John C. Horton
At CollierBrown, the focus is on you.
The purpose of everything I do is to help improve you or your business. I help to kindle new perspectives and fresh thinking that lead to prospering businesses and fulfilling lives.
My role as an executive advisor is to understand the unique nature of your situation and craft tailored solutions that bring tangible results and meaningful impact.
I collaborate with boards, senior executives, and emerging leaders, unraveling complexities to drive purposeful change. We start with “what is”, building towards “what could be.”
Like an executive sparring partner, my role is inspired by the enduring relationships between athletes and their coaches, aiming to unlock levels of performance beyond individual efforts.
In top leadership positions, where it can be isolating, I provide a trusted space for open dialogue. A partnership gives leaders the chance to share thoughts, fears, and aspirations, benefitting from a neutral, experienced confidant with no personal agenda.
My Story
The basis of CollierBrown was set long before I was born.
My maternal grandparents were very influential in my life. Mabel Collier and John Brown were children of pioneers; theirs was not a life that could afford or tolerate wasted effort.
As husband and wife, father and mother, and grandparents, they had simple needs, an unwavering faith and big vision. They prospered a family, several successful businesses, a church, and a community. In addition to unconditional love, they taught me the power of making sense, making progress and making a difference. Their legacy lives on in all that I do today.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve you. I love the work; it honors my grandparents and continues their legacy.
If you think the way you’ve always thought, you’ll do what you’ve always done.
If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always had, or – in this digital-centric, hyper fast world – less than you’ve always had.
How you think – more so than what you think – matters. Performing better starts with thinking better – differently. We always start with what is and build toward what’s possible.
Imagine an executive sparring partner, advisor or coach; it’s an idea that stems from olympic or professional sports where athletes have established long term relationships with their “advisors”. These relationships are grounded in the mutual objective of building and maintaining “olympic-level” performance for the athlete, or the executive.
- That leadership is about building willing follower-ship for a specific purpose (a cause, an idea, or a course of action). The genesis of willing follower-ship is anchored by three irreplaceable piers: Character (who you are), Competence (what you know), and Communication (how you interact with others), at a minimum. It also includes Context, Credibility and Contribution.
- That how you observe and think about events and situations will drive your decisions, behavior and responses regarding events and situations.
- That prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.
- That thinking differently can be a super power.
I want you to thrive personally and professionally and be the transformational leader that people remember for the rest of their lives.
While everything that has happened in my life and everyone that I have met have contributed to prepare me for today, there are three that are special: working for IBM, founding and building The Leadership Forum and the great blessing of having had nine Northstar’s (mentors) in my life.