Examples: Some of Barry
Sweeny's Clients
- The following are a small sample of the hundreds
of agencies, organizations, and individuals with whom I have
worked. These are presented here so you can see the diverse
range of my experience and hear what others who have worked
with me have said about my services.
INDEX:
- Fortune 500 and Other Major Companies:
McDonalds - Oak Brook, IL. Consulting on development of
managerial mentoring program for increased manager performance
and retention, and for succession planning.
Value Enhancement Strategies, Inc. - "Barry amazed
us while consulting with us on rethinking our marketing approach
and web site to make them more effective. We are a business consulting
firm and yet, he really helped us to see more objectively some
flaws in our own plans and work. We were impressed!" - Byron
Miller, President and principal consultant.
Frito-Lay
- Consulting regarding development of a middle management mentoring
program.
Parker Aerospace, Control Systems Division, Ogden, Utah
- Consulting and materials for a middle managers mentoring
program. - " Barry, thank you again for your
wonderful help. Our program is off to a great start and the materials
you provided have been used in our mentoring reference manual.
Thanks for your great assistance and information." - Mark
McConkie
Nabisco, Inc. -Developed and recommended a process for
a managerial mentoring program & training to increase employee
retention and performance.
Ernst & Young, LLP, New York - Review and suggest improvements
to the existing mentoring program to increase the results and
accelerate the managers' learning curve. - "Barry's help,
advice, and information was very much appreciated. His organizational
understanding and ability to quickly adapt his work to our needs
was of great benefit to our work." - D. Hobson
McGraw-Hill, Dallas Texas - Consulting regarding development
of a mentor program to target increased employee performance and
retention, and recruitment of a more diverse manager team. -
"Barry was a critical contact for us in developing the mentor
program we needed. He helped us to design the program so as to
more effectively achieve our goals." - Bruce Salazer
Media
and Broadcasting
Louisiana Public Broadcasting Corporation - Barry
was part of a partnership with LA PBS and Focus Marketing of Asheville,
N. C. Barry's role was as content expert and consultant, and as
client trainer for development and delivery of presentations using
effective professional development to promote a series of online
professional development courses by PBS.
"Barry's help was critical to the success
of this project. By a week before the session, the client was
excited about the plans Barry helped create and about the enrollment
for the session.
- By the end of the session, our LA PBS client
was “ecstatic”!
- The session was attended by 162 administrators,
more than attended the conference keynote speaker,
and more than triple the attendance goal I had set for
the session!
- The session went extremely well and
the LA PBS client was very satisfied with her own role
as the session leader, for which Barry and I had prepared her.
- Many attendees were inquiring
about the use of the PBS online professional development courses
which were the PBS product the session promoted.
Obviously, we shall continue
to rely on Barry's expertise for future work."
- Glen McCandless, representative for Focus Marketing.
High
Tech Industries and Organizations:
A.T. & T. Network Software Systems (now Lucent Technologies)
- A three month full-time contract in 1988 to audit the existing
informal mentoring program, research and evaluate employee and
organization needs, develop a mentoring program model to address
the needs,, and recommend an implementation process for a formal
mentoring program in the 5ESS Switch Division. Barry also provided
mentoring training for pro-tech staff.
"We contracted for three months of full-time
work from Barry because of a request from our most important division
for assistance in an area in which existing staff had little expertise.
He quickly learned what he needed to know to deliver valued added
services to our department's support for this critical internal
client. His products and processes were consistently high quality,
his advice was well-researched and practical, and his presentations
were concise and challenging. We were very pleased with Barry's
work and productivity." - Cathy Keifer, Senior Consultant,
Training & Development Department, Lisle, Illinois.
RMS Business Solutions - Buffalo Grove, IL. Consulting
on content and design during a four month software development
process to increase the effectiveness and usability of modules
for needs assessment, learning assessment data management and
analysis, program evaluation, organizational improvement, and
accountability. - "I'm very excited about your recommendations!
Your ideas will at least double the value and the potential market
for this (software) package. Your view points were just the catalyst
we needed!" - Howard Soukup, Senior Partner.
Panhandle Center for Technology and Professional Development,
Lubbock, TX. Provided consulting, program research and development,
and mentor training. - "Barry Sweeny undertook a HUGE assignment
and did an OUTSTANDING job for us! We were very pleased with the
participation and his presentation of information. His input was
vital to the success of our mentoring program."
Energy
Companies:
BP
Oil Americas- Warrenville, Illinois. Barry provided
"High Impact Mentor Strategies Training" for middle
level managers and team leaders. These leaders are all in
the Global Integrated Supplies and Trading Division of BP Oil
Americas.
- "We spent almost a year looking for the
consultant and trainer to use in our mentoring program pilot before
we settled on Barry Sweeny. After we tentatively selected him,
we interviewed him and checked his references. The interview went
very well and his references were phenomenal! We are glad we selected
him as Barry delivered everything we had asked him to do. We are
excited to be working with him." - M. Konrad, Commercial
Director.
- "The mentor training Barry provided us
was very effective and insightful. This was the beginning our
mentoring program needed. As a result, I expect to use Barry to
help me start mentoring in our section." - Paul, a manager
from another division who also attended and was considering the
use of mentoring in his area.
Arizona
Public Service - Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station,
Phoenix & Tonopah, Arizona. This is an on-going and
very comprehensive mentoring project designed to deal with "aging
workforce", knowledge management, and new hire retention
issues for the 300+ employees in the Engineering Department at
the largest electrical power generating operation in the U.S.
The goal of the project was nothing less than the creation of
a department-wide mentoring culture.
Government
Agencies:
United
States Postal Service - Office of Inspector General -
"High Impact Mentoring Training" for about 65 mentors
in the OIG's Washington D.C. office, plus another 30 in seven
other cities across the US via video conferencing. Also
included in the training were about 50 OIG managers who wanted
to be informed about mentoring strategies they could use as supervisors
and about what was expected of mentors, so the new hire development
process would be well coordinated. A second role for Barry was
consulting with the Mentor Program Coordinator.
Rhode
Island State Dept. of Education - Training in mentoring and
coaching, and consulting in development of the state mentoring
program and state program standards. - "Dear Barry,
this is just a quick note to thank you for the time and effort
you put into our program and the development of our standards.
We appreciate all your help during your several days visit here
and in supporting us afterwards as well. The feed back and advice
you provided us was well received and very valued. You have been
such a help to us! Thanks again." - Kathy Rainone, Program
Coordinator & Fellow.
United States Department of Defense - Consulting and materials
provided U.S. Army trainers regarding improvement of three levels
of professional development programs to improve individual and
unit performance.
Singapore, Ministry of Education - Advising the deputy
director regarding a new mentoring program addressing improved
performance and retention. - "We contacted Mr.
Sweeny because of how positive some of his previous clients were
about his information and services. We are glad we followed their
advice and chose to work to him. The information he provided us
was excellent and his guidance was just what we needed. We even
traveled to the US to attend his training in New Orleans."
- Nicholas Tang Ning
Barry has consulted and trained with an amazing range of businesses
and organizations all over the world to some extent, but primarily
in the USA. One of the more unique projects was consulting on
development of a mentoring program for a Las Vegas casino.
That project focused on development of the program model, implementation
planning, and alignment of the mentoring program with existing
performance appraisal and supervision processes and instruments.
Public Service
& Law Enforcement Institutions:
Ormond Beach Police Department, Florida - Consulted regarding
development of a mentoring program for middle managers. -
"Barry's help was really appreciated. He provided us general
direction for program development, plus lots of ideas for program
goals, budgets, training for our managers, selling decision makers
on the proposal we developed, and design of implementation time
lines." - Bill Netterville.
-
Barry also helped a large countywide police department in
the south west USA develop their mentoring program.
Alberta Public Service, Alberta Provincial Government , Canada
- Provided advice and materials for public service employee coaching
by managers. This information was eventually incorporated into
a handbook they published.
Health
Care Institutions:
Christina
Health Care, Delaware - I originally
met Kathleen when she was a participant at one of the mentoring
conferences I sponsored and led. She was doing her masters degree
on mentoring in health care and I consulted with her on general
adaptations I recommended be made in my model and strategies for
her setting. About a year later, she was appointed to a new position
in a hospital and she was charged with development of a mentoring
program for her new employer. As the new mentor program director
and trainer, she sought me out again. This time I helped
her with more specific advice on how to design the new program
and training for mentors in the hospital setting.
"Barry, thanks for helping me AGAIN! I knew
that I could count on you to mentor ME, to help me prepare for
this opportunity, and to deliver the quality program that was
needed. As usual, you were terrific! You made me look good! I
owe my success to your insights, model, and guidance." -
Kathleen Williamson, Preceptor Coordinator
College of Nursing, North Carolina Central University,
Durham, NC. Consulted on-site and long distance with the mentoring
program design team. I also lead mentoring training for faculty
mentors to work with students in their program, and with new faculty
across all of the university's programs.
"Mr. Sweeny, thank you so much for sharing
your expertise with us and giving us the direction we wanted to
get our program off on the right foot. At least for now, you have
answered all our questions, and had the foresight to address issues
of which we were not even aware yet. I personally appreciate your
ability to adapt what you do to suit our specific needs and setting.
We will definitely be calling on you again in the future!"
- Dr. Marion Gooding, Program Director.
OTHERS INCLUDE:
- Chicago Medical School (now University
of Health Sciences)
- "Mr. Sweeny is truly the 'guru of
mentoring and coaching', just as we were told when we checked
his references before using him. His insight into our type
of organization and our personnel needs was uncanny and
his suggestions and solutions to our problems were always
very effective. That is why we used him repeatedly for over
two years. I would have called on his guidance more, but
I retired the following spring." - Consulting with
Dr. Jay A. Smith, Professor of Physiology and Department
Chair of Medical Communications, regarding faculty use of
mentoring strategies in advisement and instruction of medical
students, multiple times during 1978 and 1979.
- University of South Dakota School
of Medicine- Sioux Falls, South Dakota, "Effective
Peer Mentoring Strategies Training", training mentors from
institutions across the state in the use of mentoring &
coaching strategies to support implementation of training in
more inclusive practices, a part of the "State-Wide Systems
Change Project". June 26-29, 2000
- "Our sincere thanks, Barry for the
ways you adapted to suit our needs, and the great training.
We especially valued your demonstrations of the effective
mentoring strategies and the developmental assessment and
planning model you provided. Our teams felt very prepared
to be effective mentors." - SWSC Project Manager
- Wayne State University, College of Nursing.
“Mentoring for Future Nurse Professionals” Program, Detroit,
MI. Consulted with Lisa Fuller, Program Coordinator. Trained
mentors and nursing educators. Sept. 2004
About
Barry's Keynotes and Presentations:
The
Association of Teacher Educators - "Thanks
so much for your presentation to the group in Los Angeles. It
was so on-target! As you were speaking, my co-chair and
I looked at each other and whispered 'This guy its just what we
needed!' We've decided, we are not the only ones who were impressed
with your message. There have been so many positive comments that
we would like you to be our keynoter at the national
conference next year in Atlanta." - Dr. Leslie Huling,
S.W. Texas State. Univ. Co-Chair of Assn. of Teacher Educators'
Mentoring S.I.G.
-
Some Not-For-Profit, Community-Based Projects on Which
Barry Has Worked:
The Professional Development Alliance - Program Evaluation
A two year project in the Joliet Illinois region. Hired as external
evaluator for this federally funded project. Designed and conducted
a two year evaluation of a complex staff development and coaching
program. Developed all instruments, observed and assessed employee
performance improvements, collected & analyzed data, provided
feed back on manager performance and project leadership, assessed
results, wrote final program evaluations, conclusions &
recommendation, two years in a row.
The program coordinator, Adrianne Roggenbuck, Project Coordinator,
stated, - "Barry, we knew after our first meeting
with you that your work was going to be much more helpful than
our previous consultant. Now that we have your final evaluation
report, we are so glad you've been the external evaluator. The
report looks great and Marge, Beth and I are impressed and pleased
with the work you have done in the evaluation. You gathered
the data we needed and provided us with the feed back we wanted
to improve our impact and our planning for next year. Thank
you so much!"
World Relief Corporation, USA Ministries Division, North Area
- An international relief and resettlement/assistance agency
working under US Dept. of State and other state and foundation grants.
- Program Redesign to Align and Set Standards
for Four Major Growth Processes
- Interviewed managers at several levels to
clarify needs, goals, existing activities, and desired deliverables.
Sought input and consensus as I developed prototype growth
processes, developed text and graphic elements to communicate
the products and consensus, recommended next steps for integration
of the growth process models with other work processes, and
provided implications of the growth processes for the on-going
revision of their management structure and program delivery
approaches. Project completed March 2003.
- The client
was the Northern US Area Director, who said, "Thanks
so much for your help in this difficult time of change in
our organization. I was frantic about my own job, changes
in our whole work process and management structure, and cost
cutting, to the point where I wasn't sure what to do next.
You really brought clarity and the kind of expertise and gentle
nudging that I needed. The four Growth Process Variations
we developed have given me the quality standard I needed to
respond to these changes in a positive, yet best practice
focused way. As a result, I am more clear about my role on
the National Management Team in shaping the direction we are
moving to ensure that whatever results will still be effective.
Thank you so much."
- Web-Based Management Evaluation
- Worked with the Midwest Area Director and two
affiliate office directors to develop, refine and implement
a 360 degree, Internet-based, management feed back system. The
system was developed to avoid setting unrealistic expectations
among direct reports regarding the use of the data they provided,
to promote openness on the part of managers to the feed back
of direct reports, and to prompt self-assessment and planning
for management improvement. The system had two layers, providing
feed back to both affiliate office directors, and to the area
director. Finally, the system was also designed to provide the
area director with data to inform her supervision, support,
and accountability of affiliate directors. Follow up consulting
regarding training for implementation was also provided. Project
completed in 2002
- Grant Writing
- Interviewed staff and then developed the program
goals, outcomes, activities, and evaluation components for the
project proposal. The grant was approved and described as a
"model program" by the grantor who offered 50% more
funding than was requested!
- "Barry recently worked with us to
develop the most difficult part of our recent FY 2000 Secretary
of State Grant. We were so pleased with his work and the quality
of his writing because these parts are the core of the proposal,
around which we had to build all the rest of the project, and
his work made ours go so well. Also, Barry was prompt in meeting
our short time line for completion and was a pleasure to work
with. We certainly feel we got our money worth and more, and
will definitely be using Barry again on other projects".
- Ms. Pamela Meadows, Director of Education Services,
World Relief DuPage.
- World Relief - Mentor Program Development
and Mentor Training
- Worked with a collaborative team of teachers,
program directors, site director, and a university partner who
was an ESL content expert, to develop a peer support/mentoring
system to better utilize best practices and increase employee
performance and client results.
"Barry, it was terrific to work with you again on the
mentoring project. Thanks for all the wonderful materials
that you developed or adapted for our program. Thanks too
for the great mentor training. You are an excellent model.
I especially appreciate your mentoring me so that I can become
more the mentor of mentors for our staff, and provide this
training in the future." - P. Meadows, Director of Education
Services
Consulting
with and Coaching Individual Program Managers
"Wow,
Barry! You gave me all that I needed and more! It is like you
are reading my mind. This only goes to prove that you are very
experienced and therefore, very insightful about just exactly
what a program and program leader need. I have grown so much from
our work. Thanks again, for all the input." - Fern Cohen
"I attended Barry's mentor training in Albuquerque New Mexico,
hoping that, afterwards on my own, I could somehow adapt the information
to my own needs and the company which I lead. I gained so much
more than I expected. The information I received was absolutely
terrific, is better described as "wisdom", and has been
very useful for the applications I had in mind. Also, Barry volunteered
to meet with me after the training to help me consider how to
adapt his models and processes to our business. He helped me analyze
my situation and plan for more than an hour! So often we see people
in the business world pulling others down instead of helping others
learn and develop their skills. Barry is a wonderful exception!
He quickly got to the heart of my situation with
his great questions and he seemed to already understand the unique
issues we face in our industry. It was amazing to see how easily
he did that. He helped me plan the specific ways I could use what
his training had provided, and he gave me several insights into
myself as well. I will use Barry's valuable information in our
annual Strategic Planning Process where I plan on introducing
a mentorship/development program for our organization. Barry has
really made my life easier.
I strongly recommend Barry to anyone in any setting
who needs to develop a "high impact" mentoring program."
- Barbara Ricci, Operations Manager, IMagic Business Solutions,
Espanola, New Mexico.
"I cannot thank you enough for your answers to my questions
and your great advice about mentoring. You have given me many
ideas that I want to explore more. I really appreciate your willingness
to share your expert knowledge. As I continue to work in mentoring
I know that I will continue to call on you for your sage advice
and mentoring for ME. Thanks again!" - Jeanna Weldon, Program
Coordinator, Athens, Georgia.
