Who we are -
David Schmaltz

About David

David Schmaltz is an internationally published author, consultant, and speaker.

David cut his teeth on projects inside a large Pacific Northwest insurance company. His first leadership assignment, rescuing a failing system conversion effort, taught him the basics of a profession that would capture his heart and attention for decades to come. Entering into business after a career as a musician and songwriter, David brings a poet's perspective and a musician's sensibilities to creating coherent and effective creative efforts.

David worked his way up the corporate ladder from operational supervisor to managing the company's largest information technology programs, implementing cutting edge technology, developing effective portfolio management processes, and instilling a high performance project culture. As manager of all project managers, he rose to the leadership of the equivalent of today's project management office - managing all corporate project managers, implementing project tracking, monitoring and support processes, and aligning strategic direction with project execution.

Based on his writings on how project management practices inside a complex organization differs importantly from those taught in formal project management methodologies, David was lured away by Ontara Corporation, a Silicon Valley consulting firm pioneering a systemic approach to project work based on research into best practices in high tech and new product development efforts. Rising to the office of President of that firm, David's insights, advice, and training, has helped many of the country's top technology firms mature their entrepreneurial beginnings into innovative, integrated, stable operations.

In 1996, David purchased Ontara's intellectual property and founded True North. With True North, David has worked with companies as diverse as Wells Fargo, Lloyd's of London, Sealy, Nike, Intel, the New York Stock Exchange, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. David has developed True North's breakthrough Brief Consulting™ and experiential methods.

David's first love is writing. His best-selling book, The Blind Men and the Elephant: Mastering Project Work, How to Transform Fuzzy Responsibilities into Meaningful Results (Berrett-Koehler 2003) is available around the world in eight languages. He is contributing author for Positively MAD (Making a Difference (2005 Berrett-Koehler), and Führung neu verorten. Perspektiven für Unternehmenslenker im 21.Jahrhundert Locating Leadership Anew: Perspectives for Business Leaders in the 21st Century (Gabler, 2007)

David's article frequently appear in business and project journals and e-zines. He delivers provocative presentations on project work, innovation, collaboration, initiative, ethics, and leadership to international audiences.

To learn more, contact us at (509)527-9773 or by email at

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