Testimonials
"The program highlights many ways to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the workplace. I thought it was very enlightening and gave me tools I can use."
Lisa Rock
Boar's Head Provisions
"This program has been very helpful in learning to deal with testy customers."
D. Hoffman
Tervis Tumbler
Venice, FL
"Very informative. Doug is an excellent speaker, very articulate and funny."
Wanda Valentin
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"This Sales Training was Informative and easy to follow along. Effective tools provided as well! Thank you, Doug!!"
Deborah Vaughan
Vice President and Branch Manager
CenterState Bank
Sarasota, FL
"With Doug's guidance, I was able to move past my own self-imposed barriers. Great techniques and useful examples are provided to assist the participant."
Matt Lange
Vice President / Chief Financial Officer
Sysco Food Services
West Coast Florida
"Thanks again for conducting the sales training. This morning I overheard one of our sales reps telling our VP how beneficial she thought the training was and how much she appreciated Kaiser investing in her. Overall, the feedback has to be some of the most positive comments I've heard from a training that our sales reps have attended. Looking forward to the next training event!”
Josiah Sutton
Sr. Director of Sales and Business Development
Kaiser Permanente
"Wonderful- better than I expected. Timely excellent tool."
Gail Grimsdale
McFarland Gould Law
Clearwater, FL
"Lots of very valuable information, presented in a clear and concise manner. Great tools for leadership."
Rick Miley
Serve Virtual Enterprises, Inc.
Saint Petersburg, FL
I recently had the pleasure of attending one of Doug's interactive presentations at my company's leadership conference. I thought Doug did an incredible job engaging the audience and reviewed topics that were relevant to us and our businesses. He was extremely informative and made the group think outside of the norm that we were used to. His thoughts on digital marketing and media were fantastic and I would recommend him to anyone wanting to hire a speaker for their employees. Thanks Doug, myself and my team appreciated you speaking with us!
Andrew Glazier
Comfort Keepers of Central Ohio
Columbus, OH
"Fabulous, educational, informational, exciting, challenging!! Great stuff"
Stacy Ulahakis
Tidewell Hospice
Clearwater, FL
"Informative, entertaining, engaging. I like your style."
Bonnie Walters
Destination Tampa Bay
Tampa, FL
"Wonderful, useful & fun. You did a great job, Doug! I appreciate learning your techniques. Now I need to IMPLEMENT!"
Judi King
Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County
Bradenton, FL
"Great program. Doug always keeps us on time and on track!"
Brian Langille
Clearwater Gas System
Clearwater, FL
"Fantastic program. It should have a positive impact on our relationship with our company."
Kim Keller
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"Dear Doug, Thank you so much for the great job you did presenting to our group today. Your presentation was informative and easy to understand. It is obvious why you are so successful at what you do. Feel free to use me as a reference with any future clients."
Jeffrey S. Kaminske
Executive Manager
Crest Cadillac Company,
Sunset Auto Group
Venice, FL
"Awesome program! I learned a number of new techniques to more effectively lead, not only in corporate America, but at home, interacting with my family as well. Doug has an extremely positive, wonderful attitude. I truly enjoyed real-life examples Doug shared through his consulting practice."
Bruce Young
AVI-SPL
“I thought that whole presentation was excellent. Specifically, the segments regarding communication and conducting effective meetings were particularly good. I picked up many pointers that I am anxious to use. Thanks!”
Howard Baskin
Advisory Board Chairman
Big Cat Rescue
"Hi Doug, Thank you for leading a great day yesterday! The tools you provided and your ground work with the team activities will be information the care managers may use immediately as well as continue to grow in their expertise. I appreciate your expertise and effectiveness. I'm looking forward to an incredible year!"
Linda Chamberlain, P.A.
Board Certified Elder Law Attorney
Ageing Wisely
Clearwater, FL
"Good to sit down and draw out expectations of one another"
J.J. Carter
Union Pacific Railroad
Kansas City
"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."
Laszlo Kohl
Database Administrator
Bealls, Inc.
"On behalf of Leadership Pinellas, I thank you for your outstanding presentation to kick off our speaker series. We have received such positive feedback from many of the attendees on how much they benefitted from your message. I look forward to our paths crossing again in the near future!"
Margaret Martin
Chair, Speaker Series
Leadership Pinellas
Clearwater, FL
"I thoroughly enjoyed the course and would recommend it to anyone. You are an inspiration in so many ways. Your course is one of the best I have taken and the “stick ability” is amazing! I really appreciate all the effort you put into ensuring there is value in each session. I am so impressed with what I learned and the new tools I have been provided that I wish it was a weekly staple!"
Sunda Scanlon
VP, Sales & Implementation
RealWired
Tampa, Florida
"Thank you Doug,
You are a wonderful facilitator and I truly believe you have helped us develop a great working relationship between the conservation, sales, administrative and conservation teams. Looking forward to possibly working together during our annual meeting as well as with other internal departments."
Lyn Cacella
Residential Growth & Retention Manager
Florida Public Utilities
West Palm Beach, FL
"I really enjoyed your program. It produced tangible, doable, and meaningful tasks."
Bryan F. Howell
Vice President
Parkway Realty Services
Charlotte, NC
"Informative, practical, and much needed!"
Tony Ortiz
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"I agreed and valued every part of this training. Really."
Dillon
Tidewell Hospice
Clearwater, FL
"I thought the Working Agreement initiative worked out great!"
Steve Slattery
Union Pacific Railroad
Kansas City
It was informative. I would highly recommend this training to other businesses. Great insight into team building skills and customer service techniques.
Belinda Franks
Volusia County Clerk of the Circuit Court
"Content was relative, presentation was very good. Doug kept all of us involved and interested"
Rich Walters
KHS USA, Inc.
Sarasota, FL
"Great program. I can apply these tools at work and home! Thank you."
Jhomara Morales
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"This program has helped me communicate in the work place and in my personal life."
Merideth Henry
Easy Living Florida
Clearwater, FL
"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."
Tim Beckwith
PGA Master Professional
Director of Golf
The Oaks Club
Osprey, FL
"This was an excellent delivery of useful tactics that will greatly enhance our company's efficiency."
Carole Baskin
CEO
Big Cat Rescue
Tampa, FL
"Fabulous, wish I had done this 2 years ago when I started in sales."
Ron Krupa
Director, Benefits Management
Gevity
Bradenton, Fl
“Very good information – presented in an easy to understand format with great examples on how to utilize”
Anita Carpenter
Nielsen Media Research
Tampa, FL
"Great team building program. I liked the active team interaction mixed in with the presentation."
Rosalyn Roker
Aging Wisely
Clearwater, FL
"Very informative. I learned new tools and techniques that will help me grow as a leader and as a professional."
Dianna Wiedlocher
Senior Manager, Web & Online Marketing
Gevity
Bradenton, FL
"Interesting, effective, makes you think, makes you aware of the strengths you have already, but haven't utilized or realized."
Elisabete Silva
Columbia Restaurant
St. Petersburg, FL
"Great content and techniques. Very eye opening. The program helped me think of selling in a new way. Thank you."
Mike Sheehan
Trustmark Insurance
Boston, MA
"Excellent. More!"
Anthony Jones
Dir. of Community Development
Pinellas County, FL
“Excellent program! Informative discussion that can be brought back to my workplace. Great examples and references to help relate and paint a picture.”
Tashara Cronshaw
Human Resources Coordinator
Neal Communities
Sarasota, FL
"Doug,
First of all, let me share that I have very high expectations with presenters and probably, to a fault, find fault. Having said that, you are really a practiced professional. Here is what I saw in your presentation in no particular order: You have broad and deep knowledge. You are very confident and comfortable leading a group, holding attention and telling great stories. You have all the secrets in getting participation and keeping the meeting moving. You have great energy and strong credibility. As honest as I can be without being prejudice, you are really awesome. On the drive to the airport, key members of my team were raving about your presentation. Thanks for making me look good, as well as imparting wisdom to my team."
Chris Calos
Senior Vice President of National Group Sales
Life & Specialty Ventures, LLC
"Great ideas and format. Doug's ideas, material, and suggestions were motivating and eye opening."
Chuck Warrington
Managing Director
Clearwater Gas System
Clearwater, FL
"Material and topics are interesting and relevant to my job. Good pace."
Paul Demiduk
Serve Virtual Enterprises, Inc.
Saint Petersburg, FL
"Thanks so much for your help this week, Doug! I'm grateful for your participation in our Leadership Innovation Conference and I thought the outcome was fantastic."
Jayson Lipsey
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Parkway Realty Services
“Very informative program that has helped me greatly. Doug is an inspiration and has taught me better ways to deal with situations, not only in the workplace, but in my home life as well. I wish there were more sessions I could attend. The program was a great use of my time!”
Jandi Brown
Senior Customer Service Rep
Vanguard Advanced Pharmacy
Bradenton, FL
“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.”
Dr. Roseanne Fairchild
Dean of Nursing and Healthcare Professionals
State College of Florida
"Excellent use of our time. I am very optimistic about what this program can and will do for us as individuals and as a company."
Caroline Harden
Conmed Linvatec
Largo, FL
"Doug - You are an extremely effective coach & mentor for me and my organization. Your ability to read strengths and weaknesses of individuals is uncanny, and you use your reads to recommend an effective approach to aid in individual development. Constructively, I would like you to dig deeper to keep me on-task, and continue to force the uncomfortable conversations and decisions. It was an interesting read on our team's strengths and the harmony thread. We are an operations organization - Sometimes we need to rock that boat! I look forward to another year!"
Bo Gorham
Vice President
American Express / Serve Virtual Enterprises
St. Petersburg, FL
"The program was effective and so much needed. Got some critical issues out on the table."
Karen Hutto
Conmed Linvatec
Largo, FL
"Engaging and relevant. Easy to understand and implement."
Matt Yee
Nielsen Media Research
Tampa, FL
"Great content and participation. I hope we all practice what we learned, especially respectful communication and behavior."
Brian J. Smith
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"As my personal business coach and advisor, Doug has provided many services for my company. He has been an invaluable resource for my marketing campaigns and has always provided me with great ideas, feedback and solutions. He truly has coached me to success in my business.”
Robin Delaney
Owner
Greenleaf Financial Services
"A very good review of tried and true methods as well as a great introduction to new ideas."
G. Schaplowsky
University of Kansas
Kansas
"Great job pushing people to open up, providing a great foundation and solid toolbox for professional speaking. Very creative in providing constructive feedback allowing people to learn and grow."
Brian Deblauw
Sun Hydraulics
Sarasota, FL
"Pitched up some interesting tidbits."
V. Bartz
Tidewell Hospice
Clearwater, FL
"This was one of the most informative, thought-provoking, and collaborative training sessions I have attended. I am a life-long learner and this has given me the tools to reassess my leadership abilities by cementing the good and to question and/or change the bad."
Brad Long
Senior Executive
Worksite Employee Leasing
North Port, FL
"Doug provided us with excellent tools to build a great working relationship."
Gaby Lopez
Tidewell
Sarasota, FL
"Good ideas to implement and to make me a better leader."
Jeffrey Boesger
Sysco Food Services - West Coast Florida
Palmetto, FL
"Well-structured, with very implementable tools, techniques, and ideas!"
Bernd Rindermann
Senior Geologist
HSA Engineers & Scientists
Tampa, FL
“New perspective on communication, specifically paraphrasing and reversing. Very good energy.”
Randall Foster
FCCI Insurance Group
Sarasota, FL
"Excellent, practical, innovative, and useful."
Jim Willard
Risk Management Consultant
Bradenton, FL
"Doug turned on some of the topics such as delegation, priority management, power plan that were very beneficial to me."
Rishika Khan
Conmed Linvatec
Largo, FL
"Great day of focusing on skills often forgotten in the day to day business world. Learned a lot: goals, time management, numerous sales techniques, leadership and communication."
Michael West
Sea Winds Trading Company
North Port, FL
“Outstanding content. Doug is an excellent presenter.”
Anthony Miseno
Chris Craft
Sarasota, FL
"Great session, very helpful! What an eye-opener."
Ashley Shepherd
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"Excellent. I was nervous of the program and the ability to find it useful, but it was great and I really found it interesting and educational."
Tony Magganas
Clearwater Gas System
Clearwater, FL
"Working with Doug Van Dyke over the past few years has been a great experience. Doug's training and coaching has strengthened each of the individuals in Profit Management as well as the overall team. He has given me tools to improve my communication skills and leadership abilities. This has had a positive impact on my entire team. This coaching process has proven to be an integral part of our team moving forward. Doug possesses an energy that is stimulating, motivating, and fun. I look forward to working with him again in the future."
Lisa M. Cotner
Pricing and Agreements Manager
SYSCO Food Services West Coast Florida
"Well paced program. I appreciate that the content involved group participation and sharing of ideas."
Judy Mundy
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"On behalf of Partnership for Philanthropic Planning of Tampa Bay we thank you for sharing your knowledge, tools and techniques to help our members achieve success in their work place.
The feedback we received from today's program was wonderful! The program was very enlightening; an important topic with valuable information and useful strategies.
Thank you again for sharing your wealth of knowledge and I hope we can work together again in the near future."
Jane S. Watters
Administrator
Partnership for Philanthropic Planning
Clearwater, FL
"Very good and productive! Great information on holding effective meetings."
Pat Foley
Union Pacific Railroad
Kansas City
"It was interesting and did make one think about topics discussed."
Curt Long
Conmed Linvatec
Largo, FL
"Fantastic pace and fantastic company."
Andrew Forrester
Saint Stephen's Episcopal School
Bradenton, FL
"Informative, eye-opening, fun!"
Wanda Valentin
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
Doug, your presentation to the ABWA on How to Deliver Tough Messages was terrific. Very valuable content. I'm so glad I purchased one of your books because I would like to learn more."
Valerie Misa
Marketing & Development Mgr
Suncoast Humane Society
Englewood, FL
"Great business advisor with high integrity and a great personality."
Dr. Doug Stein
Medical Staff at University Community Hospital
Tampa, FL
"Loved the presentation on How to Deliver Tough Messages. Great information. Left me wanting to learn more!"
Laura Mancinelli
Member ABWA
Auctioneer/ Real Estate Agent
Bid Florida
Tampa, FL
“Doug, you really know how to inspire and instruct. What a great session we had on July 24. Sales Simplified is simply the best! It was helpful, informative and inspiring. Keep up the great work. We all appreciate you.”
Sondra Guffey
Media Specialist
Sondra Guffey Communications
Lakewood Ranch, FL
" Valuable information- Highlight leadership styles- Information on millennial expectations and styles- incredible!"
David Lennertz
Gardner-Gibson
Tampa, FL
"Practical, can be used with every business."
Brian Face
Next Level Achievement
Sarasota, FL
"The team building program was very informative and helpful. I loved the day planning ideas. Doug's sessions are always a great time!"
Merideth Henry
Aging Wisely
Clearwater, FL
"Very detailed, ability to adapt to questions or situations, on the spot feedback on use of skills, reinforcement and critique."
Justin Bushko
Conmed Linvatec
Largo, FL
"I found this program to be both enlightening to me and my group, as well as personally."
Michael Montini
Conmed Linvatec
Largo, FL
"The program was great. It encorporated all the core principles and qualities of great leadership. Well done!"
Joanie Read
Human Resources
Pinellas County Government
"The program made me think about and examine the way I handle certain situations. It has provided insight and has changed some of my perceptions and attitudes."
Shirley Fieber
Tax, Construction
Kerkering Barberio
Sarasota, FL
"The Leadership Simplified program was excellent. Doug is a wonderful speaker. Great job!"
Lyssa Gambling
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"I enjoyed learning about the various tools that can be implemented to have a more effective and accountable organizational structure."
Gina O'Keefe
Salem Law Group
Tampa, FL
“Mr. Van Dyke, I attended your course a couple of years ago, and ever since then my sales have increased at least 60%. Thank-you for the professional way you re-directed my sales knowledge! I hope to attend another seminar very soon.”
Mike Merino
Tampa, FL
"This session was much needed for our organization. I believe this will help us move forward and begin to make changes in the way we do business and to create a positive change."
Uganda Cherry
Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County
Bradenton, FL
"Doug is a chamber member, trustee and valued resource. He leads our trustee monthly peer exchanges which many describe as the enduring value of our program. Doug's breadth of knowledge of the business environment allows him to expertly cover virtually any topic that comes up in these often-spirited discussions. Doug is very incisive in his ability to assess issues and his manner allows me to work through the options and personally 'own' the solution. Unflappable, Doug is a trusted friend and advisor."
Jerry Custin
President/CEO
Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce
"The energy of the presenter and engagement of participants was outstanding. The program was well paced and balanced."
Nick Delihas
Shaw Development
Bonita Springs, FL
"I've been through similar programs and this is by far the most effective training I have encountered."
Darren Calhoun
AVI-SPL
"Excellent leadership retreat - The team was energized by the content, various team building exercises, and Doug's warmth and expertise!"
Dr. Christine Cauffield
Chief Executive Officer
LSF Health Systems
Jacksonville, FL
"Terrific Strategic Planning session - very concise, informative, stayed on task."
David Gustafson
Executive Director
Bradenton Downtown Development Authority
Bradenton, FL
"Very engaging. Doug kept us involved, listening, and interacting!"
Leslie Bailey
Prevent Blindness Florida
Tampa, FL
"Excellent, very engaging, kept the audience involved and entertained. Great information!"
Tes Varkey
Serve Virtual Enterprises
Tampa, FL
"Excellent training for leaders to be more effective and influential utilizing the lessons learned during the program."
Ahmet Tezcan
Safran Electrical & Power
Sarasota, FL
“There are a multitude of useful practices effectively discussed/communicated to increase efficiency in leadership positions stemming from structuring priorities and communication styles. I found all areas helpful and usable. Now it’s a matter of practicing, expanding, and refining these skills! A life-long process.”
Laura Johnson
Gulfstream Property & Casualty Ins. Co.
Assistant Vice President of Product Operations
Sarasota, FL
"Very informative, helpful, interesting and fun. Loved the interactive activities!"
Marjorie Mourid
AVI-SPL
Tampa, FL
"I thought it was a great tool to address the disconnects our groups have had. It has made significant inroads into righting the ship."
Frank Herrmann
Conmed Linvatec
Largo, FL