Greetings from the sub-arctic

Hi Everyone,
I'm Ken Jones and I live in Anchorage, Alaska.

I came to Alaska in 1980 as a consultant to work with the executives at Alascom. At the time I was president of the Pacific Northern Financial Group. Pacific Northern provided personal financial planning as a fringe benefit for executives at Alascom, Arco, BP, Alyeska Pipeline and other similar sized companies on the West Coast.

Five minutes out of the Anchorage Airport I knew that Alaska was home.

While working as a consultant I was also involved as a volunteer counselor with the Viet Nam Veterans Outreach Center in Anchorage from 1981 until 1989. During this time I developed and implemented an approach for the treatment of combat-related post-traumatic stress. This treatment method was used to assist some 500 Alaska combat veterans and their loved ones.

I am an alumnus of Alaska Pacific University. I received an
inter-disciplinary masters degree (MLA) in anthropology and psychology in 1991 and an MBA in 1992. My doctorate in management science was earned at the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio. My specialty is process management.

In 1996 I was a co-founder of StrateGen, Inc. StrateGen provides process management consulting services www.strategen.us

My wife Francine is a professional artist best know for her silk painting
www.francinedufour.com We were married in July of 2007 and are still on our honeymoon.

I look forward to getting to know and exchange ideas with each of you.

Best regards,
Ken

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brad Trnavsky on April 12, 2008 at 4:00pm: Ken,
Welcome to Sales Management 2.0! I saw your comments on the other forum and blog posts. You have some very impressive credentials! I look forward to having some more quality interactions with you.. Your comments have been very insightful!

-Brad; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dr. Ken Jones on April 12, 2008 at 6:34pm: Hi Brad,
This is an interesting site. I have a book coming out this year and we are looking at using a ning site as part of the marketing effort. What brought you to start this site? The membership seems to be growing. Have you found that the up front time is beginning to show some of the results you intended to get?

I just got back from a training hike in the mountains. The day is superb! Blue sky and +33. Springtime in the sub-arctic :)

Cheers!
Ken; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nesh Thompson on April 15, 2008 at 12:55am: Hi Ken,

So many points of interest with regards to your resume that I don't know where to start. Very impressed, to say the least. Particularly interested in your work with the Viet Nam Veterans, as I did some similar work in post-traumatic stress with regards to the Asian Tsunami.

Look forward to reading your thoughts and insights

cheers

nesh; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dr. Ken Jones on April 15, 2008 at 12:06pm: How did you become involved in the tsunami relief effort, Nesh?
Ken; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nesh Thompson on April 16, 2008 at 12:42am: I was on a beach in Kerala when the tsunami struck, so witnessed it first hand and helped with the imediate rescue effort. I was studying my IT degree at the time and when I returned I dedicated my research thesis to studying ways of dealing with post-traumatic stress through the internet.

nesh; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dr. Ken Jones on April 16, 2008 at 9:00am: Good morning Nesh,
You were in some very heavy traffic!

What a fascinating approach to PTSD treatment. I have read about some of the the online approaches to treatment. Have you been involved in implementing any of them?

As it happens I have meetings this week with the team leader for the Anchorage Vet Center, the family assistance director for the Alaska National Guard and the director for the Warriors in Transition program at Ft. Richardson. I am very interested in what is being done to support the returning troops and their families.

Recently there was an article in the NYT about corporate America's interest in recruiting young officers with combat experience. Apparently a number of these young people are using their GI bill to get an MBA. It will be interesting to see how the companies and the former officers, many of whom will have some degree of PTSD, will adjust to each other. It is going to be very interesting to see how these former military professionals integrate into a corporate culture of young civilian professionals. The rules are very different.

Best regards,
Ken; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nesh Thompson on April 18, 2008 at 5:04am: Great work Ken,

my research was more driven into the theoretical effects of cognitive behavioural therapy on the internet in relation to trauma. Unfortunately my research thesis remit wasn't enough to implement anything tangible though I was fortunate enough to be part of some existing projects. Interestingly, as a witness to traumatic events in the tsunami which I liken to a war zone, I was in a position to understand to some extent the problems that PTSD victims face.

In a lot of cases where trauma is faced through a bereavement or unrealistic event, the feelings cannot be understood by those who haven't themselves faced that event. That is why many soldiers I have met feel more comfortable with other soldiers who 'know' what they have been through and the same goes for those tsunami survivors that I met. The internet is some cases is the ideal place for those who share experiences to get together and on some level connect and heal (obviously in conjunction with prescribed medical practices not as an alternative).

would love to know how your efforts are going.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dr. Ken Jones on April 22, 2008 at 5:37pm: Hi Nesh,
My apologies for the delay in responding. It has been mid-terms and reviewing research proposals. I got real skinny on time.

The meetings that I had with people involved with returning troops were terrific. It is so radically different than it was forty years ago. The military has dramatically increased it's capability to address critical incident response in the field.

This provides some prophylactic benefit, but the combat troops are now going back for their third, fourth, and fifth tours. There is a limit to therapeutic interventions when troops and counselors know that they are going back to the grinder. Things like trying to reduce the level of hypervigilence is not something that is appropriate at this stage.

The other factor that is extraordinarily different is the troops themselves. There is a remarkable esprit de corps and sense of mission among those that I have talked with. These are people who actually believe in patriotism and service above self. They more than believe in it. They live it.

Hope you're doing well, Nesh.
Ken; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Aaron Anderson on May 6, 2008 at 11:12pm: Hi Ken,

I checked out your site and saw you are looking for military veterans as project managers. One of my friends just got out of the Airforce and is very good at logistics and project management. I referred her to your site.

take care,
aaron; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dr. Ken Jones on May 7, 2008 at 4:09pm: Excellent Aaron. Thank you. Where is your friend located?
Ken; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Aaron Anderson on May 7, 2008 at 6:59pm: She's located in Tacoma, WA. I'm actually in Juneau for a conference right now. It's a very pretty state. I'll have to pay Anchorage a visit sometime!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dr. Ken Jones on May 8, 2008 at 7:37pm: I'm pleased that you are enjoying yourself. Who booked a conference in Juneau in May??? You'll enjoy Anchorage. It's only about 15 minutes by air from Alaska.; ▶ Reply to This