Carter is an unwavering advocate for authenticity, driven by a passion to empower individuals in their personal and professional lives. By confronting his own painful past, as chronicled in his very personal memoir Wolf, he learned how to be more authentic in the present.
An award-winning author, Carter’s literary contributions are widely read in the curriculum of colleges and universities. He has written an impressive array of free, online articles, including highly practical resources tailored to enrich the lives of low-income and disadvantaged people. See his Additional Writings.
One of his prize accomplishments in his career is a low-cost, group-based, peer-coaching model, which has reached a variety of people across the globe. This model creates a safe environment where members can authentically share support and accountabilities to address current challenges in their lives and work.
Even though he has been hailed as a thought-leader, legend, genius, and icon, Carter’s most cherished triumph is his family. He thrives on the pursuit of knowledge, rich conversations, and playful humor. Currently enjoying his retirement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he and his wife, Teri, commemorated their 40th wedding anniversary in July 2021.
Professional
In the mid 1990s, Carter started the Free Management Library, one of the world’s largest collections of free, online resources about personal, professional and organizational development—a venture that was well ahead of its time. During that period, he also developed a group-based, peer coaching model which was adopted by a wide variety of organizations around the world for a variety of uses. He is co-founder of Authenticity Consulting and Action Learning Source, both of which worked with that peer coaching model. More recently, he founded the Consultants Development Institute, one of the few on-line, self-directed training programs about how to consult to solve complex problems and how to facilitate strategic planning in any type of organization. See Affiliated Websites.
He holds a B.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences, a B.S. in Computer Science, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, and a Ph.D.in Human and Organization Development from The Union Institute. The University of St. Thomas awarded Carter the “Business Excellence Award” for volunteering over six hundred hours of community service. Carter also received the “Organization Development Practitioner of the Year” award from the Minnesota Organizational Development Network for his many contributions to the fields of peer coaching, Action Learning, and Organization Development.
Watch the moving and very appreciative career tribute that many of his colleagues arranged for him in May of 2023.