Terry White

by Alan Boal

“Search men’s governing principles and consider the wise, what they shun and what they cleave to.”

Marcus Aurelius from Meditations

Terry White is a man of principles – a wise man from my perspective on the 10th Dot. He is someone you will want to know better and it begins by asking him questions.  And when you ask him, no one is better than Terry to guide you along a path from awareness to action with informed decisions along the way.

Like Marcus Aurelius, Terry is well-known and respected for his meditations. Many people today are too busy to reflect deeply on issues, or going deep inside yourself to reveal the source of your strengths – whether spiritual, intellectual, social, physical or financial.

Terry and I met nearly three decades ago when I worked at TEC, now Vistage. Together we launched Speakwell and invented Comware – the communication wares required to drive new business and more referrals. A short time later our collaboration led to coauthoring Idea Transfer – Inside Techniques for Executive Presentations and our ongoing consulting partnership.

The legacy Terry delivered back then was to create value through simplicity and elegance in every line, every word and every idea to be transferred. For me, his presence slowed me down long enough to see the wisdom of changing the style and substance of what we did for CEO’s, executives and employees.

For our clients he created value through his perspective and sound judgment calls – his unique way to think better, plan smarter, and then act calmly.

As a resourceful business advisor with a dry wit, the principle of value creation continues today through Terry’s thoughtful, quiet and logical mind. Most people see this public side of him, but over time you will see the private side of him – a loyal friend who is caring, compassionate and intuitive.

One last principle Terry demonstrates sounds quaint today, but I suggest you will find it both refreshing and respectful. Whether you experience Terry in person, on the telephone or in an email, that principle worth doing well is called manners – defined simply as ethics in action. Over the past three decades he has demonstrated how manners and civility can be restored in business, personal relationship and blogs.

As my colleague in business and life, please welcome Mr. Terry White.