Don Klassen, President of The Klassen Performance Group brings over 30 years of leadership and business building experience to each assignment. Don has held management positions with Daytons Department Stores, helped build a 27-store retail chain, eventually as its CEO and principle stockholder, and served as a valued advisor to companies in a wide variety of enterprises.

As President and CEO of a Minnesota-based apparel chain, Klassen was named employer of the year in 1978 in recognition of his development of people and service to the community. In 1979, Don was named one of Minnesota's Ten Outstanding Young Men and has continued to be active in organizations that promote personal and organizational effectiveness.

In 1991, Don Klassen was named the recipient of a leadership fellowship by the prestigious Bush Foundation and served on The Bush Foundation Medical Policy Board from 1993 to 1999. Klassen is a graduate of the MEP program for executives in organizational effectiveness at the Carlson School, University of Minnesota, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, and a Master's Degree in Communications. He also served on the board of directors of a successful group of banks headquartered in Minnesota for ten years.

Don Klassen is the author of Strategic Planning for the Entrepreneurial Company and co-author of the Maximum Influence Leadership audio album. In 2000, Klassen co-authored the book Diamonds with Bill Hartfiel and Arthur Gordon. Don's video programs on strategic planning and the art of sales team leadership are broadcast via satellite by American Financial Skylink, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association.

As a speaker, advisor and facilitator of Strategic Planning, Klassen serves as a catalyst for continual improvement in over fifty client companies. His highly entrepreneurial background and experiences as an advisor to companies of all sizes and across many industries provide rich anecdotes that executives appreciate in his speaking engagements.

Don is the co-founder with Jim Hartfiel of The Presidents Network, an organization that provides networking, strategic thinking, and sharing of best practices among senior executives. Klassen facilitates 24 Presidents Network roundtables per year, each comprised of approximately 15 senior executives. The insights gained from these sessions are shared among the network to help members gain competitive advantage, increase productivity and become more profitable.

Don Klassen is affiliated with Brian Tracy International and has trained Tracy associates worldwide in the facilitation of strategic planning and the use of Brian Tracy learning materials. He is a leader in the application of diagnostic instruments used in the selection and development of people and is in front of groups as a speaker and facilitator over 200 times each year. Don and his wife, Nancy Klassen, split their time between their homes in Minnesota and Exuma in the Bahamas.

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