Harrison Withers

“Don’t find a job. Don’t find a career. Don’t look for the places you think you fit in. Find a cause. Discover the good you can do in the world and what talents you have that can help. When you do that, the job and career will find you.”

That’s advice from author and talent development leader Harrison Withers '98, who is currently principal at TiER1 Performance Solutions.

Withers’ work involves performance improvement and employee engagement, and his career path stems from a Bachelor’s of Science in Scientific and Technical Communications from Michigan Technological University. He credits Anne Wysocki and her views on the use of computers for multimedia as a huge influence his student experience.

Harrison was hired out of Tech as an eLearning Programmer at Domino’s Pizza World Headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He eventually became Director of eLearning, where he helped create more than 30 learning programs for Domino’s.

Harrison moved on to Media 1, a business management consulting company, He spent 10 years there, becoming Vice President and working with several multi-billion-dollar companies.

Harrison joined Tier1 in December 2014. He authored Organizational Horsepower: Thinking Like a Motorcycle Racing Team in 2015.

“Helping others reach their greatest potential is far more rewarding than self-achievement,” he said. “The funny thing is, when are successful in helping others elevate, the result is often advancement. It’s just a better way of getting there.”

Withers has plenty of other passions outside of work. He came to Tech hoping to play hockey and ended up spending a lot of time at the ski hill and playing in several rock bands. After graduation, he became involved with the AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines Harley Davidson XR1200 motorcycle racing series. He also builds guitars and races paddleboards.

“Right foot, left foot. Find your direction and take things one step at a time. Don’t be afraid to fail. But if you’re going to fail, do it fast so you can learn what you need to and resume your journey. Do the right things. The scoreboard will take care of itself.“

Updated 1/21/19