Managing Work

John Jones

I have a long career as an innovator, inventor of a range of products and services, including bringing them to market. In my personal life I have had to face a number of difficulties which have challenged and enhanced my life in equal measure.

My original goal as a child was to 'make things', as I got older this became about electronics and naturally led into software, which I still keep abreast of and use almost daily.

My training as a physicist and electronics engineer was a perfect grounding for all this. Early on in life I also had a great interest in people, how they work and what makes us tick. These twin paths, technology and people, are the common threads through all of my various incarnations.

In my first business the crossover started with starting out in my garage and ending up with over 100 employees in a 20,000 square foot factory. All the components, engineering, management, personal development and business skills merged into a boiling pot of experiences spanning ten years. Thirty years later this business still does what we set it up to do, having passed through the hands of several owners along the way. All world class businesses in their own rights. Pac International Ltd.

During this period of building a business our family came along, and the birth of my son added another strand to the weave, a child with a significant mental and physical disability. This placed me into another area of ongoing interest, working for inclusion and self determination within the disability community. To attempt to call this experience transformative is possibly the largest understatement I can make. I have the honour of being a founding board member, past President and current board member of Neighbours Inc. where we strive to offer innovative and vital services to nearly 900 people. We are acknowledged world class leaders in our field.

The birth of our daughter added a calming and rewarding strand. She will probably be surprised to learn of it as a calming experience, but with so many difficulties and challenges it was and remains, a delight to watch her growth. Every parent cites their children as a source of almost infinite growth (and challenge) in their lives. I am no exception.

Both my children are now adults and each leads a demanding, and unusual life. My daughter is a fashion designer in London, where she recently established her own line of bags.

My route into coaching came from all the difficulties I encountered while building Pac International Ltd. I realized I didn't know how to work. Over many years I evolved a process, with the help of many people, which is the main focus of this web site. AIM helps individuals to work more effectively with less effort and greater results. My mantra is how to achieve more by doing less. This led me to the pivotal role 'attention' plays in our performance. AIM is essentially a highly structured coaching process with the goal of helping people discover through an emergent process how their brain works. It naturally leads our consultants into all sorts of other coaching scenarios, some of which you can see reflected in the titles in the Coaching Type page.

Outside of my working life I have a wide range of friends, in both the UK and the USA, where my interests range from folk dancing, hot air ballooning and hiking to reading and music.

We have a home in both Manhattan and Manchester (UK), near to where my son lives. My partner is a singer song writer, and she adds another wonderful strand to my life.

Anyone who sets out to achieve something will inevitably have to address conflict at some point. My natural tendencies as a pacifist leads me to explore ways of resolving conflicts in a non-violent manner. There are many additional threads to this strand. The most significant being non-violent solutions have longer lasting, rewarding outcomes. Through this aspect I found a home with the Quakers and have been a member of the Religious Society of Friends for more than 25 years. Quakers have a long history of addressing social conscience issues in society with a non-violent approach. Being a tiny part of this rich history is a blessing and provides opportunities to learn outside of the ordinary spheres of life. In every arena of conflict anywhere in the world, scratch the surface and you will find a small bunch of Quakers quietly working towards restorative solutions.

Recently I have re-discovered my artistic streak. The Art Students League of New York can lay claim to this delight but my thanks to my partner for finding such an unusual Christmas gift. Truly a gift that keeps on giving.

My innovation continues, with the latest coming to fruition with Trading Robotics, Inc.. There is a satisfying fusion of my interests in artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, aspects of how people work modeled in a robotic structure working towards solving an obvious need.