Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Morelli.
Peter, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
East Coast: Philadelphia/New Jersey/West Virginia:
I was born in Philadelphia (Temple University Hospital) and raised in Southern New Jersey. Growing up athletics was a major part of my life. It was in my DNA. My father was a college quarterback and my stepdad was an all-American in track. I ended up at West Virginia University where I to carry on the family tradition as a placekicker/punter for the Mountaineers. Clearly, athletics was core to my identity and my ultimate goal was to make it my career and someday kick in the NFL.
When the NFL did not work out it left a large void and left me with a lot of questions about my future. However, having studied psychology/sports psychology I spent the first couple years out of school counseling student-athletes and helping them make the same transition I had to make. Helping them discover a new identity apart from athletics.
West Coast: Southern California (early adulthood/career):
Offered an opportunity to move to Southern California and go to graduate school. It was at Alliant University (San Diego, Ca) that I discovered a field that was a variation on a theme from the one I studied as an undergrad – Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
I began my graduate work as a counseling psychology major but after one semester it was my wife’s comment that would forever change the trajectory of my career. After complaining to her about the practice counseling session she stated, “to be a counseling psychologist you need to be able to listen, you like to talk!” The next day I spoke with my advisor and discover I/O Psychology (a.k.a. business psychology).
At this time (1995) there were not many jobs opening entitled, “I/O Psychologist” so my goal was regardless of where I was working to begin applying the techniques/interventions I was learning inside of the organization/team to help create performance/process improvement. Early in my career, I worked for 2 global staffing firms, Norrell and Adecco. This provided a great opportunity to learn and apply I/O interventions inside of some worlds largest companies (Nike, Prudential, Charles Schwab, Taylor Made, and Sony). My last job while still in California was working for the County of Riverside.
I was hired specifically because I had an I/O Psychology degree because (in the last place you would expect) the Human Resources department was building an organizational and leadership development division to support all 30+ county departments. It was a great opportunity to allow me to fully utilize my knowledge and gain invaluable experience, in essence, providing consulting services in the areas of cultural transformation, organizational development, leadership development, talent management, and employee engagement. Not knowing it at the moment this experience plus my Master’s degree in I/O would provide what I needed to take the next step in my journey.
South Coast: Houston, Texas (Deutser):
My wife and I one day in 2005 decided we wanted to make a move out of California. Still wanting a warm climate and a coast we looked a Florida and Texas. After deciding on Texas (League City, a Houston suburb on Galveston Bay and 20 minutes from the beach) I needed to start looking for my next opportunity… In TEXAS. During my job search, I met a recruiter who had a brother-in-law who owned a consulting firm that was looking to expand their services into the area of culture – organization development, talent management, etc.
I was invited to an interview at the firm (Yaffe | Deutser at the time) and met with one of the firm’s principles. We hit it off and was invited to meet with Brad Deutser, the firm’s owner. He happened to be in California at the time and I actually drove to my meeting with him in Newport Beach. It went well and as they say the rest is history. It is now over 12 years later and the firm is now simply called Deutser. Texas was a good move.
Since joining Deutser in 2006 the firm has grown, grownup, and today doing very well.
We released our first book, “Leading Clarity” in April of this year and I am in the process leading the charge to launch the Deutser Clarity Institute, offer a holistic approach to organizational research to develop creative performance enhancing tools and innovative programs for leaders and individuals seeking solutions.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My journey (as you can see from above) has been anything but a smooth. I had dreams that didn’t always work out and at times wasn’t sure which direction my life was heading. This was most true when my college football career was over it felt like I was starting over.
Going through that transition in my life taught me some great life lessons early on. The two biggest lessons were that dreams don’t always come true but you should never stop dreaming and that whatever you are currently doing is practice for what’s next. Another word, I learned how to make my knowledge, skills, and abilities transferable.
This would be invaluable to me over the early part of my career as I bounced from one opportunity to the next forging my own path most of the time. Usually what I was initially hired for was not what I ended up doing for very long. Ultimately I believe that everything I did early on in my career prepared me for the opportunity/challenge I was presented with at Deutser.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Deutser story. Tell us more about the business.
What we do:
Deutser was founded in 2002, focusing on helping organizations and their leaders achieve clarity to drive business performance. Our professional services firm comprises business strategists and social scientists, as well as creative, and communication experts. We are able to help you address your most pressing and complex issues with smart, creative and well-organized solutions. Our hope is to illustrate through the following service proposal that we are qualified and motivated to help the continued achievement of your objectives. We are absolutely committed to your success and growth.
What makes us Unique (sets us apart):
We realized that experts from various disciplines bring unique points of view and by working collaboratively we can purposefully deliver positive outcomes. Each of our unique backgrounds contributes to strategically framing questions and evaluating the answers, providing more depth and insight to the data we examine and the results we deliver. In addition, creative and design is a core of who we are and it runs through all that we do. Regardless of the work, we are doing for a client, strategic planning, organizational research, behavioral competency workshop or a brand strategy, elements of design is baked into our work.
Who we work with:
Our clients represent a multitude of industries including financial services, energy, healthcare, media, industrial services, retail, aviation, education, and professional services. While the components are wildly different, we have created for our clients a path to clarity that is measurable, repeatable, and reliable. Our approach has been used to support clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to some of the most prestigious non-profit organizations in the country.
My role:
When I joined Deutser in 2006 I initial was brought in to build a Culture practice that would complement the firm’s two existing practice areas; strategy and communications. The goals were to be able to help organizations understand their cultures, how better to engage employees and have the tools and capabilities to improve employee and overall organizational performance. Over the past decade, we have evolved our service offering to include our own proprietary tools and workshops.
Today, with our consulting practice going strong I am now focusing my attention on the launch of the Deutser Clarity Institute. The DCI is a world-class think tank and executive training center that applies a holistic approach to organizational research to develop creative performance-enhancing tools and innovative programs for leaders and individuals seeking solutions.
From my first day at Deutser (Yaffe | Deutser) to now I have been challenged to always push myself to deliver beyond what I thought was possible. This is why I have been able to stay in one place for over 12 years and counting. I never thought it would be possible for but when every day brings something new and the leader (Brad Deutser) is always looking at what is “next after next” it keeps you motivated and focused to create, design, build and deliver the best. In end, this is why I’m proud to work at Deutser.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
This question reminds me of one of my Dad’s favorite quotes… “Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity”.
Luck is how I ended up at Deutser and to some degree, luck is what keeps me going at Deutser. As I mentioned above I did not know when graduating college and transitioning from a sports career to a business career that I would end up helping build a consulting firm in Houston. However, everything I did along the way (even the stuff I didn’t like doing at the time) prepared me for the opportunity I was going to be presented in March of 2006.
Another word that comes to mind when I think of my journey to Deutser is “serendipity”. The events that led me to Houston and Deutser cannot be described any other way.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5847 San Felipe, Suite 2500
Houston, Tx 77057 - Website: www.deutser.com
- Phone: 17138502109
- Email: pmorelli@deutser.com
- Instagram: @deutser
- Twitter: @deutser
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