace. And always with the personal touch. Thank you for being such an inspiring leader.’ Gabe
‘Dear Sue, just a small ‘thank you’ for your 24/7 dedication and strategic leadership of Zoe’s election campaign. She wouldn’t have succeeded without you and I know I speak for the majority of volunteers when I say that you and Zoe made us all feel very welcome and an integral part of the campaign’s success. Many, many thanks and best wishes always.’ John
Sue’s Inspirational People
David Bowie
An ardent admirer and fan, Sue’s also a student of Bowie. If you find the time to watch any of the numerous interviews with him which are freely available online – just type in David Bowie Interviews – you can hear that he was a true entrepreneur and innovator; someone who never stopped learning or collaborating; was very well read with deep insights into the complexities and idiosyncrasies of human nature, philosophy and culture; always looking to adapt, evolve and develop mastery in a wide range of mediums; and then incorporating all the elements he has collected into some new creative masterpiece to craft a universe full of ideas, innovations, collaborations, and relationships that made people, like me, very happy and inspired indeed. Read more about this here:
Rachel Carson – Ecologist and author of Silent Spring published in 1962
Perhaps the finest nature writer of the Twentieth Century, Rachel Carson (1907-1964) is remembered more today as the woman who challenged the notion that humans could obtain mastery over nature by chemicals, bombs and space travel than for her studies of ocean life. Her sensational book Silent Spring (1962) warned of the dangers to all natural systems from the misuse of chemical pesticides such as DDT, and questioned the scope and direction of modern science, initiated the contemporary environmental movement.
Evidence of the widespread misuse of organic chemical pesticides government and industry after World War II prompted Carson to reluctantly speak out not just about the immediate threat to humans and non-human nature from unwitting chemical exposure, but also to question government and private science’s assumption that human domination of nature was the correct course for the future.
Kate Raworth – Architect of the sustainable economic model – Doughnut Economics
Kate Raworth is a renegade economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab. Her internationally best-selling book Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist has been translated into over 20 languages and has been widely influential with diverse audiences, from the UN General Assembly to Pope Francis to Extinction Rebellion. Read more about this here:
Maria Montessori – The Montessori Education Method
Sue is an advocate for ongoing and effective education from K to 12 to apprenticeships, university STEMA education and beyond. A lifelong learner herself, Sue says being educated means we can make informed decisions about our collective future, especially for women. We know one of the fastest ways we can reduce the negative effects of climate change is to educate young girls and women. (Drawdown Project, Paul Hawken).
Sue is inspired by Maria Montessori for all her work on the foundations of early learning and her Montessori education methodology. Dr Maria Montessori, a physician, anthropologist and pedagogue, developed her unique method of educating children over a professional career that spanned over fifty years. The Montessori approach was developed through intense scientific observation of children from many ethnic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds from birth to maturity. Her work is based upon a deep understanding of child development. She was a single mother and trailblazer of her time. She opened the first Montessori school—the Casa dei Bambini, or Children’s House—in Rome on January 6, 1907. One of the reasons why Sue chose the Montessori Education system for her children is that it is based on cultivating the ‘Inquiring Mind’ which is focused on seeking facts, information or knowledge. An inquiring mind is about being curious, probing, inquisitive in seeking facts, and finding meaning.
Media enquiries – Sue is available for media interviews, commentary and public speaking engagements – contact Sue here.
Media Experience
- ABC The World Today
- Seven Sunrise
- Womens Agenda
- Disrupt Radio Holly Ransom Start up Nation
- Qantas Talking Business Alan Kohler
- Sales POP!
- The Age
- Kochies Business Builders
- Inside Small Business
- Loving Life Clarence Valley
- Mitchells Front Page
- Southern FM
- SpinProof
- Pulse FM Geelong
- Rob Camerons Front Page
- Business Essentials Daily
- Smart Company
- 101.3FM Gosford NSW Breakfast Program
- 101.3 FM Grafton, Breakfast
- ABC Radio Canberra
- John Menadue: Pearls and Irritations
- Vida: The Women’s History Network
- 4KZ
- Curtin FM
- 5AA Adelaide
- Earthendeavours.org
- 3AW Drive
- ABC RN This Working Life
- 6PR Perth The Night Shift
- 2CC Canberra Drive
- 2CC Canberra Saturday Mornings
- 3AW Nights
- Curtin FM Perth Afternoons
- 5AA Adelaide Drive
- Channel 9 Small Business Show
- BRW
- In The Black Magazine, CPA
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