About the Author

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Ronald T. Hickey is an executive leadership strategist, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and organizational performance expert whose life's work has been dedicated to helping individuals and organizations discover, develop, and deploy their fullest potential. Throughout a distinguished career spanning executive leadership, public education, facilities management, organizational development, and executive coaching, he has remained committed to one central belief: greatness is not reserved for a select few—it is cultivated through disciplined stewardship, continuous growth, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

As the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Top Talent Management Group (TTMG), Ronald has pioneered innovative approaches to executive evaluation, leadership assessment, and organizational excellence. He developed the PRILY™ Executive Evaluation System, a comprehensive executive assessment methodology designed to help organizations identify, evaluate, and develop exceptional leadership talent while reducing executive hiring risk. Under his leadership, TTMG has become recognized for transforming executive search from a résumé-based process into a comprehensive evaluation of leadership capacity, character, and organizational fit.

Ronald is also the President and CEO of Hickey Associates & Hickey, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in leadership development, organizational effectiveness, strategic planning, operational excellence, executive coaching, and organizational transformation. Through decades of consulting with executives, school districts, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private-sector companies, he has helped leaders create high-performance cultures where excellence becomes the organizational standard rather than the exception.

His executive leadership experience spans both the public and private sectors. 

Ronald has served at the Assistant Superintendent and Director level in the California Public Education System  as well as Senior Vice President in private corporations, where he managed large-scale operations and multimillion-dollar capital portfolios across domestic and international organizations.

Ronald's educational background reflects his passion for lifelong learning and multidisciplinary leadership. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco, completed advanced studies in Business Finance at Stanford University, earned professional certifications in Facilities and Project Management, and served in the United States Navy as a Nuclear Reactor Plant Electrical Engineer. His diverse education has provided him with a unique perspective that combines operational excellence, financial stewardship, engineering discipline, organizational leadership, and strategic thinking.

Beyond his executive leadership career, Ronald is a prolific author and thought leader whose writings challenge conventional thinking about leadership, personal development, organizational culture, and human potential. His previous works include Greatness Is What Greatness Does: 10 Principles of Exceptional Leadership, The Hoola Hoop Paradigm, 12 Insights: An Uncompromising Examination of Life, AMAZINGLY RIDICULOUS: Dream Big, Be Ridiculous and Live an Amazing Life, and EVERYDAY: My Absolute Best for My King. Through each publication, he has encouraged readers to reject mediocrity, embrace disciplined growth, and pursue lives of purpose, significance, and service.

His passion for leadership extends beyond business and education. 

Ronald founded Hickey House Books, where he serves as Publisher and Chief Executive Officer, providing a platform for thought leadership focused on excellence, leadership, and transformational growth.

At the center of Ronald's work is a conviction that has guided every stage of his career: human potential is vastly greater than most people ever realize. Whether coaching executives, consulting organizations, speaking before audiences, or writing books, he continually challenges people to ask a transformative question: What more is humanly possible?

That question became the inspiration for The Mandate of Excellence: Why Mediocrity and Under-Achievement No Longer Have Value in the World. In this landmark work, Ronald argues that the accelerating pace of technological innovation, artificial intelligence, and global competition has fundamentally changed the value of human performance. Mediocrity is no longer merely a personal limitation—it has become an economic liability. Excellence, therefore, is no longer optional; it is the new standard for individuals and organizations seeking to remain relevant and impactful in the twenty-first century.

Yet Ronald believes the pursuit of excellence extends far beyond professional achievement. It is ultimately a calling to become the fullest expression of who God created each person to be. This philosophy serves as the foundation for the coming soon companion volume, The Mandate of Excellence: Living Your Possibilities, which invites readers to reject self-imposed limitations, cultivate their God-given gifts, and pursue lives characterized by continual growth, faithful stewardship, and transformational impact.

Ronald's philosophy is rooted not only in executive leadership but also in personal experience. Growing up in a small rural town in East Bakewell, Tennessee, he witnessed firsthand the transformative power of faith, education, discipline, and perseverance. Those early lessons became the foundation upon which he built a career dedicated to helping others realize that our beginnings never determine our endings. He believes that every human being possesses extraordinary, untapped capacity and that the greatest tragedy is not failure but unrealized potential.

Today, Ronald continues to speak nationally on leadership, organizational excellence, executive performance, and human potential. His work has inspired executives, educators, entrepreneurs, government leaders, nonprofit organizations, and aspiring leaders across the country to reject average, embrace growth, and live lives of intentional purpose.

His enduring message is both simple and transformational:

Excellence is not a destination. It is a lifelong commitment to faithfully becoming everything God created you to be.