The Who, Then the What

Listen to the Episode

Subscribe Today    Read a transcript

About the Episode

Entrepreneur James Archer shares his intention of leading with a collaborative mindset, emphasizing the importance of values-based leadership, caring for employees and having a future-oriented vision.

Finding Passion. Valuing Collaboration. Serving Others.

James Archer, CEO of MV2 Entertainment, joins Dr. Greg Jones to highlight the importance of passionate, like-minded individuals within an organization. He explains how MV2 applies values-based leadership to support artists and move the music industry forward.

“Everything starts with a positive attitude,” James said. “But you gotta have the hope, the will, and the vision to see where you want to go.”

This episode covers…

• How James’ passion for others fueled him to start his businesses and pour into the passions of others.
• The importance of valuing collaboration and genuinely caring for the people around you.
•  The power of servant leadership and how putting others above yourself will equip you to create powerful and meaningful change.

Beginning with Passion

James and his team chose to build their business around three words which became their mission statement, and ultimately their company name.

“I said, ‘If we're going to do this, what is our mission?’ So we brought in a couple other leaders, some of my other companies and then a few songwriters.” He remembers asking, “What do you want to be? What do you want to be known for? What values do you create?”

“So we called it MV2, which is Mission, Vision and Values,” James explained. “We established that early on and started bringing on others that truly aligned with our values.”

In addition to solidifying the company’s mission, James highlights how the focus should be on caring for the customers and their needs, rather than trying to know everything.

“I always say, ‘They don’t care how much you know, they want to know how much you care,’” James proffered. “And we truly care about the people we’re around and all the stakeholders we come in contact with on a daily basis.”

With these priorities in place, James was able to construct MV2 in an organized fashion, with a core mission of caring for others at the center.

Building Success Through Collaboration

Collaboration is central to James’ leadership style. He shares the importance of valuing input and ideas from others when building his business.

“I found out we're stronger if we get with other people and better understand what we're doing,” he said. He began seeking out opportunities to partner with the like-minded.

One of those partnerships is with Belmont, where James helps students find hope and pursue their educational goals.

“It’s all about ‘the who’ and then ‘the what.’ We were able to attract very key people to our organization,” James said. “I felt like I was able to make a difference in their lives because they made a difference in our lives.”

He praises Belmont students for their intelligence and passion and explains how MV2 empowers them to fully realize their potential.

“We came and talked to the MBA students about mission, vision and values, and it helped us get over a hump,” James said. “With these young, smart adults, we were able to give them those things and then help create solutions for us in a go-forward method.”

Paving the Way for the Future

Beyond his work with MV2, James speaks about his involvement in the health care industry, particularly on his efforts to support pediatric cancer patients at MD Anderson.

“We set up the mission, vision and values around our foundation, and one of our missions was to help the pediatric young kids. We started with children's brain cancer,” he said.

James also stresses the importance of educating others about health care issues and starting that education early while students are still in school.

“Training and developing great doctors, physicians, nurses, the whole medical deal, it tugged at my heartstrings to think, let’s get the best and brightest in here, and let’s help ‘em get their education right here.’”

Throughout his health care career, James has remained committed to guiding and supporting medical students as they prepare to become future leaders in the industry.

“They're our future leaders of tomorrow. We've got to continue to educate people in the right way because they're going to go out into the workplace and make a difference. And so now we get to help these young students fulfill their dreams,” James concluded. “It'll be up to them to execute, but they'll get a great education right here at Belmont.”