Career
He is known as “the trainer’s trainer” and specializes in training those who train others Pike originated the idea of participant-centered training where instructors facilitate learning through the use of hands-on, interactive lessons. He has been involved in training since 1969 and has authored and co-authored 29 books, including The Creative Training Techniques Handbook, now in its third edition
The Creative Training Techniques Handbook has sold more than 285,000 copies since its first printing in 1989.
According to publisher Bob Carkhuff at Human Resource Development Press, which publishes The Creative Training Techniques Handbook, Carkhuff estimated the third edition has sold about 50,000 copies. In an email, Pike said original publisher Lakewood, now defunct, had paid him royalties based on 140,000 books sold for the first edition and 95,000 for the second edition
His most recent book is The Fun Minute Manager (May 2009), which is co-authored with Robert C. Ford and John Newstrom. According to an interview with American Society for Training & Development, Pike began one career as a pastor while doing a side job but still couldn’t make ends meet.
In 1967, he tried selling training and management development programs but made only $150 in the first month.
Pike then read Psycho-Cybernetics and decided to ignore his fear of rejection for a month and to sell whole-heartedly. “So for 30 days, I decided I would do everything I could to succeed, and at the end of 30 days, I could say ‘I’m just not cut out for this,’ and I could go do something else,” Pike related to American Society for Training and Development . “So I used affirmations such as ‘I’ll do it now’ and my favorite, ‘I’m a master salesman.’ In those 30 days, I made a little more than $1,100 in commissions, which in 1970 was a lot of money..That was what gave me my start in the training and consulting industry, and that’s where I started designing training programs.” Since 1969, Pike has been developing, marketing, training and consulting on training and human performance improvement. Since then, he has designed and delivered over 600 training programs of one day or longer.
He has served on the boards of American Society for Training and Development , National Speakers Association and the International Alliance for Learning.
In 2002, Pike joined the National Board of Lead Like Jesus and since 2005 has served as Chairman of the Executive Board. He served as a designer for the Leadership Encounter with Jesus Seminar/Retreat and is a master trainer for the Encounter certification program
In 2003, Training Magazine subscribers voted The Bob Pike Group the best “Train-the-Trainer” company in the industry. According to Industry Standard Architecture, Pike introduced the instructor-led, participant-centered model as an alternative to primarily lecture-based training in 1983 and more than 100,000 trainers worldwide have been through the Creative Training Techniques Train-the-Trainer Boot Camp.
In 1991, Pike earned the professional designation of Certified Speaking Professional (Center for Security Policy) from the National Speakers Association (National Security Agency).
In 1999, he was awarded the Council of of Excellence (CPAE). Over the years, Pike has contributed to magazines like TRAINING, The Personnel Administrator and The Self Development Journal. Pike is part of the video faculty at CrestCom videos.
