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INSIGHTS for Training & Development. Alex Hiam & Associates


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BACKGROUND

INSIGHTS for Training & Development is...
Dedicated to helping trainers provide better events, materials and activities in order to increase participant learning benefits.

We Focus on...
Human performance in "soft skills" areas such as motivation, conflict-handling, feedback and recognition, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, interpersonal communications, leadership, sales and service, and negotiations.

INSIGHTS for Training & Development develops new and better training and assessment materials and other aids for managers, trainers, consultants or coaches. We deliver training, workshops, consulting and executive coaching through a network of associates around North America (in Canada we operate as Hiam & McGowan).

Alex Hiam  |   Jane McGowan  |  Helmi Pucino  |  Eric Riess

Alex HiamAlex Hiam received his AB in anthropology from Harvard and his MBA from U.C. Berkeley, and has taught at the business schools at American International College and U Mass Amherst. He has also worked as a manager in several Silicon Valley tech firms and a large transportation company. He founded a training and management consulting firm based in Amherst Mass. twelve years ago. His firm, INSIGHTS for Training & Development, is a leader in the research and development of methods, programs and curricula for management, focusing on leadership, employee motivation, innovation, customer service, conflict handling, teamwork and related topics.

Hiam is the author of numerous books for executives and workplace leaders, including Motivational Management (American Management Association), Making Horses Drink (Entrepreneur Press), Closing the Quality Gap (Prentice Hall), Motivating & Rewarding Employees (Adams Media), and The Vest-pocket CEO (Prentice Hall). He developed the Strategic Leadership course and assessment instrument and the Profile of Leadership Opportunities (which is based on the book Making Horses Drink), as well as dozens of other training and development products published by his own firm and by HRD Press. (All products available at TrainingActivities.com)

Hiam presents keynotes and workshops for associations (such as AMSA, National Association for Employee Recognition, Linkage, SHRM, Association of Independent Trust Companies, and ASTD), and for business and government clients such as USDA Grad School and the U.S. Postal Service, and firms such as S.C. Johnson & Sons, AT&T, GM, and business schools at U. Mass, City College of San Francisco, Mission College, and Dominican University. Customers using his training and assessment designs include 3M, Amazon.com, American Management Association, Bayer Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield (multiple states), Los Angeles Police Dept., Exxon-Mobil, Sears, Ford, Volvo, Eaton, the U.S. Army, U.S.D.A., HealthEast, and Wal-Mart.

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Jane McGowanJane McGowan, President of McGowan & Associates, has over eighteen years of experience, providing sales & service, negotiating, leadership, conflict management, and related human resources programs for corporations in Canada, the United States, England and New Zealand.

In 2001 Jane formed a partnership with Alexander Hiam, an author, speaker and facilitator, based in San Francisco. The partnership specializes in negotiating and leadership/management programs that are tailored to clients’ business priorities.

Jane has developed long term business relationships with many of her clients and is frequently involved in broader management consulting issues to help her clients meet their business goals and day-to-day challenges. Some of the organizations Jane has worked with include Deloitte & Touche (Canada, U.S.A. and the U.K), CN, S.C. Johnson, Canon Canada Inc., TD Securities and ATI Technologies.

Prior to establishing her consulting company, Jane was Director of Management Development for Deloitte & Touche. Previous experience includes senior management responsibilities in the computer industry and consulting for Xerox.
Jane is on the Board of Governors for the Canadian Red Cross. She has also served on the Boards of the Canadian Red Cross, Ontario Zone Council and the Children's Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto.

PROGRAM EXPERIENCE

  • Advanced Negotiation Strategies (based on the book The Fast Forward MBA in Negotiating and Deal Making)
  • Account Development Strategies (selling in a large account environment)
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Interviewing Skills
  • Management and Leadership Skills/Fundamentals of Management
  • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Certified Consultant – programs and individual counselling)
  • Performance Management Skills
  • Product Fluency Programs (with a focus on sales & service skills)
  • Sales & Service Skills
  • Setting Objectives Workshops (“real time” workshops for specific business units)
  • Success With Consultative Skills (relationship building in a sales & service context)
  • Team Building and Team Effectiveness
  • Train the Trainer/Facilitation Skills

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Helmi Pucino, Partner, Alex Hiam and Associates (and founding partner of INSIGHTS for Training & Development, Hiam’s North American umbrella organanization of training partners and distributors), has over twenty years of experience in the field of training and organizational development. She has consulted to government agencies and Fortune 500 companies as well as in smaller organizations. These programs, which included leadership development, culture change, teambuilding, communications, executive training and coaching, resulted in measurable performance improvements. Helmi has worked with Alex Hiam and the INSIGHTS team for five years, on projects ranging from customer service training for city employees to a keynote for a national conference on employee incentives and motivation.

Helmi has presented extensively to employees and managers in the City of New York Department of Environmental Protection. Her training programs for managers of the Bureau of Water Supply and Waste Water Treatment were deemed highly successful by the participants.

In addition, Helmi's training of managers in the Marlborough, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection resulted in improved teamwork and motivational skills on the part of all of the participants.

As the corporate training director for Codex/Motorola, she was responsible for executive training, engineering education, career development, and organization development. She managed the implementation of the Six Sigma program, which won the Malcolm Baldrige Award. As a staff member of Motorola University, she also managed the start-up of a corporate training department, and designed and implemented a management development system directly aligned with company strategic plans.

As an internal consultant at Fafnir Bearing/Textron, Helmi managed the implementation of a company-wide performance management program which resulted in 1.2 million dollars in cost savings. She managed a top-down, cross-functional teambuilding effort throughout the manufacturing divisions which resulted in improved communications and inter-departmental performance. She also designed and facilitated management training programs.

Helmi has consulted in the fields of manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, high technology, higher education, healthcare and government. Helmi is a professional key note speaker for business and professional associations. She has presented internationally to hundreds of groups including the American Society for Training and Development, the Organizational Development Network of New England, the National Association of Quality Circles, and many chambers of commerce and executive retreats. She has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Economics and Management at Rhode Island College. Helmi received her bachelor of science degree in education in 1972 from Southern Connecticut State University, and her master of science degree in counseling in 1980 from the University of Hartford.

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Eric A. RiessEric A. Riess is a Senior Associate with INSIGHTS for Training & Development and represents the Sales and Marketing interests of the firm on the West Coast. He has over 20 years of management experience in the newspaper industry. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Bucknell University and an MBA in Strategic Leadership from Dominican University of California. Eric also has 10 years experience as a technical trainer and is an experienced facilitator. He has represented the technical sales and marketing efforts of several East Coast firms including the Associated Press and Impact Solutions.

In addition to his sales marketing and management expertise, Eric is a mediator and personal life coach for Wellness Management Consultants, which he operates with his wife, psychologist, Dr. Helena Edith Weil. He lives in the San Francisco area
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