Testimonials

What started a a brief consultancy nine years ago has evolved into a valued relationship for both The Patterson Foundation (TPF) and me as the CEO. Over the years, Michael has become a trusted advisor to TPF’s Governing Board and the other consultants working with TPF. Opting to be a consultant rather than employee has allowed Michael to bring his many gifts to other clients, while being available to TPF to build effective systems and to lead initiatives related to disaster and organizational vibrancy. His acumen and style earn respect from everyone who works with him. Michael is a trusted sounding board for me. The legacy being created by The Patterson Foundation continues to be propelled forward because of Michael’s engagement.

We recently enlisted Michael’s services to help us develop the Banks’ Core Values and Mission Statement. Michael was extremely thorough and organized throughout the whole process. He established pre-meetings with Bank staff broken into groups in order to ensure that he understood the scope of the assignment and to narrow in on the groups’ expectations as to the results of the exercise. He then did a fabulous job of facilitating discussion and getting input from our entire group on the day of the workshop. He had a wonderful way of keeping the group on task while weaving in fun activities to keep the monotony at bay. We had a great time, built on our chemistry as a group and we couldn’t be happier with the results! I’d highly recommend Michael to any company that is looking to facilitate a team building or leadership enhancement day, or any leader looking for ideas to improve themselves. He’s got great ideas and is very thoughtful in his approach!

Like most tasks in life, the facilitation of a collaborative effort is both an art and a science. Many people know the science. Understand the principles and processes behind collaboration. But, have they perfected the art, the finesse, of helping people to see the bigger picture and how they might contribute to it for the common good. Michael understands the science, but he has perfected the art. Much of our work at the Space Coast Health Foundation is about collaborative efforts that bring competitors together on a project to improve the health and wellness of our county. Michael has been leading these efforts for over four years, and his list of successful efforts is impressive.

Michael Corley is an exceptionally knowledgeable speaker and presenter. The Chamber has been fortunate to have Michael speak on various topics and our members leave with relevant and tangible takeaways that they can implement in their own businesses. He has a unique ability to bring people together and synthesize next steps and actions for the group to pursue. His presentations are highly engaging both in person and the new normal of Zoom meetings and Microsoft Team meetings.

I've had the personal pleasure of working with Michael in multiple capacities for more than a decade. As an entrepreneur, he's gotten into the trenches with me in the evolution of my vision, helping chart operational and personnel structures to drive the outcomes we've wanted to establish. Michael's advice, mentorship, and support helped to evolve my business from a startup to what is now a portfolio of companies. His interactions with my team has deepened our insights and his ability to find the target of where we needed to focus has built confidence and trust across the entire organization.

Dear Michael, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you ever so much for facilitating our 2019-2020 Board of Directors Retreat. Your level of understanding the importance of team building, buy-in and focus, created an exciting atmosphere. As I reflect on my past 15 years with the organization, I cannot recall another retreat where every member was so engaged in the conversations. How you were able to get the board members to think strategically five and ten years down the road was amazing. How you were able to build consensus of 17 adults and rewrite a mission statement in an hour is undeniably outstanding. Michael please feel free to share my thoughts with potential clients as well as my contact information. We look forward too many more board retreat with you as our facilitator.

I have known Michael Corley for approximately 15 years. I first met Michael when I joined the PEO industry, through our joint affiliation with an industry association. Michael held a series of leadership roles, and I was immediately struck by his extraordinary skills: very smart, an excellent communicator, and an ability to get people, including people with “strong” personalities, to constructively collaborate on important initiatives. As our organization grew, the need arose on several occasions to take advantage of Michael’s skill set. Accordingly, when Michael began his consulting practice, we hire Michael on multiple occasions. He quickly gained the respect of my entire executive team, and his work was essential in helping make those projects successful. These projects ranged from acquisition integration, to driving overall change. Michael was able to both understand, and help evolve our culture. He was also able to “teach,’ recognizing that, after he was gone, it was up to the team to drive ongoing, successful implementation. I would not hesitate to hire Michael again. I also would not close without mentioning Michael’s greatest strength: his strong sense of integrity. Michael has an unwavering moral compass, and a very clear sense of what is right, and what is wrong. He is a pleasure to know, and a pleasure to work with.

This is a recommendation for Michael Corley as a professional facilitator and team building expert for very diverse leadership groups. Mr. Corley has served in that capacity for the executive team at the Florida Institute of Technology on two occasions and led us through both strategic planning and team building sessions. His support included detailed planning prior to the sessions as well as the leadership role. His work was sterling and worth much more than the price paid. I give him my highest recommendation.

Michael worked directly with me on setting up the Windsor Realty Group’s mission, objectives and strategic plan. Through his guidance we have grown to be a top provider of Target Market real estate services to commercial brands throughout the U.S. and Canada over the last 20 years. Michael was able to review our organizational structure and data and recommend to us what parts of our business we had the most long-term potential in and what lines of business our organization should continue to develop to have long term success. He was able to clearly identify the strategies we should continue to pursue and advise us on how to successfully implement. Having Michael onboard as at trusted advisor, we can continue to work with him to help fine tune our vision as we grow and evolve. He has become a C-level consultant for us whom has the unique ability to listen, advise, critique, and implement on all aspects of our business. His vast knowledge and experience have been very instrumental in our success as a company. I would recommend Michael to any CEO of an organization that would like to have a trusted C-level advisor for assistance with shaping your organization, implement new projects, creating growth opportunities, defining or redefining your strategic plan. Michael will work directly with you as your confidant in fulfilling your company’s goals.

Michael Corley's professional services, advice, and mentorship have been at the foundation of our organization's success for over a decade. When I began at ATLARGE, Michael was guiding the organization through a new approach to forming organizational goals. His small-group leadership skills, coaching, and strategic understanding enabled management to quickly understand the new process. Within three months, the organization had recreated itself around the goal structure, implemented it across the organization, and begun a monthly review to process. This example demonstrates the tangible effect that Michael can have at an organizational level, but it is the personal level where his skills prove invaluable.   Over the past year, Michael's coaching, mentorship, and professional development are a leading attribute for my progress within the organization. At the direction of the Founder/CEO, Michael and I began to work together on a number of organizational efforts. Initially, our efforts focused on establishing an executive level reporting structure, standing up an organizational level sales department, and seeing through my transition from Business Development Manager to Chief Operations Officer. Now, I serve as the Managing Director and Chief Operations Officer for our organization's group of companies, and our relationship is more vital now than ever. From organizational planning, human resources management, and executive team development, Michael and I's communication is frequent and trusted because his approach is personal, tailored, and timely. I'd recommend Michael as a friend and mentor, without question.

Michael was brought into Oasis by the CEO to consult on an enterprise-wide initiative to build out a new organizational model. In my role as program manager of the initiative, I worked with Michael closely for several months. I found that his leadership, insight and partnering approach were exceptional.

Michael helped Ogle International Tax Advisors re-evaluate its mission, core principles, and operations. During the consulting project, he demonstrated that he understood how to align a team around the most important priorities to drive value. We benefited greatly from his leadership. He took the time to not only solidify the game plan but put forth the extra effort to follow up with individuals to ensure we were exceeding our goals. I highly recommend him.