Alan Barker is Managing Partner of Direction. His particular interests include creativity, innovation, problem-solving skills and communication skills.
In addition to his work with Direction, Alan is an associate of a number of major training providers, including The Industrial Society, The CIPD, Canterbury Training Network, Invicta Training and Phoenix Business Consultants.
Alan's books include 30 minutes to brainstorm great ideas, Writing at work, How to be a better decision maker, Making meetings work and How to be better at managing people. Improve your communication skills was published in 2000 by Kogan Page. The Alchemy of Innovation is due for publication by The Industrial Society later in 2001/2. Managing meetings is due for publication by Kogan Page in 2002. His books have been translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Estonian, Russian and Arabic.
Alan has recently completed work with Fahamu and IDRC Ottowa on Writing for change, a training CD-rom for non-governmental organisations in the developing world. He is now developing Write now!, a learning programme on CD-rom to be published by The Industrial Society.
Alan has been a learning consultant since 1988. He holds an MA in English from the University of Cambridge. Prior to entering the training field, Alan worked in the entertainment industry.
How to be a Better Decisionmaker: Tested Techniques to Help You to Get the Results You Want