Interview with James Donnelly – Director Mitchell Phoenix Limited, President Mitchell Phoenix USA

When did you join Mitchell Phoenix?
Let’s see it was Jan 1, 1989.

Why did you join?
Because I was interested in the concepts of managing in different environments. I worked for IBM, the Royal Air Force and AT&T, three distinctly different management cultures. I was fascinated by the things that made them work and the things that held them back. The chance to work for Mitchell Phoenix gave me the opportunity to understand better, how the culture helped or hindered an organisation's ability to change.

Why did you think that Mitchell Phoenix could help you with this?
Because Mitchell Phoenix was able to articulate things that I hadn’t previously been able to for myself. I instinctively understood why and how right those insights were.

What do you do with Mitchell Phoenix today?
I manage projects and seminars that develop management thinking, corporate capability , giving people insight. Effectively they have a bigger picture view and they can make better decisions.

Who was the first customer you did this for?
The first customer was Luton & District Bus Company.

What did they get from the seminar?
They got the ability to manage themselves and others in a way that brought more understanding, more trust, faster decision making, common management culture and language. Increased levels of confidence personally and collectively.

How successful has Mitchell Phoenix been over the years?
In what it does, when it does it, there is success in almost every case, success that is powerful and long lasting. So when we work with people, we are very, very effective. What we have been less successful at is marketing how powerful and insightful our input is.

Why is the programme so powerful?
Because it is based on irrefutable, unbreakable principles, that people have ignored or have not fully understood. Therefore, they have lost touch with, or never had connection with the ideas that are the foundation for success in anything. So why is what we do so powerful ? We create understanding for people and that is what people act on; understanding.

What’s the highlight been during your time at Mitchell Phoenix?
The highlight is getting feedback from individuals and companies on the difference our work has made to them.

Can you give an example?
Recently, a group of managers on a public programme, and without fishing on my part, the comments they made were “we would never have worked any of this out for ourselves if we hadn’t done this programme”.

What sort of people were on this programme?
Senior managers from different organisations, big budget responsibility, big head count responsibility, fairly mature, A lot of management experience. Of course lots of experience doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s grown and expanded over the years, it could be the same experience repeated time after time.

How do you see the leadership development market at the moment?
I think the market doesn’t appreciate the importance of leadership. I think they pay it a lot of lip service and are focussed only on bottom line. Which is short term, companies having no real strategy, no real vision for their venture and therefore no need for leadership in the short term. If they want to change and grow and be different and more creative innovative, more profitable they need leadership.

Leadership development is a crowded market, do you see companies getting value from all these providers?
I couldn’t possibly say. I may think that. I don’t think there is enough serious and consistent investment in fostering leadership, corporate and cultural growth. I think that there is a ‘pick ‘n mix’ approach to management development that is not grounded in any clear strategic purpose.

How does Mitchell Phoenix stay relevant in this market?
By listening very closely to our customers’ feedback from the work we do with them and keeping a close eye on the trends in industry, constantly questioning our ideas.

How do you see the future of Mitchell Phoenix?
I think the future, is bright.. I think what we have to offer, as I said earlier, is very powerful when properly harnessed by an organisation. I think now we have a global presence and we are working more on how to communicate with our market. We simply create more opportunities for ourselves to reinforce the real value of our service.

You have just moved to New York and you speak of a global presence. How do you see Mitchell Phoenix growth in America?
It’s too early to say. Based on what we have done in America in the past I think we have something that will hit the mark with American managers. It is a very competitive market. Our one-day a month approach is unique and we have appeal to global companies looking for an international flavour. I’m very confident about establishing a strong presence in America.