References

A major European bank was experiencing a steady decline in its success parameters – first and foremost in customer satisfaction. The problem stemmed to a large extent from an incomplete post-merger integration. There were two cultures, two ways of working, and the customer focus had gotten lost in internal differences.

A well-known management consultancy developed a comprehensive concept to unite the bank and regain a clear customer focus. But how was this strategy to be communicated to almost 15,000 employees?

The solution was an interactive learning program that I developed on the basis of Designed Learning. Different modules aimed at engaging top management, middle management and employees respectively. Each of the modules allowed the respective target group to gain an in-
depth understanding of the new strategy and to draw the all-important conclusions for their actions in daily business.

We launched the interactive learning sessions in three test regions, three months before the nationwide rollout began.

The market research results spoke for themselves: the three test regions showed a remarkable change for the better in their key success parameters. The statistics confirmed that under otherwise identical conditions, their values developed significantly better than those in all other parts of the country – until these had gone through the program as well. In the medium term, the bank maintained its position as the leading bank in the country.

An international technology company had realized that its long-term success could only be secured by placing more emphasis on offering complex solutions. However, sales and support functions such as product development or project management were struggling to sell complex solutions.

How can 3,000 employees worldwide be effectively supported in advancing the company’s most promising business area?

Together with the client’s team of global experts, I developed an approach based on agile principles. A tailor-made learning program made the success factors and workflow of complex solutions sales absolutely tangible for all participants.

This way, the agile mindset that is indispensable for successful solution sales could be securely anchored on a global scale.

Special feature: the entire program was developed virtually by global teams and the 2-day, highly interactive learning experience also took place purely online.

A leading telecommunications company developed a leadership roadmap for its managers. One of four central elements of the roadmap was self- leadership. Because only those who know themselves and know how to act successfully even in difficult situations can lead effectively.

But how do you communicate this quickly and directly to around 600 managers?

We used my program Beyond 101 – Raise your Impact. Beyond 101 provides deep insights into the human psyche in a single day packed with intensive exchange and very practical experiences. Above all, participants learn to apply a very simple process that helps them to better deal with difficult situations – especially when the difficulties are emotional or interpersonal.

The Leadership Roadmap and the self-leadership module in particular have had a lasting positive impact on day-to-day business.

A global business services provider recognized long before the introduction of the iPhone that electronic and mobile business would determine its future. And developed the vision of an electronic and mobile business world.

But how can such a vision be shared with 10,000 employees?

The solution was an interactive learning program that I developed on the basis of Designed Learning. The participants gained an overview of the latest technical advances and developed a deep practical understanding of the opportunities that e/m Business would offer for their business in the future.

The program was delivered to all employees by internal facilitators and was very well received. The company was thus prepared at an early stage for the technological upheaval that would profoundly change its business in the years to come.

An international telecommunications provider was planning a strategy event for its top 1,000 managers. All of them were to be brought together in one venue for a lively exchange. On the one hand, the CEO wanted to get in touch with his leaders as directly and personally as possible, while on the other, everyone present was to experience his trend-setting statements.

How is it possible to create a personal dialog with 1,000 participants in which everyone is actively involved, and the key messages are still heard by everyone?

Together with my colleagues and an event agency, I created a memorable dialog. The participants sat in small groups on ascending tiers in a round room that looked like an arena. The CEO stood in the center and led the strategic discussions.

The participants were given learning materials for each topic, which they used to explore the subject matter in their teams and draw their own conclusions. The teams wrote down their key questions or suggestions on cards, which were gathered, reviewed, prioritized, and forwarded to the CEO.

The CEO conducted the debrief on each topic for the entire room and engaged in a public but very personal exchange with the teams whose cards he had received. The client talked about this event for a long time.

A well-known technology company was about to introduce new ERM and CRM systems. Preparations were well underway, including user training. However, the management team was not convinced that standard user training was sufficient to ensure overall success. They wanted their people to develop a gutfeel understanding of the company’s value creation and to become aware of everyone’s personal impact.

So, how can 4,000 people along the value chain experience the impact of their contribution?

I designed a very hands-on board-based simulation that mirrored the company’s value chain and brought typical difficulties, short-comings and opportunities to life. Participants went through the different stages of the value creation process and had to respond to upcoming challenges at each stage. The impact of their actions on selected KPI’s was registered on a monitor. The team realizing the best overall result won.

The program created a pro-active mindset. Participants clearly realized the importance of everyone’s input into the system and of making the right choices at every stage of the process.

An international technology firm wanted to support a number of teams in different parts of the company, for example, R&D, HR, Purchasing. The challenges varied: improving communication and collaboration, teambuilding, resolving concrete issues, working out new approaches and offerings to the business…

What would be a good way to respond to these diverse challenges?

For each and every team and theme I created an individual workshop concept, first preparing the flow of the workshop in close collaboration with the leaders and then intensely working with the respective teams in the workshop itself, letting the flow unfold as it must to truly respond to participants’ needs.

We chose to first prepare the grounds by taking the teams through a Beyond 101 session. This experience made all following work much easier because participants were more ready to let go of pre-conceived ideas and look at the issues more constructively, through a new pair of glasses.

All workshops ran very well and had substantial results. Some teams invited me to support them further.

A global player in the energy sector had devised a new procurement strategy. The most important aspect: this strategy not only concerned the procurement function as such but their partners in the business just as much.

Now, how could about 2,000 people with impact on procurement spend that were scattered around the world be engaged in this new, collaborative way of purchasing?

Together with the developers of this new approach I created a very hands-on interactive learning program that mostly relied on practical cases. Participants had to choose how to act in each case and quickly realized the manyfold benefits of the new strategy. The program was very well received.

A market leader in manufacturing saw the need for all employees to have a good general understanding of the value flow in the company. Because everyone contributes to value creation.

How can 3,000 people from all parts of the company develop a healthy level of business acumen?

We chose to use CELEMI Apples & Oranges™, a board-based business simulation that helps individuals comprehend how an organization generates revenue, how costs can be reduced, and how processes can be improved to run a more profitable business. Participants work in teams of four and have very valuable conversations and experiences, independent of their position in the company.

Usually, the simulation is run in groups of around 20 people. In this special case, I ran large sessions with 100 people each. This worked extremely well, turning a regular training into a true learning event that created significant momentum in the organization.