In general, Bright Enterprises is best known for helping managers and employees at all levels to learn and use skills that accomplish specific goals, achievements, and desired end results. We work one-on-one with individuals such as top managers, sales professionals, athletes and others who have the potential of delivering exceptional performance in their jobs. We specialize in working with large organizations, small companies, and family owned businesses. In a nutshell, we help individuals and groups perform at their very best regardless of conditions and circumstances.

As president of Bright Enterprises, Dr. Deborah Bright personally creates custom programs for each client she works with. She has yet to find two clients who have identical needs. Each requires special treatment. Deb, however, does have some well publicized opinions regarding the overall fundamentals important to attitude, communication, and managerial techniques for a successful workplace environment. Within that framework, she has written articles in magazines such as Fortune, Inc, Golf Digest, Bottom Line, and American Opinion, to name a few.

Deb’s work in the area of stress and "performing underpressure" has received national acclaim.  As the author of Creative Relaxation: Turning Your Stress into Positive Energy (Ballantine Books), she has traveled from coast to coast training executives, managers, non-managers, and athletes in ways to turn their stress into a personal asset.  The skills that are introduced are practical and easily implemented.  As a former athlete who ranked as one of the top ten women divers in the USA, she understands pressure and the need to remain in control when a situation demands it.  She regularly presents workshops and speeches to national organizations such as the FBI National Academy, PGA of America, Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange, Bell Canada, and many other organizations who have clearly recognized that her ideas on how to harness stress have significantly increased the performance of their employee groups.

A key area of Bright Enterprises is in “managing for exceptional performance in the Fast Lane.”  “The Fast Lane”, as we describe it, is a fiercely competitive work environment characterized by rapid change, increased workloads, and the need to be innovative and creative.  Deb analyzed “the Fast Lane” while engaged in a two-and-a-half-year National High Tech Management Study.  The findings from the study formed the basis of her second book, Gearing up for the Fast Lane, published by Random House.  In addition, Deb identified "16 New Tools of Management" that are compatible with the demands placed on managers operating in this type of environment.  These "new tools of management" provide managers with practical and highly effective leadership skills for improving employee productivity, motivation and morale.

A significant finding of the National High Tech Study was the importance of honest communications. When it comes to delivering praise and recognition, most managers are quite comfortable.  But, when it comes to delivering negative feedback important for correcting a situation, managers typically have a very difficult time.  The natural tendency is for them to postpone or avoid the whole situation.  A second extensive national study conducted by Bright Enterprises and Simmons Market Research Bureau focused strictly on this difficult aspect of communication and explored in greater depth people's understanding of the subject.  The findings from both of these studies, in combination with ongoing corporate surveys, helped to form a strong foundation for Deb’s two books on the subject – The Official Criticism Manual: Perfecting the Art of Giving and Receiving Criticism, and Criticism in Your Life.

While criticism is considered by most managers and coaches to be a key part of everyday communication, it is most often ignored. Why? Because few people have ever learned to deliver it effectively and eloquently.  Deb has developed major programs on coaching and mentoring, and has designed workshops to help individuals learn the importance of honest feedback along with the mechanics of giving and receiving criticism. 

A few years ago, the International Center for Creative Thinking, realizing the importance of criticism in the workplace, released a four-cassette audiotape learning system entitled The Positive Power of Criticism, and featuring Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, and Deb.  With humor and insight, this album addresses the essentials of sound criticism.  Listeners learn the best ways to handle such delicate issues as: offering criticism that doesn't hurt the receiver's feelings; dealing with people who use social gatherings as platforms to launch criticism; receiving criticism without personalizing it or becoming defensive; and using self-criticism as a confidence builder.

Teams and teaming have been a focus of Bright Enterprises' work for the past nine years.  We have worked with a number of clients to customize programs to meet their team concept requirements.  As organizations downsized and flattened in the 1990's, smaller work groups were being formed.  The ways in which these small groups handle issues – the "We/They" and "Old/New" mentalities – influence overall team effectiveness.  In a fluid, multi-dimensional, dynamic setting, Bright Enterprises' programs introduce essential skills for creating and sustaining exceptionally performing teams.

On the Edge and In Control, Deb’s latest book released in 2002 as McGraw-Hill’s lead business title, identifies and articulates the attitude set and the accompanying tools needed for individuals to examine and correct mediocre performance.  What it means to be a valued employee in today's ever-changing work environment, and how to derive a sense of personal fulfillment is what this book is about. On the Edge and In Control equips the reader with the day-to-day insights and cognitive skills needed to think multi-dimensionally in order to achieve consistent performance and to realize greater rewards from one's investments in work and play.   Since the book was published, Deb has conducted hundreds of workshops, programs and keynote presentations on the subject for many financial institutions and Fortune 500 clients.

As a former nationally ranked athlete in platform and springboard diving, Deb knows what it is like to be coached by the best coaches in the world. Building from her unique experiences, Deb has been designing programs on coaching for a number of years. Whether a manager in sales, manufacturing, marketing, or wherever, it is essential that managers tap into the talents of their people not only to develop them, but to ensure they achieve consistent results. Coaching, as Deb presents it, is not an academic exercise, rather great quality coaching is action-oriented. It’s not instinctual nor can a leader rely on simple common sense. Coaching is a unique partnership that gets established between managers and their team players where everyone is pulling together to get consistent results, while building and fine-tuning skills and tapping into individual potential.

In addition to designing workshops and presentations for various audiences, from CEO's to support staffs, Deb spends a great deal of time coaching executives, professional athletes, and others who have intense performance demands.  The performance-related topics she addresses range from big picture items that involve handling organizational changes and the implementation of strategic plans to more micro issues that revolve around personal growth and the ability to handle pressure. 

Our clients like the fact that besides originating all the material being presented and having had books published on the subjects, we aim to take "soft performance-related issues" and present them in "hard", practical, and immediately implementable ways. Our clients would tell you that employees can readily see the value of the skills being presented, and quickly become anxious to use them productively.

As you can see, we work in a variety of ways to service our clients. Staying flexible, customizing our work, and listening carefully are important ingredients that have contributed to the successful relationships we have developed with our clients over the years.

If you think about it, for years organizations have invested millions of dollars to train staff to deliver excellence in customer service. Yet, the bottom line is that the quality of service continues to be lacking.  

The customized programs that Bright Enterprises develops provide the “software” that compliments the “hardware” or processes that have been put in place. The programs introduce the less obvious skills that enable individuals to think on their feet, stay focused, and operate with confidence while keeping the company’s and the customer’s best interest in mind.