Q: Who is Jim Clemmer?

A:During the last 25 years he has delivered over two thousand customized keynote presentations, workshops, and retreats. Jim holds the prestigious Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, the highest earned designation in Professional Speaking.

Jim's five international bestselling books (click on last five book titles for more details) include The VIP Strategy, Firing on All Cylinders, Pathways to Performance, Growing the Distance, The Leader's Digest and Moose on the Table.

He is listed in half a dozen Canadian, American, and international Who's Who directories. His greatest achievement of the last decade is that he has managed to triple the size of his forehead!

Click here for Jim's full biography

Q: What is The CLEMMER Group?

A: The CLEMMER Group is a management consulting firm specializing in organization, team, and personal transformation. The "boutique consulting" firm provides strategic consulting services, supported by customized performance assessments, improvement and implementation planning, action-based learning workshops, and executive management coaching, to accelerate personal, team, and organization improvement. Their advisory, planning, and implementation consulting services integrate business strategies with day-to-day operations. The company's very experienced consultants act as catalysts to help their Clients achieve sustained performance improvement.

The firm's purpose simply stated: Transforming Organization, Team, and Personal Performance.

Click here for more details on The CLEMMER Group

Q: Where did Jim grow up and what's his educational background?

A: Jim grew up on a Mennonite dairy farm just outside of Newton, Ontario (25 miles northwest of Waterloo). His first job off the farm was working at Gray's Egg Grading in Millbank (down the road from Newton) where he made just enough money to keep his motorcycle on the road. The biggest pay-off was meeting Heather, "that sweet young egg-packer who I eventually married!" They have been married over 25 years and juggle running The CLEMMER Group together with getting continuous parenting lessons from their three teenagers!

Jim left high school early to get on with his career plans and later returned to university as a mature student. Jim's philosophy is, that "formal education is an important base. But I find that people or organizations who thrive in today's rapidly changing world don't view education as an inoculation followed by an occasional booster shot. They embrace perpetual growth and development, continuous learning, and constant improvement. If the rate of external change exceeds our rate of personal change we're destined to become a victim of change."

In his first full-time job, Jim tucked his shoulder length hair under a short hair wig and went to work in a grocery store in Kitchener, Ontario. Finally ridding himself of most of his shaggy mane, he now realizes that hair is wasted on the young.

Q: How did Jim end up becoming a professional speaker and writer?

A: During the eighties he co-founded and lead The Achieve Group. It became Canada's largest training and consulting company. After selling Achieve (now called AchieveGlobal) to California-based Zenger Miller, he founded The CLEMMER Group.

At Achieve, Jim began to give speeches at conferences and conventions and write magazine articles on leadership, excellence (they were working with In Search of Excellence co-author Tom Peters at the time), customer service, and quality improvement. This work evolved into the first of his five international bestselling books.

The VIP Strategy: Leadership Skills for Exceptional Performance , was Jim's first book. It became a Canadian bestseller and was published in Europe and Japan. His second book, Firing on All Cylinders: The Service/Quality System for High-Powered Corporate Performance, was both a Canadian and an American bestseller with over 100,000 copies sold. Jim's third book was Pathways to Performance: A Guide to Transforming Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization. His next book – focused on personal growth/leadership – was Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success. Building on the popularity of the unusual layout and leadership framework in Growing the Distance, Jim's most recent work is a companion book entitled The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success. Leadership guru, Warren Bennis, declares "If you're looking for a book that illuminates the topic of leadership in a useful, readable and lively way, this is it."

Jim finds that his many years of consulting to hundreds of organizations of every size, industry, and type across North America has been enormously educational. Staying on top of best practices in organization effectiveness, leadership development, and personal effectiveness as background to his speaking, writing, and consulting also provides a rich stream of learning.

Since 1975, Jim has given over 2,000 presentations. One of his goals, on his many business trips, is to have half as much fun as his family thinks he is having!

Q: What is the central structure of Jim's work?

A: Jim's keynotes, workshop/retreats, and management team development services draw from a core of simple and practical frameworks that he has evolved over years of extensive research, writing, and application. These implementation frameworks form the central structure for his books. Based on discussions and research with each Client, Jim puts together his keynote presentation, designs his workshops, or provides management team consulting using the appropriate frameworks for the service he's delivering.

• The Performance Balance (Management and Leadership)
• Transformation Pathways
• Timeless Leadership Principles

Click here for a deeper look at Jim's key models and frameworks

Click here view slides and listen to Jim's 90-minute teleconferences

Q: With over 10,000 books on leadership currently in print, what makes Jim's leadership books unique?

A: When Jim first published Growing the Distance in 1999, he said this book was by far the most fun to write and most closely reflected his quirky humor (a few "Dad jokes" did slip in), stories and experiences, and personal philosophies. It was a very personal book that integrated The CLEMMER Group's newly developed Leadership Wheel. There are now close to 100,000 copies of Growing the Distance in print.

In the last few years, Jim has been gratified to get continuous feedback on how the book has helped so many people across a wide range of ages and occupations. Most of Jim's speaking engagements and workshops have built upon or used the book and the Leadership Wheel in some way, with ever stronger results and feedback.

In addition to the content of Growing the Distance, Jim continually received very positive feedback on its magazine style format. Readers really like the short, modular sections with snappy headlines and introductory headings, story sidebars, pithy quotes, supported by main text. This allows for "grazing" or in-depth reading, according to the interest areas, focus, or available time of each reader.

So Jim considered it a no-brainer to write The Leader's Digest in the same format again using the Leadership Wheel as the supporting structure for the book. Where Growing the Distance is about personal leadership, The Leader's Digest is for leading others. As with Growing the Distance, Jim filled The Leader's Digest with similar humor, stories and experiences, and personal philosophies. The one difference with The Leader's Digest from its older twin, Growing the Distance, is that this book has more research and contemporary material supporting the leadership approaches outlined there.

Early feedback on The Leader's Digest has been very strong. Jim was especially delighted to get a very positive comment from the grand sage of leadership, Warren Bennis. Warren has written dozens of leadership books and provided pioneering work as Distinguished Professor of Business at University of Southern California. After reviewing The Leader's Digest he said, "If you're looking for a book that illuminates the topic of leadership in a useful, readable, and lively way, this is it."

Q: What's been the impact of Jim's work?

A: Jim continually receives phone calls and e-mails, along with many personal conversations at speaking engagements or workshops on the depth and impact of his work. While he has addressed over 2,000 audiences, he firmly feels it's less about the quantity and more about the quality of his work. He has helped many management teams achieve breakthroughs in their effectiveness. His work has been a catalyst in pulling companies back from the brink of financial disaster. He has helped numerous people turn around their personal and professional lives.

Here's a sample of feedback Jim regularly receives:

I thoroughly enjoyed The Leader's Digest! I couldn't put it down once I started, and found it to be an easy read. The way you have written the book and formatted the chapters (quotations, anecdotes, stories, references to family, humor) is revolutionary. The linkages to your previous books allowed me to easily understand and digest (no pun intended) the material and concepts.

"Let's be Frank" is a classic! I'm going to facilitate a session with my management team based on those pages. I find the Frank stories to be a reflection of the truisms in the workplace and Frank to be the spirit in all of us. He runs into the same issues and challenges that we have all faced at one time or another, but perseveres through what seems like an insurmountable series of setbacks to ultimately get him and the business to where it needs to be. There are many timeless themes embedded in there that I really enjoyed.

I am an advocate of the ageless principles that your books convey and have worked hard at molding my behaviors so I demonstrate these skills as regularly as possible. I don't let people of rank or in power sway me from my values. Neither did Frank. I'm a Clemmer disciple that can't get enough of this stuff!

- Alan Zimmermann, Director, Business Customer Support, AT & T Canada, Toronto, ON

Your presentation was so inspirational that I couldn't wait to read your book, Growing the Distance. I have two very young children, so finding time to read is always a challenge. However, I made a commitment to myself that I would find the time, so I did. Growing the Distance was also extremely motivating.

I can't stress how great an impact your session had on me. I used to do a lot reading pre-kids era...now I realize that I was using the kids as an excuse to stop, i.e., not having the time. You made me realize that it is important and that I need to take the time...thank you! I believe that I am back on track and look forward to continuing down my road to self-improvement.

- Lorrie Ann Charron, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Our organization brought Jim in to help us identify the elusive and esoteric concepts of leadership. Our senior management team came away from the seminar with a shared and persuasive understanding of what leadership is, and how it can be exercised. We were particularly impressed that the process included a comprehensive way of diagnosing an organization's issues via the 13 Transformation Pathways. Wedding philosophical learning with pragmatic organizational process evaluation really helped us anchor effective leadership to everyday workplace issues. Jim exceeded our expectations and brought us a new and valuable way of leading our organization.

- Manager, Human Resources, Centre for Education Information

Click here for a large selection of comments and letters
from Jim's speaking and workshops

Click here for a selection of feedback and reviews
on Growing the Distance

Click here for a selection of feedback and reviews
on The Leader's Digest

Q: What is Jim's CSP designation all about?

A: Certified Speaking Professional is the only earned designation for professional speakers. This designation signifies "exceptional achievement through a proven record of speaking experience." CSP speakers meet rigorous requirements for a number of fee-paid presentations, number of clients, continuing education credits, and consecutive years of successful business experience. Less than 3% of the estimated 15,000 speakers in the world have the CSP designation.

Jim is an active leader in the professional speaking profession. He is a past national director on the Board of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. CAPS is a professional association for keynote speakers, trainers and facilitators. The association is working to build a better future for the professional speaking business in Canada and become "the association of experts who speak professionally." CAPS aims to help members succeed in their speaking businesses through learning partnerships, market development, and professional accreditation. CAPS also supports international advancement of the speaking profession through participation in, and support for, the International Federation for Professional Speakers.

Q: Does Jim just give the same canned material to different groups?

A: Keynote speaking is in the midst of a major transition reflecting the larger customer-is-in-control forces at work in our society. Not too many years ago, a well known keynote speaker proudly declared, "I don't change my speech, I just change my audiences." Old fashioned shades of Henry Ford's often quoted comment that his customers could have any color Model T they wanted, as long as it was black. Just as customers today demand "just in time, just for me," audiences are losing patience with speakers obviously taking an "if this is Tuesday, this must be Calgary" approach. The most powerful keynote presentations today are well researched, relevant, and tailored to the audience's industry, organization, or profession.

Jim's membership in the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers has led to him attend National Speakers Association conferences and workshops throughout the U.S. and the CAPS conferences in Canada. A topic of many workshops and discussion groups is the need to tailor presentations to our audiences. One size, or one or two speeches no longer fit all.

Effective professional speakers can bring an outside expert's view and voice to reinforce and inspire the changes needed inside the organization. Jim speaks, trains, or facilitates about 100 times per year. He has rarely given the same presentation, workshop, or retreat twice. Recently, he took a look back through hundreds of his engagements and developed a long sample list of ways he has tailored 60 – 90 minutes presentations, half and one-day workshops, and two-day management retreats. It fascinated him to reflect on the wide variety of applications, (but Jim leads a sheltered life, and is more than a little biased and emotionally invested in this discussion).

Click here to see samples of customized keynotes and workshops Jim has delivered

Quotable Quotes from Jim

A Life Changing Book:
"When I left the farm for the bright lights of Kitchener over 22 years ago, the book that opened the exciting new world of personal choice for me was Claude Bristol's 1950s bestseller, TNT: The Power Within You. My Recommended Reading list has hundreds of the personal, team, and organization improvement books that I have found most useful in my life and work."

On Humor:
"We can't take life so seriously. The Laughter Index is an important indicator of a group or organization's emotional health. Uptight managers with face lines that look like they've been sucking on sour pickles too long rarely provide the inspired leadership that emotionally connects people to the team or organization. Does a leader need humor? Only if he or she wants to have more fun, communicate more effectively, and have a strong influence over those they are trying to lead."

Favorite Quotes:
"Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen) until drops of blood form on your forehead." - Gene Fowler, author

"People who want milk should not seat themselves in the middle of the field on a stool and hope that a cow will back up to them." - Elbert Hubbard, American editor and publisher

Gardening, Growth, and Leadership:
"A favorite hobby is gardening. I especially love the magic of springtime. After the winter months of death and decay throughout the garden, vigorous life and vitality is returning. A walk around our perennial garden is energizing just to see the new growth and big changes from yesterday. I have used gardening analogies to illustrate personal, team, and organization leadership in both Growing the Distance and The Leader's Digest. Knowing my farming background, some have accused me of spreading "organic fertilizer" in my speaking, workshops, and retreats!"

The Need for Meditation and Staying Personally Centered:
"When traveling on an airplane with a young child, parents are advised that if the oxygen masks were ever to "drop from panel above" (I am happy to say I have never seen this happen), put the mask on yourself first and then assist your child. This is counterintuitive to our parental instincts. But, of course, if we don't take care of ourselves first, we may not be around to help anyone else."

Favorite Music:
"I love all types of jazz and especially jazz piano. Oscar Petersen is a well known Canadian gem. A lesser known but equally great Canadian jazz pianist is Oliver Jones.

"I was sheltered from the whole Beatlemania and hippy thing growing up on a Mennonite farm in Perth County. So I am on a quest to make up for lost time by going into what our daughter calls my "Beatles Zone" on Saturday morning in my home office. I crank up the volume and screech along with the Beatles as I write or prepare my next week's presentations. Our teenage kids have to pound on the door to get me to turn down the music. Sweet revenge for their late nights...!"

Most important thing to remember when making a presentation:
"Speak from a depth of personal expertise and passion about your topic. Be human. Have fun. Let your true self shine through."

Pet Peeve
"Being called a "motivational speaker." I have often been told I am a motivating speaker. But I want to get well beyond just giving audiences a short burst of inspiration or an emotional jolt. I try hard to wrap lots of concrete steps and actions, based on solid research, in an inspiring and compelling delivery. My favorite definition of persuasion is "logic on fire."

"I fear being painted with the same superficial brush as some "motivational speakers" and writers who have the content and experience depth of a dime. They have lots of fire but very little logic. Occasionally I am sent manuscripts for endorsement or I run into people who wrote a book on an airplane trip or slap together "product" (video and/or audio programs) that are amateurish and shallow."

Favorite Movie: The Star Wars series
I love the mix of futuristic technology with the timeless struggle of good and evil, and the story's deep spirituality. We all need to find and tap into "the force."

Favorite TV Show: Star Trek: Voyager
Again, I like the futuristic technology. I also appreciate the moral and racist leadership dilemmas posed by most of the Star Trek shows (e.g what is a "life form," and what right do we have to kill or interfere with it?). I also love the powerful analogy of being far from home and trying to find our way back, while enjoying the voyage. And Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) isn't hard to look at either.