Culture Change for a Total Organization
Executive MBA
Financial Services Annual Meeting

Client: Culture Change for a Total Organization
Self-Directed Team Development

The Kohler Experiential Learning Center partnered with a global, world-class manufacturer of premium quality products for both branded and privatelabel categories. Our staff was contracted to provide an experiential training experience to supplement classroom curriculum on high-performing teams. Over a two-year period, our staff worked with all 400 employees of their central manufacturing facility in a customized program that had two, four-hour segments. Phase II built upon the learning process of Phase I. The classroom content was integrated into the experiential work and the sessions consisted of representatives from various departments and shifts as to not disrupt production.

The company committed to a culture shift from the top down to develop a high-performing team environment. The long-term strategy incorporated measurements that would assess progress as various initiatives were rolled out. Potential increases in pay and responsibility were tied to competencies that employees could train towards through self-selection.

The Kohler Experiential Learning Center played an integral part in the first two years of this customer's journey, bringingthem success through more engaged employees and a significance increase in business efficiency. Subsequent leadership retreats were conducted for senior-level management to increase their emotional intelligence skills and team dynamics. Our staff continues this partnership after four years and is seen as a valuable partner in helping the customer reach their learning goals.

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Client: Executive MBA
Networking and Team Building

For the past 10 years the Kohler Experiential Learning Center has provided a one-day experience for an Executive MBA program incoming class. As a part of their 10-day immersion process that starts their first year, the Kohler Experiential Learning Center organizes the capstone event that consistently has ranked as the top-rated experience in their MBA program. Our goal is to provide an individual and team challenge to a class that has only recently met. The Kohler Experiential Learning Center supports the formation of their study groups and accelerates the development process as they gain perspective through meeting self-determined levels of acceptable challenges. Our staff works within a feedback-rich environment and an appreciative approach to explore potentials and talk about the social value of creating an open, supportive collegial environment.

The process demonstrates the value in real time, and the energy created from the day is a positive springboard into this group's first academic semester as working adult learners. Getting the class into a different environment allows the class to get to know each other on more deep and meaningful levels. This is often mentioned as "priceless."

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Client: Financial Services Annual Meeting
TEAMJAM® - A large-group learning event

The Kohler Experiential Learning Center designed a full-day experience for a meeting of 160 U.S.-based associates from a financial services department of a manufacturing company. The main goals were:

• Team engagement - Getting everyone involved to their potential
• Learn about MBTI for Self and through relationships with associates
• Have fun and create energy for the rest of the meeting
• Break down barriers between "silos"
• Build professional networks
• Explore smarter ways to do business
• Examine assumptions behind work processes and attitudes

TEAMJAM is a customized, self-directed learning experience designed for large groups. Typically the design engages people's sense of innovation, collaboration and interpersonal connectedness through a friendly competition. The energy created through this experience is celebratory;  embraces the concepts of engagement, growth and learning; and supports people getting to know one another in a fun experience.

This program integrated data from the Myers-Briggs assessment and tied directly into the larger meeting agenda of this annual gathering. The customer had never tried anything like this and was concerned how it would be embraced. Successful on all accounts, the experience provided many new relationships to get started. It revealed the creative and playful potential of the attendees and was overwhelmingly evaluated as a positive catalyst for making this meeting their best one ever.

Most importantly, TEAMJAM was designed to include content that would have been presented in break-out formats. This created valuable inputs in a more informal and candid atmosphere as the attendees opened up more than what was reported from past meeting processes. Great learning occurred and the significant value-added business outputs far exceeded the customer's expectations.

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