March 1, 2002
Des Moines-based consultant Barbara Stennes, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) was recently named as one of only three LifeTime Certified de Bono Master Trainers ever inducted. Barbara was chosen from a field of 900 affiliates in 47 countries.

The award was presented during the First Annual de Bono Thinking Skills Conference, held aboard Carnival Cruise Line's ship The Fascination. Managers from such companies as Boeing, McDonald's, Coke, and Bosch benefited from Barbara's presentations and facilitations during the cruise.

The LifeTime Certified Master Trainer title is reserved for professional consultants who have been affiliated with the de Bono organization for at least 10 years, have trained over 10,000 people in de Bono thinking techniques, have demonstrated outstanding platform skills, and who exemplify the highest standards in customer service.

"Barbara represents the best of the best," said Kathy Myers, President of the publishing company that produces the de Bono training materials. "We always call her first when we have a challenging assignment. No situation is too tough for her. One of her more remarkable feats was conducting a four-day certification in the Netherlands for a group of people who spoke almost NO English. Some of Barbara's comments were translated for the participants, but she relied largely on gestures, tone of voice, drawings, and context clues to critique the participants' presentations and coach them for a better delivery style. She is that good at getting her points across."

Six Thinking Hats is a training course that helps individuals and groups separate their ideas into six basic thought processes and focus on just one process at a time. The results include many more ideas generated, a wider perspective developed, fewer arguments, and shorter meetings. A second de Bono course called Lateral Thinking provides specific techniques for breaking out of established thinking patterns and generating new ideas.

Barbara also offers an array of other services that can be overviewed at her websites, www.deBonoConsulting.com, www.resourcesunlimited.com, www.360-feedback.us, and www.employee-training-programs.com.