Testimonials

“Some years ago, I managed a department of forty-seven technical writers for IBM, in Endicott, New York. We were going through a rather severe retrenchment and I had to layoff almost half my staff. Morale became abysmally low, even for those who didn’t receive pink slips. Cut to chase: I contacted Mark Dillof. Two weeks latter, on a Wednesday morning, he gave a magic show for my staff. He returned after lunch to deliver a seminar on life transitions. Well, Mark’s magic show was a big hit and his seminar was terrific. My staff loved him and morale greatly improved. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Dillof and heartily recommend his new seminars, “The Wonder Seminars.”
— Robert Manuel, IBM, Inc., Endicott, NY

“For almost two years, Dr. Mark Dillof worked for our company, SWS, Inc., which is a sheltered workshop for the disabled, as a management consultant. His tenure, at SWS, Inc., began as a graduate school internship, which was supposed to be for only three months. But he was so effective in the position, implementing so many positive changes to our organization that we kept him on our staff, as a regular consultant.

Dr. Mark Dillof proved to be highly skilled in many areas, including informational interviewing. Indeed he was able to obtain invaluable information from our staff — who really liked him — which in turn led to several important change initiatives that he successfully led. Mark found ways to significantly shorten the sales cycle — from bidding on orders to shipping deliverables — making SWS far more competitive.

Mark also found ways to improve the corporate culture of SWS. He was able to encourage warring factions to talk with each other. I would have to say that Mark was among the most talented and skillful consultants whom I’ve worked with in the course of my forty year career, of which thirty-seven were spent as a senior manager at Lockheed Martin, mostly in Owego, NY. This is all the more amazing considering that Mark began work for us with virtually no consulting experience! I highly recommend Dr. Mark Dillof’s consulting services.
– Theodor Camino, Board Member of SWS, Inc., Binghamton, NY

“Mark Dillof offered a seminar to our company, this past June, as part of a two-day, team-building event. We needed someone to address the stress we often experience, due to our obsession with customer service, in a business that is extremely competitive. Dr. Dillof did a really great job exploring that occupational stress with us. He surprised us with the timely examples he choose; it’s obvious that he did a lot of industry research, prior to the seminar. Furthermore, Dr. Dillof offered creative ideas and practical suggestions that we hadn’t even considered. Since then, we’ve been utilizing his executive coaching services, on a regular basis. We also intend to have Dr. Dillof present his new “Wonder Seminars,” to our company sometime this spring.”
— Mike Pierce, CEO. I-Wireless, Louisville, KY

I’ve known Dr. Mark Dillof for over 20 years, and his wise counsel has helped me to find my way through a number of life’s challenges. Besides being very personable to talk to, he has the ability to draw upon the ideas of the greatest thinkers and to connect those ideas, in a concrete & useful way, to the particular struggles and questions that the client is going through. Over the years, I’ve talked to other counselors from time to time, and it usually feels as if they’re trying to take your problem, and cram it into the particular “box” which is the psychological school that they adhere to, whether it be behaviorism, Freudian psychoanalysis, Gestalt psychology, etc.

While Mark does draw on some of these theories (particularly the ideas of Carl Jung), he does so only in the context of applying them usefully to the very real & often painful struggles that the person he is counseling is going through. He is also able to provide useful examples from pop culture and apply them to a person’s particular situation. His book, Awakening With The Enemy, is full of such examples, from such diverse sources as A Streetcar Named Desire, I Love Lucy, the comic strip Dagwood & Blondie, and Clint Eastwood’s film, Unforgiven, among others.

Mark also has a very astute sense of how inner conflicts & questions manifest themselves in the business world. Whereas the typical journal articles talk about “team building”, “a culture of innovation”, “consensus building” and a million other abstract concepts, Mark can pinpoint the particular problems that an organization is struggling with, the factors of “corporate culture” that are driven by unconscious assumptions & motives, and also how such assumptions & motives, when harbored by management, can undermine a company’s success. All you need to do is spend a few minutes contemplating what happened to AIG, GM, & the Chicago Tribune to realize just how disastrous it can be when such motives go unexamined. I would therefore highly recommend Dr. Mark Dillof as a counselor, business consultant, or executive coach.”
— Alex Piascik, Bowling Green, OH

“I first met Dr. Mark Dillof at a weekly single’s group that he ran, here in Louisville, from September 2012 to April 2013. At the beginning of each meeting, prior to the group discussion, Mark would deliver a monologue, revolving around life’s challenges. These 15-minute introductions were incredibly insightful, and often very humorous! Here, then, is my assessment: As a recently retired corporate vice-president, I’ve attended numerous presentations, over the years. I’d rank Mark among the top five best speakers I’ve heard, and I’m including some who’ve attained national prominence. I’ve encouraged Mark to offer seminars to organizations and to the general public, for I think that many people would greatly benefit from his wisdom. I’m delighted that his show is now on the road. The Wonder Seminars is going to be amazing!”
— Carolina Salinger, MBA, Louisville, KY

“In the past 6 years I have turned to Dr. Dillof for coaching me through a variety of career and work place issues. I wasn’t looking for endless “talk therapy.” I don’t have the time for that stuff. Nor do I think it’s effective. Mark helps me focus the issue and get to the point of decision-making and action. I’ve always liked the fact that he’s the re for me, when I need him. 

Maybe the most useful aspect of Dr. Dillof’s work is helping me see how I’m thinking, what I am assuming, and how my unconscious attitudes are effecting a particular business decision that I am facing. I see colleagues making foolish choices, based upon a certain kind of blindness about themselves. Business decisions are never just about the “facts.”

Mark’s helping me to know how I approach people, and how I come off in negotiations has helped me to consciously utilize my personality and demeanor to accomplish whatever the moment calls for. I haven’t changed who I am, as much as altered my expression of who I am, because of the self-knowledge I gained working with Dr. Dillof. For example, as Senior Administrator in a leading hospital, I need to be able to set limits and define concrete, measurable goals. But my direct reports have differing attitudes towards authority, organization, time management, and the role of data capture to justify performance. Knowing myself, I am able to “speak the language” of the various staff members, rather than approaching everyone with the same upper-management cookie cutter directives. Morale is high and our hospital’s quality performance and fiscal indicators show this approach has paid off.”
— Charles Goodwin, New York, NY

“As a consultant, owner of a software firm, and investor I’ve benefited greatly from Mark’s wise consul. I’ve used his knowledge and insight into the greatest minds like Lincoln very effectively in my business, but the greatest help he’s given me was learning how not to take it all so seriously and let the negativity of business affect my peace and personal life. Also, I’ve never met a funnier person in my entire life. After many years I still chuckle to myself when I think of some of those hilarious moments of conversation. You really can’t put a price on that and it’s yours for a lifetime.”
— Neo, Brooklyn, NY

“Of the many seminars we’ve held over the years, Mark Dillof’s “Wonder Seminars” was the most thought- provoking. Dr. Dillof revealed that the challenges we face running a not-for-profit are intimately related to life’s deeper questions! People here are still talking about Dr. Dillof; we are now thinking of having him return. I highly recommend these remarkable seminars to any organization that is ready for some serious mind-expansion.”
— Danny Edwards, Director, Navigate Enterprise Center, Louisville, KY                   

“Over the years, I increasingly felt like I was a prisoner of my own success, trapped by my career path and lifestyle. Everyone I knew – my colleagues, board of directors, family, and friends – were hemming me in on all sides. I was quickly losing the enthusiasm that I once had. To make a long story short, my talks with Mark, which took place over the course of two years, planted the seeds of self-renewal, both in my personal life and in my business.”
— Mr. Sam A., White Plains, NY.

“I first heard of Dr. Mark Dillof, about eight years ago. He was being interviewed, on the radio, about his book Awakening with the Enemy. A week later, I called him for marital counseling. To my surprise, he connected my marital problems to everything else in my life, including the difficulties that my new company was facing. Wow! Awesome connections! Getting to know myself… unsettling at first, but so sweet in the long run. Also, his weekly groups are also marvelous. I was in one for several years and got a lot out of it. Dr. Dillof is a treasure!
— Ms. Jane R., Binghamton, NY.

“I’m the Executive VP of HR, for a major corporation. I’ve been a client, student, and friend of Dr. Mark Dillof, for over 14 years. Here are the key features of his approach: 1) It is holistic, ministering to all a person’s needs – business, personal life, and spirit. 2) He specializes in life transitions. 3) He is brilliant at interpreting the symbolic meaning of everyday interests and activities. 4) He teaches his clients how to use their everyday problems as a road to Eastern wisdom. I’m still learning a great deal from my conversations with Dr. Dillof. I hope that you will too.”
— Dr. Karen G., Boston, MA.

“Mark Dillof is remarkable speaker! His Wonder Seminars really shed light on my present challenges, in business and in life. He, quite rightly, bills himself as “America’s Premier Philosophical Entertainer.” When you get fellow who possesses the wisdom of Socrates coupled with the charisma of Elvis, you know he’s really going to go places. That’s why I recommend booking a seminar now, before his speaking fees go through the bloody roof!”
— Tommy Singleton, Singleton British Media, Ltd., Nashville, TN