I found that the regular assessment through Friday5s® kept my
goals fresh in my mind and made me more proactive
in looking for ways to work toward them
Best of the Best
Fort Hill recently concluded its sixth annual Best Practices Summit. Fifty learning leaders from global companies attended to share best practices regarding transferring learning to the workplace and then turning it into results. Many well-known organizations presented including Agilent Technologies, Deloitte, Genentech, The IRS and others. Attendees also received a preview of Fort Hill’s completely new suite of follow-through and learning transfer tools, as well as the new interactive learning modules: Getting Your Money’s Worth from Training and Development and Learning as Competitive Edge.
Conference Highlights:
The conference theme was getting your money’s worth from training and development, with a core focus on learning transfer and behavior change. Sue Todd of the Corporate University Exchange lead off with a keynote address on “Branding Learning and Development” and managing the brand effectively for sustainability.
- Nicole Roy-Tobin and Katie Coates of Deloitte discussed their effective use of The Six Disciplines model in support of their business strategy for improved performance.
- Carol Wells of Genentech also focused on the use of The Six Disciplines and its strategic value as a common language that has strengthened Commercial Training and Developments relationships with the overall business.
- Pete Cage and Mike Girone gave a lively presentation regarding the success of the Managing at Agilent program which used Fort Hill’s Results Engine® learning transfer tool to ensure that participants took post course action and practiced their new skills long enough to develop mastery.
- Becky Bechtel from Air Products shared how she was able to deliver a high impact leadership program and then deliver ROI as an output.
- Deb Gmelin from Humana gave a fascinating presentation of “Learning as a Go-to-Market Strategy,” utilizing The Six Disciplines model to design a public facing learning simulator designed to help solve some of the critical health care issues faced in the United States.
Day one of the Summit ended with a timely presentation by Jim Kelly, Chief Operating Officer of ING Direct that examined “What the C-Suite Wants from Learning and Development to Support the Business Brand and Strategy.” This was an invaluable peek behind the curtain of the executive suite regarding their perceptions and expectations about the learning function.
Day two of the Summit was equally exciting and rewarding. It opened with a keynote by David Allen of Getting Things Done fame. David was brilliant as usual and left the group with much to think about in terms of achieving their own “stress free productivity.”
- Sandy Allred from McKesson presented her successful use of DevelopmentEngine® in her “Leaders Teaching Leaders” curriculum and the impact of manager support on learning transfer.
- Laurie Cusic presented on Wyeth’s “Sales Leadership Effectiveness” process that found that ResultsEngine had increased engagement and connection to the learning during the six months after the learning event.
- Carol Bonett from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney discussed her innovate use of The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning model to design her Q-Up program which had a blockbuster impact on her sales managers’ performance.
- Mike Stoyak of the IRS presented on the Service’s recent use of The Six Disciplines to completely redesign their Front Line Management Program and the value they derived from having the framework with a focus on business results, as well as a common language for their design team.
- Mike Petersell of Pitney Bowes discussed his use of Friday5s® in support of their EDGE class and the fantastic goal attainment and learning transfer that occurred across both leadership capabilities and functional responsibilities.
- Liz Dimitri of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts gave an inspired presentation on her Core Leadership Curriculum Program where she gave each of us a guided tour, using an ingenious gardening metaphor, of how she used Friday5s to attain great results from her participants.
- Our wrap-up session was an examination by Dr. Roy Pollock and Dave Basarab on how Fort Hill’s learning transfer tools can support post-program measurement and evaluation strategies.
This year’s summit was our best ever. It was a unique opportunity to hear from experienced learning professionals about how they are tackling the issue of ensuring learning transfer and producing great business results. We at Fort Hill are deeply grateful for the time and energy devoted by all our speakers and attendees to make the Summit great!
