James C. Jones
Jones came from the world of opera, having attended New York’s Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied classical singing. He even spent 4 years performing in Europe. But one proud moment for Jones has little to do with his musical pursuits. It was the graduation ceremonies of NAMIC’s Executive Leadership Development Program Class XIV. “I was fortunate enough to accompany the amazing execs who make up that cadre on a seven-month journey of truth, and soul, and intellectual growth that couldn’t possibly be scripted. It doesn’t get any better than that,” he says.
What’s your biggest professional accomplishment in the past 12 months?
In the work I do, it is difficult to characterize any outcomes as my personal accomplishment. So much is directed at the enhanced achievements of others. I experience success by dint of their successes. Certainly an extraordinarily proud moment for me was the graduation ceremony of NAMIC’s Executive Leadership Development Program Class XIV. I was fortunate enough to accompany the amazing execs who make up that cadre on a seven month journey of truth, and soul, and intellectual growth that couldn’t possibly be scripted. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Best business advice you’ve received?
Coming from the world of opera, my entrance into the corporate milieu was rife with missteps and a lot of ego bruising. Until someone whom I had come to trust implicitly said to me, “Jim, you are who you are. The best you can do is to be steadfast in that realization and true to all that is unique about you. And yes, there will be tradeoffs. But whatever price you have to pay will ultimately be far less than bartering away the essence of Jim Jones.”
How can cable better support diversity?
Cable can better support diversity by being careful that it’s never, ever taken for granted; that diversity is designed into every business decision, every change agenda, every re-structuring; that diversity is always positioned as we-we, not we-they; that absolutely everyone wins when the industry “gets it,” and everyone loses when the industry flubs it.
What’s been the biggest story in cable this year?
I would have to respond that the biggest story was the Time Warner Cable/Comcast saga. The stakes were so high for so many, the business implications of such magnitude, and the impact on the professional and personal lives of so many were so powerful. I can’t think of another “story” that had the reach and the depth.