About

Real Symple Solutions is to Knowledge Work what Lean was to Manufacturing

“To be effective is the job of the executive” – Peter Drucker

Who needs Real Symple?

• If you’ve ever struggled to keep all the tops spinning and balls in the air then Real Symple might be for you.
• If you’ve  ever laid awake at night thinking of all things on your to do list then Real Symple might be for you.
• If you’ve  ever felt hopelessly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work to keep track of, much less get done, then Real Symple might be for you.

I’m committed to helping professionals reduce their stress, improve results and enjoy life more. I do this by helping professionals simplify knowledge work. The reality is that knowledge workers produce an intangible product that is hard to measure. It is hard to see any progress on a day to day basis. Intuitively we try to work harder but that just makes it worse. The key is to simplify things rather than simply working harder.

When we simplify we can see the forest and the trees… which is exactly what we need to be able to do. Instead we tend to apply ever more complex systems in an attempt to gain some measure of control over our work which reduces our focus, spreads us thin, and amps up our anxiety. It’s a recipe for professional and personal disaster.

What’s it all About?

Real Symple Solutions is focused on discovering, designing and simplifying methods to help professionals like you apply lean principles to your everyday work so you can reduce stress, improve results and enjoy life more.

Real Symple is the only approach that focuses completely on knowledge work as a holistic area of work. Best practices are adopted from diverse professional disciplines that many professionals have little education in. The cornerstone of Real Symple is to simplify work through the application of lean management principles.

Real Symple applies to all industries and is designed to help professionals:

• managing personal workflow
• manage project workflow
• manage teams
• develop a leadership plan
• develop organizational strategy
• launch new products
• develop and execute promotional plans
• develop a new version of a corporate website
• organize the hiring process for new employees
• develop an annual report
• buying and outfitting a new warehouse
• conduct  research projects
• organize a corporate or non-profit event
• write a book
• execute a marketing campaign
• just about anything else you might need to at work

Who’s Dan?

Western Washington University marketer Dan Purdy teaches Marketing Management, Marketing Principles, Consumer Behavior, Integrated Marketing Communications, Lean Startup and Innovation to MBAs and undergraduates in the Western College of Business and Economics as well as being the Director of Western’s Community Development office; The Front Door to Discovery.

Purdy has more than 20 years of Management, Marketing and Project Management experience including 6 years as Associate Director of the Western MBA Program.  In addition to his MBA Program and teaching duties, Purdy served in various project management roles for the College of Business and Economics including strategic planning, brand development, marketing communications, website redesign and event management.  Prior to his MBA Purdy worked in the Electrical Power Industry, both in civilian, co-generation power plants, as well as a submarine-based Nuclear Reactor Operator, on ballistic missile submarines, for the United States Navy.

Dan has a passion for people-centric marketing and management.  His specialties include organizational strategy, strategic marketing research, integrated marketing communications, integrated brand development, consumer behavior, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He has more than 20 years of experience in a variety of organizations from the U.S. Navy to start-ups to higher education as well as helping numerous organizations as a strategic marketing consultant  including the Western Washington University Brand Development Team, the Western Washington University Alumni Association, the Mt. Baker Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), North Coast Credit Union, the United Way of Whatcom County, the Spirit of Hope Foundation, the Bellingham Fire Department, the Western Associated Students Bookstore and numerous startups.

Dan graduated from Western Washington University with both his MBA, and BA in Marketing, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Golden Key, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies.