Richard McDermott is one of the leading thinkers, authors
and consultants on designing knowledge organizations and building communities
of practice. For nearly two decades, he has worked with engineering,
professional service, sales, and manufacturing firms to maximize the
productivity of knowledge workers. He was the subject matter expert for two
national studies of best practices in knowledge management; one on creating a
knowledge-sharing culture and another on institutionalizing communities of
practice. He is also a frequent speaker at international conferences. Prior to
starting his consulting practice, Richard worked in the Corporate Education
department at Polaroid, where he designed career development programs for
technical professionals and experienced first-hand the dilemmas of being a
knowledge worker. He was a Research Assistant at the Harvard Business School
and a faculty member at Lesley College, teaching management, organizational
behavior, and organizational change.
Clients
Richard’s clients include Shell Oil Co., ExxonMobil,
Schlumberger, Pfizer, Aventis Pharmaceutical, Hewlett-Packard, Ericsson,
Northrop Grumman, The European Commission, The World Bank, The Local Initiative
Support Corporation, Conservation International, and Ben & Jerry’s.
Education
Richard has a Ph.D. from Brandeis University with
concentrations in organizational studies and social theory. While there he
studied the sociology of knowledge with Kurt Wolf and discovered what became
his intellectual anchor, the French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty.
Mearleau-Ponty’s philosophy on how we make sense of the world, understand each
other and learn still pervades his work.
Professional Training
Richard attended the MIT program in System Dynamics and has
formal training in Total Quality Management, Malcolm Baldridge National Quality
Award Assessment, Statistical Process Control for Service Industries, and
Socio-Technical Systems Design.
Personal
Richard lives with his two daughters just outside of
Boulder, Colorado. When he is not consulting, Richard spends most of his time
at the barn where he and his daughters keep their horses.
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Richard McDermott
712 Allen Drive, Longmont, Colorado 80503 USA
phone/fax 303-545-6030
e-mail Richard@McDermottConsulting.com
