Professional development = growth. Becoming a member the VARI Group is a unique and exciting opportunity to grow as a profession and as a person. A VARI Group membership can be thought of as a subscription that is renewed each year. Four major benefits are offered.

The first benefit is a subscription to the PerfectCoaches app. This is an excellent learning tool in its own right. It’s all explained at PerfectCoaches.com.

If you are someone with a lot of insight to share but aren’t interested in traditional coaching approaches, a VARI Group membership provides a flexible method for influencing others using modern, patented technology. As a Certified PerfectCoaches Facilitator/Coach, you can provide all of the power of the app, plus add your own value by communicating with learners via the app’s Coach Portal, The Coaching tab at PerfectCoaches.com provides details.

Finding opportunities for productive collaboration, especially with professionals from other lines of business and geographies, is one of the toughest challenges in modern professional life. A third benefit is participation in Facilitated Speed Collaboration. We arrange “warm” introductions to other VARI Group members based on interests—that’s the Facilitated part. You and your new contact quickly build new opportunities using tools we provide—that’s the Speed part. You extend your reach into new geographies, industries, and opportunities—that’s the Collaboration part.

Your opportunities to collaborate are enhanced by a fourth benefit: You are eligible to attend in-person in-person meetings. The centerpiece of events is speed business networking, which is often thought of as similar to speed dating. All of the major variants of speed networking are used in our events: Station-based (meeting specific participants based on pre-assignments); Round Robin (meeting random participants one-on-one sequentially); and Group-based (meeting with a preselected group).

Finally, membership entitles you to attend the virtual and in-person courses and events powered by PerfectCoaches. Every seminar-style course covers best-practice skills and habits to move you and/or your enterprise forward. PerfectCoaches is a virtual follow-on that reinforces skills after you leave the seminar. Courses Powered by PerfectCoaches are a new and different developmental experience for you or your team.

Courses

Leadership, Powered by PerfectCoaches

WANT TO PERFECT YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS?

In professional development powered by PerfectCoaches, the real skill-building starts when you walk out of the seminar and begin practicing new habits. You master each of the ten leadership skills one at a time, working with the “coach in your pocket,” the virtual motivation coach™ provided by the PerfectCoaches app. Take advantage of 30-days of virtual motivation coaching, a $50 value, FREE.

Sales and Customer Service, Powered by PerfectCoaches

WANT TO PERFECT YOUR SALES SKILLS?

PerfectCoaches™ is a new, patented, scientifically designed approach to behavior change. Sales and Marketing training powered by PerfectCoaches is practical, engaging, and facilitated by instructors with decades of experience leading and helping others learn how to lead. This two-hour seminar can be the start of a 30-day program for refreshing skills and mastering the fundamentals of leadership.

Practitioner INSTRUCTORS

Mia Cortez

Crafting creative communications plans is something Mía has always had a passion for. Since becoming an independent consultant in 2014, she’s helped storytellers, educators, artists, techies, scientists and consulting firms develop innovative ways to reach their audience and develop their product.

Mía segued into marketing after more a decade in journalism. She has served as director of communications for The Writer’s Center and Adventure Theatre MTC in Bethesda, MD. As publicist for local authors and promoter for the Narrative Institute at Arizona State University’s Washington Center, she remains closely tied to the D.C. literary community. She’s also currently immersed in the learning & development technology industry as business development manager for The VARI Group. Fluent in Spanish and French, Mía is a translator for the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland National-Capital Parks & Planning Commission.

Dr. V. Douglas Hines

V. Douglas Hines is the founder of The VARI Group. The acronym (Virtual Applied Research International) embodies the vision of a world-wide community of practice sharing insight into organizational development and individual improvement.  He began his scientific career as a research assistant in the neurosciences laboratory of Friends of Psychiatric Research, earning his Ph.D. in applied social psychology at the University of Maryland. He is a member Emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has taught in the Robert H. Smith School of Business and the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland.

A former Principal/Partner at KPMG, much of his professional life has been focused on the applied arts of consulting and business process reengineering. Having helped organizations move from a flawed “as-is” state to a preferred “to-be” vision, he believes the same disciplined process can help people achieve the individual excellence that is not only rewarding for them but fosters quality and improved performance for their enterprise.

Keenan Orfalea

Keenan Orfalea manages technology support and customer service for the VARI Group. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government, as well as a Masters of Science degree in Sustainability Management from American University in Washington D.C. Keenan's experience includes previous work for The Anacostia Waterfront Trust, Smart Growth America, Environmental Defense Fund, CQ Press, Third Way Publications, the Office of Congressman Elton Gallegly, and the American Committee on Foreign Relations.