James Kerr

James Kerr Speaker on Leadership & High Performance

He is the author of ‘Legacy’, the international bestseller, which analyses the unique culture of the world’s most successful sporting team, the All Blacks. The Daily Telegraph called it the ‘modern version of Vince Lombardi’s guides to coaching’ and says ‘for those searching for genuine keys to team culture, it is manna from heaven.’

In his work, Kerr dresses the transferable principles that drive exceptional outperformance. Using examples from his work with sport, the military and business, he argues that winning teams employ the same basic ideas; a relentless focus on excellence, a commitment to a collective cause, individual autonomy, trust initiative and accountability, candid communication, underpinned by a culture in which ‘leaders create leaders’.

As an advisory, he helps organisations ‘lift their game’: galvanising and inspiring their teams through standards and expectations, identity, belief and belonging, mindset and mental skills. As well as small, elite teams, Kerr addresses the specific challenges faced by larger, more diverse organisations. He has advised US and UK Special Forces, Formula 1 teams, America’s Cup crews, Premier League football managers, Olympic Performance Directors – as well as corporations ranging from Google to PayPal, McKinsey to Dyson, HSBC to Roche, Red Bull to Unilever, Shell to Boeing. His next book, Spearhead, explores ‘the principles of war for the business of leadership’, providing a fresh framework for leaders looking to turn culture into a ‘force multiplier’ for competitive advantage.

He is the co-founder of Fable Partners, the Leadership and Change Consultancy.