Don Burrows
….. Summing up three decades of Human Resources management experience in twelve words:
“If Human Resources doesn’t cut costs and increase profits, what’s the point?”
These twelve words make up Don’s Human Resources philosophy.
Don is committed to getting “on the hook” with operations management to create unique, measurable, cost-effective, pragmatic and workable HR solutions to problems hurting a company’s bottom line.
In senior HR positions in Fortune 500 companies and as a principal in his own training and development consultancy, Don built a career helping operations managers and their employees improve profitability throughout the United States, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia and the Asia-Pacific Rim.
While working for others, his experience spanned these industries: hospitality (Marriott Hotels), industrial (Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company in the US and Europe, and Columbia Aluminum in the US), financial services (CIGNA Worldwide throughout Latin America and the Caribbean),wholesale fruit (Chiquita Brands in California, Australia and the Asia-Pacific Rim), and the US Army Reserve (Central America, South America and Europe). He retired from the US Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel.
As principal of Acorn Consulting Inc., his primary long-term clients throughout the US, Europe and Latin and Central America included Deloitte, American Express, SeaLand and DuPont.
Blond, blue-eyed and bi-lingual, people are surprised by Don’s fluency in Spanish. Over his career, he has developed three unique HR specialties, provided in Spanish and English, that help companies and employees improve profitably.
Organizational Due Diligence: For those responsible for putting together profitable mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, more is needed than just a strong financial balance sheet. Don’s People Prospectus™ identifies the hidden people problems that go unnoticed in a traditional financial due diligence but surface later and derail the deal. A “financial due diligence” is a left-brain process; a “people due diligence” is a right-brain process. The question becomes: Are you doing your due diligence with only half a brain? Find more information at Organizational Due Diligence.
Maximizing Hispanic Human Capital: For those companies whose performance and success depends on the strong work ethic of their Latino employees. Don offers a range of bilingual consulting services to help companies earn and keep the loyalty of their Latino workforce. It’s not about learning to speak Spanish or teach English as a Second Language; it’s about taking advantage (in the good sense of the term) of a great resource in your company and community. Learn more at Maximizing Hispanic Human Capital.
Resume Building Services: For employers unable to provide outplacement but wanting to help their laid-off employees get back to work sooner, Don teaches job seekers how to present themselves more effectively using functional résumés based on their actual work accomplishments. He describes his process in his most recent book, Résumés That Resume Careers – 3 Steps to Getting Back to Work Using Functional Résumés – available through Amazon.com. For more information on resume preparation and the challenges faced by certain employment groups (seniors, those with work history gaps, graduating students and military-to-civilian transitions) visit Résumés That Resume Careers.
Don’s first book is Plan While You Still Can: 16 End-of-Life Checklists You Need Now. When the end was in sight for five elders in his family and extended family, he helped each, and their children, plan calmly and rationally so that the elder died with dignity and the family unit remained intact. Plan While You Still Can and the companion workbook is available at Plan While You Still Can, Amazon and through your local bookstore (you may have to ask them to order it though).
Don and his wife, Karin, their two dogs and a cat live north of Seattle.
