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Summary

Bud Bilanich, The Common Sense Guy, is an executive coach, management consultant, motivational speaker, author and blogger. He is the Official Executive Coaching Guide at SelfGrowth.com, and the Careers Group Coordinator at FastCompany.com. He helps his coaching and consulting clients succeed by applying their common sense.

Bud has 35 years of organization development experience.  He has worked in a variety of industries: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, mining, consumer products, financial services, automotive, telecommunications, nuclear power, forest products and with several non profits. 

Dr. Bilanich has a strong business focus.  He brings a unique combination of strategic thinking skills and an implementation orientation to his work.  He is able to determine what to do, and then get it done.

Bud works well at all levels of an organization.  He is equally comfortable with C level executives as he is with mid and entry level managers, sales people and manaufacturing operators.  He is able to quickly identify problems and opportunities and suggest alternative courses of action.  He deals well with ambiguity and is able to effectively manage multiple priorities.  Bud has highly developed interpersonal, influence, coaching and communication skills.

Dr. Bilanich is Harvard educated but has a no nonsense approach to his work to goes back to his roots in the steel country of Western Pennsylvania. His approach to career and life success is a result of over 35 years of business experience, and over 10 years of research and study of successful people and the application of common sense.

He is the author of seven books, including Straight Talk for Success: Common Sense Ideas That  Won't Let You Down, where he presents his five point blueprint for career and life success:

  1. Develop your self confidence. 
  2. Create positive personal impact. 
  3. Become an outstanding performer. 
  4. Become a dynamic communicator. 
  5. Become interpersonally competent.

His other books are:

  • 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations
  • Using Values to Turn Vision Into Reality
  • Leading With Values
  • Fixing Performance Problems
  • Solving Performance Problem
  • Supervisory Leadership

He is featured on the cover, along with Stephen Covey and Brian Tracy, of a compilation book entitled Speaking of Success.  He contributed chapters to The Handbook of Business Management and One Great Idea. 

He writes a monthly column on leadership, team building and career issues for PM 360: The Full Spectrum of Product Management, a magazine focusing on product management issues in the pharmaceutical industry.

His clients include Pfizer, Glaxo SmithKline, Johnson and Johnson, Abbot Laboratories, PepsiCo, AT&T, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citigroup, General Motors, UBS, AXA Advisors, Cabot Corporation, The Aetna, PECO Energy, Olin Corporation, Minerals Technologies, The Boys and Girls Clubs of America and a number of small and family owned businesses.

Bud is a cancer survivor and lives in Denver Colorado with his wife Cathy. He is a retired rugby player and an avid cyclist. He likes movies, live theatre and crime fiction.

Work experience

Management Consultant, Executive Coach, Speaker

1988Present
The Common Sense Guy

Major Accomplishments

  • Managed the OD part of the restart plan for a Nuclear Power Plant closed down by the NRC for a variety of non compliance issues.Concluded the project under budget and prior to the date specified in the restart plan.Created the utility’s OD Department.Led it for six months.
  • Strategic consultant to the leadership team of an ad agency.Work resulted in a new strategic direction for the agency that delivered several million dollars in increased revenue.
  • OD consultant on two very large M&A integrations.Saved the company over a million dollars in planned integration costs.
  • Change management consultant to the senior leadership team of a manufacturing organization with over 20,000 employees.Facilitated the creation of organizational vision and values.
  • Designed and implemented large scale employee surveys.Developed systems for managing the post survey feedback and action planning processes.
  • Executive coach for several senior leaders with significant P&L responsibility.
  • Developed performance management systems for several manufacturing companies.
  • Delivered over 200 talks to a wide variety of businesses and professional organizations.

Manager, Organization Development

19831988
Pfizer Inc
  • Developed and implemented a self directed work team approach to a newly acquired manufacturing facility.  Saved over $1 Million the first year in salary and benefit costs.  Improved productivity and quality by over 20%.
  • Redesigned the Pfizer Corporate Communication Department.  Created a business focused set of publications for world wide distribution.
  • Designed the Pfizer Management Seminar, a global training program for newly appointed managers.  Conducted the program six times per year.
  • Interaction Management and Target Selection Master Trainer.  Trained and certified Pfizer employees to conduct these programs.
  • Consultant to senior leadership teams of four business units. 

Student

Sep 1980Dec 1982
  • Graduate student at Harvard
  • Instructor, Northeastern University College of Business Administration
  • Organization Development Intern, The Aetna

Manager, Organization Development and Training

Jan 1978Aug 1980
Olin Corporation
  • Led the training and organization development effort of a $500 Million business.
  • Managed the back to work effort after an acrimonious six month strike. 
  • Designed and delivered the training curriculum.
  • Consultant to C level executives on human resources and organization effectiveness issues.
  • Managed a group of seven employees.

Internal Organization Development Consultant

Sep 1975Dec 1977
  • Designed and conducted a supervisory training program for the company's four refineries.
  • Managed the company's entry level and advanced management programs.
  • Team building consultant to several business units.

VISTA Volunteer, VISTA Volunteer Trainer

Aug 1972Aug 1975
US Government, Office of Economic Opportunity

Education

Certificate

19771990
NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science

Certificate Programs in:

  • Organization Development
  • Coaching and Counseling Skills
  • Consulting Skills
  • Basic Human Interaction
  • Stress Management
  • Holding On and Letting Go
  • Myers Briggs Type Indicator Certification

EdD

Sep 1980Dec 1982

MA

Sep 1975Jun 1977
University of Colorado

BS

Sep 1968Mar 1972
The Pennsylvania State University