Brent Darnell International

"Within the last couple of months, someone asked me what training had been most beneficial to my career.  I quickly responded, “Total Leadership!”  September will mark 10 years since I attended the conference, and I still occasionally pull out my notebook to look back at the development plans I made then.  I also still have all the cards in my top desk drawer to remind me that I can continue to work on each aspect of my emotional intelligence. Learning to be well physically and studying EI has made a tremendously positive impact on my personal and professional life.  I’m thankful Caddell gave me the opportunity to work with you and Andrea.  I hope others have the same opportunity. Take care!"  

 

            ~ Lainie C.  

 

"The Brent Darnell EQi program has changed my life and the way that I evaluate everything.  I evaluate every conversation differently.  Before this program I was looking at life differently, I didn’t look at the long term impact of every conversation.  Now if I have a conversation with an individual I make sure that I listen to the person and acknowledge what they have to say and build on their questions or concerns.  I still have the EQi paperwork in by computer bag to this day and have been done with the program for over a year and a half.  I review what I have learned often, I still communicate monthly with my accountability partner on goals we are working on and my relationship with my mentor has grown ever stronger.  With the Brent Darnell program all of my project teams have grown stronger and we are focused on a goal of making each other better and more effective communicators.  I know that I wouldn’t have been as valuable of a team member without this program.  I plan on using the skills I learned for many more years to come.

 

       ~ Scott Sabin - Jacobsen Construction

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“Having Brent work with our company changed our organization from the inside out. He helped us establish a vocabulary across our organization that enabled seasoned (and hardened) superintendents to relate better to their teams and their clients. Brent showed our people that it’s okay to have feelings and even more okay to respect other people’s feelings. We still have a lot of work to do but we now have individual plans to help us become better employees and better people.”

 

~ Matt Rich, Business Development, R&O Construction (formerly Jacobsen)

 

“Over the years Beck has worked with several Leadership Development organizations and put together internal programs to develop our current and future leaders for the company. Brent and his program has been one of the most successful and effective that we have instituted. We have identified our next generation of Leaders in the company and worked with Brent to develop those individuals to step into their “next role” with the company. In every case, each of those individuals has stepped up their game. Brent is relentless, but tactful in pursuing the areas of improvement with our folks on a very personal basis. He works on Life Improvement which leads to business and leadership development. I highly recommend Brent to any organization that is taking Leadership Development seriously and wants to make a very positive difference in their organization.”

 

~ Mark House, LEED AP, Managing Director, The Beck Group

 

“Brent has helped me better understand my weaknesses and more importantly provided advice and tools that I could work on to improve in these areas. Brent has a rare ability to recognize each individual's area for improvement and provide guidance that is clearly understood and easily accepted. Brent has made a significant impact on both my career and personal life and I appreciate that I have been able to work with him.”

 

~ Kevin Appleton, Senior Vice President for the Batson-Cook Company

 

 

"Brent Darnell and his emotional intelligence training has been invaluable to Batson-Cook Company.  He has worked with our leadership including several superintendents. One of our superintendents, who was struggling during the first phase of a project, created such changes in his behavior that his status changed from possible termination to managing the second phase.  This saved our company tens of thousands of dollars by not having to pay a headhunter to fill that position, not to mention the additional lost revenue from bringing a new employee up to speed on the project."

 

~ Nancy Black, Vice President of Human Resources for the Batson-Cook Company

 

“Brent is special. He knows construction and has an engaging program. I’m scheduling him again for 2012 and will use him at several board meetings. [He] is a winner. I hate to tell too many people because his calendar will get full!”

 

~ M.D, Executive VP

 

“I had the pleasure of working with Brent on an international project and his strategy for implementing emotional intelligence to a hard core business audience was brilliant. He understands emotional intelligence at a deep level, but even better, he understands how to present it so people ‘get it.’ I would recommend Brent to anyone who wants to improve their bottom line!”
 

~ Lea Brovedani, Owner, Sagacity Consulting

 

“You and your program have opened my eyes to the possibility that people in construction can change, can have empathy, can be empowered, can look outside the box and with learned skills, manage in a way that’s fun, builds relationships, builds future leaders and still meet project goals with satisfied clients. At some point, everyone has similar levels of technical knowledge and can build buildings. But can they become leaders, manage people effectively and move into executive level positions? Your program is a key and offers insight into these soft skills that often are the difference maker. Thank you for all you do!”
 

~ Matthew W.

 

“All the other books I read and speakers I listened to had terrific information and got me going in the right direction. For about 72 hours! The techniques and skills you teach us to use are lifelong. That’s the difference. Since attending the Total Leadership Program, all of my relationships have significantly improved, both professionally and personally.”
 

~ Ed L.

 

“I had never truly stepped out of my shell to look at how others perceived me. For me, this concept was the central theme of the course and I found it to be extremely powerful. All of the topics/sessions were not only interesting, but useful and practical for everyday life in both a personal and professional sense. As far as how I’m doing now, things are great. My wife and I are counting down the days to the birth of our first child; we are as nervous as we are excited. Professionally, I am slated to start a new project in the next couple of weeks.”
 

~ Nevin A.

 

“I think we have saved a couple of valuable employees for the company, but more importantly their home and personal lives as well. Well done my friend.”
 

~ Everett H.

 

“I really attempted to immerse myself in the program and start applying the lessons to work and my home life. I believe I am taking more time to think about my actions and responses and am trying to implement meaningful short term goals for my work as I realized the most success with this practice.”

 

~ James C.

 

“In the beginning, I was skeptical of how much Brent and the EQI program could help. After some honest soul searching and opening my mind to a few unconventional techniques (for a construction guy), big changes were made. Brent’s entire program, down to the diet alterations, helped me change the longstanding problems that were holding me back in my career.”
 

~ Dean K.

 

“I learned a tremendous amount of information that I can take home and put into practice every day. Now having completed the program, I much more acutely realize how the people and the environment around you greatly affect you. I now try to keep myself in check when I deviate from my normal behavior or start to wander off track. I refocus and make time for daily reflection. I also take a little time to myself each day, time to get away from the stresses of life and work and relax!”
 

~ Francis L.

 

“Thanks for helping me change my life.”
 

~ Tom W.

 

“Currently my job situation is extremely hectic (again) and I have had some problems sleeping. Last night, however, I was able to calm down and relax using your meditation CD. I hope you realize the profound influence that you have had on my attitude towards work and life in general.”
 

~ Mariann Ö.
 

“I feel the entire conference can be summed up by the Emerson quote, ‘What lies behind and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.’ We are all very complex individuals, and a better understanding of our emotional intelligence can only lead to a more fulfilled life. This fulfillment will be apparent in our work, family, and personal lives measured by success – or goals set and achieved. The breathing techniques practiced during the conference help reduce and possibly eliminate the deep-rooted stress. While scoring high in Stress Tolerance and Stress Management, the feeling of not completely unwinding is always present. During the breathing and meditation exercises I felt complete relaxation and a refreshing sense of mind/body.”
 

~ Ralph C.

 

“At first, the skeptic within me challenged these (EQi) results. However, reading through and discussing these ‘deficiencies’ put into words some of the issues in my life which have been nagging me for years. All of them bear significantly on my general sense of well being, my opinion of myself and my job, and my performance on the job.”
 

~ Peter F.

 

“The EI training has helped me a lot in my new position in the company. It helped me to find ways to reduce stress. EI has pointed out my strong points and weak points so I can use that as a base to improve myself. I have shared the results with my wife and we had very good conversations about this. Ten months time period has been a good amount of time to see some progress going on.”
 

~ Raimo H.
 

“I was skeptical after taking the EQ test as to how helpful this would be to me. But it gave me the ability to understand what emotional intelligence is and how it can be used to increase my personal effectiveness in achieving a balance between my career and family life as best as I can since both are important to me.”
 

~ Victor P.

 

“My main objective from the seminar was to gain some insight into the balance between work and family. I can assume that everyone at the seminar would acknowledge that the theoretical balance between work, family, and personal life is impossible, but the overall point of the seminar came across loud and clear. The person that can achieve a reasonable work-family balance has an increased chance of being a productive employee for years to come.”
 

~ Michael V.

 

“It has – against all my own odds – made me human.”
 

~ Ragnar U.

 

“I am surprised by the results of the second EQ test. My emotional self-awareness, impulse control, and also empathy increased significantly. I need to deal with my emotions. I always used to hide them because I feared they showed a weakness. But now I have reevaluated this. I can show my emotions and be strong about it. Thank you.”
 

~ Ali C.

 

“(This program) showed me to dig into my emotions rather than hide them behind a facade. It showed the importance of interpersonal relationships and the need to look over things with the heart. I even learned that by being more in contact with my feelings, I feel stronger, less afraid of facing changes, more excited for challenges, and even if I wouldn’t have been able to recognize the deep impact of EI, my family surely has. Our entire relationship has grown. The same occurs with my work colleagues, who notice the change in excitement.”
 

~ Alejandro P.

 

“First of all, it made me aware of the importance of EI. Not that I previously was totally unaware, but it did put a lot of things into perspective. I am now aware of my strengths and weaknesses in a way that is so different compared to before. I have identified what specific things I should work on and I think that I now know that I’m capable of doing it in the near future. All the EI stuff has taken me quite some time to digest, but now I feel that the ‘EI Door’ has opened and it’s up to me to take advantage of all the possibilities.”
 

~ Nils L.

 

“This program has built up my self-confidence and optimism. I have started to think and act a lot more in using EI. We have stressful situations in my business unit and this has helped me to take my company through the hard times.”
 

~ Erik A.

 

“This training has had a great impact on my professional and private life. Professionally I was already going but this really makes the pieces fit. I feel a lot more harmonic as a leader now than last December. I’m anxious to go on with this work and become a high quality apple tree. Personally my relationship with my wife and kids and family has improved. I work harder to understand, listen, and connect. But there is still a lot of work to do. I will practice communication – starting with my family.”
 

~ Peter A.

 

“It’s been very useful and compared to other personal development techniques, this EQ actually makes things happen. The best thing is that the training is a process that never ends. If one wants a change or development, it will happen. It’s also great to be judged as a human being in the EQ test. It immediately gives you some things to work with. I think EQ training will lead you to future success, if you want it to.”
 

~ Ulf W.

 

“The program has given me great insight into my emotional life. There has been an immediate effect proven by my surroundings regarding communication, connection and stress management. It has given me the ideas, tools and material to continue working with my emotional development, which feels like the single most important personal development of all. It has given me moments of sharing and openness with a typically closed and logical group, which I did not think was possible, even in my wildest dreams.
 

~ Lars B.

 

“Thank you so much for speaking at our first boot camp this year. You were excellent! I am certain that we all took away great information that we can (and will) incorporate into our life and our profession. You are gracious, kind and energetic. You gave us exactly what we requested and needed.”

 

~ Karen Chin, Van Winkle Construction