WHAT You Need ... WHAT I Help You Do
Listen to Yourself
Talk Like You Write
Write Like You Talk
Share What You Know
Choose the Best
Communicate Smart
WHO I Am ...
RICHARD SKAARE ... I consider myself a head-smart, street-wise communicator. I have two Masters degrees, one in communication. Both taught me how to look, listen, think, and learn. Equally important, I have a lifetime of experience in defining and resolving diverse, difficult business issues that impact corporate profitability, organizational efficiency, and communication. I understand people, processes, and possibilities.
WHAT People Say ...
"Richard is able to extract the essence of virtually any project or initiative … brings individuals and organizations to that rare state called ‘shared vision'."
William Saverance ... Global Executive Development Leader, SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation)
"… solid ethics, incredible depth of knowledge, organizational skills and all with a touch of humor."
FRANK NAVE' ... VP Museums & Environments, Lynch Exhibits
"… indispensable counsel in a high tension, very delicate situation … understood the predicament from all angles … dealt with the situation calmly, with the utmost integrity, and very competently."
TOM DICLEMENTE ... Managing Partner, Gran Sasso Ventures LP ; Former President/CEO – Europe, Middle East & Africa, AMP Incorporated (now TE Connectivity)
"Deeply insightful and intelligent … brings the best out of people and organizations."
MARK HARTMAN ... Former EVP Business Transformation, Cardinal Health
WHAT I Have Done ...
- Convinced and showed SABIC (Saudi Arabia) senior management how to capture and convert internal expertise into content for the company's new learning portal.
- Globalized employee thinking by creating a communication strategy that repositioned AMP Incorporated (now Tyco) from a U.S.-centric manufacturer to a global solutions provider.
- Reshaped, through a comprehensive communication program, the profile of Allegheny International from a specialty steel producer to a multibillion-dollar conglomerate.
- Reformulated the traditional management (Tollgrade) business plan into an accountability system that linked the plan to departmental/individual performance plans.
- Imagined and helped create high-tech, interactive exhibits, including a locomotive simulator (Norfolk Southern), for trade shows and museums.
- Persuaded and demonstrated to management at two companies (KnowledgePlanet and Lynch) how to build pride and credibility by using employees in advertising/marketing.
- Crafted corporate messages and positions on various public issues through speeches written for CEOs and other executives (Alcoa, AMP Incorporated, SABIC).
- Shifted management's defensive approach (AMP Incorporated) to environmental issues that established a corporate reputation for proactivity, credibility, and transparency.
- Helped ease employees through traumatic change: workforce reductions, plant closings, hostile takeover, environmental contamination, health scares, workplace violence, etc..
- Taught many executives/managers how to change media interviews from a Q&A to opportunities to communicate corporate messages.