Max Gorissen

It’s amazing how “time flies”.

Yesterday, I was searching for a document and, in an old folder, I found a list of assignments, workshops and training sessions I participated from 1989 until 1996 while I was working as a Process Consultant for KEPNER TREGOE, Inc. (KT – represented by Proação Consultoria) in Brazil.

I remember I was hired because of my computer and programing skills (at the time, I was working at Elebra Telecon as a System Analyst developing software in Cobol, Clipper, Basic and other computer languages), during what was then called the “High Tech” era, to deliver the Information Technology (IT) portion of a new KT-Project Management Workshop in Brazil.

I remember meeting KT founder and Chairman, Mr. Benjamin B.Tregoe, who, during those years, personally signed most of my Program Leader Agreements, and spending a day at his beach house, relaxing and having lunch, and seeing him in one of his famous Hawaiian shirts.

 

 

More than that, during those years, I had the privilege of working for one of the most amazing and bright business man I ever met, Mr.Jacobus Hubertus Luyten, Jack Luyten as he was known, KT/Proação CEO in Brazil.

Reading some of the papers, I found out that my last position at KT-Brazil was “Senior Strategy Consultant” and, in the same folder, I found a list of some of my (KT/ Proação) clientes (*1) and the type of work delivered at the time: Cisper (Strategy), Conglomerado Batistella (Strategy), AKZO (PSDM), Organon (PSDM), Localiza Rent-a-car (Strategy), FIC (PSDM/ATS + LDI + FMEA), Iochpe-Maxion (PMW), IQR\Sandoz (Novartis) (PSDM), Xerox (PSDM/ PMW), CPM (PSDM/ PMW), Santista Têxtil (Strategy), HP (PSDM), RTZ Mineração (PSDM/ ATS), Citrosuco (PSDM/ ATS – LDI), Alcoa (PSDM), Agroceres (PSDM), Cilag Farmacêutica (PSDM), among others not listed.

Those were some of the most important companies at the time and I started to remember the people, the projects, the offices, the travelling, the work, and everything related to the consulting I delivered. Some amazing memories!

But, to tell the truth, what amazed me most was the amount of training I went through at KT in the USA to be able to deliver consulting to those companies. Yes, they made sure I was well prepared!

If you were in the HR (Human Resources) department of any important company at that time, you would certainly be impressed by the training and experience I gathered in those 7 years (I was 24 years old when I was hired and 31 when I left KT-Brazil).

During those years, I could sell and deliver (I remember saying that I was always in Sales mode or in Delivery mode, depending on the phase of the sales process) almost all KT-rational processes because:

1. I was a certified KT-Strategy Formulation Consultant:

• Development of Business Strategy – formulation and planning – since 1993

2. I coached more than 200 KT seminars on the following rational processes:

• Project Management – since 1989;
• People Management – since 1989;
• Problem Solving and Decision Making – since 1990;
• Analytic trouble Shooting – since 1990;
• Managing the Performance System – since 1990.

3. I was a certified KT Leadership Development Institute # 1 instructor (Train-the-Trainer) for the following rational processes:

• Problem Solving and Decision Making;
• Project Management;
• Analytic trouble shooting.

4. I designed and implemented the following tailor-made Workshops:

• 

  IOCHPE/ MAXION Project Management Workshop: developed using KT PMW adding new processes to conform to IOCHPE/ MAXION project management and quality requirements. After developing the outline, materials, process, PowerPoint presentation, Microsoft Project outline and exercises, I personally trained more than 500 employees.

 

• FMEA – Failure Mode & Defect Analysis: Developed and adapted for FIC (Ford Indústria e Comércio do Brasil) based on the FMEA process used by Ford Motors Worldwide. I used KT PMW together with KT-Potential Problem and Opportunity Analysis combined with the FMEA process, to deliver a new product/ workshop called FORD PMW FMEA. It was a one-year project and all production, engineering and quality personnel at FIC were trained.

Also, among the papers, I found a planner/ scheduler with my handwriting describing the assignments and training I had at KT in Princeton-NJ, from August – November 1992, while I was living and working in the US.

 

 

And then, finally, I found a list of the processes I was qualified as a KT-Instructor and Consultant and the month/ year of my training:

• SDI – Strategy Development Institute:
  • Strategy Formulation – Princeton, USA – Sep/93
• LDI – Leadership Development Institute:
  • Project Management – Princeton, USA – May/89
  • People Management – Chicago, USA – Jun/89
  • Problem Solving & Decision Making – Monterey, USA – Feb/90
  • Analytic Trouble Shooting – Princeton, USA – Mar/90
  • Managing the Performance System – Princeton, USA – Jul/90
  • Process Consulting Skills – Princeton, USA – Jul/95
• Workshops:
  • System Analysis Workshop – Princeton, USA – Aug/92
  • Fundamental Consulting Skills – Princeton, USA – Sep/92
  • Performance Analysis – Princeton, USA – Sep/92
  • Marketing Planning/ Business Development Workshop, Princeton, USA – Oct/92
• Other responsibilities:
  • Sales of KT’s workshops, projects & strategic formulation;
  • Development/ monitor of projects using KT consulting processes;
  • Linking KT processes to Quality Processes.

 

 

Yes, “time flies” … and today, 21 years later, I see that this is just a “glimpse”, a moment, of my professional life and career, but, still, I am amazed by how much I learnt and achieved during those KT years!

Best of all, today, I still use those KT rational processes in everything I do. It became part of my situation-appraisal, problem-solving, decision-making and potential problem and opportunity analysis thinking.

So, bring the next 21+ years!

 

Max Gorissen

 

* 1 – All company names mentioned in this article belong and/or are Registered Trademarks of those companies with Copyright and All Rights Reserved. Those companies were Kepner Tregoe/ Proação Consultoria Ltda clientes and the work, training and consulting was performed as na KT/Proação employee. If by any chance, this is your brand/company name and you want it removed from this article, please send an e-mail to Gorissen @compustream.com.br and it will be immediately removed.