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Richard C. Palermo, Sr.
1937 - 2006
Dick Palermo’s thirty-year career at Xerox Corporation was marked by his ability to achieve world-class results regardless of his area of responsibility. Trained and initially hired as a materials engineer, he used, improved upon and simplified Xerox’s company-wide management system to become a top product development manager, marketer, international strategist, general manager, and corporate officer for a number of key business assignments. As senior vice president and corporate officer for Total Quality Management and Organizational Transition, Dick guided the Xerox worldwide quality effort. A major component of that effort was a company-wide organizational transformation, which directly affected over 100,000 people in 120 countries, accomplished seamlessly and without negative customer impact. Indeed, Dick’s clear, enthusiastic, and inspiring approach to leadership was a key factor in Xerox’s emergence as a model multinational corporation in the 1980’s.
In 1993, Dick retired from Xerox to concentrate on honing his high performance management system into an even more powerful management tool. He accomplished this while conducting coaching engagements with senior executive teams of American and European companies. In 1996, he joined his brother, Peter Palermo II and nephew Peter Palermo III at Strategic Triangle, Inc. There, the STI Success Tree® High Performance Management System (STI HPMS) became not only a stand-alone practice area for the firm, but a valuable component of and compliment for the strategic alliance practice.
In all his engagements, Dick was able to help good companies and organizations become great through a universally understood and widely accepted approach that produces exceptional results in a remarkably short period. “STI HPMS is deceptively simple and flexible,” he noted. “It’s a matter of determining the right things to do and then doing them right. That’s how we help our clients get results.” His client support included workshop facilitation, individual leadership coaching, teleconferences, and e-mail coaching.
Dick was proud to announce the publication of his definitive leadership guidebook, Do the Right Things ... Right. It Is That Simple! in 2003. It was available in both English and Spanish in 2004. It has been accurately portrayed as an "Operational MBA in a book for professionals." He finished Leadership ... A Return to Common Sense a few days before his death in 2006.
In addition to his work at STI, Dick was a particularly effective board member and volunteer for a multitude of community interests. As president of the board of St. Joseph’s Villa, a residential facility for at-risk teens, Dick worked with senior management to fully implement The Success Tree® High Performance Management System. As a result, the Villa received a perfect score on its 2000 accreditation examination. He was honored with the Rochester Area Community Foundation's Philanthropist of the Year Award in 2000, the United Cerebral Palsy of Rochester award in 2001, the prestigious St. Bonaventure University's Gaudete Award, and the University of Rochester School of Engineering and Applied Sciences 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award. Dick also delivered the 2004 commencement address to UR's engineering graduates. He supported numerous local and national charities by coaching the STI leadership system.
Dick earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a master’s degree in Materials Science, both from the University of Rochester. Dick also held two patents.
