The Foundation

Wayne Whitesell grew up in Nashville and credits an early adoption experience with shaping the direction of his life. He developed an entrepreneurial instinct early on—constantly seeking ways to solve problems and create opportunities.  That instinct ultimately led him to start his own business, which offered discovery work for law firms. The early days were tough. Wayne spent hours cold-calling law firms, learning through trial and error how to price projects, secure clients, and keep the business afloat. His first office was a small room in the basement of a parking garage—two phones, a few copiers, and a whiteboard acting as the company’s control center. 

Like many entrepreneurs, Wayne also tried different ventures and markets over the years, including franchised businesses, a furniture store, and a litigation support company. But the more important lessons came from leading people and dealing with the realities of running a business—understanding margins, managing growth, and aligning teams around results.

Discovering the Great Game

Wayne’s introduction to The Great Game of Business® came when a friend handed him the book and encouraged him to attend the conference in St. Louis. That experience changed everything. The ideas—open financials, shared accountability, and helping employees understand how the business really works—resonated immediately. Wayne tried to implement the system in his own company, and the first attempts didn’t go smoothly.

“We fell flat on our butts,” he recalls. But the team continued working on it. Over time, the system began to take hold, providing employees with clearer insight into the business and helping Wayne see the deeper potential of the approach. Years later, after selling parts of his business, Wayne started exploring a new path: coaching.

The Coach

Today, Wayne works as a Great Game of Business® coach, helping leaders implement the system and foster cultures of ownership and engagement. His coaching philosophy starts with relationships. “Rules without relationships equal rebellion,” Wayne often says. Instead of just teaching a framework, he emphasizes building trust so teams can honestly engage with the business's numbers and strategy. Once that trust is in place, leaders and employees start making better decisions together. 

Wayne often compares leadership to standing in a foggy river while fishing: the current is real, but without clear landmarks, it’s easy to lose your way. The Great Game, he believes, helps leaders lift that fog—giving teams clarity about where they’re headed and how they can contribute.

For Wayne, the reward of coaching is making an impact on people. After finishing a coaching session, he gives the leader a blank notebook. He writes his name and number on the first page and tells them to “write your story” from that point on. “If I can grow people and help them become the best version of themselves,” he says, “the business will grow with them.”

Off the Clock

Wayne and his wife have been married for over forty years and are proud parents and grandparents to six grandchildren. When he’s not coaching leaders, you’ll probably find him either fishing or sitting in the stands watching one of his grandkids play sports. He also remains active in his community, having held leadership roles with his local chamber of commerce and church. For Wayne, those moments outside work reinforce the same lesson he shares with leaders every day: the greatest measure of success isn’t the size of the business—it’s the people whose lives improve along the way.