A message from James

Hi all,

After nearly thirty years in the banking sector, I’ve learned that while I may not have seen everything, there is little that surprises me these days. My journey has taken me through three of the top global banks, working with some of the most inspirational leaders you’d ever hope to meet. I’ve also encountered individuals who exhibited extremely self-centered and disruptive behavior.

I have taken valuable lessons from all of them, both of how I want to be, and how I don’t want to be. Remarkably, there have been as many positive lessons from challenging characters as from the inspirational ones, which tells you something about every aspect of human behavior being on a diverse scale, and that often the “bad” behaviors are “good” behaviors taken to extreme.

I’ve also been blessed to work with many peers who have demonstrated huge intellect and insights, a willingness to learn and help each other. At the same time, I have seen the huge disruption that can be caused by a small number of people to the whole culture of an organization.

The heart of an organization beats in its people — the thousands of curious, skilled, and committed individuals I've been fortunate to lead and work alongside. I've witnessed the incredible impact that a group of highly skilled, curious, humble, and committed teammates can have. They are the corporate memory banks and nervous systems, the true power of any organization.

This understanding forms the basis for creating Edgeless, with a core mission being: To work with organizations to create and implement frameworks that empower their people. These frameworks help in building cultures reflective of their collective values. The teams have everything else they need within themselves already. This mission stems from my own experiences — understanding that the best cultures are those built from within by empowered individuals.

We are creating a loose affiliation of like minded people from hugely diverse backgrounds. You’ll already see partnerships with highly successful coaches through to wildlife master trackers, all with the same conviction that we have huge amounts to learn from other ways of being and living. And we’ll keep building that to bring you unique perspectives.

I can’t remember a time when I was more excited than now, as we bring these insights and tools to those of you who have a conviction in the power of your organizations, and are committed to the transformations for both yourselves and your people.

As we embark on this exciting journey together, I'm reminded of a quote from 'The Lion Tracker's Guide To Life' by Boyd Varty, a book everyone who works with me gets a copy of: “I don’t know where I’m going, but I know exactly how I’m going to get there.”

With blessings,

James