The MCG Team

Paul is the president and founder of Midwest Consulting Group. He focuses his consulting work on strategic planning, management team development, succession planning, management selection, performance management, and personal productivity. Prior to forming MCG he was executive director of the Fetzer Business Development Center at Western Michigan University. He is Certified in the interpretation of both the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and several 360° feedback assessments, making extensive use of these and other instruments in management and leadership development. He also assists nonprofit organizations with fund development strategy and projects. Paul has both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Western Michigan University. E-mail Paul at PaulK@MidwGroup.com

Jan is our resident writer and editor. With nearly 30 years of experience in organizational communications, her work focuses on general and technical writing and editing, grant and proposal development, interviewing and story development, and book editing. She also is a consultant and coach to authors and others interested in writing and publishing, with a niche expertise in helping faculty members and other professionals prepare articles for submission to peer-reviewed journals. The owner and president of Beyond Words, Inc., Jan has a special gift for the development of “reader-friendly” materials about technical or complex topics. She works primarily with health care, education, the life sciences, nonprofits, and small private-sector companies. Prior to founding her own company in 1996, Jan worked for Western Michigan University, the Fetzer Institute, Towers Perrin, and Mayo Clinic. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and a master’s from Western Michigan University. E-mail Jan at janbeyond@earthlink.net

Mary Jo is a leadership expert, Executive/Business Coach and Consultant who partners with CEO's, executives, professionals, teams, and small business owners to support them in achieving their goals in business excellence. She is the owner of Aspire Collaborative Services and has a global Fortune 500 background in human resources; research and development; organizational development; and business strategy. Her clients are motivated leaders and teams in all sectors - public, private, non-profit and government ; leaders who appreciate customized attention to successful change. Mary Jo is a graduate and advisory board member of Corporate Coach University; is active in her profession as the President of the West Michigan Coaching Chapter, and is a member of the International Coach Federation. She coaches individual leaders and their teams in the areas of engaging and mobilizing individuals and teams; priority-setting; improved productivity; transition management; self awareness, increased emotional intelligence; career change; culture assimilation; and vision/mission/strategy development. E-mail Mary Jo at mary.jo.asmus@aspire-cs.com

Mike has been the president of Busch + Company, for more than 20 years and has been a valued MCG senior associate since 1990. He assists clients with leadership development, managing work conversations, high-performance team development and strategic business communication systems using a unique coaching process. In addition to his work with clients, Mike is an adjunct professor at Grand Valley State University. He has published several articles, has been featured in Training magazine, and was interviewed by the Tom Peters Group for his innovations in management and leadership development. Mike holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Denver. E-mail Mike at Buschconsultants@cs.com

Joan Dzuro is president and CEO of Dzuro and Associates, a firm specializing in HR consulting and based in Indio, California.  She is a consumate Human Resource professional and has held generalist as well as senior HR positions during a 30-year career in aerospace, oil, newspaper publishing, manufacturing, high-tech, insurance and medical industries.  Joan has taught HR courses at the university level and understands both the union and non-union environments. She has been involved in the HR professional associations at local, regional, and national levels. Her firm has recently assisted clients by training newly promoted HR professionals, creating and maintaining new HR departments, training teams in effective management skills, conducted HR audits, as well as updating policy manuals, handbooks, and safety manuals. Dzuro and Associates serves as MCG's West Coast headquarters and we are delighted to make Joan's considerable expertise available to our clients and human resource colleagues. E-mail Joan at jdzuro@msn.com

Owner of WordPlay Marketing Communications, Gretchen is a marketing communications expert with more than 20 years of client-side experience in a broad range of marketing, sales support, corporate communications and community development roles in healthcare, industrial manufacturing, bioscience and economic development. She specializes in helping organizations and communities manage for change. Gretchen’s channel expertise has streamlined client distribution programs while reducing costs, increasing sales effectiveness and delivering more selling opportunities to the channel. She has spearheaded global corporate branding campaigns, consistently helping clients achieve corporate goals while meeting strict budget and scheduling constraints. Familiar with all aspects of media and public relations, she has successfully managed numerous campaigns designed to change perception and behavior. E-mail Gretchen at gretchen@virtualwordplay.com

Gail Lutey has held a variety of HR management positions within companies both large and small.  She started her career with General Motors and Unisys Corporation developing college recruiting programs for them along with managing extensive direct hiring activities.  During over 20 years in HR she has worked with several IT services companies, taking them from start up to IPO status and providing the entire spectrum of HR services including employee evaluation, training and development and compensation planning.   More recently, Gail has consulted with small business owners, providing strategic planning and human resources services.  Gail is an excellent communicator and has developed presentations to share key business issues with employees, shareholders and prospective new hires.  E-mail Gail at glutey146169MI@comcast.net

Craig’s focus is on executive development and internal consulting skills for human resource professionals. He has extensive experience in the consumer services and electronics industries. Craig has served on the faculty at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations as well as the University of Central Florida. He was formerly director of executive education at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and is currently professor of management and dean of the Crummer Business School at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. His client list includes General Motors, IBM, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Pacific Gas & Electric, Prudential, Rohm & Haas, and US West. Craig’s academic background includes degrees from the University of Arizona, Alfred University, and Columbia University. He recently was featured as part of an Executive Education Roundtable in HR Management magazine.

Vicky manages the MCG office and helps us keep all the balls in the air. She has worked in the public accounting, telecommunications, banking, and financial services industries. She has assisted a wide variety of clients with office organization and workflow consulting services and has designed administrative systems that  help improve productivity, efficiency, and space utilization. Vicky has a BS from MSU (Go Spartans!) and is another of those "neat to hang out with" people we seem to attract here at MCG. Reach Vicky at VickyS@MidwGroup.com

Holly is our office dog. She enjoys working with us in the office, provides comic relief, chases off any vicious squirrels, and consults on any projects involving dog treats. She is an expert in eating, sleeping, begging, and hanging out.