James A. White Sr. is a Senior Master Training Management Consultant and Executive Coach. He is also owner and operator of Performance Consulting Services, a business performance training, development and consulting firm in Columbus, Ohio. With over 25 years of corporate, education, and government experience, White is committed to the training and development of individuals, groups and organizations.
My Definition Of Success | That my family, children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren are healthy, productive contributors to themselves, their family, community and society. That they are also progressing along a path that is unobstructed by negative, hostile, racial/ethnic societal influences.
Acquire and maintain an excellent state of spiritual, physical and mental health. To live an engaging, challenging and integrity based life.
To acquire and maintain financial comfort and stability for quality living, travel and promote family growth, back up, support and sustainability.
I am absolutely certain that success for me has changed throughout my life and will continue to change because life is dynamic with multiple phases. Each phase is unique and manifest different needs, expectations, goals and challenges. In high school being a successful team basketball player and contributor, honing my skills and building rapport with my teammates was paramount. As a member of the United States Air Force with a teen age wife and new child, fighting racial discrimination to convince white apartment owners to rent to me so I can get my family to join me in Idaho was a goal. Today as a father, grandfather and great-grandfather success for me has again shifted to a primary focus on the success of each of them… my Legacy.
Finally, my new success challenge is to position myself to eradicate inequities in general and racism specifically in my life and in my life-time.
I Am Driven By | My drive is a desire to assist individuals, groups and organization in identifying development tools, concepts, resources and ideas that will allow them to achieve personal, professional and/or spiritual performance excellence in all they do.
My Highlights | I did not allow my disability of dyslexia to stop me from pursuing my goals, desires and dreams.Being a very proud Black father of the wonderful gifts of my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There is nothing more precious to me in my life than them.
My ability, which is a gift from God, to step in a training room, class room or board room and conduct integrity based training that will facilitate and stimulate growth, discovery and personal development in the lives of others, regardless of their diverse make up. To possess the ability, commitment and passion to influence participants to move to a higher level personal, spiritual and professional consciousness, societal justice and equity.
The Difference Between Good And Great | First those who are great in what they do, did not allow being good to get in their way. They continued to ask themselves self-empowering questions that open the door to new opportunities and possibilities. They stepped through those doors of fear, uncertainty and doubt and focused on or asked themselves the question; “how can I create a better and more meaningful connection with and for others”. I believe greatness can only be achieved through ones integrity-based, authentic, dynamic engagement with others. Greatness can only be achieved through a genuine desire to serve, nurture, support and develop others.
A Key Talent | I really care about the quality and sincerity of my interactions with others. I just love, care for and respect people. I am interested in people and I want them to be “OK”…in whatever way ok means for them. The analogy I use is, “every person I meet or come in contact with has a unique gift for me that only they can give”. If I don’t treat them with value, respect and appreciation, I will not receive my unique gift. The gift is not monetary; it is the personal exchange people offer freely and effortlessly.
I also believe I have a responsibility and I am accountable for the quality of my engagement with other. The question I ask is, do you know how what you say think and do impact the health, safety and welfare of our society. I would love for my legacy to others to be better when I leave them than what it was when I made the initial connection with them. I believe in the “power on one” to effect change.
The Characteristics Of Success | Personal and professional self-empowerment. I am 100% responsible for my success and failure in all that I do, but the key point is… I can’t accomplish it by myself. I must cultivate and exhibit the ability, mindset and attitude to connect with others in a structured, purposeful and productive manner. We have a choice every day we wake up as to how we will live and act out that day…
- Victim, [it ain’t never my fault]
- Passive [fear, uncertainty and doubt has paralyzed me]
- Active [ if it is to be, it is up to me]
- Highly Active /Accomplished [a positive, constructive sense of self and self-empowerment to move forward with a mindset of 100% ownership for my success and failure, but I can’t do it by myself.]
Principles I Live By |
- Work with a sense of purpose,
- Behave and engage with others in an integrity based manner,
- Treat all others with value, respect and appreciation,
- Retain a consciousness and presence of and for humanity,
- Take ownership for all you say, think and do,
- Turn on your GP2S… Goals, Plans, Priorities and Strategies to navigate life’s roadways.
Critical Skills I Develop |
- Presentation skills
- Listening skills
- Communications skills
- Negotiations and influence skills
- Conflict management
- Acknowledge, value and appreciate diversity
- Interactive Styles
- Time Mastery
How I Use My Mind | There are four basic fundamental types of behavior;
- Victim; it is never my fault
- Passive; I know what to do but fear stops me from doing it.
- Active; if it is to be it is up to me; I must operate based on “MY” personal, professional and spiritual plan. I engage with purpose. What is your life’s GP2S
- Highly Active/Accomplished; to operate on a quid pro quo principle. I am 100% responsible for my success and/or failure but I can’t accomplish it by myself.
To be aware of the victim and passive mindset and to realize the negative impact that it can have on you. To focus on being active and highly active in all you do and to take 100% responsibility and ownership for all of your actions, behaviors and results.
Lessons I Have Learnt | Practice, practice, practice. Nothing beats preparation.
Know the cultural norms and idiosyncrasies of those you want to engage or have to engage. Cultivate the power in influence. Peter Drucker said, the power of a true leader is one who can influence people over whom they have no control.
Dealing With Doubt | My most recent experience was when I was asked by Ruth Milligan to participate in Tedx Columbus. She asked me to talk about the “angry black male” as a result of the Ferguson incident. Even though I am very comfortable in any classroom addressing adults, a keynote, without the support of a power point is not what I felt comfortable doing. As a matter of fact, there were several time when I wanted to call her and ask her to get someone else to do the presentation. But I realize how important the message was and I did have facts I felt were important to offer. So I adopted and embraced the attitude of an Active and Highly Active/Accomplished person and I practiced, practiced and practiced and assumed ownership for what I needed to do. I solicited feedback from a wide array of diverse people and when I stepped on the Big Red dot, it all came together and the rest is history…850,000 hits.
Performing At My Peak | Research, practice, input from a diverse groups and individuals. I consistently ask for candid feedback from my daughter and special key critical friends whose styles are very different than mine. They are creditable people who will always tell me the truth because they want me to be successful. If I would happen to not achieve my desired results, I own it and start the complete process all over again.
Resources I Use To Stay Inspired |
- How Successful People Think, John Maxwell,
- The Power Of Purpose, Richard Lieder,
- The WIZ – Screen play – Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor based on The
- Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum The Wiz by William F. Brown
- Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
- Good to Great, by Jim Collins
- Emotional/Social Intelligence, Daniel Goleman
- Uprooting Racism, Paul Kivel
- Primal Leadership, Daniel Goleman
- Time Mastery/Alignment Thinking , Jim Steffen
- Wisdom of the Ages, Wayne Dyer
My Future Dreams And Ambitions | Eradicate racism in my life and in my life time through education, personal, professional and spiritual engagement and exacting severe and appropriate consequences to those who violate the human and societal rights of anyone for any reason.
The Meaning Of Life | Consistent, quality and dynamic interaction and healthy quality engagement with love of one’s family, friends and associates in my personal, social, spiritual, business and professional life.
The Best Advice I’ve Received | From my mom who said to both me and my sister always do your best, leave things better than you found, if you visit a person’s home – treat the home and the people in a way that they want you to come back. Do not allow anyone to abuse or take advantage of you. Be a leader not a follower.
My dad passed away when I was 10 years old. To take care of my sister, myself and grandmother, my Mom, an African American single widowed female, open her own beautiful salon at the age of 30. Both my sister and I had duties and responsibilities to keep the shop open, clean and support her in the shop when she was working.
Cleaning the shop: As the son of a mom who owned a beautiful salon, my weekly chores were to clean and mop the floors, take out the trash, clean and sterilize the combs and brushes and finally mix the shampoo solution for the coming week. This was my Friday evening ritual. One weekend I asked my mom if I could delay my duties until Saturday evening because… She granted my request and said ok you can do it Saturday. Saturday I had something else to do and again I made the same request for a delay. Mom granted my request; I told her I would do it after church on Sunday. I didn’t get to it after church because my friends and I wanted to visit some friends we had not seen in a while. So the new time was Sunday evening after dinner. After dinner I was tried and had to do my homework. So mom said to me get your homework done and let me review it. After the review of my homework it was dark and late in the evening, so I said “mom, I will do the shop tomorrow after school. Mom called me into her room and calmly and politely said here are the keys to the shop if you leave now you can walk, not ride, down to the shop and get your duties done tonight. If you walk fast it will only take you about 15 minute to walk there, an hour to get the work done and 15 minutes to walk back. You should be back home by 10:00 pm and get to bed so you can feel fresh in the morning ready for school. Then she added, “And don’t forget to securely lock that door”. That meeting was brief and over, was a powerful life learning lesson. That lesson is support by that proverb, never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today. Mom continued to reinforce that lesson to me and my sister.
Advice On Building Wealth | GP2S Goals, Plans, Priorities and Strategies.
I Am Inspired By | It was my mother. I didn’t realize the business challenges she was confronted with until I started studying race relations in America in 1957. The racial and gender challenges were serious and entrenched. What my Mom accomplished as a widowed African America woman in American when the racial odds were stacked intentional against her was admirable.
I was reading Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins when he told the story of how his first business partner abandoned him and their business and he was stuck with a $700,000.00 dollar debt. All of his friends advised him to file bankruptcy but he said he was not going to leave his debt on anyone else. He said he applied” massive amount of focus energy and dedication” into his business and was able to pay of his debt and became a multimillionaire.
The Legacy I Would like To Leave | A societal attitude, consciousness and mindset that all people are equal and treated based on “the content of their skills, level of personal and professional ownership, drive and character, and not on any dimension of their diverse make-up”. Dr. King had the dream, I, along with so many others of all diverse make-ups are needed and called upon to assist in making his dream a reality… in my life and life time.
Useful Links |
Watch James’ TED Talk:
