Colleen Barrett, president emeritus of Southwest Airlines, calls Jim Whitt her favorite "people provoker."

"The members of our culture committee still rave about your visit. Thanks again for inspiring our People to reach their full potential and find their true purpose in life. Times are trying in the airline industry (as they are everywhere!) and your values and principles continue to hit home with all of the Southwest Warriors."
- Colleen Barrett, Southwest Airlines

Jim Whitt is an unapologetic people provoker. For more than 20 years Jim has provoked people and organizations to reach their full potential as a speaker, consultant and author.

As a speaker, he provokes people to thought and laughter (kind of a cross between Dr. Phil and Jeff Foxworthy). As a consultant, Jim provokes leaders to create cultures where people are self-motivated. As an author, Jim provokes readers with proven processes to help them improve their lives and their organizations.

Jim's people-provoking career was birthed from the discovery of his purpose in life (to help people reach their full potential) in 1988. Prior to that he spent more than a decade in sales and marketing with two Fortune 500 companies. Jim grew up working in the cattle business and has a degree in animal science.

All of this provides him with a unique perspective into human behavior which he has applied to develop his unconventional approach to transforming lives, leaders and organizations as a founding partner of Purpose Unlimited.

Jim gives Lee Bloomingdale, Mutual of Omaha’s Manager of Field Operations Agency Sales, a roping lesson on stage. Armed with a degree in animal science and a healthy dose of humor, Jim uses his cowboy background to engage and entertain the audience. The result is a tangible demonstration of how the power of purpose empowers the human spirit and enables us to rise above our animal natures to fulfill our own unique potential.

• More About Jim Whitt

  Jim is a native Oklahoman who grew up grew up working on farms, ranches and commercial livestock feeding operations.

  After three semesters as an art major Jim returned to his agricultural roots and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Oklahoma State University.

  Upon graduating Jim spent the next ten years in sales with Ralston Purina in the High Plains region of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. He was a top 20 producer in a sales force of 500 and his customers included some of the largest commercial cattle feeding operations in the world.

  Jim then accepted the position as the national cattle product marketing manager with another Fortune 500 company, Central Soya. In less than two years his product group had the largest percentage increase of all product groups in the company.

  In 1988, Jim left Central Soya to start what would eventually evolve into his career as a consultant, writer and speaker. It was the result of discovering his purpose in life…to help people reach their full potential. This was the catalyst that led Jim to develop his purpose-based approach to personal and organizational development. He documented his approach in two books, The Transformational Power of Purpose: Finding and Fulfilling Your Purpose in Life and Riding for the Brand: The Power of Purposeful Leadership. In 1991 he started publishing what has evolved into the Purpose Unlimited E-Letter.

  It was one of Jim’s first clients who called him a professional provoker and it is an accurate asessment. There is a method to his madness, though. His provoking is purposeful, positive and done in good humor. He knows people and organizations have to be provoked in order to fulfill their potential.

  Jim has spoken to and consulted with organizations across the United States and Canada and in such far flung places as Malaysia and Tasmania. In addition to his books he has written nearly 1,000 articles on the topics of motivation, leadership and change.

  You can take a boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the boy. Although Jim works with a wide range of clients in many industries he has never completely strayed from his agricultural roots. He is a contributing editor to the CALF News and serves as a reporter for the Cattlemen-to-Cattlemen TV show.

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