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follow Rob Galford

We offer customized executive education because it's what works best for all but the most introductory topics.

Given the widely-differing needs of each organization, there is no “one size fits all” development curriculum, architecture or program that can be ported from one organization to another. While it's easy to cut and paste or “global replace” educational materials, it simply doesn’t work in the real world. The businesses, their cultures and their problems are too different.

An Approach Based on Practical Experience

We take a practical approach in both the design and the delivery of executive development activities. Before we started teaching in top-tier university programs, we spent a few decades in actual business roles across such industries as financial services, advertising and marketing, real estate investment and the like. We know first-hand that too much time spent in listening mode in a classroom setting can be deadly. So we make our sessions lively, often case-based, highly interactive, and spectacularly well-delivered.

A Program Designed for Your Needs

The design and delivery of our management development programs are tailored to accomplishing your specific, identified objectives. A helpful question we often ask our clients is how much they need to focus on:

1. Increasing knowledge;
2. Developing and honing skillsets;
3. Changing or embracing attitudes, and/or
4. Adapting new behaviors.

If it is a combination of the above, what should that allocation be? It helps us, as we design sessions and programs with and for you, to add or flavor the mix with academic colleagues, guest speakers, live cases, simulations, or action-learning elements.

While we are proud of our own thought leadership and intellectual capital as published in The Trusted Advisor, The Trusted Leader, Your Leadership Legacy and elsewhere, we find that this tailored approach works best.

Executive Education and Development Examples

Here are some examples of executive education and development efforts in which we have been involved:

• Designing, developing and teaching strategic leadership programs for the finance and infrastructure groups of one of the world’s largest financial services entities. The four-day program included guest professors, simulations and custom cases, and was delivered in North America, Europe and Asia.
  
  
• Creating a session on Building Client Relationships for account executives at a major investment management firm. The two days include custom cases, senior firm executives taking on client roles, and self-assessments.
  
  
• Teaching numerous half-day sessions to partners at a major law firm in three cities, focusing on direction-setting, feedback and coaching their attorneys.
  
  
• A two-day session for high-potential vice-presidents in the finance area, covering corporate, business, and operating strategies. The session included Harvard-style cases and lots of application exercises.