Minda Zetlin

Bill Pfleging and Minda Zetlin are bridge-builders. This husband-and-wife team address a business problem so pervasive that it is unavoidable, accepted as an inevitable part of the corporate arena. But their message offers organizations a fresh perspective and simple, practical solutions to resolve the miscommunications and confusion that often exist between management and IT.

A computer and technology consultant, Bill proudly wears the "geek" label. Minda, a business writer, falls naturally into the "suit" category. Both understand the long running discord between management and IT, and appreciate the problems that such discord produces confusion, missed deadlines and cost-overruns. Bill and Minda authored the The Geek Gap: Why Business and Technology Professionals Don't Understand Each Other and Why They Need Each Other to Survive. The good news is they see the gap as only a culture clash not a dead-end problem.

In addition to explaining the issues between business execs and IT guys, Bill and Minda offer insights and tangible solutions to promote real understanding - and, thus, cooperation, trust and efficiency - between these two groups. Bill and Minda clarify the natural differences in skills and traits typically seen between the gadget-loving techies and the boardroom-types. It is no wonder that each of these groups has difficulty comprehending the other's motivation and priorities. According to Minda, "The geek is a problemsolver. The suit is a people influencer." There is a fundamental difference in the way each interacts with technology. Bill explains that - to geeks, a piece of technology is a thing of beauty in its own right, a wonderfully fascinating puzzle. But to suits, it's only a tool worthwhile if it helps them achieve their objectives. Geeks are likely to lose interest in a project as soon as it runs perfectly ("Hooray! Now I can stop working on it!"). At that same moment, suits are becoming engaged ("Hooray! Now I can start working on it!").

Regardless of an audience's makeup, Bill and Minda see nodding heads whenever they speak; there is never a shortage of people who have fallen into the "geek gap." Fortunately, suits and geeks alike leave their programs with increased awareness and respect for "the other guy."

Bill and Minda are available to co-present or address groups individually. Each also speaks separately on other technology and business topics.