John Younker 225 connections

I was raised in the small city of Owensboro, Kentucky in the post WW II years. It was, for me, a time of great opportunities and possibilities.

My recollections of my childhood are good ones, in general. There was present, for me, a sense that my world was secure ... a sense of happiness and well-being.

I was raised to respect and value the views and rights of others, above all else. To look for what is good in others and to have a sense of confidence that I would experience the goodness of my fellow man, if I would only look for it..

I grew up with a sense that if I was to succeed in life ... to be successful, to be of some significance and to be a contributor to the world around me ... I would only do so by taking full advantage of all of the educational and developmental opportunities that were afforded to me throughout my life. As a result, I became a life-long learner.

After entering high school, I became aware that I had some learning challenges. I was unclear as to what they were, exactly, and I didn't know, specifically what these challenges were, until much later in life. I just knew at the time of my high school years, that I had some leaning challenges, in spite of my results from the IQ test, I had taken when I first entered high school.

I did not graduate from high school and ended up leaving in my senior year ... actually, I was "invited" to leave. I then joined the U.S. Navy and embarked on a career (20 + years) that was filled with many experiences, opportunities and challenges. The most significant impact upon me of my time in the miliary were the lessons I learned regarding my fellow man. I decided that, as a result of these experiences, I would focus my efforts and energies upon making meaningful and significant digfferences in the lives of others.

Upon leaving the Navy, I attended graduate school and recieved a Masters and Doctorate degrees in I/O Psychology. I should note here, that while I was in the Navy, I was afforded opportunities to complete my High School education and to attain degrees in electronic engineering, business management and general psychology.

The rest of my life, up to now, has been a series of opportunities to be of service to others and to, hopefully, make a postive difference in their lives. The remainder of this section is a more traditional accounting of my professional life.

John is a co-founder and the President of Associates In Continuous Improvement (ACI), a Houston based management consulting firm. His professional focus at ACI is the provision of services to CEO’s and executive managers that include:

• leadership-executive management coaching & development,
• key player selection, performance management and development,
• organizational assessments, direction setting & strategic performance planning,
• facilitating and coaching organizational change and transition, and
• facilitating and coaching the development of high performing management teams.

John has served, since 1993, as a Chair for Vistage (formerly The Executive Committee - TEC), an international organization dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and enhancing the lives of CEO's and their Key Executives. John was recognized in 2000 as a “High Performing Chair” and in 2006, 2007, and 2008 he was recognized with the “Chair Excellence” awards and in 2006 with the “Master Chair” award. In his Chair role, John leads and coaches the members of his CEO, Key Executive and Trusted Advisors groups. Additionally, John serves as a Vistage Resource Speaker on the topics of “Creating Empowering Personal Direction Statements” and “Measuring and Monitoring Service Performance.”

John is currently serving as an Executive Professor at the University of Houston, Bauer College of Business, Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship and is a former Director of the MBA Program at Our Lady of the Lake University – Houston. John is a member of several professional organizations including the Association for Capital Growth (ACG), the Texas Psychological Association (TPA), the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the Texas Industrial/Organizational Psychologists (TIOP), the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Houston Area Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (HAIOP), and The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. Additionally, John is a Guest Lecturer for the Eisenhower Leadership Series, George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

John is a former senior vice-president at The Institute, Inc. and was a vice-president and Senior Field Researcher at the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC). At the Center, he was extensively involved in field research and advisory initiatives that focused on employee involvement and empowerment, the development of high performing work teams, organization assessment and planning, and service quality improvement. Other organizational associations include the Shell Mining Company, the Geisinger Medical Center, and the U.S. Navy where John was actively involved in Navy’s efforts in leadership and organization development, race relations education, and drug and alcohol abuse education and rehabilitation.

John’s client organizations (former and current) include, Administaff, Bell Canada, General Dynamics, Glass & Door International, Hoechst-Celanese, Hitemco Southwest, ITT-Hartford, McCoy Workplace Solutions., Moody Rambin Interests, QuadVest, Sheshunoff Management Services, Tube Supply, Inc., USAA, X-TRA Light Mfg., Inc., and Zurich America.

John holds a doctorate in industrial-organizational psychology from The University of Memphis. He is a guest speaker and lecturer and his writings are published in several professional journals and textbooks.

On the personal side, John is married and lives with his wife, Jean, in the North area of the greater Houston Meeroplex. I have a daughter, Andrea, from a previous marriage and two beautiful and gifted grand children, Lauer and Chase, along with son-in-law, David. They reside in Huntsville, AL. Jean has two sons, Darrin and Ronnie, from a previous marriage and they live in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. My wife, Jean, is Canadian, and proudly so.