Selected Accomplishments
* On own initiative, conceived and sold to client’s senior managers a corporate strategy to satisfy customers; developed procedures and materials used by managers of 630 operating units to assess customer satisfaction, then develop and maintain job performance of 25,000 employees as needed to better serve and satisfy customers.
* Co-designed and co-conducted assessment of leadership and management practices in a state government
agency; found opportunities to improve how agency managed its employees; co-reported findings to work
force of 3,200; sold recommendations for corrective actions.
* Identified citizens' expectations and critical issues related to services of a large, decentralized state
government agency by conducting focus groups.
* Improved sales and customer base for companies in multiple industries by collaborating with client managers
to create project plans and questionnaires to assess customer loyalty; co-managed data collection and entry;
prepared and presented reports.
* Obtained information required by client organizations by recruiting and interviewing thousands of people,
including stakeholders, who met demographic criteria established by clients; recruited and interviewed respondents by telephone and face-to-face, indoors and outdoors.
* Identified environmental leadership strategies for drinking water utilities by collaborating with managers of
multiple utilities in three geographic regions to recruit several hundred people to attend focus groups; co-developed moderator guide; co-managed focus groups; co-authored report summarizing findings and recommending strategies; client accepted recommendations with only a few, minor modifications.
* Assessed management practices and internal supplier-internal customer relations; collaborated with clients to
create questionnaires and project plans; prepared and presented reports.
* Cut time to learn complex, PC-based cost and productivity system by managing the design, development, and
administration of user survey to find where opportunities existed to improve current user manual, then revising manual as needed.
* Found reasons for customer dissatisfaction with product support of Fortune 25 manufacturer by designing,
developing and conducting survey of customers.
* Uncovered $1.1 M annualized lost revenue and customer dissatisfactions which caused it; reached
agreement with regional manager about corrective actions.
- Designed and developed questionnaire used to assess customer expectations and satisfaction with
services and personnel of national transportation company.
- Managed administration of questionnaire to sample of customers.
- Reported findings and sold recommendations.
* Increased employee satisfaction with their fringe benefits by conceiving an assessment and selling it to
management, then developing and administering the assessment instrument and reporting the results; sold recommended changes.
* Conceived, designed, and conducted focus groups which identified expectations of a client's employees for
contract security services; sold recommendations to client management; revised the process used to manage the interactions between contract security personnel and client personnel.
* Conducted workshops with participants ranging from manager to executive; participants learned new skills,
enjoyed the learning experience, and used what they learned.
* Satisfied managers' needs for improved results in operations, sales and administrative functions by managing
decentralized staff of 19 and $3 M budget.
Employment History
ETC Institute, Olathe, KS (1999 – present)
Director of Customer Loyalty Services
Performance Systems For Success, Overland Park, KS (1997 - 1999)
President
Wells Fargo Guard Services, Kansas City, MO (1992 - 1997)
Account Manager
Customer Satisfaction Research Institute, Lenexa, KS (1991 - 1992)
Director - TQM Services
Ameritech Services, Schaumberg, IL (1989 - 1990)
Manager - Technical Training Development
Yellow Freight System, Overland Park, KS (1981 - 1989)
Director - Human Resource Development;
Performance Engineer
Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, NJ (1971 - 1981)
Assistant Professor (tenured) - Psychology
Education
Ph.D., University of Maine (General-Experimental Psychology)
M.A., Temple University (Psychology)
B.A., Upsala College (major = Psychology; minor = Sociology)
Awards and Honors
Invited to contribute to special issue of
Performance Improvement in tribute to 20th anniversary of Tom Gilbert's
Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance;
issue
published July/August, 1998, by the International Society for
Performance Improvement.
International Society for Performance Improvement, Outstanding Instructional Communication Award, 1985.
International Society for Performance Improvement, Outstanding Instructional Product Award, 1984.
Dr. Cicerone has had over 70 of his articles published in periodicals and journals. He has also given
numerous presentations to organizations. For a list of his published articles and presentations click on the link below.