Welcome to The Thayer Institute for Performance Virtuosity

Preserving and furthering the genius of Dr. Lee Thayer,
“high-performance leadership’s modern day Yoda…”

Get ready!

If you’re not one of the many people that have already had their life and leadership transformed by the radical work of Dr. Thayer then you’re in for a treat. Get ready…

The genius of transformative leadership, Dr. Thayer remains a well-kept secret to the masses as he devoted his life to his craft and his clients, and not to marketing or selling himself like so many tend to do.

And his craft was decades ahead of his time…

More than 40 books published: Leadership: Thinking, Being, Doing, How Executives Fail, Leadership Virtuosity, and so many more
Named a Lifetime Achievement Award-winner by the Marquis Who’s Who
A leadership coach and consultant for IBM, AT&T, Westinghouse, Boeing, Curtiss-Wright, Pratt-Whitney, McDonnell Douglas, Phillips, Shell, General Motors, Sealtest Foods, Hallmark, and West Point
A man whose work was hailed by leadership guru Tom Peters as “the most remarkable example of organizational transformation…” and whom Vistage called “…high-performance leadership’s modern day Yoda…”
And a true renaissance man who played jazz with Stan Kenton, he earned multiple PhDs and had advanced degrees in the humanities, engineering, and psychology

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The Legacy of Dr. Lee Thayer

Thayer Institute–overseen by Dr. Thayer’s family and estate–is where his work, words, and wisdom live on. You’ll find books, articles, and endless ideas, quotes, and–most importantly insightful questions–that help anyone become a extraordinary leader.

His legacy extends beyond the Institute and its sister company, Leadership TBD. In short, Dr. Thayer’s legacy is wisdom. His pragmatic idealism, his incomparable problem-solving skills, his ability to influence others along their paths to great and worthy purposes… all this and so much more shine on through his teaching, and those he taught, knew, and loved.

Whether you’re a proven CEO leading a Fortune 100 into the Fortune 10 or new to executive-level leadership or simply looking for tools and training that help you become a better leader of yourself, Thayer Institute has a place for you.

If you’re looking for guided training sessions and tools you can use, visit Leadership TBD, the home of training and seminars based on Dr. Thayer’s timeless work.

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With all the books and articles written about Leadership, and all the times the word is used every day, I wondered what it REALLY means to lead. I wondered if leaders are born or made. Studying Dr. Lee Thayer’s writing and principles has changed the way I think, the way I show up, the questions I ask, the way I listen to answers, and the answers I give. Dr. Thayer distinguishes between those who can create high performing organizations and those who cannot. Only those who are willing to take a hard look in the mirror, ask themselves “to what end,” and do what is needed, have a chance of getting there. Thayer’s leadership principles provide the path for those who want to take the journey.

Jeannette Hobson

Vistage Group Chair

Dr. Thayer’s insight guides the development of both your personal and your organization’s capabilities around clarifying a true purpose or cause for inspired leadership. His learnings have provided a wholly different concept about how I led my organizations. These concepts relate to developing the ability to think and perform as a leader rather than just as a problem solver, running a business. As Dr. Thayer says … “Don’t waste time and words trying to diagnose a problem. The best definition of a problem is a solution that obviates the problem. (“Obviates” here means: doing away with the source of it — forever.) This work is about being in that dynamic learning mode.

Dick Shorten

Vistage Chairman Emeritus

Thayer… is refreshing, authentic, and has a penetrating integrity. Don’t take it lightly.

Max De Pree

Chairman Emeritus, Herman Miller, Inc., Author of Leadership Is an Art

If you truly want to reinvent yourself ... and have a deep passion to change and improve, read Lee Thayer…

Larry Bull

Executive Vice President, Bergstrom, Inc.

Next Steps

Explore one of Dr. Lee Thayer’s seminal works.

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