Meet John Philip Bachner
A Harvard English major with more than 300 published books and close to 3,000 published articles and columns. John’s first involvement with technical professionals came in 1968, as a consultant to the Consulting Engineers Council of Metropolitan Washington (CEC/MW). When his employer ceased operations in 1971, John established his own firm; CEC/MW became his first association-management client. Later, in 1973, the Associated Soil and Foundation Engineers (ASFE), since renamed the Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA), retained Bachner Communications to manage the group and, soon thereafter, to provide professional-liability loss-prevention guidance. John collected case histories and reviewed them in depth, coming to realize that inadequate “soft skills” were involved in every loss. John prepared books, guides, monographs, case histories, seminars, webinars, computer games, and much more to help professionals improve. John created the Fundamentals of Professional Practice Program in 1988 and has updated it every year since, to create an unparalleled, up-to-date experience for all who participate.
John is passionate about FOPP. He personally reviews and critiques everything FOPP participants write as part of the course, to help them express themselves more as society expects professionals to, and to help them reduce their negligence-liability exposures.
“The best evidence is always what’s in writing,” he explains.
John writes his comments in blood-red ink, using the voice of client-representative Mr. Hyde, the role he plays during FOPP’s distance-learning phase, with the supportive professor, Dr. Jekyll, always being available on request. The effectiveness of John’s approach can be gauged by reading what past participants have had to say.
