Larry Wilson

Biography

Larry Wilson is one of the foremost thinker and speakers in the business world today. The two companies he has founded, Wilson Learning Corporation (1965) and Pecos River Learning (1985) have carved new territories in how we think about business, customers and ourselves. Directly through his teaching, speaking and writing and indirectly through his organizations, Larry has touched the lives and work of millions of people worldwide. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Larry Wilson grew up in Minnesota, survived military Catholic school and graduated from the University of Minnesota with honors. He began his career as a high school teacher, and moved on to sell life insurance. Within seven years, at 29, he became the youngest lifetime member of the industry's prestigious Million Dollar Round Table. His passion however, was understanding how people in business learned and what created success and fulfillment. In 1965, he created the Wilson Learning Corporation, a multinational corporate training and research firm. It became the second largest training company in the United States, with pioneering work in performance systems and human resource development. His continual exploration of individual and corporate innovation, productivity, and creativity led directly to his founding Pecos River Learning Centers, where leading thinkers facilitators in the areas of human motivation, creativity, teamwork, and culture changes were gathered. As an author, his writings are well-recognized and well-received. In 1984, he co-authored The One-Minute Sales Person; he co-authored Changing the Games: The New Way to Sell in 1987, and Stop Selling, Start Partnering in 1995. In 1998 he launched Play to Win: Choosing Growth Over Fear in Work and Life. His past, present, and future business visions revolve around finding new ways to help organizations and people stretch, grow, and expand their potential to achieve both greater performance and greater fulfillment. He continues to make his mission one of helping individuals and organizations re-discover their courage and creativity and use them in the service of creating a better world. Larry is currently Vice-Chairman of Pecos River, the Change Management Group of Aon Consulting.

Publications

There's only one Larry Wilson ... number one when it comes to the art of selling.--Warren Bennis, University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, University of Southern California. "Stop Selling, Start Partnering will help you take a fresh look at your selling activities whether you are in the boardroom, face-to-face with customers, or anywhere in between."--Harvey Mackay, Author of Swim with the Sharks. "Regardless of your position within the company, your task in the second half of these unforgiving 90s will be to help your company learn how to get, how to treat, and how to keep customers. Read Larry's new book and you will be much better prepared to accomplish this mission." --Lou Pritchett, Former VP of Sales and Customer Development, Procter & Gamble Stop Selling, Start Partnering outlines a fresh approach to finding and keeping customers through powerful, long-lasting partnerships. Drawing on his extensive experience with companies such as Kodak, US West, Saturn, and Baxter Healthcare, Larry Wilson shows managers, executives, and salespeople how to design and nurture "customer-keeping" organizations. Filled with smart advice and practical customer partnering guidelines, Stop Selling, Start Partnering redefines the new success factors for every organization that faces the daily challenge of finding and keepingcustomers. LARRY WILSON has been in the training and consulting business for over thirty years. He founded Wilson Learning and started Pecos River Learning Center in 1982. He is coauthor of two bestselling books, The One Minute Sales Person and Changing the Game: The New Way to Sell. HERSCH WILSON is a Senior Vice President and Lead Facilitator with Pecos River Learning Center. Before joining Pecos, he was a freelance writer and also coauthored Changing the Game: The New Way to Sell.

Titles

Leadership: The Developmental Leader Change Management: Playing to Win in a Permanent Whitewater World of Change Partnering not Selling: Creating Satisfied and Loyal Customers Creating the Sustainable Organization Choosing Growth over Fear: Creating an Optimal Culture