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What is Culture?
Wallace stated, “The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.” While his speech was initially intended to inspire the individual college graduate, I believe we can take the concept of “what is water” and apply it to organizational culture. The three fish could easily be three co-workers, the more experienced worker says, “We have some cultural issues here,” and the others say, “What are cultural issues?”
Three Leadership Imperatives for 2020
2020 has been a year for the books. Leaders across disciplines were challenged in ways they never thought possible. Many had to reach deep down for what got them to their position and hang on tight to their beliefs, and sanity, as the rollercoaster of a year continued.
The Adult Learning Trap – or, What Cats, Chess Masters and Adult Learners Have in Common
Most adults love to learn something new while paradoxically over-valuing and over-relying on what they already know. The Wicked Learning Environment requires us to spend more time exploring, which is a critical concession since few of us know as much as we think we do.
“John’s group is amongst the best training teams I’ve ever encountered. My company brought in JMReid Group to provide leadership training almost two years ago. The concept shared, and more importantly, the way the concepts were shared have stuck with me. I use those learnings daily and, as I have been promoted a couple times since, I actually find that they are growing in importance for myself and my team. Thanks to John and his team for helping accelerate my career and personal trajectory.”
– John Brandt, Director, Service Operations, MINDBODY
“Thank you so much for challenging me at the MINDBODY Leadership Training this week. I appreciate that it made me uncomfortable, because that means you were pushing me into learning mode. I’m very excited to see how our team takes your training and turns it into performance.”
– All In Leadership, MINDBODY
“Invaluable content and learning.”
– All In Leadership, MINDBODY
“It was a rewarding experience, the best training I have received so far at MINDBODY. I’m excited for what the future holds.”
– All In Leadership, MINDBODY
“I’m not in a sales role, and the “s” word has traditionally made me uncomfortable. But the frameworks, thought processes, tactics, and models discussed made me feel more comfortable about commercial roles and even had me consider how to “sell” to the internal customers I have in my current role.”
– Advanced Value Selling, Grace
“The training is very engaging. It’s so much better than being lectured at for hours on end.”
– Advanced Value Selling, Grace
“Christina did a superb job at keeping a high level of engagement and attention from the participants throughout the training. It was one of the few training courses I have attended that achieved this.”
– Advanced Value Selling, Grace
“Very interactive. The facilitator shared personal experiences and gave really good real-world examples. I got to practice what we learned during the course, which really reinforced the learning.”
– Foundations of Leadership, Ascensus
“I really enjoyed the practice coaching conversations with peers. I felt less judged because I was in a smaller peer group, but at the same time, I got realtime feedback. Plus, they sprinkled in some advice from tea conversations they had. I also felt myself able to stay way more engaged by the mix of interactive activities, group work and a few listening sessions — I didn’t tune out or get antsy because of this variety.”
– Foundations of Leadership, Ascensus
“The facilitator was energetic and direct. He was not afraid to point out behaviors that may not be constructive. Sometimes, in leadership training, some of the managers in attendance commandeer the training, but John didn’t allow that.”
– Foundations of Leadership, Ascensus
“I really enjoyed and learned from seeing everyone’s contributions to how to shape a vision. The exercise about actually creating a short mission statement of for your team, and the discussion group that we took part in to share thoughts, was very valuable. I walked out thinking: I need to put this into action ASAP!”
– True North, FOX
“The Presentation Skills program designed by JMReid Group was fantastic. They understood our concerns in the discovery and addressed the issues we talked about through the program. I have found my team applying what they learned the next day – not only in preparation for their presentations, but in everyday interactions within the business. Overall, I felt like JMReid Group made the learning actionable, impactful and engaging.”
– Dave Anzivino, VP/General Sales Manager, Presentation Skills, FOX
“For an online course, it was very well executed. From the breakout rooms to the visuals used!”
– Virtual True North, FOX
“This was the only useful class of my day. We’ve been super fortunate to get some solid people and content.”
– Professional Communication , BDO
“The facilitators were great. They provided a distinct difference between two areas of communication and helped me understand that difference. The presentation was very engaging, and it was easy to understand the purpose of the program.”
– Professional Communication , BDO
“We partner with JMReid Group to develop our commercial organization’s sales negotiation skills because they are committed to our overall success. They understand that knowing the context of our business and challenging our sales organization is far more important to changing behaviors than off-the-shelf models and methodologies. They work alongside us to build and implement solutions that drive results.”
– Kelley Crouse SVP & Chief Commercial Officer, C.H. Guenther & Son
“I definitely have already started listening more and talking less. I just had a phone meeting with a large customer that had told me up-front they want to know our capabilities. Not true! They wanted me to listen to their baking methods and then tell them if we could accommodate their needs.”
– Virtual Value Selling Refresh, C.H. Guenther & Son
“These types of constant learnings make you think as a salesman. What do I need to change and become better?”
– Virtual Value Selling Refresh, C.H. Guenther & Son
“Super interesting program! I got very valuable feedback on a personal level. I felt there was a good mix of theory and exercises.”
– Virtual Facilitation Skills, DLL
“The course content, the facilitator and the method of delivery were fantastic, as were the participants! Engaging, fun and definitely good for my personal development. The mix of DLL members in the class were a great way to expand my internal network. This course helped me prepare for the different situations I will encounter while facilitating.”
– Virtual Facilitation Skills, DLL
“This was one of the best training programs I have ever been to at DLL. While it is likely draw individuals who already have a desire to be there and are outgoing, there was a great variety of people with different backgrounds and all outgoing with a lot to contribute. Loved it!”
– Facilitation Skills, DLL
“Great energy in the training. I felt it was good to get a refresher on our sales approach with customers and prospects.”
– Virtual Field Sales, ProAmpac
“I will apply everything. I now know how to ask open-ended questions and listen. I can now respond to my customers so they know that they have been heard. I can organize my conversation in a ‘snowcone’ manner to identify and then collaborate with customer’s needs. Overall, super helpful.”
– Virtual Field Sales, ProAmpac
“Great training! John did a fantastic job delivering the material as well as making it fun and productive. I appreciate ProAmpac investing in their sales team.”
– Virtual Field Sales, ProAmpac
“Fantastic training sessions. I could tell my confidence and the group’s confidence grew as we continued to work through the sessions.”
– Virtual Inside Selling Skills, ProAmpac
“This was great, especially considering we had to do this in a pandemic world. I need to better apply probability and take a look at prospects and addressing their winnability prior to diving in. I also need to ask better questions in order to get better answers. This will help speed up the sales process. Nicely done!”
– Virtual Field Sales, ProAmpac
“It has been extremely rewarding working with JMReid Group. We selected them to build a custom global program for our group, focused on Impact & Influence, and they produced a highly interactive, very well designed and developed program. Participants were engaged throughout both the two-day and one-day versions. Tools such as the placemat and Influence Plan received very positive feedback. We asked participants to invest significant asynchronous and synchronous time prior to arriving in the face-to-face session, as our “flipped classroom” was focused more on experiences, practice and application, rather than knowledge acquisition.
One of our core team members said, “This is the most engaging, interactive, high-quality and well-facilitated ‘interpersonal’ training I have been to in more than a decade.”
I agree that JMReid Group put their knowledge, experience, drive and energy behind making this solution so strong. They have remained true to their point of view while being very flexible and customer focused. I look forward to other global opportunities to work with them.”
– Bob Zimel, Global Director of Learning, Solvay
“I’ve attended five leadership workshops given by John Reid. Each workshop offers me insight into and gives me tools to become a better leader. John’s workshops are designed uniquely for our DSM business, specifically addressing leadership challenges we are facing at the time, making the training relevant and worthwhile. I’ve attended many trainings in the past, but none that are so targeted to our business issues where the learning applied immediately. John’s engaging demeanor allows workshop attendees to be truly present in the moment so that they can capitalize on the time and information learned during the day’s session. I truly look forward to each workshop as I come out of the session a different person – a leader who has the tools to address the needs of our employees in sometimes challenging situations.”
– Laura Coniff, Global Director of Communications, DSM Biomedical
“We partnered with JMReid Group to create a culture of agility, accountability and accelerated communication in support of our business strategy. We are thrilled to report that we have seen significant improvement in our employee engagement and cultural index scores. We recommend JMReid Group to anyone serious about driving culture change.”
– Wendy Losik, Global HR Business Partner, DSM Functional Materials
“John and his team are unique because they listen first and then deliver excellent design/delivery that meets our strategic business needs. So many other groups will push their canned programs at you. With John’s guidance, his team custom built and delivered a global post-merger integration program that was effective for three separate integrations. The feedback from participants has been extremely positive, and John has truly leveraged his experience in the industry to engender trust and credibility with both the participants and the local management teams.”
– Marion Witte, Sr. Director Global Talent Development, DSM Pharmaceuticals
“John and William – it was a smashing success. Senior leadership is all incredibly happy. The participants were engaged and appreciative. We learned a huge amount and it was a great success. Thanks for all your time, energy, expertise–not to mention, thanks for being fun to work with.”
– Alison Hooker, Former Chief Talent and Development Officer, EY
“The session was really helpful in organizing our presentation with a lot of constructive feedback on our content. We are now able to deliver our message more coherently and leverage the leading practices of Zoom that we learned today. Thank you!”
– Virtual BLC Coaching, EY
“Good overall experience and efficient via Zoom. Great presentation. Highly recommend this course in EY.”
– Virtual Deal Coaching Academy (DCA), EY
“This training helped me understand how to effectively structure a meeting, tips for leading the meeting and ways to combat disruptive behavior during the meeting. There were various tips I learned that were especially helpful and resonated with me. As a senior leader who will be responsible for leading a lot of virtual meetings, there was a lot of helpful information and advice provided that I will apply going forward.”
– Virtual Outcome-based Facilitation, EY
“In an otherwise non-traditional on-boarding setting, this course enabled good cross-functional cooperation amongst new EY hires.”
– Virtual Consulting Immersion, EY
“The facilitator, Erica, was great! She gave us valuable feedback, explained things in a concise and clear way and kept the sessions moving! She also kept things interesting by knowing the material, the people involved and having great activities.”
– Virtual EY Core Consulting (EYCC), EY
“Corena was a great instructor. She led good conversations and provoked people to be involved. The content was also well directed and didn’t contain a lot of fluff. The length of the training session and number of days was also easy to accommodate.”
– Virtual Foundations of Leadership Excellence (FLEx), Foundation Medicine
“I liked how we covered a lot of practical challenges with managing and talked about constructive approaches to dealing with them.”
– Virtual FLEx, Foundation Medicine
“I love this format! Easily digestible and keeps it engaging.”
– Virtual FLEx, Foundation Medicine
“I had some mild concerns about how this course would work over web-based interactions. I think the way we break out into virtual rooms and come back is working really well. I’m finding the pace and content to be just right.”
– Virtual FLEx, Foundation Medicine
“Our oneRIVER Leadership development program at MUFG provides the opportunity to bring mid-level leaders together for four days to build and enhance their leadership knowledge and skill. We had three key drivers in selecting JMReid Group as a learning partner for this program. They were 1) creating the most impactful use of the classroom time, 2) aligning the learning to the real work, 3) creating strong sustainment of the learning.
It was a bit of a risk selecting JMReid Group over the more traditional training companies approaches. But the examples of what they’d done in other companies, their strong use of partners and their complete commitment to building a customized MUFG program convinced me: I could not be more pleased with the outcome of that choice. The participants were completely engaged from the first minute through the end of day four. Throughout the week they shared how impactful the learning was and that they could not wait to go back and use it. Each participant became part of a cohort group with whom they will continue their learning, both through learning webinars and in virtual meetings where they share successes and challenges. John and his entire team of project managers, designers and facilitators were great to work with and created a program that rivals anything I’ve been a part of.”
– Denise Ascheri, Director of Leadership and Professional Development, MUFG
“I found the oneRIVER program (both in terms of format and content) to be very thoughtful and insightful. And I found the teaching points to be more tangible and practical than I had anticipated. Your approach and level of enthusiasm were critical to creating an engaging learning environment and I look forward to our follow-up session.”
– oneRIVER, MUFG
“Although the training material was very applicable and the instructors extremely knowledgeable, the connections with other high performing leaders across the Bank will be the most useful.”
– oneRIVER, MUFG
“The program as a whole was great. I feel reenergized by the content and the presentation was fantastic.”
– oneRIVER, MUFG
“The instructors were great. They both had a lot of energy and was able to effectively communicate the substantial course material in a very relatable, applicable and entertaining manner. I really enjoyed the program and highly recommend it for future colleagues.”
– oneRIVER, MUFG