Jim Holland, Michael Hopkin,
Scott Sehlhorst, and Rich Mironov
Friends To Product Management 
About the Webinar: RYMA's Holiday Special, December 23rd webinar was presented by Jim Holland, and joined by Michael Hopkin, Scott Sehlhorst, and Rich Mironov. Join us for a year in review, as we Celebrate Product Management. In this season of friendship and relations, we bundle up from the cold and let our thoughts of gratitude move toward the shared experiences of Product Managers everywhere.
This has been an eventful year indeed, at RYMA and around the world. Some of our friends to product management will drop by and reminisce about the changes we've experienced this year. In fact, a new group in Facebook, The Product Management Drama, has formed for us to share in the human drama that as Product Managers each of us share in. Please join and become a part of the community.
We'll preview some new research, and look at what's in store for Product Management in 2010, and the years to come. Please grab some warm apple cider, egg nog, ginger bread, or whatever, and join us in this celebration of product management at the close of 2009.
Recently in Culture Category
Principal and founder of The Vargas Group
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About the Webinar: RYMA's January 6th webinar was presented by Pattie Vargas. She presented a very under publicized issue, Stakeholder Management. She says, "Yes you can!" Not only can you, but you should.
Stakeholders have different needs and expectations. They also have differing agendas, motivations and behaviors! The successful manager discovers:
* What about this product initiative is important to this stakeholder?
* What will I need to do to meet their needs?
* What represents success to them?
* What communication methods will be most effective?
Utilizing situational communication strategies will improve the odds of initiative success by understanding and connecting with each stakeholders' needs.
About the Presenter: Pattie Vargas, Principal and founder of The Vargas Group, brings a strong background in business management, project management, and practical experience challenging and motivating organizations and individuals to develop self-motivated, high-performing work teams. Her success lies in inspiring peak performance and outstanding achievements, despite the typical organizational constraints related to budget, time or resources. Her focus on the importance of developing strong interpersonal skills and relationships is instrumental to achieving success.
Pattie has a bachelor's degree in Business Management, a Master's Degree in Organizational Management and PMP certification from Project Management Institute. She has been published in ISSIG Bits, a PMI publication specific to Information Technology projects, BizSanDiego, ASTD Training Trends, PM Connection and Women in Technology International. Her team-building techniques have been featured in PM Network magazine.
She is a frequent national conference speaker on the topics of Leadership, Team-building, and Performance Improvement. The American Business Women's Association named Pattie one of the 2007 Top 10 Business Women and she was nominated to the 2008 Women Who Mean Business List by the San Diego Business Journal.
Her book, EXTREME Project Manager Makeover, was released in 2008.
Mike Kallet, CEO of HeadScratchers
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About the Webinar: Ryma's December 16th webinar was presented by Mike Kallet. This was the fourth session of the successful webinar series; "The CxO View." During this short webinar, Mike recommend a systemic thinking process that others can follow and rely upon.
One of the responsibilities of Product Managers is to move product decisions and milestone approvals through "gates" or "milestones". This usually includes presenting to executives with the objective of getting approval to proceed, or getting a decision to be made. Executives who attend these meetings, or discussions, are often asked to approve something that they are not necessarily an expert in ... that's why they hired you !
They rely on you to make recommendations and when appropriate, will delegate decisions to you. Trust plays an important and vital role in the ability of an executive to make quick and decisive decisions, let alone delegate those decisions to others. One way to gain the trust of an executive is to ensure proper Thinking.
Mike will present several methods that managers can use to present information to executives in a way to gain their confidence, and help them move towards that "OK, Proceed", or "Here's my decision" response.
About the Presenter: Michael Kallet is a technology and operations executive with 30 years of experience in leading teams that created numerous award winning products and services spanning computer and communications technologies and markets.
In 2004, Mike started HeadScratchers, a company focused on training Critical Thinking for Problem Solving, Decision Making and Creativity. Its mission: To help people become better "HeadScratchers".
Prior to forming HeadScratchers, Mike had a 25 year career spanning the software, internet and telecommunications industries. His accomplishments range from creating award winning products such as Harvard Graphics to running ICG a half billion dollar communications company, as COO.
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About the Webinar: RYMA's December 30th Webinar was presented by Brittany Herrera. Attendees of this webinar should have gained insight into roadmapping activities designed to address issues found in typical roadmapping processes, and help companies reap the benefits of a unified roadmapping initiative.
Unlike typical roadmapping discussions that focus on a single person, or department creating a silo'd product roadmap, this webinar will address issues and solutions in cross-functional teams, strategy alignment, and consensus on roadmapping decisions found in a continuously changing product management environment.
Each step of a sample enterprise roadmapping process will be reviewed with the intent to highlight the issues and benefits relative to that step. With the insight gained from this webinar, you can look at your own roadmapping processes and start doing the things required to gain even more benefit out of your roadmapping efforts.
About the Presenter: Brittany comes from a systems engineering background in Homeland Security, Aerospace and Defense, and their tier 2 suppliers. She has over 7 years of experience working with, and observing, product management teams struggle with issues stemming from poor Roadmapping. Brittney is a co-founder of pmNERDS, and spends her time teaching and implementing product management practices fundamental to all businesses, small and large.
Jim Holland
, Founder and principle consultant
Mission Creek Partners
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About the Webinar: RYMA's October 28th Webinar was presented by Jim Holland
. Social media - its conversations and content have opened avenues to untapped audiences, unconstrained demographics and unbridled opinions. But lurking in the forest are all types of distractions, information and potential monsters that may lead you astray. As product management, is there value lurking "where the wild things are?" In the forest of conversations, connections and content, should product management venture in search for insight on markets, users and perhaps competitive intelligence?
In this webinar, he discussed the viability of social media as a component to market research and intelligence, what approaches should be considered and what plans are required by product management and product marketing before going "where the wild things are."
About the Presenter: Jim Holland
is founder and principle consultant of Mission Creek Partners, a product marketing consultancy. Jim provides senior product marketing leadership and guidance focusing on business planning, market research, and marketing and social media strategies. His experience spans from early stage to enterprise level software companies. Jim is an avid social media practitioner and enjoys contributes through guest blog posts and other commentary online.
Before Mission Creek, Jim held leadership and senior product management positions with Ryma, Pragmatic Marketing, Compuware, ASG and CA.
This is the fourth webinar in our CxO webinar series, where the C-Level perspective is presented concerning issues and objectives, and in this case mindset of product marketing and management.Gregory Yankelovich,
co-founder of Amplified Analytics Inc.
Down Load Slides HEREAbout the Webinar: RYMA's October 21th Webinar was presented by Gregory Yankelovich. He presented a discussion on a CxO frame of reference. He provided examples of translating product business requirements, marketing slang and political statements into economically meaningful proposals. Many times it can become a challenge for the Product Manager to address the business side of decisions, even if they know their product initiative is the right thing to do; how do you communicate it to others.
Background Reading:
The Effective Executive (Classic Drucker Collection)
Let's challenge this truthiness
Choosing the Right Analytics
About the Presenter: Gregory is a senior executive at Amplified Analytics with a diverse background in software manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial services. He has a record of adding value and leadership through employing technology as leverage for organizational transformation.
Presenters: Roger L. Cauvin
& Lisa Crymes
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About the Webinar: RYMA's October 14th Webinar was presented by Roger Cauvin and Lisa Crymes. A recent hot topic and debate was sparked on Twitter during the recent PMV webinar "Why are there so few great product managers? A CEO's perspective", by Barbara Tallent. This webinar was a follow-on to that discussion.
A product manager's value to a company stems from an understanding of the users, buyers, competition, and problems in the market. But what makes a good product manager? The goal of this presentation is to discuss the issues and differences of opinions around domain expertise and if it's really required to be a successful product manager.
Key Ideas Explored:
- How important is prior knowledge and experience in the domain or industry?
- How important is the ability to quickly and thoroughly acquire this knowledge?"
- Can you be credible in your company or in front of customers without domain experience?
- Can to much domain experience actually dilute an objective opinion?
Background Reading: Industry Experience: How Important Is It?
Roger L. Cauvin Roger has seven years experience in strategic marketing, most recently as the principal product management consultant at Cauvin, Inc. With clients ranging from software development companies to real estate developers, Roger develops strategy by immersing himself in markets and applying established marketing principles. His strategic advice drives all aspects of product development marketing, including requirements, positioning, and messaging. Roger writes his thoughts on product management in his blog (cauvin.blogspot.com), and he is the author of two popular articles that appeared in the on-line marketing periodical, MarketingProfs.com.
He began his professional career as a software engineer in 1990, holding technical leadership positions at several companies before developing an interest in requirements and the strategic aspects of marketing.
Roger is an Austinite and lives in the heart of downtown. He received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy, along with a minor in Computer Science, from the University of Texas in 1990.
Lisa Crymes Lisa is a Director of Product Management with Emdeon. She is an experienced product management professional with extensive background in healthcare, including over 12 years of Healthcare IT experience. Lisa is an active member of Georgia's Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), currently serving as the Chair for the Education Committee, and is on the Board of Directors for the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) through the Product Management Society.
Lisa received her MBA and Bachelor of Arts in Management from Shorter College in Rome, GA. www.Emdeon.com
ValWorkman: @MikeBoudreaux If you can't participate in today's #PMV discussion feel free to contribute in the LinkedIn CoP http://bit.ly/10cnGz
evans_anna: RT @StewartRogers: RT @ValWorkman: Today's noon ET #PMV webinar http://bit.ly/1O1q2Y is a continuation of the debate on industry experience!
evans_anna: Key Strategies for Service Management Success in Today's Economic Environment http://bit.ly/IGWuX #pmv #prodmgmt
pganza: RT @ValWorkman: Today's noon ET #PMV webinar http://bit.ly/1O1q2Y is a continuation of the debate on industry experience
HakanKilic
: RT @ValWorkman: Today's noon ET #PMV webinar http://bit.ly/1O1q2Y is a continuation of the debate over how much industry exp #Prodmgmt needs
MarcJMillerPM: RT @HakanKilic @ValWorkman: noon ET #PMV webinar http://bit.ly/1O1q2Y debate over how much industry exp #Prodmgmt needs
L3N: Attending #pmv with @valworkman w/presenter @rcauvin Is Doman Expertise Critical to be a successful Product Manager? Lisa on Twitter too?
phanschke: Listening to the #PMV webinar http://bit.ly/1O1q2Y.
MikeBoudreaux: I'm attending @rcauvin discussion: "Is Prior Industry Experience Critical to be a Successful Product Manager?" http://bit.ly/1wMmOR #pmv
evans_anna: Wikipedia on PM #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/1wS7Os
BstnMelody: Listening to the #pmv discussion around necessity of prior domain experience for #prodmgmt
evans_anna: Great advice on what is needed to be a PM #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/3vAgZg
evans_anna: What is Deductive Reasoning? #pmv #prodmgmt #management http://bit.ly/B1n3b
ken_hoffman: #pmv Attending a webinar on whether domain experience is important to being a successful product manager. http://bit.ly/41noDC evans_anna: Palmer, Alaska HS student on Deductive Reasoning #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/S5MsL
evans_anna: Great interview with Aziz Muza #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/ohGfY
MATSIS: Listening to "Is Doman Expertise Critical to be a successful #prodmgmt; - Rymatech - #PMV Webinars http://bit.ly/2cMKsfevans_anna: 7 Traits of Successful PMs -Michael #pmv #prodmgmt #ceo http://bit.ly/VmAQE
jidoctor: #pmv - but, if the #prodmgmt role is about ;learning, doesn't coming from the outside often allows for grt lrning w/ no bias?
Brittanyherrera: Product Managers primary role is to understand the market & report that to others in the company #pmv #business #leadership #management
evans_anna: Link to PM best practices #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/1uIfzm
evans_anna: PM News continually updated #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/3pcsaJ
jidoctor: #pmv - w/ 20+ yrs in same industry, while knowledgeable biased to inject your own bias & may not listen? not all #prodmgmt ppl can keep out
ValWorkman: RT @jidoctor: #pmv - but, if the #prodmgmt role is about ;learning; doesn't coming from the outside often allows for grt lrning w/ no bias?
evans_anna: Diplomatic opinion on what PM is #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/3JEFUo
mack_mccoy: Am I the only one experiencing major audio problems on the #pmv domain knowledge webinar? I'll give the phone a try instead of streaming.
Brittanyherrera: As a Product Manager-proactive learning is best #pmv #leadership #business #management
jidoctor: #pmv - can't you learn the industry basics from all from research & w/i company, and apply >#prodmgmt skills to bring "new" learning?
evans_anna: Good insight on what function PMs perform and importance to CO #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/42qOuN
BstnMelody: #pmv the most ignored aspect of #prodmgmt is the strategic end - where you learn by getting out & talking to your market
evans_anna: Bitpipe's definition of PM #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/36LVQ4
L3N: "Most neglected parts of product management are the strategic parts" @rcauvin #pmv #prodmgmt
MikeBoudreaux: Learning types: accretion, transmission, acquisition, emergence illustrated in Knowing Knowledge - Google Books http://bit.ly/3LHffM #PMV
evans_anna: PM jobs - quietly #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/13GPyj
phanschke: I'm experiencing audio problems on the #PMV domain knowledge webinar. Using the Internet for audio ... not the phone.
MarcJMillerPM: #pmv - #prodmgmt who who relies on past experience is creating product designed for the past. Current cust research is more important
jidoctor: wrote a blog on this topic before CEO #pmv webinar...http://bit.ly/fQo9J...this is a long running "battle" in #prodmgmt and #hr discussions
evans_anna: SVPG blog articles on PM #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/21Xhgl
mack_mccoy: @phanschke I switched to the phone and it's working perfectly now. #PMV
evans_anna: the PM's toolkit #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/zxXlj
BstnMelody: #pmv - Is @rcauvin saying prior industry experience is or isn't necessary?
MarcJMillerPM: #pmv - #prodmgmt who who relies on past experience as cust is creating product made for the past. Current cust research is more important
bhaskarsinha: #pmv Lisa's voice is clear
evans_anna: Teams' exp. is more important than individual experience? #pmv #prodmgmt
haigtweets: RT @evans_anna: PM jobs - quietly >#pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/13GPyj #pcs09
jharmer: #pmv Another version of that pyramid Roger was discussing http://bit.ly/5IIV8 evans_anna: How to be good PM see comments #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/184lTX
jidoctor: #pmv #prodmgmt - agree w/ @rcauvin that a good balance of skills & domain is ideal, but also very rare. so, where place priority?
leminade: #pmv I can't agree more that job descriptions want industry experience for #prodmgmt and yet fail to list "inquisitive" requirements
evans_anna: PM's handbook #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/bKwAQ
evans_anna: Blogs and more on PM #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/15kPwV
jidoctor: #pmv - different types of ppl gravitate towards dev role than #prodmgmt...for a reason! not everyone can facilitate and/or LISTEN
mack_mccoy: Good post! RT @jidoctor: wrote http://bit.ly/fQo9J on this topic before #pmv webinar...this is a long running "battle" in #prodmgmt #hr
BstnMelody: @jidoctor I place priority on skills set. #pmv I still argue industry info, lingo, etc can be learned
evans_anna: Expert Product Management: Advanced Techniques paperback #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/37GMZx
BstnMelody: #pmv Love comparison of #prodmgmt to therapist. We draw out information from customer.....
jidoctor: #pmv - imho, easier to teach a #prodmgmt pro about the industry then to teach a dev-focused how to listen w/o designing the sol'n
evans_anna: Improve PM? #pmv #prodmgmthttp://bit.ly/dvAKI
BstnMelody: #pmv you want to be context agnostic when interviewing customer. Totally agree! Don't even mention your product!!!
evans_anna: RT @Brittanyherrera: Product Managers primary role is to understand the market report that to others in the company #pmv #prodmgmt
MarcJMillerPM: #pmv Agreed, industry experience is important; puts PM in same context as customer. However what does PM do when they want to chg industry?
phanschke: #PMV Communication ... listening, extracting, probing, etc. ... are a key skill set for PM's - regardless of industry.
BstnMelody: #pmv Understand problems of customer, rather than ask them what they want (they want a faster horse).
phanschke: @BstnMelody implication is that PM's have to be great listeners. #PMV
jidoctor: #pmv RT @BstnMelody: Understand probs of customer, rather than ask what they want (they want a faster horse). [JD] my point exactly!
luiscerda: #pmv If you can't sell yourself in a interview, are you a good prodmg?
BstnMelody: #pmv Signing off. Every1 agrees u need 2 understand market. Prior industry def helps, but not hearing why necess. Its not. Can be learned.
MikeBoudreaux: W/o domain experience, PM likely asks inquisitive questions about mkt needs rather than making assumptions based on past experience. #pmv
MarcJMillerPM: @luiscerda #pmv a good salesman can sell themselves. A good PM listens. A PM delivering product customer doesn't want EOLs the product
evans_anna: 7 Traits of Successful PMs -Michael #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/VmAQE (expand)
Brittanyherrera: If a process is in place 4 being a successful PM,the process should guide the student 2 B successful. #pmv #leadership #business #management
MikeBoudreaux: Good point @rcauvin - Mix of industry experience and strong product management skills in organization is an ideal situation. >#pmv
L3N: Agree 100% RT @MikeBoudreaux: Good point @rcauvin - Mix of industry experience & strong #prodmgm skills in organization ideal #pmv
phanschke: @MikeBoudreaux absolutely right. #PMV
phanschke: Signing off the #PMV webinar now.
evans_anna: What is Deductive Reasoning? #pmv #prodmgmt #management http://bit.ly/B1n3b
evans_anna: Critical steps in conceptualizing and conducting multilevel research. #pmv #prodmgmt http://bit.ly/391THi
Brittanyherrera: Product Management vs. Product Marketing: Management is inbound, Marketing is outbound #pmv #leadership #business #management
L3N: Is it me, or is the audio constantly cutting out of #pmv ?
luiscerda: Agree! #PMV Product positioning is a strategic activity that should sit with #prodmgmt.
MarcJMillerPM: @L3N audio is fine for me #pmv
MarcJMillerPM: RT @Brittanyherrera: Product Management vs. Product Marketing: Management inbound, Marketing outbound #pmv #prodmgmt #business #management
L3N: RT @Brittanyherrera: Product Management vs. Product Marketing: #prodmgmt is inbound, Marketing is outbound #pmv
jidoctor: >#pmv- hiring w/ domain exp=hiring from competitors? might not be the best move unless comp is leader in mkt! why do u want their mistakes?
StewartRogers: @L3N been fine for me #pmv
Brittanyherrera: Webinar notes: If you only rely on experience you are not likely to have a different product #pmv #management #business #leadership
leminade: #pmv hiring a #prodmgmt with domain experience could be hiring from competitor but it could also be hiring from customer.
MarcJMillerPM: #pmv http://bit.ly/13NUfJ - how to become a product manager #prodmgmt
lisacrymes: Thanks for the great audience twitter and chat feedback on #pmv webinar
This is the third webinar in our CxO webinar series, where the C-Level perspective is presented concerning issues and objectives of product marketing and management.Susan Phillips Bari,
President and CEO, Leader to Leader Institute
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About the Webinar: Ryma's November 18th webinar was presented by Susan Phillips Bari. She reexamined our perspective of customer value. Has your customer changed this year? Do you have new customers? Have some customers deserted you? For those who remain, what do they value from your company's product offerings?
Peter Drucker, the founder of modern management, created a "simple but not easy" strategic planning tool called "The Five Most Important Questions" (you will ever ask about your organization). Susan Phillips Bari will discuss the alignment of product management and marketing with your customer and what your customer values and explain how you and your team can use Drucker's self-assessment tool to improve results.
Background Reading: The Five Most Important Questions, by Peter Drucker
You can access past Leader to Leader journal articles here:
About the Speaker: Susan Phillips Bari brings to the PMV Webinar Series the knowledge and firsthand experience gained in a diverse career providing her leadership talents, and skill as a manager and marketer in the public, nonprofit and entrepreneurial sectors. She currently serves as the President and CEO of Leader to Leader Institute, Formerly the Drucker Foundation.
She has served in various government positions such as
- Associate Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel in The White House,
- Chairman, President's Committee on Women Business Enterprise,
- Director, Institute of Museum Services
o Member, President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
o Member,
- President's Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports
- Director, Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, U.S. Department of Education
- Member, Women's Leadership Board of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, . Harvard College
- Member, Advisory Council, WorkLife Matters magazine
- Member, Advisory Council, Enterprising Women magazine
- Member, Board of Directors of the Women Presidents' Organization (Treasurer, Audit . Committee, Compensation Committee
- Member, National Women's Advisory Council, advisors to the President, Congress and the SBA
- WBENC, Standing Ovation Award
- Billion Dollar Roundtable, Impact Award
- WPEO, Advocate of the Year
- Women's Business Development Center, Chicago, Advocate of the Year
- Enterprising Women Hall of Fame, Inductee
- WBENC, Applause Award
- SBA, Small Business Advocate of the Year, Washington, DC Region
Claire-Juliette Beale, Chief Consultant at Innovate|2|marketScott Burleson, Product Manager at John Deere
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About the Webinar: Ryma's September 9th webinar was presented by Claire-Juliette Beale and Scott Burleson. Ongoing success in new product development and management doesn't happen by accident. While many great companies have started with visionary inventors, intuitive understanding of market and user needs, and good timing (think of Dupont's timely production of power for the American Independence war, or Edison's electricity!), consistent growth requires different skills, resources and approaches. This webinar focused on the speaker's experiences with getting support from innovation and product management communities and with the resources of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) in particular.
Background Reading: PDMA Website
About the Speakers:Claire-Juliette Beale is President of the Carolinas chapter of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) and Chief Consultant at Innovate|2|market where she helps companies with innovation, market development and consumer insight issues. A certified New Product Development Professional she's championed and managed global product development projects since 1999: software, services and tangible products.
Scott Burleson is the product manager for John Deere's premium segment of compact utility tractors. In this role, his new products have won two AE50 Awards (Top 50 Innovative Products by American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers), the John Deere Award for Innovation, and two John Deere President's Awards for Excellence. An enthusiast for uncovering customer needs, Scott is a certified PDMA New Product Development Professional and V.P. Marketing for the Carolinas Chapter of PDMA.
Donald McNaughton
Oliver Wight Principal Oliver Wight
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About the Webinar: Ryma's Aug 26th webinar was presented by Donald McNaughton. Many have talked about Product Management being a Team Sport. Other's indicate it's a cross-functional effort including members of Marketing, Development, Strategy, Engineering, Services, Support, Operations, and so forth.
Few have attempted to integrate the various activities of these organizations into one corporate wide product initiative. Even fewer have succeeded.
Donald articulated the business value of an Integrated Product Management effort, and identified common issues preventing success. He shared with us some of his approaches and explained why he recommends particular methods over others. At the end of the day, have you ever wondered if there was a better way? You know whole organizations aren't plotting against you, but maybe there are days when it seems like it? If so, this is a presentation for you.
About the Presenter: Donald is a principal with Oliver Wight. He consults with companies to help them take advantage of the Oliver Wight Sales & Operations Planning template, a high-level process for managing and integrating all of a company's resources and has a particular strength in engaging people from all levels of the organization. He has consulted with a number of multi-national companies including Flowserve, Caterpillar, CTS, Motorola, Nestle, GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Schering-Plough, and Artesyn Technologies. His experience spans multiple industries including foods, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, and heavy equipment engineering. Donald has worked in Africa, Europe, and the Americas giving him the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of audiences.