Born & Bred in Pittsburgh, PA
Black Collar Consulting did not arise out of the æther of Silicon Valley. We’re not tech bros; we’re not funded by venture capitalists. Black Collar Consulting was born- forged- here in the City of Steel, Bridges, and Champions. Proudly. To do one thing and one thing only: to build businesses the only way we know how- with blood, sweat, and tears, from the ground up.
Though not affiliated, we are proud to be an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh.
"The true leaders of mankind are always those that are capable of self-reflection.”
~ Carl G. Jung ~
Black Collar Psychology
White Collar Technology
Don’t be one of the ninety percent.
White collar consulting is a glorified casino. We all know it. Rich kids with trust funds who like to gamble on business because business pays better than Vegas (we know; we lived there in another life).
Black Collar Consulting is designed differently: We stay focused on relationships- on the team, on the mission, on the leadership- and we are absolutely not afraid to get our hands dirty in the process. Because we believe that what we really need is an ethos- a lived philosophy about how we do things and how we treat others that speaks to our values. And we need to do that from the top down. Every day. In everything we do.
We do this by mentoring the C-suite itself across a wide range of core skills: mission-driven language; principles of tribal psychology; principles of leadership psychology; stress management; personal development; alignment of informational & organizational structures; etc. And if you need software staffing, we’ve got you covered.
White collar consulting is a glorified casino. We all know it. Rich kids with trust funds who like to gamble on business because business pays better than Vegas (we know; we lived there in another life).
Black Collar Consulting is designed differently: We stay focused on relationships- on the team, on the mission, on the leadership- and we are absolutely not afraid to get our hands dirty in the process. Because we believe that what we really need is an ethos- a lived philosophy about how we do things and how we treat others that speaks to our values. And we need to do that from the top down. Every day. In everything we do.
We do this by mentoring the C-suite itself across a wide range of core skills: mission-driven language; principles of tribal psychology; principles of leadership psychology; stress management; personal development; alignment of informational & organizational structures; etc. And if you need software staffing, we’ve got you covered.
Services
We are, first and foremost, an executive psychology consultancy. As such, we are focused on creating business environments that increase productivity while reducing risk, friction, turnover, and inefficiency. We can accomplish this in a number of ways, including:
• Informational & Organizational Analytics
• Executive Psychology
• Principles of Tribal Psychology Training Program
• Informational & Organizational Analytics
• Executive Psychology
• Principles of Tribal Psychology Training Program
Huzzah!
Testimonials!
On My Work with Platonic Systems Limited
Carmel Shapira
Accounts Officer, Platonic Systems Limited
Accounts Officer, Platonic Systems Limited
“I have had the pleasure of working with Joshua van Asakinda for the last few years. Since he was brought on board, I have noticed significant improvement on many fronts including oversight and organization. As Head of Operations, he has taken on many tasks such as risk management, advising, and onboarding.
My experience with him has been nothing short of outstanding. He has been intelligent, punctual, professional, hard working, and above all else a kind, caring human being. If anything stands out to me aside from his body of work, it is his humanity and selflessness. He has always been there when I’ve needed him; he takes on challenges with true leadership and no ego.”
My experience with him has been nothing short of outstanding. He has been intelligent, punctual, professional, hard working, and above all else a kind, caring human being. If anything stands out to me aside from his body of work, it is his humanity and selflessness. He has always been there when I’ve needed him; he takes on challenges with true leadership and no ego.”
Nick Van den Broeck
Founder, Synapse
Founder, Synapse
“Joshua’s pragmatic views combine ideas and wisdom from varying domains of life, ranging from philosophy to psychology, and from mythology to history. This made him take the opposite approach of most psychologists I’ve worked with, building up a personal relationship, making it easier to build empathy, and to kick your ass when required. He has lived through hard times himself, and you can feel in his sessions that his theories have stood the test of reality and hardship.”
Thomas Goossens
R&D, ASML
R&D, ASML
“Joshua offers a potent mix of life experience; knowledge of mythology, philosophy, psychology, and human behavior. I worked with Joshua at an important juncture in my life and career, which he helped me successfully navigate.”
Tom Sydney Kerckhove
Technical Leadership; Creator of NixCI
Technical Leadership; Creator of NixCI
“Joshua has helped me on multiple teams by being an excellent mediator, keeping a level head despite soaring tensions.”
John Bargman
DevOps, Platonic Systems Limited
DevOps, Platonic Systems Limited
“Joshua has managed to resolve a dozen serious interpersonal conflicts between highly specialized developers while I’ve been working with him. His innate sense of understanding the needs and desires of often socially-difficult individuals is second only to his business sense; his advice and lessons have been essential to my personal success.”
About the Founder
Joshua van Asakinda holds a Master of Arts in psychology from American Military University and a Bachelor of Science in psychology with a minor in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. As a Buddhist and lifelong martial artist, he approaches psychology from a very different perspective. Over the course of his academic training, he was focused on questions of consciousness, but this gave way eventually to an interest in tribal / evolutionary psychology as it pertains to men, crises, and leadership. And so eventually, he found himself working in the most unexpected of places- in the tech sector among engineers and entrepreneurs. Now he has decided to dedicate himself to the revitalization of his city and region, and to help the blue collar culture he knew and loved growing up to build better, stronger teams with better, stronger leadership. Fortunately, he has developed a strategy for how to accomplish this, which he calls Tribe: I/O. For more information on Tribe: I/O and his theory of psychology- not to mention his blogs and books-, please feel free to click the link below.
