JAMES A. SCHWARZ has twenty two years of hands-on global experience working with organizational IDEA SYSTEMS. From public sector to private sector, he has watched organizations succeed and fail at enlisting improvement efforts from employees and other stakeholders. In this book, he brings his no-nonsense approach to creating IDEA SYSTEMS that work. Jim once worked in high-tech manufacturing as an engineer in the US and Mexico. His undergraduate degree in electrical engineering is from the University of Minnesota. He graduated from the American Graduate School of International Management – honing international business skills and language skills (Spanish/Portuguese). In addition Jim has taught snow skiing at major resorts on three continents. Now the CEO of Total Quality Systems Software, a firm that creates best-practice management solutions for IDEA SYSTEMS through its comprehensive suite of Simplified Idea Management (SIM) software products. He draws from this diverse international experience to work with organizations that are equally diverse. He resides in Montrose, Colorado.