Bradley Kolar

Great to meet you

For nearly 20 years, I have been changing the way people think. I firmly believe that people's mindset is as important as their skillset.  I have a passion for bringing pragmatic critical thinking back into the workplace. I push my audiences beyond the status quo through fresh, relevant, and well researched content, ideas, and, most importantly, techniques. Whether working with data, setting goals and accountability, managing change, or leading people, my audience members always will walk away with new perspectives that immediately change the way they work. 

Many people have told me that I have an upbeat, engaging style that excites and often surprises them. For my Rethinking Data presentation, one participant even said, "I never thought that a topic on data would be so much fun!" I often hear that my presentations challenge people's thinking from start to finish while also providing simple tools to take away.

A bit about me

I am a co-author of the book, "The Brain advantage: Become a More Effective Business Leader Using the Latest Brain Research". Aligning how our brains work with how we do our work is central to most of what I do.  But, research can often be dry and confusing.  I bring a unique understanding of psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics applied to every day work and leadership situations. 

I was formerly the Chief Learning Officer for the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC). I was responsible for leadership development as well as patient satisfaction reporting and initiatives. Prior to that, I was the Director for Learning and Performance Strategy for the global company Accenture.  My entire career has been focused on improving people's performance and effectiveness.

My formal education spans the disciplines of business, people, process, and technology. I earned degrees in Economics (BA, 1989) and Communication (MA, 1991) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Computer Science from Northwestern University (MS, 1993). This unique combination helps me bring relevant examples and approaches to diverse audiences.

In addition to "The Brain Advantage", I have also published articles in

· Leadership Excellence Magazine

· Personal Excellence Magazine

· Sales Excellence Magazine

· CPCU Interest Group Leadership and Managerial Excellence

· ASQ's Journal Quality Progress

· SmartWork, The newsletter for the Council of Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) 

But, don't take my word for it!  Here's what my audiences are saying.

This will transform the way you look at and report on data! Anyone expected to report data to leadership should take this.

Fantastic presentation and one of the best I have ever been to! You kept our attention and engagement all day and really demonstrated to us that we can really improve. (Claims Executive, Fortune 50 Insurance Company).

As Brad walked through the session with my leadership team, the light bulbs were going on and smiles were elicited as the data (and its utility to the managers) was being unveiled. (Chief Nursing Executive, Presence St. Joseph Medical Center)

This is probably one of the most relevant presentations I've attended and I hope we can cascade this to more people in the organization.

I love the simplicity of what you taught us while appreciating how complex it can be underneath the data! (City Manager, City of Champaign, IL)

. . .what I learned will help me use a better approach to making decisions and determining the best direction going forward. (Director, Systems Department, Fortune 100 Company)