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Insights > Power Principle: A Conversation with James Wood
Power Principle: A Conversation with James Wood
07/27/2018
James Wood, an incident response specialist, has been with Entergy for six months. While those at work know him as James and those at home call him dad, the 1,000 reservists under his watch in the U.S. Coast Guard know him as Reserve Command Master Chief Wood. Learn how James' commitment to public safety helps him power life at work, at home and in the Coast Guard.
What's your power principle at work? A Thomas Edison quote I learned early in my career and live by is "opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." My power principle is hard work, is the foundation of success. In my own experience, hard work, above all else has enabled noteworthy achievements in my military career, civilian profession and family life. As Thomas Edison explained, hard work leads to opportunities.
What motivates you to live and work safely? I have had the privilege of working in public safety as a SWAT officer, firefighter and emergency medical professional in my previous career. Throughout that time, I found myself with people experiencing some of the worst days of their lives, and at times, the last day. Those experiences remind me each day how quickly things can go wrong. My primary goal is to go home each day to my family and friends, so I approach every situation with this goal in mind.
How do you balance work and family? Planning and prioritization. My wife and I both have work, volunteer and family commitments which overlap on a weekly basis. As a team, we share the load on managing our kids' active itineraries and make sure we always include some opportunities for fun. The quantity of time we spend at work is weighted against the quality of time we spend together as a family. We always ensure we have time together, such as, eating dinner together, taking care of our cows or our weekly family movie night.
Simply, what do you do at Entergy? I work in the Incident Response organization, which works to prepare for, respond to and recover from critical disruptions to company operations. My primary duties include managing logistics preparation in support of thousands of restoration workers following a major storm, reviewing processes, contracts and training personnel to ensure we are ready.
Would you like to join James as he helps power life? Check out career opportunities with Entergy! You can also keep up with Entergy career opportunities by following us on LinkedIn!
Pictured Above: James with his wife Natalie, vice president coordinator at River Bend Station.
