The Ph.D. and the Entrepreneur Meet!

Two different paths … Two unique perspectives ... One Powerful movement…

Practical Lessons

Different Paths – – – – – – – Same Destination

Kelly Castor and James Vaughan have much in common. They both believe in systems thinking, the power of the human spirit, the key role culture plays in the success or failure of businesses, the need for teamwork to achieve greatness … the list goes on and on.

The unique value they bring via Practical Lessons to the businesses and personal successes of our clients is not so much in the end results but in our distinctly different paths to reaching the same conclusions.

Kelly, the entrepreneur, with over 25 years of business experience, studied his trade from the inside out, focusing on what did and didn’t work for himself and others. His philosophies, principles and practices are all derived from personal experience. His first-hand observations and involvement in managing and leading people in many successful enterprises shaped his belief that how people perform is, in large measure, a function of the environment within which they live and work. Therefore, systems, teams and true leadership are essential to any successful enterprise.

Kelly owned and operated several small businesses in the service industry, property management and educational development and training sectors. He honed his leadership and management skills in the telecommunications industry running a region for a leading telecommunications company in the Southwest.

In 1998, he co-founded NII Communications, a CLEC in San Antonio, TX with two other partners. Bringing to bear all of the lessons learned in his other ventures, in 3 short years, Kelly successfully led the company from $0 to $20 million dollars in revenue. The company was later sold to Clear-Tel communications.

In 2002, Kelly founded Practical Lessons as a means to bring his wealth of experience to the core issues of starting, growing and sustaining a successful business venture. His clients often refer to him as their “business therapist,” but Kelly’s common sense approach to achieving results doesn’t resemble the soft approach associated with most therapists.

Kelly has a knack for quickly grasping the issues his clients face and developing practical strategies for addressing them. His style of consulting always leaves his clients stronger and better prepared for the inevitable challenges of running a business.

James, the Ph.D., received his B.A. in Philosophy from Millsaps College, his M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Wesleyan University, and his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Louisiana State University.

James taught Organizational Psychology in the Graduate Schools of Business at the Universities of Pittsburgh and Rochester for eight years. During that time, he co-founded and was Associate Director of the Management Research Center, an early pioneer in cross-cultural studies of management practices. In 1966, he was a Ford Faculty Fellow, studying the impact of computers on small to medium-size banks.

In 1970, James left the University of Rochester and established his own consulting firm. Since that time he has served a wide variety of clients, including: corporations such as Alcoa, Allied Bendix, A.T.&T., Carrier Corp., Great Western Savings, Mobil Oil, Westinghouse, and XEROX; educational institutions such as the American Management Association, Rochester Public Schools, and U.C.S.D.; and government organizations such as the National Defense University and the U.S. Naval Academy.

James brings a wealth of experience to bear on the major issues facing organizations today—especially the challenge of preparing people to deal with continuous change. Every assignment he accepts is done from a systems perspective—with great respect for the complexity of organizations and the power of the culture to enhance or inhibit goal achievement.

As an inveterate learner, James is currently absorbed with what may be the biggest challenge of the information age—how to develop a learning organization. He has an unshakable belief in everyone's ability to learn and an equally strong belief that the future belongs to learners. He spends most of his time today refining the tools he has developed and used as a process consultant.

This is where the power of James and Kelly
is channeled into the Practical Lessons programs.