Dr. Lynne Wainfan

Change Agent, Consultant, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Inventor, Parent, Performer, Startup, Technologist, Writer/Editor

Summary Lynne applies rocket scientist methodology to find solutions to hard people problems: collaboration; trust; and making friends for life. Creator of Multi-Perspective Strategic Decision Making, Lynne specializes in framing complex issues simply and objectively. This enables effective collaboration. In short, she helps organizations who don't agree on anything to agree on strategic action. As a former chief strategist in aerospace and a researcher at the RAND Corporation, Lynne has a rare combination of state-of-the-art methods and a track record of accomplishments in business, nonprofit, and government sectors. Author of the book "Challenges in Virtual Collaborations" (with Dr. Paul Davis), Lynne identified differences between mediated communications and face-to-face sessions, along with ways to mitigate adverse effects of the communications medium. Her recent doctoral dissertation, Multi-Perspective Strategic Decision Making provided principles, methods, and tools to help groups agree on strategic actions despite diverse perspectives. Creative yet analytical, and able to evaluate the latest research using 30 years’ practical experience, Lynne is uniquely able to take a complex, squishy issue, see and share its underlying essence along with forces driving the system, and help groups align around actionable steps. Her latest book, "The Alchemy of Trust" talks about trust in a way that lets people trust again--without being stupid. Experience Professor, part-time, CSULB (2013-current) Founder, Compass Alliance Strategic Consulting (2010-current) RAND Corporation (2003-2010): Doctoral Fellow • Strategic decision making research for water planning, Department of Defense, Department of State. • Graduate studies: create methods and extend toolset to improve organizational decision making. Forthcoming dissertation: “Multi-perspective Strategic Decision Making†develops and methodology for reaching consensus on action despite disparate values, beliefs, and expectations. Includes data-mining techniques to simplify complex problems and find forces driving the system; new decision aids and visualization tools. • Co-wrote book, Challenges in Virtual Collaboration, submitted proposal to extend governance toolset. • Coursework in operations analysis, organizational decision making, economics, incentives, psychology. Microflap, Inc. (1999-2008): President & CEO Created company to bring fuel-saving aircraft wing modification to market. Secured IP, negotiated partnerships with vendors and a major air carrier Westerly School of Long Beach Board of Trustees (2006-2008) • President (2008): Led creation of 5-year strategy, implemented in 3 • Led school’s first capital campaign that raised $2M in four months and built two new buildings • Co-created video that inspired donations of $90K for laptops for all middle-scholars • Led school through departure of head of school and appointment of interim head. • Adopted a new governance model emphasizing partnership and trust Boeing Space Services Co (2001-2003, educational leave 2003-2008) Director, Business Development and Chief Strategist (2001-2003) • Responsible for all BD activities, including investment, IR&D, M&A, proposals, marketing, sales • Created “service line†strategy to reuse elements of previous offerings Education PhD Policy Analysis March, 2010 Pardee-RAND Graduate School MA Policy Analysis 2005 Pardee-RAND Graduate School MS Mechanical Engineering 1981 UCLA BS Aerospace Engineering Coursework for MA Psychology 1979 University of Michigan CSU Long Beach Security Clearances SSBI (12/19/95) DoD Secret (current) Publications Wainfan, L. Multi-perspective Strategic Decision Making: Principles, Methods, and Tools, Doctoral Disse

Helping people see different perspectives, collaboration, partnership, making implicit models explicit, kids, creativity,quests, honor, commercial space flight

We were born trusting--if we didn't open our mouth and take food, we'd be dead by now. What the hell happened? Why is the world in crisis of trust? Trust is naturally diminished with bullies, lawyers, and politicians. We seem to have no way of recovering from trust breaches, either as individuals or as a group. If we could break the squishy concept of trust down into more easily understood words, and then pinpoint the exact piece of trust that has been breached, then we could work out a way to avoid getting betrayed THAT way again. My book, "The Alchemy of Trust" does just that. It uses case studies to demonstrate how to identify and fix your own trust issues, or those of your organization. It also describes post mortems on institutions that failed and gives causes of deaths that are very surprising. This book is written for individuals who would like to trust again without being stupid, and for leaders who would like to make their organizations more trustworthy.

Innovation & technology, Institutional Trust, Risk Assessment, Rocket Science, Social Media & Social Networks, Strategy Development, Virtual Collaboration

My high school counselor, thinking I wasn't "college material" because I'd lived in a trailer with my divorced mom, delayed my application materials to the University of Michigan. After the deadline passed, U-M suggested I go into engineering. "Ick," I thought, before realizing, "I can be an astronaut!" For 13 years, I did everything I could think of to prepare herself--getting a pilot's license, scuba diving, getting a job at a spacecraft manufacturer, becoming a team player, and earning a masters' in engineering. After 3 attempts, I concluded that my eyes were never going to be good enough. My next quest was to determine Plan B for what I wanted to be when I grew up. I became an executive, a CEO, a K-8 school board chair, but those weren't right. Recently I got a PhD in strategy at RAND and I hope to help people create compelling, far-reaching strategies to push the envelope of human knowledge, experience, and accomplishment. Can you help?

tap dancing. I'm as good as Shirley Temple was when she was almost 4, but I don't dance on pianos our stairs...without a mouth guard.