About Barbara

Barbara Burke has spent the last 24 years as a customer service consultant, workshop leader and keynote speaker. Known as an international expert and thought leader in employee engagement, Barbara is passionate about helping customer-facing employees discover and use their personal power.

Barbara lives in Northfield Minnesota, a small college town, located just outside Minneapolis. In her free time she enjoys gardening, writing, traveling, supporting local arts organizations, skiing and fly-fishing.

Her extensive client list includes: Honeywell, Target, Microsoft, Estee’ Lauder, Proctor & Gamble, State of Minnesota, State of Pennsylvania, Cox Communications, Verizon, Progress Energy, Alltel, Vertex, Carlson Companies, City of Austin Texas, Georgia Power and Time Warner.

Little known facts about Barbara — in her own words.

I’ve always wanted to make a difference.

Up until my second year in college I intended to make my living as an artist. But that changed after spending an interim in riot-torn Detroit working for the Equal Justice Council studying racism in the judicial system. It was the mid-70′s, at the end of Vietnam War, a time when many in my generation felt compelled to do what we could to make a difference in society. But after several years working for community organizations and not making much headway,  I concluded that changing the world was a much bigger job than I imagined. By then I was married, had a daughter and a mortgage and needed a steady income. I somewhat reluctantly became a capitalist and took a “real job.”

Lucky for me I eventually discovered I had a knack for making a difference in customer service organizations as a consultant and trainer.  I recognized that the most stressful part of a service rep’s job was having to deal with a constant stream of disgruntled, irate customers.  I wanted to do something to help. I thought that writing a story about a struggling service rep could be a good way to pass on what I had learned from the many wise, experienced reps I worked with and to share the mindfulness techniques I found so useful in my own life. That story, written in 2003, eventually became the fable, The Napkin, the Melon & the Monkey.

The truth about my Associates.

In 1986 when I established my consulting company, Barbara Burke & Associates, Inc., no one dared admit they worked from an office in their home. Now working in a home office is in vogue.  I enjoy the relaxed dress code (jammies and bunny slippers) and the ridiculously short commute (down a flight of stairs). But what I like most about living and working in the same space is having the company of my four-footed “associates.” My current “staff” consists of two terrific cats, Vera (pictured) and Camus-the-Existential-Cat.

I love getting my hands dirty.

When I moved from Minneapolis to Northfield, Minnesota in 1995 I didn’t know a petunia from a pansy. The 1940′s Cape Cod house I purchased in the neighborhood adjacent to Carleton College was in dire need of a front garden.  I set out to create one and in the process got hooked on gardening. I still don’t know the names of most of my plants. But what I do know is how wonderful it feels to be outdoors digging in the soil. My garden has taught me many life lessons including patience and the need to savor the moment — and the beauty.