Howard Litwak
CAIA, CBC, CDIA, CVIA
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 518.664.5033
Cell: 518.248.3843
Mechanicville, NY 12118
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Howard Litwak is a Certified Business Coach. Prior to joining Paradigm Associates, he successfully ran his own consulting/coaching practice for 4 ½ years with a client base spanning 30 different industries. He believes that much of his success is driven by his own commitment to ongoing professional development. He uses that to supplement his background as a manager, trainer, and professional seller in Corporate America for more than 20 years.
His expertise includes: Increasing sales and profitability, helping people gain clarity around and execute on priorities through adopting a culture of goal achievement, developing success-oriented attitudes and habits, and creating positive, long term, sustainable behavior changes. Howard has also worked closely with entrepreneurs and executives from organizations whose annual revenues range from $2-60 million as well as with micro business owners and managers from Fortune 500 companies.
Client results include: A 30% increase in revenue over 2 years, a 50% increase in new hires hitting their goals, an immediate increase in the ability to gain target market clients within 90 days, and noticeably improved communication between partners and staff. In total, his work leads to higher morale, productivity, and achievement of organizational goals.
Howard has the rare ability to handle both the people side and the detail side of projects and issues with equal poise and confidence. When you meet him, you'll immediately see why he has been so successful across so many business sectors. He routinely combines big picture thinking with practical, results-oriented actions. Because he has mastered the art of challenging peoples' thinking in a positive way, clients tell us it is both fun and productive to have him around.
Howard's strong soft skills, such as communication, problem solving, etc, help him earn credibility and gain a critical connection with all levels of people being coached. This makes him an excellent executive level coach.
As a long standing member of Toastmasters International, Howard has received designations in Speaking, Leadership, and Advanced Leadership. He is a skilled public speaker with experience in a wide variety of business and sales related topics.
Howard appreciates that successful individuals never stop learning, and learning organizations constantly do what it takes to avoid mediocrity. He practices what he preaches and has invested in his own development in order to increase his effectiveness as a business coach. He has received certifications as a Group Facilitator, DISC index administrator, Values Index administrator, and Attribute Index administrator.
If you are ready and willing to do what it takes to get better results, Howard Litwak is ready for you!
Doug's experience by Industry or Sector:
Doug has developed people at almost every level and function and conducted projects for both regional and large multinational firms.
Banking:
Doug has worked with international and super-regional commercial institutions such as the former NatWest (now Royal Bank of Scotland) and First Fidelity (now Wells Fargo) as well as community banks as clients. Presidents and CEOs, Executive VPs, Senior VPs, heads of Regional Branch Operations, branch managers, commercial lenders, business development officers, and platform people have been developed over the years. Doug has addressed members of the NJ Savings League (now NJ League of Community Bankers) on management issues impacting the performance of staff.
Communications & Media - Advertising / Graphic Design / Radio / Print Media / Public Affairs / Public Relations
Primarily working with small to mid-size agencies, most of the projects involved tackling strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and revenue generation concerns.
CPA/Public Accounting:
Clients have been Managing Partners, Regional Managing Partners, Office Managing Partners, Partners, Managing Directors, Business Development Officers, and Directors of Marketing across the US and in South Africa.
Doug has also addressed the AICPA's International Controllers Conference multiple times and was invited to conduct a session at the AICPA's first annual CFO conference. At the state level, Doug was selected to address NJSCPA members at several meetings for professional development including the joint conference with Bankers.
Executive Search Firms & Placement Agencies:
Clients have been primarily small to mid-size agencies. Their clientele has varied widely from catering to high-income Wall Street executives and fund managers earning in excess of $2 million/year to low-end temporary placement. These various projects have involved strategic planning, management development, improving revenue generation, and improving responsiveness.
Insurance:
Doug has worked with carriers as well as with wholesalers and agencies. In addition, Doug's articles on a variety of business issues have been published in PIA magazine serving NY, NJ, CT, and MA.
Carriers such as NJ Skylands/One Beacon/Adirondack/White Mountain have utilized Doug's ability to strategize on increasing sales performance through the independent agency channel. Wholesalers, in general, have been interested in improving policy retention rates.
Independent agency owners have hired Doug to work with themselves, their producers, and their CSRs to increase productivity. In fact, 5 different NJPIA Association Presidents have chosen Doug to work with their own organization. These various projects have involved strategic planning, management development, improving revenue generation, and improving responsiveness.
Architecture:
Clients have been both privately-held organizations as well as a local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Most of the projects involved tackling strategic planning and revenue generation concerns.
Construction:
Experience in the segment range from small family businesses to some of the largest firms of their type in the Utility, Infrastructure, and Transportation business. Firms such as Conti Enterprises, J Fletcher Creamer, Ferreira Construction, and WSP (Formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff) have used our services.
Engineering:
Doug's clients in this segment have run from developing leaders and business development people in small environmental engineering firms and mid-size firms such as Matrix New World Engineering, to large-scale leadership development processes in firms like WSP.
Subs and Suppliers:
Extensive client experience across so many of the segments that supply equipment and materials (asphalt, building materials, concrete, electrical, mechanical, etc) as well as services (Drilling, Concrete Cutting, Insurance, Striping and Signage, etc) to the construction industry has allowed us to cross-pollinate ideas for them. Projects have usually involved management and leadership development of executives and middle managers, but sales development processes have also been delivered. Firms as large as Blue Circle Materials (now US Concrete) Bradco Supply and Johnson Controls have been clients.
Partnering Services:
Doug is appreciated for his combination of facilitation techniques used during partnering sessions with both the USACE (ARMY CORP), EPA, and multiple state government agencies (PennDOT, MDE, etc) His thinking style helps people recognize and break through their existing paradigms in order to solve stubborn problems and generate non-traditional approaches for working through difficult situations. These sessions have generated fresh ideas that helped projects come in "on time and under budget".
As someone who got started in manufacturing, Doug understands the competing pressures that exist on a day-to-day basis. Doug has been responsible for overseeing high manual, batch operations in a multicultural environment to computer-integrated, high-speed, high-volume production in a food-grade facility. His positions while at P&G required that elements of production planning, purchasing, production, packing, safety, training, quality, and logistics be successfully addressed.
Doug has worked with clients running a small job-shop environment, such as plastic extruders, blow molders, and tool & die shops, to large firms such as Nabisco and Case New Holland (CNH). He has developed managers and supervisors on 3 continents. Clients have documented millions of dollars in savings and production improvement ideas as a result of working with Doug.
Doug has worked with nonprofit organizations' Boards, Presidents, Executive Directors, and leadership teams on both a local and international basis. Client size and structure have varied from very small groups to organizations with more than 25,000 members in multiple states, districts, and countries. The content of the sessions conducted involved everything from determining a new strategic direction for the organization to leadership development and successfully managing volunteers. Doug has worked extensively with Social Service-oriented organizations, such as The Arc-Rockland, YMCAs, YWCAs, and United Way in addition to business, trade, and professional associations, such as the NY Society of Association Executives (NYSAE), Professional Insurance Agents of NJ (PIANJ), and Chambers of Commerce.
US Army - Packaging Division
Strategic Planning: Led and facilitated a process allowing the packaging division leadership and key contributors to better understand their customers and their needs while meeting all budget and training needs. The deliverable was a strategy and action plan that produced specific enhancement projects for the soldiers in the field.
US Army - ARDEC (Armaments Research and Development Engineering Center)
Strategic Planning: Led and facilitated a project for the Commanding General and approximately 40 SES and career officers at an installation supporting over 6000 products. The outcome was a new alignment that allowed the organization to better use scarce resources to meet their new vision of “providing overwhelming firepower for decisive victory.” Developing a thorough understanding of participants' roles to meet the needs of the customer base was critical to the success of this process.
US Army - Project Management- Mortars
Strategic Planning: Led and facilitated a process allowing the leadership team to better understand their customers and their needs while meeting all budget and training needs. The deliverable was an executable strategy.
US Army - SADARM - Project Management Office
Strategic Planning: Led and facilitated forward-thinking and planning sessions for SADARM's senior staff and technical experts that allow the project management office to develop and operationalize a model that could be rolled out in 2028.
US Army - Research Labs - WMRD - Weapons and Materials Research Directorate
Strategic Planning and Marketing Support: As a result of the work at ARDEC we were asked to lead and facilitate a planning process that would also provide a higher level of focused service for both their funding sources and customers. We also acted as a resource to enhance marketing efforts to internal and external customers to help them ensure the future funding levels needed for survival.
US Navy - Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC)
Partnering Session: Facilitated session for Kings Bay, GA Nuclear Submarine Base between NAVFAC and the contractor providing support services.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Partnering Sessions: Facilitated sessions for a large environmental project in Baltimore's Inner Harbor involving the cleaning and capping of Chromium deposits from an industrial site bordering on the water.
State of Florida - Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Leadership Development: Using practical tools and techniques, facilitated senior executives through an executive leadership process that focused on enhancing results through the agency.
State of Florida - Department of Highway Patrol
Leadership Development: Facilitated 268 senior ranking officers through a series of processes that allowed them to work as a team on achieving specific organizational goals and objectives while enhancing their understanding of and their ability to lead others.
State of Florida - Florida House of Representatives
Leadership Development: Led and facilitated leadership development for freshmen elected Representatives through a process that allowed the freshman to learn the various aspects of the legislature, develop working relationships with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and enhance leadership abilities of the freshman members. The project met all timing and budget expectations.
State of Maryland - Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)
Partnering Sessions: Facilitated sessions for a large environmental project in Baltimore's Inner Harbor involving the cleaning and capping of Chromium deposits from an industrial site bordering on the water.
State of Pennsylvania - PennDOT
Partnering Sessions: Facilitated sessions for large projects involving both State highway and Interstate road construction projects.
City of Plainfield, NJ
Strategic Planning: Led and co-facilitated the development of a strategic plan for the city that involved the Mayor's office, City Council, Administrative heads, and approximately 500 members of the community. This project became the cover story of the May 1999 issue of NJ League of Municipalities magazine.
Township of Cranford, NJ - Board of Education
Strategic Planning: Co-facilitated a strategic planning process for this 4000 student K-12 district that involved the superintendent and all the senior leadership team. The result was a significant re-focusing of efforts to supplement the programs for the 'silent majority' of students who show up, do what they are asked, and perform adequately. They ultimately earned designation as a STAR district.
Township of Cranford, NJ - Fire Department
Leadership Development: Facilitated all officers through a process that allowed them to work on achieving specific organizational goals and objectives while enhancing their understanding of and their ability to lead others.
Township of Cranford, NJ - Pool and Fitness Center (a public utility)
Customer Service: Led and facilitated a customized customer service program that led to higher patron satisfaction and decreased complaints. Met all timing and budget expectations.
In addition to being a columnist for American Executive magazine as mentioned previously, Doug has led or facilitated well over 5000 sessions, conducted hundreds of meetings from small groups to 450 people per session, and has written or edited more than a dozen training programs that have been used throughout the US and Canada. As a result of the audience response to his style and message, he has been invited back to address both local and international audiences for organizations such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA).
Doug has had numerous appearances on television and radio discussing issues such as Strategic and Business Planning, the nuances of Executive Leadership, and ways to improve the performance of salespeople. He was tapped by Investor's Business Daily for advice on, "How to deliver bad news" and Doug has been a regular contributor to Professional Insurance Agents magazine which serves both insurance carriers and independent agencies throughout the northeastern US. His comments and organization were featured in Human Resource Executive magazine, and his article, "Managing Your Business Like Your Life Depends On it", was published in ASBA TODAY (American Small Business Association) and MENTOR magazines. His articles also appear in various privately distributed newsletters across the country.
He has been instructing other organizations in the proper use of facilitation techniques since 1987. He is one of a handful of people that certifies people in the use of facilitation skills and has conducted train-the-trainer sessions on two continents.
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