The Whetstone Edge, LLC is analyst/consulting firm that evaluates how change and innovation impact what customers value and how they make decisions. Based on these insights we advise client companies on how to align their business practices to optimize the building of customer equity. We have developed a psycho-economic framework which guides out strategies and tactics in enhancing customers engagement and customer experiences and customer relationships.

We have a strategic alliance with Del Landgon and Associates. Through our close collaboration we have developed a highly integrated approach to dealing with the challenges of the New Normal.

Del Landgon and Associates have over 30 years of experience in helping corporate executives and management teams to significantly improve organizational performance. We guide business transformation through the definition of integrated enterprise strategy (business, customer, channel, organizational capability, learning, technology) and alignment around its execution. Our primary goal is to help clients companies to define and implement differentiated customer/client relationship experiences.

The Principals of The Whetstone Edge, LLC

John I. Todor, Ph.D, Managing Partner

John is a business strategy consultant and psychologist. He analyzes how changes in technology, society and the marketplace impact what customers’ value and how they make decisions. Based on these insights, he advises and coaches client companies on how they can align with their customers.

He has developed a psycho-economic framework to assess how a company’s customer interactions and processes influence customer buying mindsets. Based on this analysis he helps the company eliminate triggers that lead to closed-mindness, indifference to value, a focus on price and convenience and encourage adversarial relationships. Moreover, he used psycho-economic principles to devise practices that lead to compelling customer experiences and encourages customer engagement–emotionally and psychologically. This mindset is desirable because it leads to customer receptivity to persuasion, a focus on value rather than price and builds relationships customers reward with commitment and advocacy.

He has owned and managed a marketing firm with clients that included General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Domino’s Pizza, held executive positions with technology companies, and worked as a CRM analyst. As the Managing Partner of The Whetstone Edge, LLC he helps companies implement business strategies that strengthen customer relationships and profitability. Clients range from small entreprenurial ventures to multi-nationals like Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

He earned his Ph.D. degree in Educational Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley and completed post-doctoral studies in cognitive science, clinical neurospsychology and marketing. During his fourteen years as a professor at the University of Michigan and the University of California, his research focused on how people learn and make decisions.

He has served as co-director of the Association for the Advancement of Relationship Marketing’s Customer Equity Initiative and as a partner in Oglivy’s Customer Futures Group. He currently is on the editiorial board of CustomerThink.com, a leading online community that provides thought leadership, strategies and tactics that enhance the customer experience. As a director in Social Media Academy he helps develop executive education programs and teaches courses on the strategic use of social media.

He writes extensively on related topics:

Books and eBooks
The Importance of the Customer Experience in a Down Economy, (ebook, Oglivy’s Customer Futures Group, 2008)
Get with it! The Hands-on Guide to Using Web 2.0 in Your Business, (Silverado Press, 2008)
Addicted Customers: How to Get Them Hooked on Your Company, (Silverado Press, 2007)
Winning Mindshare: The Psychology of Personalization and One to One Marketing, (Silverado Press, 2002)

See the RESOURCES for a listing of his online publications.

William D. Todor, Ph.D, Senior Partner

He is a former professor of Management and Human Resources at The Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Through his deep understanding of organizational principles and real-world experience, he helps clients face the critical challenge of integrating growth strategies, organizational change and new technology. His specialty is bringing this approach to bear on the challenge of building better customer relationships. While customer-focused initiatives can be valuable, he completes the solution by aligning organizational and employee behavior with other programs to enhance customer equity.

He was the organizational behavior consultant to the Toronto Summit on Relationship Marketing and is the co-author of Winning Mindshare:The Psychology of Personalization and One to One Marketing and co-editor of The Importance of the Customer Experience in a Down Economy, His business experience spans techology, marketing, government and manfucturing sectors.

Del Langdon and Associates

Del Langdon, Managing Partner

Del has over 30 years experience helping corporate executive and management teams to significantly improve organizational performance. She guides business transformation through the definition of integrated enterprise strategy (business, customer, channel, organizational capability, learning, technology) and alignment around its execution. She works to define and implement a differentiated customer/client relationship experience. Del has led the implementation of organizational change strategies using the Balanced Scorecard, Experience Value Chain, business and technology architectures, and enterprise change integration.

Previously, she led the US strategy practice for CGI-Digital 4Sight; the Organizational Design practice for Seurat Company; co-founded and was Vice President for West Coast consulting practices of Bridge Strategy Group, Renaissance Worldwide. Prior to that she was CEO of Trigon, a management consulting and integrated software development firm, and Research Director at Bell Northern Research. Del Langdon & Associates is comprised of a partnering team of very experienced consultants and architects who have worked together for many years. DLA also partners with other solution providers and consulting firms to suit the needs of the client.

Del and her team have led large transformation business integration programs for clients such as Citibank, Farm Credit Canada, Bank, TD Bank, CIBC, Wells Fargo Bank, Sanwa Bank, Charles Schwab, JP Morgan, Export Development Canada, BC Hydro, LA Department of Water and Power, Women’s College Hospital, Boeing, Hughes, Cisco, Siebel, SRI International. These engagements have resulted in measurable business and organizational outcomes that have been featured in Harvard and Stanford business cases, Forrester Research, and business publications.

She has a degree in Business Administration from University of Toronto, is co-author (with Don Tapscott) of the book, Planning for Integrated Systems, A Strategic Approach and author of white papers on The Case for ERM (Employee Relationship Management), Realizing the Return on CRM Investments, The High Performing Enterprise, an Enterprise Portal Perspective, and Learning Innovation Labs. She has contributed and co-authored research papers for SRIC-BI’s Learning on Demand Program on Workflow Learning, Learning Architectures, and Partner Learning. Del is also CEO and a member of the board of the eLearning Forum (now Center for Learning Innovation) based in Silicon Valley, CA.

Peter Gaston, Partner

Peter has over 25 years experience advising and leading companies to deliver business results at the intersection of business and technology. His experience spans business and IT consulting – with deep expertise in product innovation including rapid prototyping, customer relationship management, and enterprise architecture. Peter has led work to deliver transformation change utilizing tools including the Balanced Scorecard, Enterprise Value Chain, and extensive process and technology prototyping for the rapid evaluation and delivery of solutions. His industry focus includes financial services, entertainment, and telecommunications.

Some of his recent engagements include:

• Transformational consulting to a top 10 North American bank in the commercial mid-market space
• Transform the Commercial Client Experience’. Key focus was initially on enterprise value chain analysis driven by the Balanced Scorecard to set project priorities followed by redesign and prototyping of the core credit origination process.
• IT Balanced Scorecard for an export development agency focusing on enhancing the linkage from IT to the corporate strategy and increasing internal IT effectiveness and efficiency.
• CRM strategy and business requirements for a travel industry web site. Engagement included senior management engagement, industry analysis, and existing process and IT support analysis to redesign client engagement processes and support architecture.
• Balanced Scorecard driven process redesign of a mid-tier Canadian financial services company. Led process redesign methodology, customer relationship needs analysis, and rapid prototyping of the first application on a new technology stack within a portal/SOA architecture.
• Led development of an innovative web-based startup 401(k) company partnered with a F100 company from concept through funding to development and deployment. CIO/CTO through version 2.0 of the product.

His client list includes HSBC, Royal Bank of Canada, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Wells Fargo, ABN AMRO, CIGNA, Swiss Re, Farm Credit Canada, MassMutual, Fair Isaac, and Sprint/Nextel.

Previously, Peter was a Vice President at Nextera, Inc., a NASDAQ traded consulting company where he led the Boston office of over 150 staff and the customer relationship practice.

Prior to that Peter was a Principal with Renaissance Strategy Group where he led the Knowledge-enabled process practice. Prior to Renaissance Mr. Gaston was a consultant with McKinsey & Co. in the area of IT Strategy and Product Innovation. Mr. Gaston started his career developing video games for Atari at General Computer Co.

Mr. Gaston received his S.B. and S.M. from M.I.T.