DickCarlson.com

Recommendations

Nice things people have said about me, from my page on LinkedIn.com:

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“I worked for and with Dick when he was managing the creation of an innovative learning center that was part of the largest annual technical conference Microsoft produces for developers and IT Professionals. Dick is an excellent project manager, with deep expertise in adult learning theory that he puts into practice as a terrific teacher, lecturer, and consultant. He is an “out of the box” thinker who consistently drives to meet and exceed project goals and timelines, and sets equally high standards for the quality of work his team produces.”

“I had the pleasure of having Dick Carlson as a client while he was a Program Manager with Microsoft. Dick is exactly the sort of straight-shooting, no-bull communicator that a consultant hopes to work with. Dick knew what he knew, and also knew what he didn’t know, and was always open, honest and straightforward about working with the entire team to get the job done, and done right. If every project had someone like Dick at the helm, many more projects would be done on time and under budget, with happy stakeholders on every side.”

“Dick is positive and results-oriented, and at the same time is a talented motivator. He is a keen thinker, and has vast experience as a trainer and as a trainer of trainers. One unique strength that stands out far above and beyond is his exceptional sense of humor and timing. He uses this well-honed skill to defuse tense situations and raise team spirit to maximize results. Humor can be powerful when used appropriately in a business setting – Dick has the skill to say the right thing at the right time and is a great asset to every team we have worked together on. Dick’s strong communication skills and sincere empathy also builds strong relationships with colleagues and would be a great asset in roles requiring management responsibility.”

“Dick was a key strategic partner to me in the Security Summit events, leveraging his education background to develop true value-add agenda,content and sessions that resulted in high customer satisfaction ratings. Dick was a great team player, and always put customer satisfaction as a main priority. I would definitely recommend Dicks work without hesitation.”

“Dick Carlson is one of those rare individuals that can think outside the box, but still understands what the box is and why it is there. I can not think of anyone else I have worked with on projects so challenging that I enjoyed working with so much. I would be very happy to work with him again and recommend him whole heartedly to anyone who wants to solve real problems and actually get important things done in their business.”

“Dick hired me for several projects with Tech Ed 2005 – 2007. He gave me the overview of a project, its objectives, showed me the tools available and then turned me loose to complete it. He was available for questions and assistance but allowed me to do the job in the way that best suited me. Great guy to work with and as a bonus he has a great sense of humor.”

“Dick in an innovative thinker who is passionate and knowledgeable about adult learning methodologies. His approaches are new, simple and effective. If your company is looking to improve training ROI listen to what he has to say and follow his direction.”

“I worked with Dick at Microsoft several years ago, and we recently touched base during independent work. Dick brought a lot of energy and expertise into his content development projects. He can capably drive projects to conclusion, pull in the needed stakeholders, and deliver on what he promises. He brings considerable knowledge about the learning industry and has lead many strategic training efforts, producing excellent results, over the last few years with his own business.”

“Dick Carlson is a highly imaginative instructional designer with a gift for collaboration. At Microsoft, he started a cross-company, grass-roots annual instructional design event that has been adopted by the corporation. He thinks “outside-the-box” and has come up with several ways to use the latest technology to promote learning. I would want him on any team that I worked on.”

“We worked with Dick for several years on the Microsoft TechEd events. Dick managed attendee-facing areas and contracted EventPoint to build and deliver end-user solutions to facilitate learning. Dick’s insights into the learning process, what is practical and beneficial to learners, and the realities of the event world helped guide us in these implementations. Dick has great vision in the area of Online Learning. His understanding of people and technologies are a tremendous asset to any organization looking to provide these services to users.”

“Dick has a talent you may never find in anyone else you will ever meet. Whether through the spoken or written word he can combine curiosities everyone has and tie in solutions that make you say WOW! He is a master at identifying over the world and James Bond has got noting on him. Have you invented the next wheel? If you have then your brilliance will be recognized and the right people will know about it if Dick is involved.”

“Dick is one of those rare people who can see what needs fixing AND can pull together the resources to make the fix. We worked together as instructional designers on an e-learning team in transition. I saw Dick consistently cut through politics and corporate spin and get to the true heart of the matter. These qualities make him incredibly effective if you’re striving for learning effectiveness (and incredibly unpopular if you’re just striving for training popularity). I’d only work with Dick if you’re willing to challenge the status quo.”

“Dick is dedicated, attentive and professional in his approach to business. I highly recommend him.”

“Dick is just a fantastic person to work with. We worked together on several occasions and he was always a creative and organizational force on projects. He gets things done, is a positive influence on others, and really works well with the teams he pulls together.”

“I was “roomies” with Dick in office while we both worked at Microsoft Learning. While we worked in different functions, Dick was always a great sounding board and certainly had a holistic/cross-functional view of the business. And a good sense of humor to boot.”

“Dick never ceases to impress me with his ideas and innovation. His depth of knowledge and experience surpasses nearly everyone I have had contact with in the years I have known him. It is always a delight to observe Dick’s eagerness to embrace and understand new concepts and technologies. Dick has always been a pleasure to work with, chat with and learn from. I look forward to any chance may get to work together in the future”

“I recommend Dick Carlson’s work. At the time, Dick worked for me, he was involved in creating a new online program for learning professionals in partnership with University of Phoenix. ”