Behind the Scenes with a Behavior Analyst CEO

Angela Cathey, MA & Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D

bSci21Media, LLC

Brett DiNovi, M.A., BCBA

Brett DiNovi & Associates

An increasing number of behavior analysts are going into business; however, few of us receive instruction on how to make the transition from behavior analyst to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effectively. Today we will take a behind the scenes look at what a behavior analyst CEO does day-to-day.

Brett DiNovi & Associates (BDA) is one of the largest behavior change organizations on the East coast. They serve a variety of clientele including children with developmental disabilities and organizations that would like to improve their functioning. In a recent video by BDA, Brett discusses how he keeps Brett DiNovi & Associates improving.

For this behavioral CEO, 90% of his average day is spent evaluating the effectiveness of his organization and employees at serving their clientele. He spends a great deal of his time reviewing the pacing and appropriateness of care provided to clients and honing operations to make them more effective. He, additionally, has several individuals on his team who specialize in monitoring the data produced during daily operations and interactions. These individuals trouble-shoot and maximize various aspects of the organization and keep Brett up-to-date on patterns that may require his intervention. The primary functions of a CEO, across industries, are often related to these types of tasks.  As the leader of a multi-million-dollar organization, one must keep an eye on the functioning of the entire system and stay ahead of potential problems.

Major sections of Brett’s time are also spent learning regulations and assuring compliance with federal and state laws and practices relevant to leading multiple organizations that exist in different states. Across states tax, labor, and employee rights vary. Keeping track of these differences in regulations and altering practices, policies, and training materials appropriately is, not surprisingly, a time-consuming activity for Brett. As the leader of BDA Brett also spends a good deal of his time assuring quality of care and customer service. He believes that each customer or client should have a positive experience with his brand, and is known to meet directly with customers or clients to improve their experience.

The remainder of Brett’s typical days (10%) is often spent creating content for social media and marketing. This task tends to feed the success of his brand, in many ways, as it contributes to BDA’s marketing and recruitment of appropriate behavior analytic talent.

Make sure to check out the full video, and to subscribe to Brett DiNovi’s YouTube channel and let him know what you would like to see in future videos.  Also be sure to subscribe to bSci21 via email to receive the latest articles directly to your inbox!

bSci21Media, LLC, owns the top behavior analytic media outlet in the world, bSci21.org.  bSci21Media aims to disseminate behavior analysis to the world and to support ABA companies around the globe through the Behavioral Science in the 21st Century blog, bSciEntrepreneurial, and the ABA Outside the Box CEU series.

Brett DiNovi, M.A., BCBA has the unique and distinguished experience of studying the principles of applied behavior analysis under the rigorous scrutiny of both Dr. Julie S. Vargas (formerly Skinner) and Dr. E.A. Vargas at West Virginia University’s internationally recognized program. For the past 26 years, Brett has used behavior analytic principles to create large scale change across school districts, Fortune 500 companies using principles of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), and across individual learners. Brett has been a OBM consultant in Morgantown WV, an instructor at West Virginia University, a guest lecturer at numerous universities, a speaker on multiple Comcast Newsmakers TV programs, an expert witness in due process hearings, has publications in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and has been in in executive leadership positions across schools and residential programs nationwide. In addition to an award from South Jersey Biz Magazine for “Best Places to Work,” an award for “Best of Families” in Suburban Magazine, and the distinguished “Top Ranked U.S. Executives” award, Brett’s proudest accomplishment is being a role model and father for his daughter and two stepchildren (one of which has autism). Brett can be reached at [email protected]

*Paid content by Brett DiNovi & Associates.