“We would not have gotten there without The Yes Works!”

Joe Le Roy, President & CEO, HopeSparks

Our Purpose

 

The Yes Works exists to transform the modern workplace into an ecosystem where human fulfillment and business success fuel each other in a virtuous cycle.

 

 

Our Mission

 

We support business leaders and their teams to maximize effective communication, collaboration, and leadership — through structures that nourish and skills that align teams — so people and profits rise.

 

Our effectiveness is built on demonstrated science of:

        1. Organizational influences on human behavior
        2. Effective skill building, and
        3. The profound knowledge that experiential learning is the only thing that creates lasting behavior change.

 

 

Our Values

 

Elevate human dignity:

We consistently demonstrate our belief in the inherent value of our fellow humans. Even in conflict, anger, or disappointment, it is our commitment to treat every person we encounter with the respect that elevates their dignity and our own.

Move the action forward:

We have lofty aspirations and take on big projects. We look for opportunities to advance those goals, and make progress, no matter how small. In collaboration, we don’t leave progress to others. While we don’t step on others’ toes, neither do we, “stay in our lane.”

Be kind (not nice):

We would all want someone to tell us if we’ve got spinach in our teeth. Yet, we don’t all tell others — because we can feel uncomfortable discomfiting others. We take the courage to hold others’ highest interests above the inevitability of temporary discomfort, giving feedback with compassion.

No balk (dig deep):

With big aspirations and profound commitments to our clients, we’re going to come up against fear and against the limits of our current capabilities. In those cases, we’ll take a deep breath. We’ll reach out for support. And we’ll take action in service of our purpose. That way, we’ll grow both personally and as a company.

Play:

Our work for clients is serious business. The vision we have for the future will take everything we’ve got. That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun on our way into the future. In fact, fun is an essential ingredient of the future we envision and it empowers us to ease through barriers. So we make play and fun an essential part of our present as well.

Our Team

Wyatt

SLOW-IS-FAST ENGINEER

Wyatt learned he could be effective and influential with people the day he first heard the Steven Covey quote, “With people, slow is fast, and fast is slow.” Now he slides and (sometimes) rockets around The Yes Works reminding us “Be Kind (not nice),” and to, “Move the action forward,” at every opportunity.

“Slow down,” he tells us. “You’ll get there quicker.”

Yak-Yak

THE NO YAK-YAK YAK

Yak-Yak stands for a brand promise, and like any good yak, he’s uncomplicated about it. For 9 years, he’s kept us honest. When it comes to our training… When it comes to our consulting and advising work… We promise:

No ineffective, boring, powerpoint lecturing yak-yak.

Aaron Schmookler

CO-FOUNDER, CEO

Aaron Schmookler is a visionary leader and business owner with a profound mission: elevating human dignity in the workplace. With a relentless commitment to enhancing both work lives and business outcomes, Aaron and collaborates with business leaders who know their people are their greatest asset.

Drawing from a diverse career spanning outdoor leadership, corporate contributions, theater founding and direction, and teaching theater and business communication in high schools and colleges, Aaron’s journey may seem non-linear, but there’s a cohesive theme that ties it all together. For nearly three decades, he has inspired individuals and teams to discover their intrinsic motivation, foster collaboration, and unleash their creative potential in service to others.

In 2014, Aaron co-founded The Yes Works alongside his business partner, Adam Utley. Together, they developed the innovative Teamification Culture Operating System and training model which Aaron and The Yes Works team employ to drive legendary communication, collaboration, and leadership within client companies.

The Yes Works team’s impact reaches far and wide, serving clients across industries and geographical boundaries. Renowned companies such as Microsoft, MOD Pizza, DiscoverOrg, SOG Knives, Sage Intacct, and Textainer have entrusted their workforce transformation to Aaron and The Yes Works because of their uncommon effectiveness. By fostering a high-performance culture that uplifts both people and profits, the Teamification approach proves that true genius thrives when the right engineered environment meets skill and mindset.

In the ever-evolving landscape of business, Aaron Schmookler stands in a commitment to humanness, dedicated to making work good for people and people good for work. With his guidance, your company can unlock its full potential to deliver growth, profit, and human fulfillment.

“Every team has genius at work. Only the best encourage and inspire the genius to emerge.”

Enna Cloudette Romales

CLIENT EXPERIENCE MANAGER

Enna Cloudette Romales comes to The Yes Works with history as a Hospitality Management professional with over 8 years of experience in the Hotel and Customer Service industry.

Enna believes that the best marketing strategy in every business is providing an excellent quality of service that clients can recommend. Seeing clients satisfied and succeeding in their goals is the perfect advertisement a company can have.

As Client Experience Manager at The Yes Works, Enna employs her extensive experience in the customer service industry to ensure a stellar experience for our clients and everyone on their teams… She’s dedicated to our clients’ commitment to creating a work culture and environment where employees work together to achieve a common goal. Enna will do everything she can for you to ensure that the work we do with you at The Yes Works… works!

Belle Walker

ORGANIZATIONAL
EFFICIENCY ENGINEER

Belle Walker aligns organizations’ structures and processes with their strategic goals. She has recaptured lost efficiency and engagement for companies in tech, professional services, cannabis, the nonprofit sphere, and more.

While a Director of Engineering at HERE Technologies, Belle built several successful teams, including one responsible for the quality of High Definition Maps for autonomous vehicles. She also received a patent for the Quality Index, which allows digital maps to be incorporated into autonomous vehicle environment models. Belle began her career at Google, where she built a nation-wide aerial photography operation, and her experiences also include building Product Management and Customer Service organizations.

Belle has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Harvard and a Systems Engineering master’s degree from USC where her research studied organizations as systems.

Jeannie Smith

STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE &
COMPLIANCE ENGINEER

Founder and President of Dynamism Leadership, formerly HR-Rx, Inc., Jeannie has a proven track record of successfully helping people cultivate trustworthy relationships so that they can notably connect with themselves and others. She leverages her diverse skill set and executive experience to steer individuals and organizations past obstacles paving the way for them to thrive.

Jeannie has over 30 years of combined experience in the positions of human resources generalist, manager, director, executive, inspirational speaker, facilitator, coach, and consultant. She has earned the following: Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management from Chapman University, Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University. Senior Professional in Human Resource Management Certification, with the State of California add-on (SPHR-CA) from the Human Resources Certification Institute, Senior Certified Professional Certificate (SHRM-SCP) from the Society for Human Resource Management, Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) from Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching and is an ICF Credentialed Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

Jeannie has a passion to help leaders and teams develop trustworthy relationships resulting in increased employee alignment, engagement, productivity, profitability, and connection.

Tricia Montgomery

CULTURE BRAND ENGINEER

Tricia Montgomery is a customer-obsessed marketing executive who has repeatedly helped companies accelerate revenue growth through brand transformation, innovative product launches and successful go-to-market strategies. Her 25+ years’ experience spans retail, technology, CPG, B2B and B2C businesses for both startup and global companies— Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Microsoft and Coinstar. In 2018, Tricia decided to chart a new course and do the same work she loves, now independently. As an executive advisor and outsourced CMO, Tricia fills a critical gap on an executive team, providing leadership and action on customer insights, brand/marketing strategy and go-to-market planning to help ambitious companies achieve sustained market growth, brand relevance and increased revenue.

With The Yes Works, Tricia brings her extensive experience and inquisitive nature to helping companies discover and plan for the the interplay between brand and culture.

Tricia is a proud Seattle native and enjoys outdoor activities with her husband and three children. She holds an MBA with a Marketing concentration from The University of Cincinnati in Ohio and a BA in Psychology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. She has deep connections in the Pacific Northwest and currently serves on two non-profit boards: the Whitman College Board of Trustees as the Advancing Whitman Committee Chair and Board Director/Co-chair for Yellow Wood Academy.

Ann Amati

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
ENGINEER

Since 1994 Ann Amati has helped companies across multiple industries use guidance from their own current and past customers to grow future sales. She has a track record of creating positive turning points in her clients’ relationships with their customers leaving behind a legacy of improved competitiveness and strong customer retention. Ann helps companies “print money” by helping vendors hold onto customers longer, grow relationships bigger and add new business faster-all using customer advice.

A former strategic planner, Ann Amati has accurately defined problems and formulated solution-oriented retention and growth recommendations to emerging, established, and international companies for over twenty years. She has helped product firms diversify their offerings, service firms turn around troubled accounts and high-tech verticals deepen market penetration.

Before establishing herself as a customer relationship consultant, Ann Amati was a COO, strategic planner, consultant and project manager in health care, high tech, start-ups and banking. She has a Master’s in Hospital Administration from the University of Missouri.

David Oates

CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS
ENGINEER

With almost three decades of strategic public relations expertise, Dave has navigated a diverse range of challenging public events. From his origins as a U.S. Navy Public Affairs Officer to his roles as a Corporate Chief Marketing Officer and Non-Profit President, he excels in adeptly managing crises across sports, entertainment, non-profit, military, government, corporate, education, charity, and start-up domains.

Dave’s Crisis Communications repertoire extends to handling contentious issues involving high-profile, multi-generational family enterprises, as well as addressing employee and executive misconduct, cyber breaches, product recalls, large-scale layoffs, significant accidents, criminal inquiries, and civil litigation cases.

Recognized as a sought-after speaker, Dave also served as a dedicated professor, leading upper-division undergraduates through a comprehensive PR Media & Messaging course at San Diego State University. He is the author of multiple e-books available on Amazon and a co-producer of four instructive courses on LinkedIn Learning. Dave boasts accreditation as a seasoned PR specialist (APR) and earned his MBA from San Diego State University in 2004, following his bachelor’s degree accomplishment at the University of Maryland in 1991.

Cassie Christopher

WHOLE-TEAM WELLBEING ENGINEER

Cassie Christopher empowers leaders to create greater employee wellbeing during the workday through supportive management strategies and worker self-care practices. As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Workplace Wellbeing Consultant, and humor-wielding energetic changemaker, Cassie injects action into building resilient, adaptable teams that thrive amidst change.

Formally trained in designing and delivering workplace wellness programs, Cassie noticed that all the money spent on these programs was wasted unless employees experienced a supportive workplace culture and manager. Now, in addition to helping individuals improve their mental and physical health, Cassie trains leaders on the supportive policies and skills they can implement to empower their workers, leading to a more engaged workforce that experiences less burnout and a more profitable company.

A University of Washington business grad with an MSc in Nutrition, Cassie blends evidence-based practices with real-world experience in high-growth companies. A recognized professional speaker, Cassie is a 2024 NSA Northwest Storytelling Champion.

When not on stages or in boardrooms, she trains future well-being champions in the art of behavior change coaching at Bastyr University and works with women struggling with binge and emotional eating in her private nutrition practice. You can find Cassie eating good food or on beach walks with her family in Edmonds, WA. (Just don’t mention sardines – she draws the line!)

Adam Utley

CO-FOUNDER EMERITUS

Adam Utley has dedicated his work to help teams build habits that lead to higher accountability, more fulfillment, and work cultures that inspire people.

He does this by training people to practice a language he loves; the language of improvisation. What he’s found in working with leaders at every level of the businesses he serves is that this language resonates with people of all personality types. It helps to connect people with their teammates and paves the way for greater results with less effort.

Adam and his business partner, Aaron Schmookler, co-founded The Yes Works in 2014 and developed the Adeptability Model of collaboration and leadership training and the Adeptable Culture Audit that supports a collaborative culture of accountability.

The Yes Works serve clients across the country and across industries including Microsoft, MOD Pizza, DiscoverOrg, Burkhart Dental Supply, SOG Knives, 9th Gear, and Textainer to make work good for people and people good for work.

He is Wenatchee, WA raised and Pacific Lutheran University educated. He’s got 15 years under his belt making his passion his life’s work, and plans to amplify the genius of others through this work for many more fulfilling years to come.

“It’s never about the thing, it’s always about the relationship.”

Advisors

Hugh Stewart

Hugh co-founded The Financial CoPilot in 2005, and as president was responsible for the strategic leadership and management of the business. In 2014, The Financial CoPilot’s offerings began to shift in a significant way. This shift resulted in the company that exists today, Platform Transition.

Having earned a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Miami, Hugh has worked as an engineer for Pratt and Whitney, Merck, Hewlett Packard and GE Nuclear Energy. Over the years he served as the VP of Finance for several real estate development, social media, and financial services businesses.

Hugh served as a Major in the United States Air Force Auxiliary and also served as an Eastern NC Area Governor for Toastmasters International. His passion for financial and operational systems development and organizational leadership has assisted him in narrowing his focus on data migration through portability from any legacy system.

David VanGeystel

With a multifaceted background that spans from launching a thriving vegan food subscription service in Seattle to guiding tech leaders as an executive coach, David VanGeystel is no stranger to the challenges and triumphs of business growth and talent development. Known for achieving 200% year-over-year growth at PlantLifeMeals and consistently high client satisfaction scores at Mento, David brings a unique blend of compassion and analytics to his current venture, RevLdr. Here, he specializes in bespoke coaching for sales leaders, incorporating proven behavioral strategies and cutting-edge tools like 360-degree feedback. David’s holistic, results-oriented approach has cemented his reputation as a reliable advisor, whether he’s scaling a startup or mentoring executives in Fortune 500 companies.

Maryanne Morrow

Maryanne brings more than 25 years as a corporate veteran in the financial, marketing and advertising industries to her role as Board Chair, CEO and Founder of 9th Gear Technologies where she is responsible for leading corporate strategy, scaling the company and investor relations. She is a frequent keynote speaker.

She is a capital markets specialist, launching a family of mutual funds and architecting fee-based asset management platforms for banks, broker dealers and insurance firms. Maryanne previously served as CEO of SurgeXLR, a boutique accelerator she founded that focused on faster paths to monetization. She was also involved in two successful
exits (Standard & Poor’s and BNP Paribas) and consulted on the custom content and advertising efforts of many financial firms while working at The Wall Street Journal. Maryanne is an active angel investor and an expert on distributed ledger technology, ICOs and cryptocurrency.

Maryanne was educated at Cornell University (Material Science Engineering), LeMoyne (Finance) and Whittier Law School with continuous learning at Stanford University (Scaling Blockchain, Valuation Modeling, Angel Investing and part of the Blockchain Club)

Who’s Talking about The Yes Works?

Company Culture is Linked to Employee Productivity

Can You Future-Proof Your Business From Management Problems?

Recruiter Top 10: Ways to Promote Your Company Culture to Candidates

How to Prevent Burnout by Shifting Your Focus with Aaron Schmookler

How to combat ‘Zoom fatigue’ in the workplace

Do You Need RELATIONSHIPS to Win Deals (Or Is ROI All That Matters)?

Popular Culture

How to Make Alone Time With Your Boss Less Awkward

The Yes Blog

Trust-based Leadership is a bit like carrying eggs

Trust-Based Leadership Hack: Our Obsession With Loss is Costing Us!

CHECK IT OUT

What’s Better for Your Company… Optimists or Pessimists?

CHECK IT OUT

HAVE YOU ALIGNED YOUR

LEADER’S-MIND?

Take our 8-minute culture assessment and see how you’re doing.

TAKE THE SURVEY