Michael J. Peterson

 

“Smarter, Faster, Better”

 

Since 2008, Michael has brought his personal philosophy of Smarter, Faster, Better to Learnovation®, LLC, first as a consultant, then as the Chief Operations Officer. Michael currently directs company operations, software development, strategic planning, and the integration of technology components into the Learnovation®, LLC staples of career development and job readiness. He is continuing to expand the ability of Learnovation®, LLC to provide organizational support and management to clients in a variety of markets.  Michael brings the “What If?” to every client – looking for the smarter, faster, better way of doing things.

Leadership and Strategic Problem Solving
Michael has over 35 years of leadership experience, from his early days as a Marine to employee development teams and executive management. Michael brings together his knowledge of systems and operations, with his insight into people, to create solutions on multiple levels. He easily understands components and where they fit together to find the weak links– be they technology, management, operations, or people. Michael is skilled at identifying people problems, training gaps, and inefficiency in operations.

 

Consulting
Michael thrives on new challenges. In the past 30 years Michael has been a consultant to many organizations, in a variety of roles. Software integration and development have been a staple of his consulting, but Michael’s knowledge of people and organizations has given him the opportunity to use his problem solving skills in many different ways. Michael has experience with new product/ image development, company restructuring and reorganization, employee evaluations – from new hires to executive management, event issues like Y2K, evaluation of potential investments in company acquisitions, software and hardware acquisitions, managing and evaluating development timelines,  and evaluation of potential problems and solutions.  

Michael has extensive experience in the fields of internet banking, online bill-pay, call center management and implementation, wholesale retail distribution, total employee involvement systems, software conversions, interactive voice response systems, and the development of policies and procedures.

 

Software Developer
Michael began his career in software development with a degree in computer science. He took his education and experience and worked his way up to senior programmer, and then into management roles. He learned how to meet deadlines and produce quality products by following this simple philosophy:   tell the truth, give realistic dates, always exceed expectations, get the customer involved in the decision process,  and “follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.”

In the mid 80’s, Michael co-founded his own software company, Diversified Software Inc.,  where he developed software solutions for multiple clients, and created a multi-million dollar organization. Four years later, looking for new challenges, Michael sold his company and worked as a consultant, lending his expertise to a variety of organizations.

In the late 80’s Michael worked with Systematics (Alltel / Fidelity) to convert their computers from system 36 to the AS400 platform. During this time he developed a 4th generation language that allowed him to quickly convert and transition programs automatically, thereby increasing his department’s productivity.  He spent the next 1 ½ years leading a team to develop and implement a complete Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) into 42 banks. In programming, Michael believes in doing it right the first time, then you don’t have to fix your mistakes.

 

Database Management  and Architecture
Michael is an expert in database architecture, and believes it is becoming a lost art. Good database architecture is critical, and if you don't have the data- you can't report it, retrieve it, or collect the data in a meaningful, purposeful way. Over the past 20 years, Michael has developed and expanded his proprietary concept of Harmony Middleware, where data can be integrated from various sources and delivered to different platforms without the problems of incompatibility. Data is vertical independent, allowing quick access from multiple systems. This software solution has been integrated into many operations and organizations, including call centers, online banking and bill-pay operations, and loan applications.

 

Total Employee Involvement
Early in his career, Michael worked as a programmer for HTE and was contracted to Philip Crosby & Associates and became involved in total quality assurance – implementing a culture of quality into all aspects of an organization. He became a facilitator and influenced the direction of course materials design. Several years later, Michael took that philosophy of quality assurance with him to a new software analyst position in Baxter Travenol. He redesigning the total employee involvement course,  which was so successful in the regional office, he was asked to integrate the program company wide.  Fast-tracked for senior management, Michael learned the effectiveness of leading from within, and how to pull together diverse groups to attain a common goal.

 

Call Center Development
Over the last 10 years, Michael has worked with a large banking client to integrate the Middleware concept into Call Center Management (CCM). The software is integrated into all aspects of inbound and outbound communications, from telemarketing to customer service and support. Michael has done extensive training, development, motivation, and management of call center personnel. Michael streamlined the policies and procedures involved in customer contacts, created innovations in the tracking of media demographics, and used the software to generate executive reports that provided invaluable information and data to management.  Michael implemented a system of cross servicing, marketing, and optimizing the customer’s experience.

 

Personal Philosophy
Michael joined the Marines as an impressionable young  man, craving structure. As such, he has taken personal the belief that honor, integrity, courage, and communication are the keys to success in any venture. Whether it’s working with a client on a critical deadline, developing an employee involvement program, or dealing with family, success comes through personal discipline, perseverance,  honesty, communication, and patience. He has a passion for education, economic development, and helping kids learn. Michael has a love a music, plays guitar, enjoys oil painting, cooking, fishing, entertaining, and has an insatiable curiosity for learning.