Dennis Heinrich
Dennis Heinrich is not your typical writer. His writing reflects his service and experiences spanning several careers… as a fireman (24 years), in the combat military (30 years), the owner of several small businesses, and a 4-year stint as a PhD candidate in a large Midwestern research university. He is a uniquely different kind of cat. His writing concerns a culture or ethos of “we only do cool” that engenders exceptional performance exhibited as professionalism. Dennis is a retired Davenport Fire Department firefighter/instructor. He is also retired from the active and reserve combat military as a Chief Master Sergeant. He began his military career during the Vietnam War and retired after serving in Afghanistan in 2002 where he was Chief, Close Air Support Operations Center at Bagram Air Base. You could say he has bookend wars. While serving in the military, Dennis received numerous awards including the Bronze Star for leadership and actions during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. His undergraduate education includes Black Hawk College (AAS, AA) and Western Illinois University (BS) where he majored in secondary education. Dennis possesses an Illinois Teaching Certificate with endorsements in: civics, political science, cultural geography, geology, physical geography, sociology, U.S. history, world history, general science, physical science, and social science. Dennis’ graduate and advanced graduate education is from the University of Iowa where he was a PhD Candidate studying and researching organizations, occupations, work, and social psychology. While at the University of Iowa, he was a teaching assistant/instructor for undergraduate students and was the lead research assistant on a two-year project studying governance in high-performance organizational systems. He withdrew from the PhD program in his fourth year to write this book. Dennis was the principal architect and originator of the “we only do cool” philosophy and culture that developed in his military unit in the early 1990s. It is a culture or ethos that engenders exceptional performance at the individual level and optimal performance at the group and organizational levels. His book, Professionalism 101: Optimal Performance Within the Work Organization, is the practitioner's definitive handbook of the unique organizational culture or ethos of "we only do cool." It is the who, what, when, where, and how of professionalism in organizations. To reach for, attain, and sustain exceptional performance at the individual level and optimal performance at the group and organizational levels, requires us to transcend our current concept of "work" and re-orient ourselves and advance a new model of work... "task" work (pivotal and necessary tasks) + "whole person" work (the unique qualities each individual brings to the table) + "professional" work (the 7 dimensions of professionalism) = "TALENT" work. "Professionalism 101" is that missing piece. Links: www.coolwerx.com http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dennis-heinrich/3/293/222
