About Jerry L. Talley

This web site on problem solving and leadership evolved out of over 45 years of organizational consulting. Prior to that career, I was an adjunct professor at Stanford University teaching in the Sociology Department for 18 years. Coincident with that experience, I had a practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist for about ten years. Starting in the late 1970's, I moved into organizational development consulting, accumulating over 450 client engagements since that time. My clients included companies in high tech R&D, hospitality, health care, construction, the military, manufacturing, banking and credit unions, education, college publishing, mental health, utility districts, city and county government, not-for-profits, and large consulting houses... and one organic grocery store.

Throughout all these experiences, the common focus was on how people think about and manage complex situations, how they attempt to solve the problems in their world, and how they form relationships with others in that effort.

The other elements of my practice are visible on my other site.

Patches is shown here because she is always with me in the office, so I'm sure she played a significant role in the develoment of these concepts... or at least she listened well.

Upgrading the capability of companies to solve strategic problems

The main focus of my current practice is helping organizations dramatically upgrade the quality of their problem solving. That effort requires all of the following:

1. Senior executives understand the implications of more robust problem solving for their role as organizational leaders.
2. Senior executives choose to learn and practice that new leadership style.
3. Senior executives select a handful of strategically critical problems they would like solved.
4. Mid-level managers are trained in the full problem solving model, using the identified organizational issues as their focus.
5. Staff throughout the organization are engaged by these selected mid-level managers in addressing the focal problems; their engagement is used as an opportunity to teach them about their role in the new problem solving model.
6. Staff are provided the orientation and collateral materials to support the new set of practices.
7. Policies and procedures are reviewed and -- when necessary -- revised to maintain the new approach.

Jerry Talley can be reached through e-mail or

JLTalley & Associates
1873 Klamath River Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

You can also schedule a no-fee office hour appointment at
my Calendly account

(Patches does not use email, only Twitter.)