Harvey J. Coleman

Harvey J. Coleman is a management consultant, human resources expert, author, and keynote speaker whose career spans from involvement in the Civil Rights Movement to advising Fortune 500 companies on career advancement, organizational culture, and diversity. Coleman is the president and founder of Coleman Management Consultants, Inc., based in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm was established to help organizations fully utilize their human resources, initially by guiding them through Civil Rights legislation and later by supporting their efforts to embrace increasingly diverse workforces.

Coleman began his career as an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement, including being arrested at sit-ins, serving as a Mississippi Freedom Rider, and experiencing acts of intimidation. These experiences informed his lifelong commitment to equity and inclusion in the workplace. He was the first Black salesman hired nationally by Xerox Corp following the Civil Rights Act and later held management and executive roles at IBM. Coleman also served as a partner with Boyle-Kirkman, the first women's consulting firm in the United States, where he contributed to the development of women employee populations.

As a public speaker and consultant, Coleman has been a guest speaker at Emory University's executive MBA program and IBM's International School in Belgium, and has taught managers from more than 25 countries across Europe, Asia, and South America. He has lectured at the MBA schools of Wharton, Emory, Georgia Tech, and Carnegie Mellon, instructed at IBM's International Executive School in Belgium and GE's International Senior Management School, and has trained executives from over 50 Fortune 500 companies. Coleman has also consulted for a major committee of England's House of Lords.

Coleman is known for the P.I.E. model—Performance, Image, and Exposure—which is widely used in career development and leadership training. In his book "Empowering Yourself: The Organizational Game Revealed," Coleman outlines the unwritten rules that influence career success, focusing on the factors of performance, image, and exposure. His second book, "Rules of the Game for High School and Life," addresses the skills and knowledge young people need for college and career preparation. His third book, "Making the Difficult and Challenging Journey to Mainstream America," is aimed at individuals from outside mainstream America and draws on his personal experiences. Coleman has also produced a ten-module video and workbook program titled "A World of Diversity," designed to help organizations leverage the benefits of a diverse workforce.

Through training seminars and keynote speeches, Coleman provides guidance on leadership, diversity, and career management for audiences of all backgrounds. His honors include being named the first Small Businessman of the Year by the Greater Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, receiving the European Soldier of the Year Award during the Berlin Crisis, and earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Coleman has served on national and local boards, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, Boy Scouts of America, St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation, Leadership Atlanta, and the United Way Evaluation Task Force.