Compass Associates



	Founder Susan Berg \| How We Form Advisory Teams \| Associates' Bios Susan R. Berg, Ph.D. Susan Berg is Managing Partner and Founder of Compass Associates, a down to earth, real world consulting firm specializing in making your projects happen, even in the face of change, disputes, "unclarity", and confusion. Susan brings to her craft two decades experience in the private and public sectors, with organizations both large and small, domestic and international. She has worked as outside consultant as well as internal consulting manager. Unique Approach Susan's unique approach draws on numerous creative thinking tools and methodologies, especially focusing on concepts of the whole - accessing the power of our whole brain, our whole team, and our whole system, with all its interconnections. Her skills merge the fun of inspired creativity with the discipline of a step-by-step process. This results in practical change that is easy to learn and incorporate into your own rhythm of working and learning. Span of Clients Over her career, Susan has brought objectivity and perspective to projects in all areas of the organization. Compass assignments have covered a wide range of Fortune 500 and non-profit institutions, from telecommunications to city government, and from pharmaceuticals to global sponsorship programs for needy children. This experience provides her invaluable knowledge and skills in managing change projects tailored to the needs and conditions of each group of people she supports. Work Experience On Compass engagements, Susan crosses traditional boundaries by working adeptly with people throughout an organization, from leader to team member. Her responsibilities have ranged from organization-wide strategic planning to team coaching for groups of four to twelve individuals. She has spoken before audiences of hundreds and counseled individuals on a one-on-one basis. Susan's career encompasses over a decade working for Unisys Corporation, where she was awarded the prestigious Chairman's Innovation Award for creativity in program development. Prior to Unisys, Susan worked in the public sector as a teacher and educational administrator in California and Texas. She has extensive experience in designing strategic change projects, and facilitating leadership, strategic vision, creative process improvement programs -- all focused on making a project happen. Education Susan holds a Ph.D. in Adult Education and Development from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Masters degree in French/International Studies from Northwestern University, and her BA, Cum Laude, in Political Science from Miami University in Ohio. She speaks French, moderate Spanish, and some German. Personal Susan lives with her husband and two children in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where she is active in community and church activities. This aspect of her life work is a reminder that patience, good humor, and a sense of balance can make any project a satisfying challenge and good fun. Back to top susan.berg@compasspath.com Associates Bio's Susan partners with an esteemed crew of associates. They include experts in quality and process improvement, operations, marketing, communications, training and learning design, team building, creativity, and personal coaching. Linda Anderson Linda is the coaching guru. She provides business and personal coaching to help you get clear about what matters most to you. Her coaching will facilitate you to get organized in the way that works best for you — set meaningful goals, prioritize, stay focused, and enjoy the journey. Linda makes working with her not only pleasant but easy. You will benefit from her insight, understanding and humor, while gaining clarity on who you are and how you can achieve desired results. linda@gettingclear.com Janis Long Janis provides the anchor to Compass projects. She ensures follow-up, timeliness, and holds the team to her high standards of efficiency, creativity, and stick-to-it-iveness. janis.long@compasspath.com Mark L. Smith Mark Smith is master of the "Business Mechanics" side of transitions. On top of that, he brings an artful, well-honed skill set in marketing and image development. Mark asks "Why not?" and prods teams to dream and deliver. This combination brings spice to project management of transitions, and ensures that the technical steps are well integrated with the team steps. He brings a very special balance of project effectiveness -- seeing the whole, connecting the dots, and daring the team to step a little further -- elements that every successful transition needs. Ultimately, Mark keeps the team hooked on return on investment, to deliver multi-faceted value through creativity, practicality, and productivity. Mark.smith@ogbusinessadvisors.com Bill Wilson Bill is our shining man of training. Specializing in management and team training, he designs experiences that are fun, gut wrenching, and effective. Bill provides the kind of support that any team can love: funny, on target, and square feedback between the eyes. He brings the "get up and go" to team projects. userwwjr@aol.com Back to top How We Form Advisory Teams Targeting the Right Advisors We assemble a premiere lineup of project advisors based on our distinctive Compass Chart® process. This chart highlights both strengths and gaps, and maps out a step by step transition plan. This plan becomes our guide for targeting just the right advisors. Balancing the Advisory Team As project advisors we build on each client's distinctive strengths. We pay particular attention to balancing our teams with expertise in both the business mechanics and people dynamics of carrying out a transition. Business mechanics and people dynamics is balancing both sides of the work equation Business mechanics is the operations side of the work, including managing the day-to-day work flow, process improvement, and quality. People dynamics is the relationship and partnering side of the work, including team functioning, leadership, and integration across functions/silos.