Julian Moody

Julian Moody 1917-2009

Julian Moody was an innovator, pioneer, and veteran of a professional field whose earliest traceable roots began to appear in America in the late 1930s. This field includes: leadership coaching, executive coaching, management counseling, as well as other similarly titled professions such as life coaching. (Business consulting existed before this time, but was not thought of or termed coaching or counseling.)

Julian was one of the first in his field to recognize that transformation of an organization begins in individuals, most especially leaders. His approach was to affect change within individual presidents and high-level managers and these changes, in turn, brought about dramatic improvements in the companies. This was a radical idea for his time.

For fifty-two years, Julian personally worked with hundreds of presidents, executives, managers, and board members of numerous companies and organizations in America. For sixteen years, he served as a senior partner and president of Adams, Lafferty, Madden, & Moody, a well-known firm in the fields of corporate counseling, management development, and executive education located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Even more impressive than his career was his longevity. Julian lived to ninety-two years of age (he passed away on September 5, 2009.) Up until the last three months of his life, he volunteered countless hours of his time as a mentor and coach to individuals, families, and nonprofit organizations. He was very respected and popular in Santa Barbara, California where he had lived since 1965.

Julian Moody as a young man

Brandy was fortunate to meet and befriend Julian in 2007. Their time together eventually resulted in a collaborative project. Brandy was particularly interested in Julian’s business background — his broad and lengthy experience gave him a firsthand view and unique perspective into the dysfunction that plagues modern business.

In a career built by word of mouth, Julian gained entry into the executive offices and boardrooms of numerous companies and organizations in America. There, he was able to examine some of the root causes of problems we contend with on a day-to-day basis. And with this experience, he came to question some of the habits and beliefs that drive us as a culture but don’t give much thought to in our relentlessly busy routines.

Brandy was also interested in his life experiences and how they formed his innovative career, as well as his thoughts on other topics such as education. At heart, what became the project simply began as questions Brandy asked out of her curiosity. The ensuing dialogues were eventually organized and edited into a collection of topics.

In the limited time they had with each other, Brandy did her best to concisely capture the essence of one man's experience in a way that is relevant to our times. Julian worked primarily with presidents and top executives, but his insights are relevant to all of us since we are each leaders of our own individual realms.

Topics from their project Dialogues with Julian Moody: On Life, Business, Sustainability, and Other Things are available on this site free of charge. Brandy hopes you are blessed by Julian's experiences, observations, and insights as many others have been.

Julian's obituary in the Santa Barbara Independent.

Julian’s war service was documented in his book Mission Accomplished: Pictorial Memories of the 273rd Field Artillery Battalion. (Copies available at the US Army Military History Institute and the New York Public Library.)

Some clients served by Julian Moody during his professional career:

VARIOUS

General Motors
Johnson & Johnson
Detroit Edison Corporation
Clark Equipment Corporation
Fenestra, Inc.
Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation
Chatam Super Market Corporation
Blue Cross Association
Blue Shield Association
Michigan Blue Cross Plan
Arkansas Blue Cross Plan
Michigan Consolidated Gas Company
Suridev Corporation
American Natural Resources Corporation
Monroe Automotive Equipment Company
Great Lakes Ford Tractor and Equipment Company
Micromatic Home Corporation
Cousino Audio-Visual Company
State of Michigan, Rights-of-Way Department
Santa Barbara Management Institute

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

California Thrift and Loan
Financial Group of America
Insurance Securities Trust Fund
Detroit Bank and Trust
National Bank of Detroit
First National Bank of Rapid City
Western Independent Corporation
Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
County Bank of Santa Cruz

PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Dale Carnegie and Associates
Industrial and Business Relations departments of
    University of Michigan
    Chicago University
    Wayne State University
American Management Association
Association of Executive Education
Hillsdale College
Santa Barbara Management Institute
Human Synergistics, Inc.
Rohrer, Hibler and Replogle
Orion Consulting Group, International