I Design Learning Cultures That Help
Make Work Make More Sense

I’m a small-town Ohio kid who joined the U.S. Navy Nuclear program (yeah – this one) and became a nuclear reactor operator on submarines at the age of 20, then spent more than 25 years proving that the same systematic thinking that keeps reactors from melting down can build learning cultures that actually work.

Everything I’ve accomplished in organizational learning stems directly from that foundation. Without the nuclear training, there’s zero chance I would have built the systematic approaches that created industry leaders across Automotive, SaaS, Customer Success, and beyond.

My Foundation: Nuclear Systems Thinking

At 20 years old, I was running nuclear power plants on submarines as part of the Navy Nuclear Power program – the most selective, rigorous technical training in the world. Only the top 3% of Navy recruits even qualify to start.

In nuclear operations, you learn one fundamental truth: if something can go wrong, it will. So you build systems that work under extreme pressure, with zero margin for error, and don’t require constant supervision to function properly.

That’s not just training – that’s a completely different way of thinking about systems, people, and what it takes to create reliable performance when failure isn’t an option.

Mission – Vision – Philosophy (MVP)

Below are the guiding principles – the “North Star” – for No Borders Learning Design. Everything we do here is based on this very simple document. Grounded in Servant Leadership, if you want to better understand how we’ll work with your organization, this is it.

🧭Mission

  • We help make work make more sense.

👀Vision

  • A workplace where people know what to do – or where to find out if they don’t.

🤔Philosophies

  • Clarity beats Clever.
  • If people can’t use it in real life, it’s not good design.
  • Start checking outcomes. Stop checking boxes.
  • Learning matters most when it drives results. Checkboxes don´t.
  • Respect the people doing the work.
  • If something’s not working, the problem is probably the design – not the person.
  • Capture the gold but don’t bury it in a binder.
  • Knowledge is only valuable when people can find it fast and use it.
  • Build tools, not just training.
  • A well-placed job aid or clear walkthrough can outperform a fancy course every time.
  • Teach people how to teach.
  • A team that shares outlasts all the experts.
  • If it’s already working, don’t overengineer it.
  • Improve what needs fixing. Leave the working stuff alone.
  • Make it real, or don’t bother.
  • If your learning programs can’t survive the messy, busy, unpredictable day-to-day, it’s not ready.