Pierce Howard

For more than forty years, Dr. Pierce J. Howard has been an organization development consultant. His passion is helping people learn how to overcome obstacles and take responsibility for their growth and optimization--both as individuals and as group members. In 1986, he co-founded the Center for Applied Cognitive Studies with Jane Mitchell Howard, MBA, in order to develop organizational programs and conduct research grounded in cognitive science.

Dr. Howard earned a B.A. from Davidson College, an M.A. from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Education with a special interest in curriculum and research. During college, Dr. Howard served as an intelligence specialist with the U.S. Army and was deployed in Germany for three years.

Author of four editions of The Owner’s Manual for the Brain: Everyday Applications from Mind/Brain Research (2014; 4th edition), as well as, The Owner's Manual for Happiness (2014). Dr. Howard also co-authored a book on the Five-Factor Model of Personality, The Owner’s Manual for Personality at Work, (2010; 2nd edition) with Jane Mitchell Howard, MBA and The Owner’s Manual for Personality from 12-22 with Jane Mitchell Howard, MBA. Together, they have developed the WorkPlace Big Five Profile™ and the SchoolPlace Big Five Profile™, published numerous trade journal articles, created and taught certification programs, designed workbooks, written scripts and developed supportive materials for both assessments. In May 1997, Dr. Howard was a guest expert on memory on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Currently an Adjunct Professor of Organizational Development in the McColl School of Business at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr. Howard’s professional affiliations include the American Psychological Association, International Society for the Study of Individual Differences, and the Carolinas Organization Development Network.