About . Susan Finerty
Susan established Finerty Consulting in 2004 and has become one of the leading experts on matrix management and cross functional influence. Her passion developed from nearly a decade of holding organization development positions within a large pharmaceutical company and being challenged by the matrix environment. When she realized she wasn't alone in her challenges, and that no one had really researched it or was offering solutions—that's when she knew she had to bridge the gap.
Finerty Consulting is the only matrix management consulting firms providing quantitative research on what it takes to work-cross functionally. Susan’s vision is to offer organizations end-to-end solutions based on this research - from books to assessments to custom learning to coaching that’s based on the same practical, research-based frameworks. She is the author of three books: Master the Matrix: 7 Essentials for Getting Things Done in Complex Organizations (2nd edition), and Cross-Functional Influence: Getting Things Done Across the Organization; and The Cross-Functional Influence Playbook. Her inaugural book "Master the Matrix" has been recognized by Shelf Unbound as one of their TOP 100 Independent Books of 2018.
Susan has worked with a number of high profile multinational corporations and Silicon Valley startups, helping teams work more effectively and manage complexity. She has a unique ability to make complex or amorphous concepts real and applicable. An explainer by heart, her clients benefit from solutions that are incredibly practical—as well as holistic.
As a coach, Susan especially enjoys working with technically brilliant people who may not have truly considered the people-side of getting things done in an organization. She and her team of advisors have created a targeted, measured process for helping experts of all kinds in the Cross Functional Strategist process.
Susan has held adjunct faculty roles at Northwestern University (Leadership & Change course as part of a Masters in Medical Informatics) and currently teaches courses on influence without authority, matrix management and other leadership topics at University of Wisconsin's School of Business Center for Professional and Executive Education. She holds an MA from Indiana University and a BA from Central Michigan University.
Susan has three adult kids and two dogs all of who make her laugh—a lot. She loves having a house-full of people for a meal or celebration. Still owning the house she grew up in, in rural Michigan, she enjoys taking trips there to unplug and be with friends and family. Some of her favorite ways to spend time outdoors are gardening, walking, reading, hiking, and paddle boarding. Susan is also a Certified Yoga Teacher and recent climber of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
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