John Canfield - Biography

John Canfield is an experienced business executive and coach who has successfully implemented planning, problem solving, creativity, and innovation processes in a wide variety of teams, organizations, industries, and cultures.

John has twenty-five years of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences, from large conventions to executive board rooms. John has spoken to more than one thousand audiences around the world.

His clients include AT&T, Citibank, Deloitte & Touche, First USA, General Motors, Merck, and Underwriters Lab and thousands of participants of his many seminars and keynote speeches presented in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.

John speaks with a sense of purpose and a sense of humor. Audiences enjoy John’s ability to read his audience, adjust the mood, raise the energy level, deliver a message, and end with a story to think about for weeks to come.

John is an instructor and consultant for Advanced Practical Thinking Training, The American Management Association, The Canadian Management Center, The American Supplier Institute, The Forum Corporation, General Electric Financial Services (Six Sigma Black Belt instructor), GOAL/QPC (Creative Thinking Skills), Grand Rapids Community College (creativity and innovation) International Quality and Productivity Center (Collaboration Skills) Leadership Strategies (Core Facilitator), Lean Enterprise Institute (leading Lean and Six Sigma improvement teams), Grand Rapids’ Right Place Program, Marcus Evans, and the Singapore Institute of Management.

John has earned a B.S. in Mechanical & Industrial Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from Williams College.

Prior to 1990 John was a Senior Engineering Manager for Intel Corporation and later Director of Corporate Quality and Design Research for Herman Miller.