speaker biographies

Speaker THOMAS M. DEFRANK Subjects author, journalist, politics         Video Clip

Veteran political journalist
Washington Bureau Chief, The New York Daily News
Author, Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms

One of Washington's most respected President-Watchers, Thomas M. DeFrank is a veteran political journalist and author. His reporting has been praised as riveting by The New Times. The New York Times ranked him as one of the country’s best political ghostwriters. And former President Gerald R. Ford calls him “one of the finest journalists I have ever known. Everyone I know feels the same way: you are fair, trustworthy and professional.”

As Washington bureau chief for The New York Daily News since 1996, he directs coverage of the nation’s capital for the country’s second-largest metropolitan daily newspaper.

The 2000 presidential campaign was the ninth he has covered in 32 years as a Washington reporter. He has reported on the resignation of one President, the impeachment of a second, and was an eyewitness to two assassination attempts against a third.

DeFrank was Newsweek’s senior White House correspondent for a quarter century and also served as deputy chief of the magazine’s Washington bureau for twelve years. Assigned to the White House beat since 1970, DeFrank has reported on the activities of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. He is second only to Helen Thomas of United Press International in terms of longevity on the White House beat.

DeFrank is the co-author of Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms, the best-selling memoir of controversial Republican political consultant Ed Rollins published in August 1996. The paperback version was released in March 1997. He also co-authored The Politics of Diplomacy, the memoirs of former Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

He’s also the co-author of Quest for the Presidency 1992, a critically- acclaimed, behind-the-scenes look at the Clinton-Bush election published in 1994.

DeFrank has appeared on several public affairs television programs, including Washington Week in Review, Larry King Live, Crossfire, Talk Back Live, The Charlie Rose Show,Reliable Sources, CNN Inside Politics, The Beltway Boys, Fox News, and C-SPAN.

DeFrank has been a student of the Presidency since 1968, when he took his first presidential trip with Lyndon Johnson as a Newsweek intern. He traveled extensively with Richard Nixon from 1970 to 1972 and was assigned to cover Vice President Gerald Ford in the fall of 1973. A few months before Nixon’s resignation, he was reassigned to The White House and remained when Ford became President in August 1974. He was an eyewitness to both assassination attempts against Ford in 1975.

He has covered every Presidential election since 1968 and 15 Soviet-American summits beginning with the historic 1975 Ford-Brezhnev meeting at Vladivostok. He has traveled to all 50 states and 46 countries as a White House reporter and is a former president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

DeFrank has reported on congressional and military affairs, and in 1973 covered the return of U.S. prisoners of war from Vietnam at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. He also reported extensively on the Persian Gulf War, traveling to Saudi Arabia with President Bush in November 1990 and Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and General Colin Powell in December 1990.

He is the only newsmagazine correspondent to win both of the White House Correspondents’ Association awards for distinguished Presidential reporting. He has also shared in several other reporting awards, including the National Magazine Award for his coverage of the 1992 Presidential campaign, and the Overseas Press Club’s award for his reporting of the 1987 Reagan-Gorbachev summit.

DeFrank was on active duty at the Pentagon from 1968 to 1970 as a public affairs officer with the office of the Secretary of Defense. Before joining Newsweek, he was a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Bryan (Texas) Daily Eagle and Minneapolis Star.

A native of Arlington, Texas, DeFrank is a 1967 high honors graduate of Texas A&M University, where he edited the campus newspaper, and has a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.

Speech Topics

“All About W: What you don’t Know about the 43rd President”

Tom DeFrank has been interviewing and reporting on George W. Bush since 1987. In 1988 and 1992, he spent literally dozens of hours interviewing the future President in connection with Newsweek Magazine’s special election issues. He spent time with Bush at his office in Dallas, his father’s campaign headquarters and the White House in Washington, and at Texas Rangers baseball games. Those repeated encounters filled dozens of notebooks and have provided DeFrank with unusually keen insights into Bush’s personality, operating style, likes and dislikes and views on everything from governing to his famous parents. His extensive professional relationship with the new President is the basis for this highly anecdotal lecture.

"A Tale of Seven Presidents"

One of Washington’s most respected President-watchers, Tom DeFrank has covered every chief executive since Richard Nixon. He was Newsweek Magazine’s White House correspondent for 25 years and still spends most of his reporting week focusing on the Presidency - especially the Bush White House. This lecture combines provocative and unconventional insights into the Presidency with crowd - pleasing anecdotes into a presentation one recent client termed “balanced, extremely well done…..informative and entertaining…...a delight.”

That's where Afterburner can help. We lead the world's top corporations to breakthrough performance through the pursuit of flawless execution. A Winning Team The 50 men and women on Afterburner's team are uniquely qualified to teach the skills needed for breakthrough performance. Our team of former and current fighter pilots has a powerful mix of combat experience, combined with extensive business skills. Many members of our team are graduates of the nation's top business schools and academies. Our cutting-edge corporate training uses the combat proven methodologies of fighter pilots to help your team achieve victory in your rapidly changing business environment. Whether you are in sales and marketing, operations or management, Afterburner can help you transform your team into a highly competitive fighting force. Precision Focus At Afterburner, we have an unwavering focus on improving your company's ability to execute. We do this using the Afterburner Flawless Execution Model. First, we help create the optimal environment for improved execution. We teach companies to overcome any deficiencies in leadership, organization, teamwork, communication, and discipline that contribute to poor performance. Second, we train corporations in the methodologies of flawless execution: Plan. Brief. Execute. Debrief. = Win! The model is simple, but it's far from simplistic. It is a powerful formula that will unleash breakthrough performance in any organization. This combination of sound organizational development and combat proven methodologies have made Afterburner one of the fastest growing training firms in the country.

Uncommon Success An Inc. 500 company, Afterburner has been featured in nearly every major business publication in the United States including the Wall Street Journal and Business Week. Meetings and Conventions Magazine named Afterburner "The hottest speakers on the circuit right now." With worldwide reach, Afterburner has trained nearly 100 of the Fortune 500 in the past six years. The company has earned a stellar reputation among its clients as a truly revolutionary training company, delivering relevant, tangible value with every offering.

Extensive Client Capabilities Afterburner can help your company bring about rapid organizational change that will lead to tangible improvements in execution and performance. Our arsenal of services is designed to improve execution at the individual level as well as the global enterprise level. Call one of our Afterburner Business Development Consultants today and let us create a customized corporate transformation plan for your company. Strap yourself in and get ready to see performance improvement at Mach 2.

Plan.Brief.Execute.Debrief=Win!: A Fighter Pilot's Secret to Business Success [Keynote] In this session your group will learn how Fighter Pilots attack their missions in both training and combat. Plan - Learn how Fighter Pilots plan for a mission using the "Six Steps to Effective Combat Mission Planning." Brief - Communicate the plan to maximize the quality of front line execution. Execute - Discover how Fighter Pilots ensure Flawless Execution in their missions by eliminating performance draining Task Saturation. Debrief - Implement nameless/rankless feedback sessions in your squadron to guarantee maximum learning.

Eliminating Task Saturation [Keynote] Task SaturationSM (information overload) is the #1 productivity killer in business today. Learn how Fighter Pilots overcome Task Saturation by employing "The Three C's." Checklists - Provide critical guidance in an emergency situation and reinforce your normal daily procedures. Crosschecks - Keep you focused during information overload. Check Six - Use teamwork to guarantee that a wingman is always watching out for you.

The Afterburner Day [Half to full day event, group sizes 12-1000] The Afterburner Day is an interactive, hands-on experience where your team will compare the similar situations faced in business and in air combat. During the Afterburner Day, your group will work side-by-side with some of America's top Fighter Pilots and learn how they excel in the business of combat. The day begins in the main briefing room where you will learn how Fighter Pilots adapt to change, assess risk, and prepare for their mission using the Six Steps to Combat Mission Planning. Suddenly, an urgent telegram will interrupt the briefing and alert your team that they have been attacked by a coalition of hostile competitors. Your Fighter Pilots will split into squadrons (breakout groups of 15) where, with the help of their Afterburner facilitator, they will have one hour to formulate a plan to regain your market share. Leadership, teamwork, and communication will allow each group to overcome the challenges of this dynamic Mission Planning exercise. The Afterburners use SCUD missile attacks, intruders, and information overload to closely parallel today's task saturated work environment in a fun, new format that ensures a lasting impression. After utilizing these tools for planning and execution, your team will discover how Fighter Pilots learn from their mistakes through an effective debrief. The Afterburners' nameless/rankless debriefs shed new light on how your associates can identify and learn from costly mistakes.

Brief to Win! [Half to full day event, group sizes 12-1000] On any given day, in any fighter squadron across the country, men and women climb into their jet aircraft prepared to do battle. They have been well trained. Their job knowledge is unquestionable. They are extremely motivated. The mission runs flawlessly and an important target is destroyed exactly as planned. The key words here are "exactly as planned." We are talking about Flawless Execution, a stumbling point for many businesses today. Why do the highly talented and motivated teams in so many businesses with a great plan fall short when it comes to execution? It is because the plan is not properly communicated to the men and women who must take the battle to the competition. Through combat testing, fighter pilots have developed a life-saving/mission perfecting formula for communicating the plan which we call "Briefing to Win!" We will facilitate this lesson in an attention-riveting, real time simulation of a complex air battle. The Afterburner fighter pilots will expose your team to the fog of war and then teach them how to burn through the fog using precise briefing and communication techniques. Once your team has "aced" their mission, The Afterburner facilitators will move to a real world case study tailored to your business.

Program Brief: Leaning Forward [2.5 - 3.0 hours, group sizes 12 - 1000] If you don't have time for a full Afterburner Day, yet still want to lead your group through an awesome team building event, then our high energy, fast paced Leaning Forward Program is for you. This event captures the essentials of the Afterburner Day in a compact format, focusing on planning and debriefing. Leaning Forward is an interactive, corporate event program where your team will learn, via lecture and experiential learning, how fighter pilots strive for flawless execution in every single mission. Your group will work side-by-side with some of America's top fighter pilots and learn how they excel in the business of combat. Our Afterburner team brings these lessons to your own business environment, in living color, using a multimedia presentation, a role playing breakout session with experienced military fighter pilots as facilitators, and punctuated by an intensely climatic and motivational closing. The energy and skill training of this event will improve your group's performance at every level.

56 Poquonock Avenue Windsor, Connecticut 06095  Voice: 860-687-1116  Toll-Free: 800-875-2893    Fax: 860-687-1062