Cathy Liska 
Recently one of my students met the V.P. of a large global conglomerate at a business event. Very quickly into their conversation he asked her to conduct a 5-day executive training for the top brass of his company (and money was no object for the right trainer). My student asked him to define “right”, to which the requestor replied: “Well, I know what I don’t want” and went on to elaborate.
Turns out that the company had engaged several trainers from around the world over the past three or so years, and although each trainer was very good at what they did, “they just train and leave, never to be heard from again unless we reach back out to them.”
Further Q&A revealed the following needs:
- Hands-on training for their executives, instead of a series of lectures and handouts.
- Practical ways to empower each executive for carrying out the duties of their office effectively and efficiently, and an accountability partner holding them to that commitment.
- A resource to reach out to as and when appropriate in a dynamic and highly competitive, global economy.
- Tools to apply when situations arise after the training.
My student soon realized the problem and articulated it to the VP – they did not want another trainer – they had been looking for a coach this whole time!
