Resource development systems Leadership Team
The following are the Leaders of RDS:
Tom Harbst Mike Dunn Mike Boozer Mike Dyer
Tom Begier Richard Fletcher Ann Lear Gary Lear
Tom
Harbst - Director, Client Relations
One
of the first people you will probably encounter at RDS is Tom.
His role is to work with current and potentially new
clients to uncover their needs and introduce them to how the
Seven Elements of High Performance™ can help their organization
become exceptional.
Tom helps to keep us all focused on what is important - - - - -
the People in every organization and their positive
relationships.
Tom
began his professional career working in a rubber factory
outside Cleveland, Ohio in 1975 after graduating from the
University of Kentucky with a BS in Business Administration.
Working in an apprentice position, Tom learned first-hand
on the factory floor the processes for extruded, compression,
injection-molded rubber, as well as extruded, injection molded
and blow-molded plastics for custom designed applications.
Duties included work in Quality to determine why parts
were returned, how could the product be reworked, and how could
a reoccurrence be avoided.
After working 18 months in manufacturing, Tom moved to
Sales, then Sales/ Marketing management, which led to the
position of General Manager of a division.
Tom
ran his own Sales Representative business for 12 years, working
to help find a fit between customer’s needs and the
manufacturer’s capabilities.
Through Tom’s career, rising from apprentice to General
Manager, it was always finding the fit between “people” and the
“need”. One of
Tom’s core beliefs is to attack the problem, not the person.
Tom
has managed a variety of businesses from industrial to legal to
educational – always coming to the same conclusion:
that people are the center of what is important – both
within the organization as well as outside the organization (the
employees, the customer, and the community).
Michael
Dunn - Director, Operations
As an
accomplished consultant and executive coach, Mike coordinates
all of our consulting and training at RDS.
In addition, he also works directly with clients,
providing guidance to executive teams, development of leaders,
and the coaching of executives and guides for process
improvement.
Mike
brings over 30 years of operations experience in a wide range of
processes and varying sized organizations, from privately held
businesses to multi-billion dollar global corporations.
After being honorably discharged from the United States
Marine Corps in 1984, Mike began his industrial career in the
automotive industry with a Tier One supplier as a Technician
working his way up the ladder to Quality Engineer, Product
Manager, Quality Manager, Process Engineering Manager and Lean
Manager.
After
leaving the automotive industry in 1999, Mike worked in the wood
products and steel fabrication industries in positions of
Director of Lean Implementation, Plant Manager (as many as 350
employees and $85 million in annual sales), and Director of
Manufacturing over multiple sites, specializing in facility
turn-a-rounds. He
was responsible for multiple facility transformations.
Mike has International experience in four continents
including Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Mexico and
Singapore. With
multi-million dollars in verifiable savings throughout a wide
range of industries and product lines, Mike has come to
understand that no transformation or improvement is sustainable
without addressing the people and cultural aspects of the
business.
In 2011, Mike began working with a premier Lean-only consulting firm, focusing on executive coaching and organization transformation, achieving significant results in manufacturing; military aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO); and healthcare. Mike is an accomplished Black Belt, and has facilitated over 300 week-long process improvement events, training staff and leading the implementation process by addressing the culture of the organization; providing the Lean tools necessary to identify leverage points; and targeting both floor & office processes.
A
continued quest for "the missing link" to revolutionize
organizational transformation led Mike to Leadership
Lessons from the Medicine Wheel: The Seven Elements of High
Performance by Gary Lear, and the link was found.
In late 2015 Mike Joined the RDS team, as he discovered that the
Seven Elements are the foundation to true organizational
success. And the next chapter is yet to be written........
J.
Michael Boozer - Senior Executive Coach
Heading up our executive coaching, Mike works directly with many
of our executive clients, helping them to become masters at
being a leader of leaders™. As an expert in DISC, he helps
executives take the information that they are learning from
their behavioral and 360 assessments and develop personal
strategies and put them into action.
Mike
is a former executive with SCANA, an energy holding company, and
a retired Major from the US Army Reserves.
He served as a chief labor negotiator for a Fortune 500
Electric Utility where he negotiated with a variety of major
unions to gain agreements that benefited both the organization
and engaged employees. He also served as a member of the Board
of Directors of the Edison Electric Institute Steering Committee
for Labor Relations in Washington, D.C.
Mike
is a Certified Professional in Human Resource Management, and
has obtained a Certificate in Labor Relations / Mutual Gains
Bargaining from Cornell University’s SC Johnson Graduate School
of Management. He
has also earned a Certificate in Human Resources Executive
Development from the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross
School of Business, and is a certified Mediator and Labor
Negotiator. Mike
has over 30 years of experience helping organizations build
teamwork and coaching leadership teams at all levels in Fortune
500 companies, as well as smaller organizations.
Mike possesses an MBA and is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Michael
Dyer - Managing Senior Consultant
Mike
leads some of our larger projects, working directly with the
senior teams, as well as coordinating the work of other
consultants who are providing training to the other leaders in
the organization.
Mike
is the former VP of Organizational Development for Cox
Communications, where he helped dramatically change the culture
and operations and helped them become the third largest cable
provider in the US.
He later became the Vice President and General Manager for the
SE Division of Cox, where he had the opportunity to put many of
his theories and approaches into practice.
After
retiring he assumed the Presidency of the Greater Macon Chamber
of Commerce and Economic Development, turning that organization
around and increased both membership and resources for the
organization. In
this role he also oversaw the strategic planning and economic
development of the region, working with a variety of government
entities, including state, county, city, and the US Air Force,
which has a base in the area.
Prior to joining Cox, Mike worked at both financial and insurance organizations as the senior executive of Human Resources. He also worked as an executive of a consulting firm, providing consulting services to such organizations as Microsoft, Seattle City Light, Hawaiian Electric Industries, and Hyatt, Regency, and Four Seasons Hotels and Convention Centers. His emphasis was in continuous quality improvement, cultural change, and customer service.
Mike
earned his BS in Political Science from Frostburg State
University and an MBA from the University of Hawaii.
Tom
Begier - Senior Consultant
Tom is a man who is living his passions, and it shows. A straightforward communicator with the perspective that comes from years of experience, Tom helps organizations understand the "human side of business." Tom is an expert in working with the DISC model, and excels at helping our clients understand and implement the model in thier organizations.
Tom plays a clean-up role in our organization by providing
leadership development, executive coaching, and client
relations. An
accomplished speaker in his own right, he even fills in for Gary
at some speaking engagements.
Tom has 30 years of experience in the corporate world. He has
specialized in business consulting, capital fund raising,
executive staff mentoring and leadership development. He has
spent over a decade managing financial companies based in the
U.S. and Great Britain.
Tom received his early training from the U. S. Air Force. He
then entered the corporate world with General Dynamics as a
technical advisor on the F-16 Fighting Falcon project. Tom
continues to perfect his mentoring, management and leadership
skills working with executives and employees throughout the
corporate world. He is a certified human behavior/personality
and leadership specialist. He has spoken on four continents to a
variety of businesses and groups. He now travels the globe
sharing personal experiences of triumphs and challenges, yet
never losing sight of his passions.
Richard
Fletcher - Senior Consultant
Richard is a well travelled southerner with an
award-winning record of success managing corporate training
departments, with special expertise in the retail and restaurant
sectors. He excels at building and leading top-performing teams,
improving training compliance as much as 300%, and promoting
increased employee engagement. His teams have previously saved
millions of dollars in training costs, implemented critical
learning tools, and oversaw employee education for as many as
20,000 employees.
Richard has over 25 years of executive level experience in
sales, operations, organizational development, training and
talent management with other national companies such as Wolf
Camera, Sprint PCS, and most recently, Zaxby’s, where he led the
training efforts of an organization going through a tremendous
expansion of franchise operations. Richard is an expert in
walking the fine line between franchisor/franchisee relations
when providing exceptonal training opportunities without
violating the legal boundaries of these unique relationships.
Richard is a member of ATD serving as chair of the chapter
recognition committee and a national advisor for chapters. He is
a Past-President of the Greater Atlanta chapter. He is a member
of the Council for Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART).
Richard received a Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn
University. He has received the Certified Hospitality Trainer
(CHT) certification from CHART. When Richard isn’t busy
developing talent, you can find him developing his swing on the
golf course, enjoying his passion of photography or traveling.
Ann
Lear - Executive Vice President
Every
organization needs a strong support system, and RDS is no
different. Ann
oversees all of our back-office operations, including billing
and invoices, processing of orders for assessments and other
instructional materials, coordinating travel for staff, and the
booking of Gary for speaking engagements and other public
events. Ann also
heads up our job profiling for clients as part of our Creating
Sustainable Systems™ phase.
Ann
holds a Bachelors of Education and has over 30 years of
experience in life and career coaching, workforce development,
and the professional development of leaders.
Ann is a former certified career counselor by the State
of Florida, a Certified Economic Development Trainer by the
State of Georgia, and is a Certified Job Profiler by ACT
WorkKeys. She
is also an ACT WorkKeys mentor, providing support to other
profilers.
She
has served as the Director of Business and Industry Training at
Central Georgia Technical College, including overseeing the
operations of the GEICO Center for Professional Development at
the college. Her
other prior experience includes working with Lake City Community
College, The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative
Services, and the Florida Department of Labor.
Ann was also the training center manager for the
Workforce Development Board in North Florida, assessing client
needs and contracting for specific job skills training for
clients from specialized providers.
Ann
has earned numerous awards, including: Statewide Best of the
Best in Total Quality Management by Gov. Lawton Chiles of
Florida for designing a new employee training program; special
recognition by Gov. Paul Patton of Kentucky for work in training
adult basic education teachers; and was awarded Georgia Job
Profiler of the Year for 2009 by Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia.
A bestselling author, researcher, and developer of the Seven Elements of High Performance™, Gary heads up our research and the application of what we are learning so that our clients can get the results that they are seeking. He also shares the knowledge and understandings that he gains through articles, whitepapers, books, and through his speaking.
Gary also
works directly with executive teams, helping them build the
foundation of Trust that is necessary for any organization to
rise above mediocrity to become exceptional.
Gary
is a Certified DiSCŪ Trainer, a Certified Seminar Leader, and,
in addition, has held numerous Instructor Certifications from
the State of Florida.
He is a former training and development executive of the
largest state agency in Florida and is also a former executive
of Educational Testing Service, setting up and leading a new
division at the world’s most prestigious educational research
and assessment organization.
As
the regional organizational and staff development and training
manager for the Florida Department of Corrections, Gary oversaw
the delivery of 650,000 training hours per year to 9000
employees at 43 locations, including the operations of a
regional training center, with 29 training staff.
Training topics were expansive, covering leadership and
all areas of operations, including security, housekeeping,
laundry, food service, grounds keeping, transportation,
maintenance, finance and healthcare.
Providing this training in a 24/7/365 environment
required exceptional logistical skills, which Gary excels at.
Gary
has also served on the Governor’s Task Force for Rural Areas of
Economic Concern, helping to examine issues and options for 5
areas across the State of Florida that were lagging in economic
development. He was
an active member on the Small Business Council for the
Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Task
Force for the Macon Chamber of Commerce, helping to explore ways
to develop economic opportunities for their respective areas.
Gary has also served on the Board of Regents for the Institute
of Certified Professional Managers, an international research
and certification body for good management practices, which is
located at James Madison University, where he provided guidance
on research and management certification practices.
Gary
has provided consulting services for a variety of organizations
world-wide, including: city, county and state government
organizations; the US Army; the US Department of Justice; the
world’s largest retailer; and the marine operations subsidiary
of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
Gary
earned his BS in Psychology from Stetson University, and did his
master’s work in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the
University of Central Florida.
He has over 30 years of experience in training, culture
change and leadership development, working with thousands of
leaders around the world.
His books and whitepapers are being used as teaching
materials in numerous university business schools, and the Seven
Elements of High Performance™ model has been adopted by the US
Navy’s Center for Naval Leadership, Canada’s Ministry of
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and the Aboriginal
Finance Officers Association, Canada.
Contact Us Today to Book Gary for Your Next Event!
