St Paul, Minnesota, United States
I do believe I am a pioneer in applying linguistic studies and human factors research to organizational communication. I started this work in 1979, and in 1980 I founded Practical Communications, Inc.. Our mission is to help individuals and organizations shape their ideas and express them in lucid, persuasive language. Much of my work came together in a video/print program titled Writing for the Information Age which won a National Educational Film Festival award. I have taught at government agencies, utilities, banks, manufacturing facilities, hospitals, insurance companies, telecoms, and dot.coms. My current work focuses on the impact of electronic media on human values and relationships. Fortunately, I established a national reputation years ago, so I don't have to make sales calls, buy ads or manage employees anymore. I write, sell my books, coach executives, and teach in corporate America. I do these things because I love to do them--and I'm told I'm an inspiring and provocative presenter, writer and educator. Specialties: I love to teach engineers, researchers, IT professionals, technical experts--just about anyone who has important information that must be conveyed to decision makers to prevent them from making dumb decisions.
A dream woke me up in 1979 and told me what to do to start a successful consulting business. I closed the business 36 years later and dreaded the work ahead. All I knew was it would be solitary and deep. When another dream showed the outlines of a trilogy, I hoped to satisfy the gods with a slim volume of poetry. "Holy Trinity: Maiden, Mother, Crone" is now on Amazon. The gods smiled, but they were not satisfied because poems were not enough. "Tell our stories," the trinity of women demanded. Dreams invaded my nights until I began a family saga of a maiden, mother, and crone. Finally, in 2024, I finished the Mother's story. "Evanthia" logs in at 139,000 words. The Crone's story is almost finished, too. The trinity honors women who suffer the indignity of misogyny, the horror of war, the suffering of famine, and the dystopia of immigration. Beta readers tell me Evanthia is a movie. These are the books I was born to write: three novels based on the detritus of history. The ancestors and the gods tell me to shepherd the books to the light of publication. Okay. I'm on it.
I started this company in 1979. I can't believe that's more than 30 years ago! I'm still working and enjoying the work--even though I haven't advertised since 1995. Last year, I decided to focus my work within the nuclear industry. I work with intelligent, conscientious nuclear employees who get entangled in language rather than using language to facilitate communication. When I teach how to write clear, concise technical reports, I know my work matters.
After serving as an Assistant Professor for five years, I founded the Hamline University Counseling Center and ran it for two years. When the President of Hamline University asked me to prepare to be Dean of Students, I demurred that I wished, instead, to take the sabbatical I was due. It was during that sabbatical year that I founded Practical Communications, Inc.