Jim Shaffer

Leadership & Executive Development Coach

Jim is an internationally recognized business advisor, leadership and executive development coach, author, speaker and leader of the Jim Shaffer Group. He focuses on improving business performance and managing large scale organizational change. Jim helps business leaders significantly improve and sustain operating and financial performance while achieving exceptional ROI. His clients have included some of the world’s best brands, including Abbott, ConAgra Foods, FedEx, Nordstrom, Hallmark, Honeywell, IBM, Kellogg’s, The Mayo Clinic, Marriott, Medtronic, Owens Corning, PayPal, Pfizer, 3M, United HealthCare, Verizon and Visa.

Jim’s clients and peers describe him as having a unique ability to:

• View performance issues from a broad, systems perspective;
• Remove root causes rather than treat symptoms so gains can be sustained;
• Measurably improve performance in a way that adds net value to the enterprise;
• Leave a client with stronger leaders and higher performing people.

His book, The Leadership Solution, became a classic treatise on leadership and performance. Hailed by leading CEOs as “invaluable for someone wanting to lead an organization into the future,” The Leadership Solution has been frequently listed as one of the top “must have” business books on leadership, change management, communication and creating high performance through people.

Jim’s focus over the past 30 years has been squarely on improving work—and results—that people can control. His track record includes significant measurable improvements in quality, service, costs, productivity, safety and speed with investment returns often exceeding as much as 1,500 percent.

Founded in 2000, Jim Shaffer Group is a consultancy devoted to helping companies and their leaders during times of significant change as well as when they need to take already strong performance higher. Jim draws on a diverse network of Jim Shaffer Group Partners whose specialties include customer satisfaction improvement, finance, compensation, performance management, business strategy formulation, operations management, talent management and communication.

Jim received the International Association of Business Communicators’ prestigious Fellow award, the profession’s highest recognition. He was honored by The Planning Forum’s Pittsburgh Chapter for his commitment to strategic management. He is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Prior to launching the Jim Shaffer Group, he was a principal, senior consultant and global leader of a Towers Perrin center of excellence. He was one of the architects and leading practitioners of the firm’s change management consulting practice.

A regular contributor to many business publications and frequently quoted in business journals, Jim has taught in the graduate schools at George Washington University, The University of St. Thomas, and Hamline University.  He speaks regularly at leadership groups and professional associations.

On the personal side, Jim enjoys photography, cooking, sailing, music, reading and personal travel. He and his wife, Anne, and their Goldendoodle, Tucket, live in Annapolis, Maryland.