Dean Lindsay

Award-winning business author Dean Lindsay is a powerful keynote speaker with a humorous and engaging approach. He has been hailed as ‘America’s Progress Agent’ by The Strategic HR Forum as well as:

• An Outstanding Thought Leader on Building Priceless Business Relationships’ by Sales and Marketing Executives International
• The Dean of Sales and Service’ by Business Class News
• A Sales and Networking Guru’ by the Dallas Business Journal and
• A Master of Progress’ by Jay Conrad Levinson (Father of GUERRILLA MARKETING)

All of Dean’s presentations and coaching programs are custom-designed to reach each client’s desired outcomes. Here are some of his most requested topics:

• Creating Progress in a World of Change / Think ‘Progress Leadership’
• ROCK the Customer Experience / Celebrating Service Excellence

Dean’s books, including CREATING PROGRESS IN A WORLD OF CHANGE and HOW TO ACHIEVE BIG PHAT GOALS (Winner of the Business Class News Editors’ Choice award for BOOK OF THE YEAR and Recommended as one of the ’21 BEST GOAL SETTING BOOKS TO READ’ on PositivePsychology .com) have sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Korean, Spanish and Greek.

Dean’ national and international clients include: United States Patent and Trademark Office, KPMG, American Airlines, Texas A&M, New York Life, Aramark Canada, Century 21, Precision Tune Auto Care Franchising Inc., House of Blues, Michigan State University, Pacific Life & Annuity, Marriott, Heinz, Hilton, Relax the Back, American Express, Western Union, Verizon, John Hancock Financial, HANDHELD (Sweden), Amway, Nestle, Gold’s Gym, FASTSIGNS, Bell Partners, EKOS (Ecuador), LPL Financial, UNITS Franchising Group, ConocoPhillips, Haggar Clothing, Workout Anytime Franchising Systems LLC and the United States Peace Corp.

He has had the privilege of sharing his powerful business growth insights on stages across the globe including: Spain, Turkey, Poland, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, Sweden and the islands of Aruba and Jamaica. Dean is an active member of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy, a cum laude graduate of the University of North Texas and has served as Guest Lecturer to both the UCLA and University of Dallas MBA programs as well as the International Call Management Institute.

Dean has served as a featured contributor to Entrepreneur’s Organization’s (EO) OCTANE Blog, HR. com’s Leadership Excellence Magazine, CEOWorld Magazine, The Smart Manager (India), Training Magazine Europe, Executive Travel, Sales and Service Excellence, Networking Times and the American Management Association’s Moving Ahead magazine as well as numerous podcasts and the audio magazine Selling Power Live. His business views have also been featured on the Voice of America radio as well as the Dallas Morning News and Monster.com.

Dean’s thoughts on authentic business development by building and strengthening PROGRESS-based work cultures have been endorsed by a who’s who of international business thought leaders including Ken Blanchard (author of THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER) who calls Dean’s writings “a much needed kick in the pants.”

Featured Topics:

Change Management

Change happens. We can’t avoid change.

• Organizational Cutbacks
• New technologies are created
• Markets bear and bull
• Companies merge
• Global economic shifts
• Reorganizations

We are always in some form of transition, always arriving at some new place and dealing with new rollouts, new ideas, new everything. Our organizations and our lives are always changing, but they are not always progressing. It is natural for employees and team members to resist what is viewed as change. However, each of us embraces what we view as progress. A serious challenge for companies large and small is to lead progress, and not just manage change

Change is inevitable. Progress is a choice.

When the next shift happens or the next big thing comes our way, we internalize it and size it up as Progress or Change. All progress is change, but not all change is progress. We should be careful not to mistake mere change for progress.

To Change Is Human; to Progress, Divine.

Customer Experience and Service

In tough economic times, Customer service IS the difference between success and failure. But always remember, if we want our external customer service to be first-rate, our internal customer service must be first-rate first.

The need is undeniable, the concepts are easy to understand, proactive, caring, knowledgeable customer service is far too often not happening. It helps to widen our perspective as to what a customer is.

Anyone affected, positively or negatively, by the work we do (including our families and ourselves) can be thought of as our “customer.” Within this wider perspective, we see that real service is based on integrity, care, and sincerity, none of which can be measured with money. Nor can it be automated, no matter how soft-spoken and attractive the audio-animatronic voice may be.

Unfortunately, it seems that when an organization labels some of its professionals as customer-service reps or customer advocates, the rest of the organization assumes they are let off of the “customer care” hook. Not true.

We are ALL in the customer-service business. There is no other business. In fact, there is NO business without the customer.

PROGRESS Leadership ®

Employees and team members (especially millennials) do not want managers to manage their change. They want leaders to lead their progress. Let’s call “initiating significant change” what it truly is (or should be): Progress Leadership.

In a time of continual transformation, committed leaders should focus on inspiring progress, not apologizing for the change. Committed leaders don’t just TELL people what to do. Committed leaders include others in the progress as well as the process. It is reasoned that shape, nourish, and sustain the thoughts that create the actions necessary to reach desired results. Moving our focus from change management to PROGRESS Leadership™ creates a shift in power from wielding power over employees to creating power among employees. Committed leaders thus create a work culture in which empowered employees are committed to finding what is truly the next step forward.

Committed leaders work to positively influence thoughts and feelings as well as oversee actions. We live in a world of influence.

Intense focus on feelings in a time of transformation is often described as the “human side of change management.” This always gives me pause.

The “human side” of business—what other side is there? Some might say the company side.

So then, the company and the humans are on different sides? That’s the problem right there. Companies are formed by people (humans) partnering to get their wants and needs met by helping other people (humans) get their wants and needs met. Leaders who do not take the individual into account and do not plan for the human side of Progress often find themselves scratching their heads about where their plans went wrong.

Quote:

“All Progress is Change, but not All Change is Progress.”

What People are Saying…

YPO Tulsa Learning Officer

“Dean Lindsay provided a fantastic after-dinner keynote at our YPO Retreat.  This was one of the first events ever held on the infield of Texas Rangers’ new billion dollar Globe Life Field and Dean really hit it out of the park! .”

– Vice President, Sales – Eastern Region, Marriott International, Inc.

“Your message was extremely appropriate to our Sales Leaders during these uncertain financial times. As you are aware, like most major corporations, we are dealing with lots of change both with the economy and organizationally and your message was relevant and on the mark.”

–  SVP. Marketing & Strategy Global Solutions Integrator, Black Box Corporation

“Dean was a great fit for our global team meeting because his message about Progress Leadership was perfect for our company at this time. Dean’s message was timely, energizing and funny but most importantly right on point.”