Participants
The most common PSL feedback is:
The best part of PSL for me was the other people.
Managerial and technical leaders come to PSL in all ages and from all backgrounds. For courses in the USA, most participants come from North America, but each offering generally has several international participants.
Recent courses have included people from Canada, France, Ireland, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Algeria, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, India, Pakistan, Singapore, the Phillipines, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Because of Jerry’s reputation, the majority of participants are computer professionals – software developers, testers, hardware engineers, project managers, process specialists, product managers, information officers, data base designers and administrators, architects, and many consultants (internal and external).
But PSL is not a technical workshop, and it’s not for technical professionals only. In every offering, we are honored by the attendance of friends and family members of prior attendees, which has brought PSL to almost every problem-solving profession, including medicine, education, law, and the arts and sciences.
Organizations
I was able to share experiences with people from a dozen other organizations. This added a reality and breadth to my own experience that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.
Among our better-known clients are:
Adobe Systems, Alcoa, Allen-Bradley, Amdahl, American Express, Andersen Consulting, ATT, Bally Systems, Banc One, Bank of Canada, Battelle, Bechtel, Bell Labs (Lucent), Bellcore, US Bureau of Engraving and Printing, CASE, CBIS, Centel, Charles Schwab, Combined Insurance, Compaq, Conoco, Corning, Country Companies, US Dept. of Defense, Deseret Mutual, DEC, Dow Jones, DuPont, Eastman Kodak, EDS, Ericsson, Los Angeles Fairplex, First Data Corp., Freightliner, General Motors, GeoQuest, Harris Laboratories, Hewlett Packard, The HON Company, IIT Research, IBM, IDS, Information Systems of Florida, Informix, Itron, JavaSoft, LL Bean, LDS Church, Los Alamos National Labs, Mastercard, MCC, MCI, Microsoft, MONY, Motorola, MSNBC, National Fuel Gas, NCR, Netscape, Nike, Norwest, Oracle, Pacific Bell (SBC), Philips Research, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Piper Jaffrey, Port of Portland, Portland General Electric, Readers’ Digest, Rockwell, SAIC, Santa Fe Railway, Sara Lee, SAS Institute, Schlumberger, Sealy, SIAC (NY Stock Exchange), Siemens, SmartPatents, Software Engineering Institute (SEI), Spectra Physics, St. Paul Companies, Standard Insurance, State of California, State of Texas, State of Washington, Sun Microsystems, TVA, Tandem, Tektronix, Universal Underwriters, US West, US Bank, Virginia Power, Wall Data, Washington National Insurance, Washington Natural Gas, Wells Fargo, West One Bancorp, Xerox.
These are the well-known names, but PSL is also very popular with independent consulting firms, high-tech startups of all sizes, and universities around the world.
Faculty
You guys are a great team. I really appreciated having each of your perspectives.
I credit my very positive experience to the guidance that you provided during the workshop.
You created a very safe environment where I think virtually everyone felt that they could open up and learn from each other.
Each PSL faculty member is an experienced professional, knowledgeable in the principles and methods underlying PSL.
Each one adds diversity to PSL by virtue of different personality type, background, and realm of interest.
Together, they demonstrate that PSL has a message which can bring value to each participant regardless of job title or area of expertise.
When you attend PSL you will have the opportunity to work with two or more members of this outstanding group.
Naomi Karten, http://www.nkarten.com, has delivered seminars and presentations to more than 100,000 people internationally on how to deliver superior service, manage customer expectations, and build win-win relationships.
She is the editor and publisher of the newsletter, “Perceptions and Realities,” and author of several books, including “Managing Expectations” and “Establishing Service Level Agreements.”
Naomi has an M.A. in psychology, and extensive technical and management experience.
Norm Kerth, http://c2.com/ppr/about/author/norm.html, has over two decades of experience building software systems.
His focus has been on specification and design methodologies, project management, quality assurance, continually improving the software development process, and growing effective teams.
He is widely known for his work in object-oriented methodologies, patterns and postmorta.
David A. Schmaltz is an experienced project manager, consultant, lecturer, and writer. He has designed and delivered project management custom training programs for Sun Microsystems, Quantum Corporation, Oracle Corporation, and other firms.
He is the President of the Portland, Oregon-based True North project guidance strategies, Inc. David is also the editor of True North’s quarterly newsletter, Compass.
True North’s Mastering Projects Workshop shows how to manage projects while enhancing your quality of life; graduates are guiding successful projects at Nike, ADP, Nextlink Interactive, and other high-tech firms.
Patricia Snipp is a management consultant, speaker and process facilitator.
Her special interest is assisting individuals and groups in applying principles of creativity and leadership to solving personal and professional problems.
She is the owner of Kasper, Snipp & Associates a management consulting, training and research firm.
Karen Straka is an educator and counselor who focuses her attention on helping people to be successful in complex organizations.
She fosters growth and development of individuals and families by promoting responsibility and understanding.
As a consultant, she brings a nurturing style and a sense of commitment to the growth of the human spirit.
Eileen Strider, http://www.striderandcline.com, is a partner in the consulting firm of Strider & Cline, Inc.. She is widely respected as an executive consultant with keen insight and problem-solving skills.
With her extensive management background in information systems, she’s a highly effective advisor to managers and executives seeking to improve the capability of their organizations.
Wayne Strider, http://www.striderandcline.com, is a principal in Strider & Cline, Inc., a consulting and training practice focused on improving the capability of technical organizations to produce their products and services.
Wayne is a powerful consultant, trainer, and facilitator.
His special interest is in helping excellent leaders become better at dealing with difficult people and process issues that seem inseparable from technical work.
Dani Weinberg is one of the designers of PSL.
Her primary focus now is PSL faculty development.
Jerry Weinberg is also one of the designers of PSL, and is continually working to improve the PSL offerings.
In each PSL, he is available as consultant to all participants and staff.