December 8, 1998: Cordelia Santa Maria joins DRI Consulting!

Cordelia Santa Maria joined DRIC as the new executive assistant/office manager. She will provide project support for clients and staff. Cordelia has her bachelor's degree in psychology.

November 16, 1998: National Video Teleconference

Dr. John Fennig presents "The Value of Team Building in Project Management" via video teleconference to four sites nationally for Norwest Corporate Trust and their Systems and Technology staff.

November 14, 1998: DRIC recruits new managers for company restructuring

Client agrees to implement our recommendations for restructuring (see October 28th news item). We are retained to help identify and hire senior managers to fill key roles in the organization. Through our skill at recruiting and performing pre-employment testing, we have provided the client with several strong candidates to choose from.

November 13, 1998: Dr. John Fennig participates in annual psychologists weekend for The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)

Dr. Fennig provides psychological profiles on candidates to the Jesuit Novitiate. Once a year, the regional team of psychologists meets with the noviciate community to offer support and advice on their progress in religious formation.

October 28, 1998: Family-owned business receives final report on improving operations

Multi-million dollar retailer retained DRIC to help them determine the best course of action to return to profitability, improve operational efficiency, and increase employee morale. This third generation company has a forty year history of successful customer service. Our bottom line recommendations were well received. With our assistance, they are beginning to make the necessary changes for business success.

October 24, 1998: Norwest executives receive leadership training and coaching from DRIC staff

In the wake of their merger with Wells-Fargo, senior executives complete a four-day real-world leadership development process. Karen Lanson and Dr. John Fennig delivered these services and received very positive feedback on the impact of the process.

October 21, 1998: CityBusiness features DRIC in a special segment on management development

Dr. John Fennig contributed to an article on cutting edge uses of simulations in management assessment and development. (Read the article)

October 8, 1998: DRIC welcomes Erica Fishman as a website intern

Erica Fishman is a junior at Edina High School. She will be working on editing and updating our current WebPages, as well as becoming more proficient in website editors, particularly FrontPage 98.

September 6, 1998: DRIC welcomes Kelly Berg as accounting intern

Kelly is a junior at Edina High School. Assisting Karen Storkamp and our accounting firm, she is responsible for some of our bookkeeping. She will also assist us in our full conversion to PC banking and internet-based accounting.

September 1998: DRIC Stress and Energy Management cassette completed and for sale

See April news below for details.

August 1998: DRIC in the press

Dr. John Fennig contributes to the article "Specialty Consult: MDs Learn to Become Team Players" in the national publication Physician Practice Options.

July 22, 1998: DRIC gets feedback from MPA

The Minnesota Psychological Association's Executive Council adopts its 1999 budget, method for defining its line of services and products as well as a new format for tracking their finances. Dr. John Fennig has consulted with the finance committee the past six months and receives very positive feedback about his effectiveness and the results achieved.

July 14-17, 1998: Norwest senior executives receive real-world leadership training from DRIC

Ratings from participants for the overall effectiveness of John and Karen averaged 4.75 on a 5 point scale (5 being excellent). See March 29, 1996 listing for details on this process.

April 28,1998: Dr. John Fennig interviewed for the Minnesota Education Association's publication, "The Advocate." 

The topic of the article is stress management and burn-out prevention for teaching professionals.

April 27, 1998: Karen Lanson, M.A., L.P. joins DRI Consulting

Karen brings with her fifteen years of professional experience to her new role as a Senior Consultant at DRIC. She has extensive experience managing the organizational consulting function of a large national firm. She has a special interest in coaching executives to better balance the work and family roles.

April 25, 1998: Responding to a client request, DRIC produces stress management program

April 15, 1998: DRI Consulting provides Time Management Training for the Supervisory staff at Alternatives for People with Autism.

DRIC's average Ability to Motivate rating: 4.67 (rating based on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest)

April 14, 1998: Office renovation and expansion nearly complete! New offices, conference room and Local/Wide Area Network now in the final stages at DRIC to better meet client and staff needs.

April 8, 1998: DRI Consulting provides Management Skills Training for Senior Managers at Harris Companies.

DRIC's average Knowledge/Credibility rating: 4.4 (rating based on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest)

April 9,1998: DRI Consulting delivers final evaluation of and recommendations to improvement the entire Consulting Operation of a Fortune 100 wholesaler.

March 20, 1998: DRI Consulting provides ongoing education training at the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology.

Dr. John Fennig gives a seminar on Consulting Psychology at MSPP to psychologists working toward license renewal.

DRIC's average Overall Value/Enjoyment ratings: 4.9 for value and 4.7 for enjoyment (ratings based on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest)

February 16, 1998: Bob Brice Becomes Part of the Team

DRI Consulting welcomes our newest staff member. Bob is a Senior at Hamline majoring in Communications. He will serve on the client relations staff and help maintain this website.

February 9, 1998: Gail Winter Joins DRI Consulting

Gail is a senior at the University of St. Thomas majoring in psychology. Back from New Zealand, Gail will head development of of a stress management product and provide project support to our clients.

January 15, 1998: DRIC hired to help improve consulting operations for the healthcare division of a large retailer/wholesaler.

January 25, 1998: Large local mechanical contractor hires DRIC to design and deliver senior manager training. Key to this program will be the inclusion of Real World Leadership sessions, allowing participants to tackle real-time job challenges during the course.