Grayson James

Grayson James, author of Full Contact Performance: The Internal Art of Organizational Collaboration (with foreword by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith) has been helping executives, boards and senior management teams improve their collaborative business performance for over 30 years.

In addition to coaching senior executives and teams, he facilitates organizational change initiatives and provides collaborative leadership education internationally through his consulting firm, Full Contact Institute. He designed and leads the highly acclaimed Full Contact Collaboration workshops worldwide, which cover many of the themes included in his book.

Early in his career Grayson was CEO of Independent Learning Schools, Inc., a nationally recognized multi-campus private school system in the San Francisco Bay Area that was cited as a model school for the future in Esquire Magazine. Following this, he served as a professional court-appointed mediator specializing in resolution of complex, multi-party litigations while also teaching alternative conflict resolution skills. Grayson has founded, led and served on numerous non-profit boards and associations including, most recently, Petaluma Bounty, which was recognized with the Leadership in Sustainability Award by the California State Senate and State Assembly.

A certified Ontological Coach, Grayson serves as the worldwide training and certification leader for facilitators of The Samurai GameŽ, an internationally acclaimed leadership and teambuilding simulation created by author and human potential pioneer, George Leonard. He holds a 6th Degree Black Belt in Aikido and is a senior instructor at Two Rock Aikido in Sonoma County, California, where he lives.