Testimonials

"Content was relative, presentation was very good. Doug kept all of us involved and interested"

"The program covered many topics that were lacking in my MBA program. Useful strategies to deal with difficult situations, people and decisions were in every meeting. The practical applications were imediately useful in business and non-business situations."

"Doug's Sales Simplified program was very helpful to me. I learned how to have more productive and engaging conversations with my customers. I liked the interactive nature of the presentation."

"Terrific Strategic Planning session - very concise, informative, stayed on task."

"Good ideas to implement and to make me a better leader."

"The program was great! Doug provided an abundance of takeaways that can be used not only in the workplace but in my personal life as well."

"Great, clear, concise, motivational!"

"Thank you for a great day of training.  The material was both informative and engaging.  I appreciate the material you delivered and am amazed that you are able to keep your energy up for an entire 8 hours the way that you do.  I spent 2-3 hours with you years ago and the same energy you had for that 2-3 hours was shown for the entire 8 hour training yesterday.  Thank you for the great tools offered and I look forward to implementing both the Working agreement and also more focused meetings starting with the 15 minute standing meeting."  

"It made me aware of the different types of management techniques and coaching styles. It was very beneficial."

"Doug, your speaking style and content is well disciplined. The format was effective in covering specific content."

"Much more detailed action items, 'deeper' items to handle and prioritize. Glad folks were honest."

“Very good information – presented in an easy to understand format with great examples on how to utilize”

"Interesting, effective, makes you think, makes you aware of the strengths you have already, but haven't utilized or realized."

"This information will be very helpful moving our company forward with the management changes we have been working through."

"I have been involved in several similar trainings, but this was by far the best, most concise leadership program I have attended. Very well done. I learned several new things as well as refreshed several others. Thank you!"

"This is an excellent program - informative, enjoyable, great group of professionals, dynamic, and an excellent opportunity to proactively enforce the skills learned."

"Doug is a terrific presenter. He had quite a challenge addressing our group since we had "newbies" all the way to seasoned speakers. He handled it very well!"

"Very rational way of enlightening groups to see eye-to-eye or at least understand where the other party is coming from."

"It was great! Well thought out with useful suggestions such as Priority Communication Tool, Delegation, and Time MGMT."

"I really enjoyed your program. It produced tangible, doable, and meaningful tasks."

“New perspective on communication, specifically paraphrasing and reversing. Very good energy.”

“Doug, as our coaching sessions have changed over the past couple of years, I find myself more engaged each time. I enjoy using you as a sounding board as well as receiving your feedback.”

"I like Doug's interactive, casual yet natural presentation style. It makes the information easy to hear and retain."

"Doug facilitated our Strategic Planning Session and did a fantastic job at keeping our group on target. He not only met, but exceeded our overall expectations. We would welcome the opportunity to work with him again in the future!" 

"This was fabulous! Thanks!"

"The Leadership Development Program was very beneficial and supplied me with knowledge and tools that I can apply in my everyday work. I met many interesting managers and directors during the 10 week course and they all felt the program helped them increase their leadership skills, gain confidence in their own abilities, and become more organized and effective. I recommend this program to both new leaders and experienced leaders as it provides great feedback about their own management practices. This training could also be very useful for non-managers as well, so they can get insight on the management role and understand why managers do what they do. Understanding each other is the first step to better team work."

"Very informative and motivational"

"Very informative, helpful, interesting and fun. Loved the interactive activities!"

"I just wanted to send you a short note and express how much I enjoyed your guided Effective Communication seminar last week. I am new to Nielsen and to the state of Florida. As I’m sure you are well aware of, “with change, come many feelings and thoughts”. Towards the top of my list was apprehension, fear & doubt. Coming from The military side of The Boeing Company, I have become very accustomed to the firm structure & visibility within the corporation. The time I spent with you helped me to realize why I got into my profession in the first place; “to listen, observe, and recommend designs that help people be the best they can be!” Thanks for reminding me to be flexible and helping me to see the similarities & opportunities that lie on this new adventure. “Life is a process, and to live life is to love the process”"

"I enjoyed the presenter - good tools for management/leadership. Plan to put to use right away."

“The initiative you conducted for our office one year ago was extremely beneficial and we continue to practice the methods you taught us. In particular, we have had a few “working agreement” meetings among various employees. This strategy has improved relationships and created a higher level of understanding in the office. By understanding each others expectations and coming to an agreement, the office has been very efficient. I thank you again for taking the time to meet with us and teach us the many valuable skills that we still use.”

"I want to implement these concepts and I plan on beginning now. Thank you Doug, your professionalism and leadership are incredible! You make such a difference to our team and you teach me so much!"

"Great experience, provided effective tools for the workplace in a positive and open environment."

"My recommendation to business leaders is to invest in leadership training for yourself and your employees. I can speak from experience; I have elevated my skills and knowledge to a greater level. Thank you Doug for making me not only a better manager, but a better leader."

“Great presentation and facilitator, generating self-evaluation and insight regarding our team. Looking forward to continuing the process.”

"Clear, concise, communicative. Loved sense of humor!"

“Well presented program, up-beat and fast-paced. Doug keeps the audience involved. I like how he uses real life examples. Great way to learn.”

"Hello Doug, It was a pleasure to meet you and participate in your Leadership Simplified program at our ABWA chapter meeting this evening.  I always want to "sharpen the saw" and your topics were very helpful. I am going to check out your website for your upcoming seminars - they sound like they are right up my alley!  I plan to start reading your book this weekend.  We can never learn too much.  Many thanks!"

“Steel In The Air retained DVD Consulting for the purpose of evaluating a number of potential business ventures that had presented themselves to the organization and were causing deep division in focus. Doug Van Dyke (the facilitator) created a one day event to assist us in weighing the merits of each venture and in ferreting out the real “expense” to the organization in both time and money. Doug thoughtfully and expertly led discussions, keeping them from derailing off track or getting too heated, funneling the creative process in a productive manner. At the end of the day, we had a road map to follow, one decidedly different than any of the management members expected going into the event. This roadmap eventually proved to be successful and we won a large contract. What truly impressed us was the way in which Doug guided conversation without ever steering the decision making process. He asked thought provoking questions and managed our sometimes heated discussion with tact. Doug then presented us with a thorough copy of notes from the discussion and a game plan crafted from the meeting.”

"Very engaging. Doug kept us involved, listening, and interacting!"

"Very informative. Doug is an excellent speaker, very articulate and funny."

“Thanks for a wonderful workshop! It was great to see our team come together in amazing ways. The feedback revealed it was a resounding success! I am spreading the word, and look forward to being in touch for future activities/events.”

"Pitched up some interesting tidbits."

"Great! Good skills to learn that can be adapted and work on a daily basis."

"Great insight and new tools for selling my product, progressing a sale and communicating."

"An excellent program and master example of how to run a training class. As an aspiring trainer, it was engrossing!"

"There were so many valuable tools that I can implement immediately."

"The energy was amazing! Doug keeps the session interesting by including activities."

"Very good program, opened up communication between employees"

"Not only was Doug's presentation effective and efficient, but it was perfectly timed for this organization."

"I thought the presentation on How to Deliver Difficult Conversations was great. Doug's confidence and demeanor keeps your attention. He helped me realize other ways to short circuit difficult conversations. Love the 5 steps."

"The Leadership Development Program provided valuable insights, skills and habits that will continue to raise my bar."

"I think it was great to discuss different departments and how they interact and affect each other."

"I enjoyed the whole presentation. The importance of paraphrasing was a topic I had not heard in a very long time, but a very good tool."

"Best class ever. Day flew by!"

"Fabulous, wish I had done this 2 years ago when I started in sales."

"Excellent use of funds, sums it up nicely."

"I thought it was a great tool to address the disconnects our groups have had. It has made significant inroads into righting the ship."

"Very practical and good tools. Good examples throughout will help me be a stronger team leader and coach others."

“The program was very engaging. Really enjoyed the personal stories that ‘drove the message home!’”

"Very positive attitude, energetic, clear in content and presentation, good at redirecting when getting off task."

"Leadership Simplified has been a valuable resource for both our sales office and me. Through well-coordinated team exercises, our sales team was able to refocus our strengths and achieve greater results using the talents of each associate. I have been managing a large sales team for over 15 years, and have been through many seminars and coaching sessions, but none at the level provided by Doug. He provided enormous assistance in becoming a stronger leader and sales facilitator."

"Interesting and very appropriate at this time in my organization."

“Thank you for your incredible coaching and insights this past year. You really helped me focus on what my passion was.”

"I REALLY have appreciated each of the weekly topics and how they relate to me as a leader, to my career, and to what has currently been going on at work. Week by week each class builds upon the other creating a foundation of leadership skills. The "foundation" points I have learned actually run through my head during work situations. I find myself engaged during work moments and cognizant of my behavior/ bodylanguage/ paraphrasing, etc. I THANK YOU Doug for helping me become a better leader!"

Very educational and fun. Good information and helpful tips. 

"Fun and very informative. I learned a lot about planning and ways to deal with procrastination."

"Very valuable, flushing out expectations is a good process. It was also good to get all the issues on the table.

“I think the class is excellent and I am very happy to have received some new tools to implement into my skill set.”

"Jam-packed with useful information, interesting, pleasant, fun, with a lot of tools to take back to work."

"I have worked with Doug on a number of consulting engagements. The quality of his work has always been outstanding. He is one of my go to people when it comes to topics on leadership, sales, and coaching. His blog is one of the few that I read on a regular basis. Doug is a consummate professional. I recommend him highly."

"Very thorough, covered many valuable topics. I have already used things I learned! Even seasoned professionals will learn and take away many new techniques."

"Doug, Thank you for helping us achieve a productive meeting and elevate our discussions. We appreciate the role you played and the importance of having you there. Thank you again!"

"Very informative, great content and easy to follow presentation. Doug was a fantastic teacher."

"Fantastic! Awesome! Interesting! Informative! Engaging!"

"This program really pushed me to question my own leadership style and challenged me to improve, develop, and grow - both myself and my team."

"Very informative and organized. I like how you kept us on task!"

"Doug is an excellent presenter; the best "corporate" style presenter I've ever seen. I also loved the content of the program."

"Thank you for being great at what you do. Using skills and tools from Leadership Simplified has greatly reduced many if not all barriers that appeared to be present in the professional world for me. I still continue to learn and communicate skills and tools I have developed which has only further increased my potential. The leadership simplified class was pivotal in my development. So, thank you so much!"

"Doug has provided exceptional learning programs for the associates at the Global Technology and Information Center for The Nielsen Company. He has offered very insightful ideas for repurposing some of his programs into a smaller Lunch n Learn series. In fact, Doug's sessions have been averaging 50-75 participants regularly and his series has proven to be very popular. Doug is knowledgeable, professional and sincere in his approach to consulting and executive coaching. His newletters are thought provoking and his insights valuable in today's world. We value his contributions and look forward to new opportunities to collaborate with him for the benefit of our associates." 

"Doug was an engaging and inspiring speaker. I hav ebeen to several leadership trainings in the past and I can say that this training was excellent. The material was clear and easy to apply. I will be using some skills I leaerned to better communicate with other managers and my team. I also have new tools to use when managing my time to make sure all my efforts are geared towards meeting our organization's goals."      

"Thank you again for presenting this course in a nontraditional sales format. Your focus on the human, relationship and psychological element is very effective. I have received many positive comments in this regard."

"I appreciate that Doug gave me organic tools and solutions to effect change, i.e. 16-45 days to create a habit. I needed to hear the input from my co-workers and the CEO and this forum brought out information I wouldn't have thought to ask about."

"Excellent use of time. Helped tremendously."

"Fast-paced, interactive, practical, and easy to implement information."

"I really enjoyed the program. I will be doing a lot of public speaking & presentations in my new role at Trustmark. Your insight, wisdom, and tools are of great value. Thank you."

“Certainly added tools that I need to be a better leader. Also, reinforced some concepts that I had forgotten from other leadership lessons. Reminds me of the influential leaders I’ve had, and the value they’ve had on my development.”

"Doug gave our group some really good information today, both practical and understandable. The examples were very beneficial and will help us with our next step in the learning process: practice, practice practice!"

"The program was very educational for me and I have already seen some results. Thank you Doug!"

"I thought the program was excellent!"

"Excellent. More!"

"Very positive and good insight for sales opportunities."

“Very enlightening. I hope the info is used to further progress our group.”

"Loved it! I wanted to hear more!"

"Excellent presentation, delivered exceptionally."

"Simple ideas but very underused tools"

"Good, presented a different perspective that I have seen before."

"I love Doug's enthusiasm and his great examples; takeaways that I can implement right away."

"Great program. It is already making a difference with our team."

"Great! I will be implementing much of what I learned tomorrow."