Rod Hess’ normative culture experience took root in 1974, at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Social Work. This was when he stepped onto the Path Seldom Taken under his mentor, Sam Ferrainola. Upon graduation in 1975, he followed his mentor to the Glen Mills Schools, a private, residential school for troubled youth, near Philadelphia, PA. Here, he was part of a management team that utilized a corporate culture “business” model as the operating system for turning around the out of control culture at the school. As Director of Training, Hess was responsible for conducting the unique employee training program that has made the school into an international model for residential treatment.

In 1982, Hess left Glen Mills Schools where he had been Director of Training, and began his journey on the Path of the Normative Leader when he founded Applied Organizational Concepts, a Pittsburgh, PA-based training and consulting company that specializes in organizational culture change/development. Over the past 45+ years, Rod has helped organizations in the fields of business, education, human services and team sports, to apply the simple, but powerful normative leadership skills to manage the change process more effectively, and build a more dynamic organizational culture.

Hess has his BA in Sociology from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, and his MSW from the University of Pittsburgh.

Contact information:

(412) 828-9055 or [email protected]