Our Leading Edge
Sue McPhail, APR, President, Ideaology
Since the day she was asked at the age of 18 for her ideas by the advertising manager of a daily newspaper, Sue McPhail has been passionate about ideas and the people who have them; as well as innovation and cultures which foster inventive thinking.
Her firm, Ideaology, is charting new territory:
Sue believes that prolific innovation springs from cultivating flexible, multi-dimensional thinking and open-ended discovery. Innovators must build their resilience as well as the ability to think and act decisively. With those goals in mind, she devoted three years to reclaiming her own inventive capacities as a student in Landmark Education’s Wisdom Unlimited program. The past five years, she has participated as a parent and volunteer in the emergence of creative and critical thinking among children who are educated in Waldorf Schools, using a unique educational philosophy developed by Rudolf Steiner in Germany. Sue honed her own capacities to observe more deeply through drawing courses at the College of Creative Studies. She cultivated the ability to quickly assess a situation, then take effective, decisive action during the 12 years she studied martial arts. Sue holds a second degree black belt in Taekwon Do.
Sue spent 10 years working in advertising agencies where innovation and creativity are essential. In those environments, every employee is treated and managed as a “creative.” Uncommon ideas are expected and encouraged. She brings these management perspectives and practices to her clients.
These practical, observational and innovation skills have been incorporated into the programs Sue leads. These programs include idea marketing, listening for innovation, creating innovative cultures and spokesperson training for innovation. She does not observe innovation from the bleachers. She’s on the playing field herself, so clients benefit from real-life experience.
Sue’s communications and innovation catalyst initiatives have been recognized with an Emmy, Gold Caddy, 10 American Cancer Society National Honors Citations and a PRSA Pace Award. She received a BA in journalism from Michigan State University and is Accredited as a public relations counselor by the Public Relations Society of America.
Her clients have included General Motors, Young & Rubicam Advertising, GM Racing, Visteon, Jervis B. Webb Company, American Cancer Society, Waldorf Education, Hot Rod Magazine, Kmart Corporation, Century 21 Great Lakes, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, Care Choices HMO, Michigan State Police and the City of Pontiac.
Sue often collaborates with her husband, Mark McPhail, an inventive mechanical engineer. Mark is one of the most recognized authorities in American hot rodding. Their seven-year-old daughter, Zora, has attended a Waldorf school for five years, and son, Michael Phillips, is a music student at Oakland University.
Mark McPhail, Chief Engineer, Ideaology
Mark is one of America’s best known experts in high performance hot rods. Making engine modifications understandable to non-enthusiasts, auto buffs, dealers and editors has been a priority of his for two decades. Mark is responsible for innovative performance parts product development, demonstration vehicle builds, emission testing and CARB certification, automotive enthusiast media relations, technical seminar development and presentations, automotive event management and the development of strategic collaborative partnerships with other automotive suppliers and aftermarket manufacturers.
One of Mark’s most important contributions to this field has been the leadership role he has played in the development of parts that increase horsepower while adding environmental responsibility. Mark’s demonstration vehicles have been featured in Hot Rod, Car Craft, Popular Hotrodding, Rod and Custom, Chevy High Performance and other enthusiast magazines. They have been featured at the SEMA Show, Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour, Autorama, Performance Racing Industry Show, Woodward Dream Cruise, Circle Track Trade Show and others.
A graduate of Michigan Technological University, Mark spent 20 years in the area of powertrain innovations before joining Ideaology in 2005. He has attended the College of Creative Studies and University of Michigan.
ASSOCIATES
David M. Verduyn is the President of C2C Solutions Inc. He has more than two decades of experience in design and systems engineering, technical instruction, product development consulting & technical course development. verduyn@c2c-solutions.com
Since 1983 Dave has trained 10,000 engineers & product developers in leading Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Methods including Systematic Innovation, VOC, QFD, eQFD, TRIZ, FMEA, CAD, VA/VE, and more. Dave has a broad range of practical experience including Automotive, Consumer and Industrial products, Medical Systems, Defense and Service Industries.
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