LAUREN PATON | KEYNOTE SPEAKER
RUTHLESS PRIORITISATION FOR HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS
Keynotes and workshops that help leadership teams get the right work done, and keep the people who do it.
Built on 15+ years of hitting impossible targets inside Amazon, Audible and Disney, and 7+ years of helping other leaders do the same.
Lauren was fantastic. We had so much engagement and lots of people have expressed how brilliant they found her to be.
— Secret Escapes
TRUSTED BY LEADERSHIP TEAMS AT
YOUR BEST PEOPLE ARE THE REASON YOU CAN’T SEE THE PROBLEM…
They're good, so the work gets done, whatever it costs. And because it gets done, nobody stops to ask whether it all needed doing.
I learned that at Amazon, where I raised targets everyone called impossible by around 30% and hit them by doing less and doing it better. Seven years of building my own business later, I help organisations prioritise ruthlessly, so their teams deliver what matters most and keep delivering it.
Because the teams that deliver the most and sustain it the longest are the ones where it's safe to ask what matters and say no to what doesn't.
SAYS WHO?
Says Who? is my keynote and workshop programme on ruthless prioritisation for high-performing teams.
It gives leaders a clear view of where their teams' time and effort is really going. And it gives teams the question, the safety and the leadership backing to act on what they find: what to stop, what to change, and what finally gets the resource it needs.
BRING SAYS WHO? TO YOUR TEAM
Keynote
45–60 minutes · Conferences, kick-offs and all-hands.
Your people leave with:
A shared question for testing any piece of work: says who?
A clear line between what's driving results and what's just keeping people busy
Permission to stop wasting time on work that isn't moving the needle
Keynote and workshop
Half day (a 30–45 minute talk, then a two-hour workshop) · Off-sites, away days and team kick-offs.
Your team leaves with:
An agreed list of what to stop, change or resource
Clear terms with the teams that send them work: timings, what they need, and what counts as an exception
A phrase the team keeps using long after the day
Leadership team session
Half-day or full day shaped to your agenda · Executive and senior leadership teams
Your leaders leave with:
A clear view of where their teams' time and effort is really going
Stop, change and resource decisions made together and backed from the top
A simple way to keep that visibility coming, so the list doesn't refill by next quarter
WHY LAUREN
Some speakers explain performance and others inspire it. I've spent 20 years doing it, inside organisations where everything was urgent.
At Amazon, Prime Video's content team was setting European launch dates a week or two before marketing found out about them. Everything still went live, because my team made it go live, at a cost nobody upstairs could see. I spent a couple of hours laying out what each launch actually took, stage by stage, and we agreed new timings, what we needed from them and what counted as an exception. Errors went down, more content made it onto the platform, and our relationships with distributors improved, because we were finally meeting the expectations we'd set out together.
That's what Says Who? does for a whole organisation.
Lauren Paton is a UK keynote speaker on prioritisation and high performance, and a former Amazon and Audible senior leader. Her Says Who? keynotes and workshops help organisations prioritise ruthlessly, make decisions faster and sustain high performance through change. Based in London, she has worked with Amazon, PUMA, Monzo, BBC, Barclays, EY and Eurostar, and is ranked the UK's 7th top-rated speaker by London Keynote Speakers Agency.
AT A GLANCE
Launched Audible across Asia Pacific, making it the fastest-growing international Audible business in its first year
Led content marketing for Amazon Prime Video across Europe
Creator of Says Who?
Ranked the UK's 7th top-rated speaker in 2025 by London Keynote Speakers Agency
100+ senior leaders supported, with 90% of 1:1 clients in a more senior role within six months
Clients include Amazon, PUMA, Monzo, BBC, Barclays, EY and Eurostar
Based in London, speaking across the UK, internationally and virtually
WATCH LAUREN SPEAK
Lauren Paton speaking on sustainable high performance and the Says Who? framework, at conferences, leadership days and away days across the UK.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
A truly momentous day for women in monzo. You’re a powerhouse of a woman. The feedback so far has been phenomenal.
— Monzo
Lauren is incredibly knowledgeable and brought a wealth of experience, and an ability to connect with our team and address our specific challenges. The feedback has been extremely positive and many have commented on the immediate applicability of the training to their daily roles.
— PUMA
Lauren organised a brilliant culture building session for the BBC. Would highly recommend if you’re looking for a custom session for your team.
— BBC
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the Says Who? keynote about? Says Who? is a keynote on sustainable high performance. It explains why teams struggle to prioritise even when they know how, and gives them a framework to find the unwritten rules slowing them down and focus on the work that matters.
Is this time-management training? No. Says Who? assumes people already know how to prioritise. It works on why that isn't happening, by finding the rules about workload, pushing back and saying no that stop people acting on what they know.
Is Says Who? a wellbeing or burnout talk? No, it's a performance talk. The goal is teams that deliver what matters and sustain it. People do tend to work in a more sustainable way as a result, but the outcome organisations book it for is performance.
Who is Says Who? for? Organisations that need more performance through change or uncertainty, and whose teams are stretched. There are sessions for whole organisations, senior leadership teams, managers, individual high performers and women in leadership.
Can the talks be tailored? Yes. Every keynote and workshop is shaped around your organisation's context, the change you're going through and what you want people to do differently afterwards.
Does Lauren speak outside London? Yes. Lauren is based in London and speaks in person across the UK and internationally, as well as virtually.
What makes Lauren different from other high performance speakers? Lauren is an operator, not a theorist. She delivered targets everyone called impossible at Amazon by refusing to do everything, then spent seven years working with senior leaders on why most people can't do the same. Says Who? combines both.
How do we book Lauren? Book a 30-minute conversation through this page. Tell us about your event and what you're trying to shift, and we'll recommend the right format
BRING SAYS WHO? TO YOUR ORGANISATION
If your people are brilliant, busy and running out of road, let's talk about your next conference, leadership day or offsite.It's a 30-minute conversation. You tell us what you're trying to shift, and we'll tell you which format fits.
MORE CLIENT LOVE
It was a very interesting and engaging session, which made us all think about imposter syndrome differently and what external factors may be influencing the way we think and feel. Lauren also provided some practical tips to help us all cope.
-Barclays
I highly recommend Lauren. She made the session interactive, was very inspirational, and kept things very focused on actionable steps all of us can take. We had such great feedback!
-Houzz
I would highly recommend Lauren's services to organisations wanting to further develop the talents and confidence of women in leadership and to individual female clients wanting to elevate their leadership skills through coaching.
-Bluefield