Comm alumnus and CCI Leadership Board member Ahli Moore was highlighted in a Florida State Times April/May 2010 article (page 6). Moore is the current president elect of our leadership board.
Moore’s X-Factor teaches success
By Bayard Stern, Managing Editor
Ahli Moore grew up in an area where people of affluence and poverty lived side by side. His high school classmates in Hobe Sound, Fla., ranged from the children of migrant farmers to the super-rich. Moore said he valued getting to know people from very different backgrounds, and that experience has continued to be important in influencing his education at The Florida State University, his career as a human performance expert and his volunteer work. Today, Moore is the driving force behind X-Factor Solutions, an Atlanta based performance-consulting business.
“Growing up in Southeast Florida, I learned to have a good perspective about life on both sides of the fence,” said Moore, 38, a two-time alumnus of Florida State. “Although I didn’t have too much money, I had friends who struggled to provide food for their family and others who lived in multimillion-dollar homes.”
“X-Factor Solutions is the culmination of all my industry experience, but with my own philosophies,” Moore said. “In order to best help our clients identify how to be successful with their endeavors, part of my philosophy is that every involved person’s individual needs and concerns matter to the overall success of any project. With this in mind, we design and implement the right tools in the form of very structured programs that fit each unique situation.”
Moore started his career with the management and technology consulting firm Accenture. Since 1993, he has worked with senior executives, training organizations and human resource departments to increase employee performance and organization efficiency across many types of sectors, including Fortune 500 companies, universities and the military, to develop customized performance improvement programs.
In high school, Moore did well academically and was accepted into dozens of colleges, many offering him scholarships. When it was time for him to choose which university to attend, he traveled to many. “I visited Duke, Columbia and several other prestigious universities to look at their programs and campuses,” Moore said. “Although they had a certain amount of traditional prestige, I often also sensed a bit of conceit. I didn’t get that impression when I visited Florida State. It just felt like home. When I first walked through Oglesby Student Union, there was a barbecue going on, people were friendly and most of them were wearing flip-flops, so it definitely wasn’t stuffy. I also knew I would get a great education there.”
Moore excelled at Florida State, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1993 and a Master of Science degree in communication with a concentration in information technologies in 1995. He participated in many student groups and activities, including service as president of the Black Student Union, membership in the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and volunteer work for the Tallahassee Urban League and the local chapter of the NAACP.
“I fully embraced my time at Florida State,” Moore said. “I think when you’re in college, it’s probably your last chance to make mistakes and not be fired for them. I had some incredible professors, including William R. Jones (professor emeritus, African-American Studies Program), who taught African-American history. He was incredibly animated and passionate about the subject. I had Mark Ziegler (School of Communication), who taught public speaking, and he was excellent. Barry Solomon in public relations brought in his industry expertise. In my statistics classes, I remember Dr. Gary Heald (Theodore Clevenger Professor, Communication) who taught me the importance of sound analytic statistics. You can’t just go and say to a client, ‘This is important.’ You have to back it up with some statistical analysis.”
Moore has continued to stay active with Florida State. He is the president elect of the College of Communication and Information’s Leadership Board, and in June, will take over as president. He also serves on the national board of the university’s Black Alumni Association and co-chairs the Atlanta chapter. “Each client has a different need, but it all revolves around how to get more productivity, effectiveness and efficiency from their work force,” Moore said.