Who We Are

True North pgs, Inc. is a strategic consultancy focused at expanding the awareness, acceptance, and application of project work as a distinctly different practice from typical operations management type project management. 

Founded in 1996, True North’s approach grew out of research that asked, "What elements separate average from exceptional performing projects in high tech situations?" High tech projects are "fuzzier" than construction projects. Projects pursuing novel outcomes demand different than traditional "project management" strategies from their managers and something other than "contract compliant subcontractor" behaviors from their contributors.

The research showed that those who focused upon increasing the predictability of their novel effort usually failed. The successful ones used a practical, "adaptive" approach, rather than the more theoretical predictive techniques of classic project management. This practical perspective became the basis of some of the most successful (and closely guarded as competitive advantages) product development in the history of high technology.

Our mission is to share these practical insights, to help organizations produce exceptional products by helping them find the undiscovered communities within them. This is the key to working really well together.  And the key to really effective projects.
 

David A. Schmaltz, Founder and Principled Consultant

Prior to founding True North, David was President and Principal Consultant with Silicon Valley's Ontara Corporation. In 1996, David purchased Ontara’s intellectual property, incorporating it into True North's Mastering Projects Workshop, and extending the usefulness of Ontara's initial research. 

David created True North's uniquely powerful Brief Consulting model, authored True North’s Mastering Projects Workshop, and editor and principal contributor to Compass. David has also served as faculty for Jerry and Dani Weinberg’s Problem Solving Leadership Workshop.

David uses his role as writer and consultant to help people discover for themselves what they need to know to make their assignments work well for them.  His expertise includes creating new frames of reference for approaching projects and helping clients discover for themselves how these different models apply to their real world situations. 

Amy Schwab, President and Principal Consultant

Amy learned about what doesn't work from her training in traditional project management, business process improvement and change management. "I thought I wasn't smart enough, disciplined enough, tough enough, or mean enough to make these traditional approaches work on more complicated projects." she says, "Then I discovered that the approaches themselves were fundamentally flawed -- they were not designed for innovation oriented undertakings." True North's approach helped her discover an approach that really works on these fuzzy projects -- and helped her discover what she'd known all along about making change happen.

Amy’s specialties include assessing the project environment and designing a project that can thrive in its native surroundings.  By enlisting the real support of an interested community around coherent,, shared goals, and creating the rituals necessary to keep the community working together under the most extreme conditions, she helps executives, sponsors, and project leaders create the project communities they really enjoy working with.  Amy’s real passion is helping people realize their heart’s desires by discovering their project within their project, and using their project to pursue their passion, while helping their organization accomplish really exceptional results. 

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