30-Second Summary
Sue Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Consulting Group (est. 1995) and the Selling Better Movement – a 30+-year body of work built on one evidence-backed argument: ethical, human-centred systems outperform extractive ones. In business. In democracy. In every institution where people work and lead together. A business growth strategist, systems thinker, original researcher, and civic organiser, Sue has trained more than 50,000 professionals across five continents, co-founded March4Justice, managed Zoe Daniel’s historic 2022 Goldstein campaign, and founded Democracy Watch AU and Before You Vote. She is based in Melbourne, Australia.
Who I Am and What I Believe
I am a systems thinker, strategist, educator, and original researcher with one central argument that has driven everything I have done since 1995: ethical, human-centred systems outperform extractive ones. In business. In democracy. In every institution where people work and lead together.
This is not wishful thinking. It is a 30-year body of evidence built across more than 50,000 professionals, five continents, and two fields most people are told to keep separate.
Why Business and Democracy Are the Same Work
In late 2022, a CEO business group excluded me from speaking to their members after 26 years of exceptional results, averaging 9.5 out of 10. Why? Because I had served as Campaign Manager for Zoe Daniel’s historic win in Goldstein and some members were incensed.
Twenty-six years of proving ethical systems outperform extractive ones. But the moment I applied those same capabilities to help citizens hold power accountable, I was persona non grata.
That moment clarified something I had always sensed: the separation between business ethics and democratic accountability is not accidental. It is strategic. The same vested interests that rig boardrooms rig parliaments. The same skills that unrig one unrig the other. The same goal: fairness that performs.
If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.
How I Work
I am driven by three things: curiosity, fairness, and helpfulness.
When something troubles me, I do not treat the symptoms. I dig to find the source. I read widely and ask hard questions. I have worked across nearly every industry sector over 30 years, listened to and coached thousands of leaders, and picked up weak signals others miss. I join dots across science, philosophy, psychology, economics, neurobiology, systems thinking, ethics, and democratic theory.
A simplistic answer to a complex problem is always wrong. That discipline is what makes the frameworks I build actually work in the field, not just on paper.
Track Record
In business: Founder and CEO of Barrett Consulting Group since 1995. Founder of the Selling Better Movement. Facilitator at Monash Business School and Melbourne Business School. Over 1,400 published articles. Inductee, Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame (2000). The firm that got selling its first university qualification in Australia. Lead researcher of the 2026 ANZ B2B Commercial Alignment Report – assessing 229 organisations the way buyers do now — which found three in four businesses fail to give buyers a clear reason to choose them, and that closing the gap delivers four times fewer sales problems and a decisive competitive advantage.
In writing and thought leadership: Over 1,400 published articles since 1995 across business ethics, sales excellence, leadership, and democratic accountability. Barrett Blog running weekly since 2007. Regular contributor to Pearls and Irritations on AI governance and democratic accountability. Sue’s Substack, Every Solution Begins with a Conversation, publishes weekly at suebarrett.substack.com – exploring the intersection of commercial excellence, civic integrity, and human-centred systems.
In civic life: Co-founder of March4Justice, which mobilised 110,000 people across 200 locations in 14 days. Co-founder of Voices of Goldstein that led to me being Campaign Manager for Zoe Daniel’s 2022 Goldstein victory. Founder of Democracy Watch AU. Founder of Before You Vote (beforeyouvote.com.au). Campaign Lead for Goldstein for YES.
The thread connecting all three: the same capabilities, the same conversations, the same commitment to fairness that works.
What those who have worked with me say:
“Sue is simply the best writer on business and sales issues I have ever come across. She cares deeply about the world and human beings and is generous with her knowledge.” – David Walker, Shorewalker DMS
“A brilliant leader who moves mountains. At all times she demonstrated enormous diligence, intelligence, kindness, grit, and creative flair.” – Alex Fein, Political Strategist, Redbridge
Who Inspires Me
David Bowie – never stopped learning, always in service of something larger than himself. Rachel Carson – proved that speaking truth to systems that harm people and planet is both necessary and possible. Kate Raworth – showed that economic systems can be designed to serve humanity, not extract from them. Maria Montessori – understood that education empowers people to make informed decisions about their lives and their world. Peter Drucker – proved that customer orientation and ethical responsibility are not opposed to profit; they create it. Albert Bandura – showed how self-efficacy and moral disengagement work, and how to interrupt both. Vida Goldstein – ran for federal parliament five times before most women could vote, claiming her seat without asking permission.
Let’s Start a Conversation
Every solution begins with a conversation. Whether you are building ethical business systems, democratic accountability, or both – I would love to connect.