Testimonials

I can't thank you enough for the invaluable expertise you provided. Cheryl Ann Chambers, Operon Partners
My experience has been great. The course material is deep and extremely helpful. Paul Buschek, Business Elevator
This program is a god send. It fit my needs perfectly as I just wanted the learning without the high cost and extensive class time. Mary Skyers, GE
The practical application of the theory to my day job was superb. Marty Nugent, SW Bell

Module Format (continued)

Specific Topics and Questions for Reflection and Discussion -- highlights key concepts to understand about the overall topic of the learning module

Specific Activities to Build Systems and Practices -- guides the learner to develop the basic systems and practices to successfully build and manage the organization

Assessments -- helps the learner measure and / or evaluate extent of application of that topic to the learner's organization

Tracking Open Action Items -- guides the learner throughout the program to consistently record and track any incomplete action items remaining from the current and previous learning modules

Reminders to Learners -- poses miscellaneous reminders for learners to ensure they're using information and skills from previous learning modules

If the learner chooses to go through the program on their own (rather than, for example, as part of a group of learners sponsored by a local service provider), the program is entirely online.

You Can Provide Program with Little in Expertise or Resources!

You have a wonderful opportunity to offer a highly accessible, "nuts and bolts" program to others in your area! Offering the program will be much easier than you think. You'll read below about a straightforward approach called "peer-training groups" that you can use to design and carry out the program. This approach requires little in expertise or resources from you.

Primary Considerations in Setting Up Any Development Program

There are some fairly standard considerations in setting up and offering any management and organization development program. You'll need to think about the following primary considerations. (Keep in mind that the peer-training process takes care of many of these standard considerations for you!)

They include:

What do you want to accomplish overall with your MBA program? Professional development? Organization development? Networking? Complement another training program? Other(s)?
How will learners gain the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to achieve the outcomes that are preferred from the program? Will learners listen to lectures? Do readings? Have discussion? Other(s)?
What group(s) of learners will be in your program? New entrepreneurs? Experienced chief executives? Board members? Middle managers? Consultants? Volunteers? Other(s)?
How will learners be organized as they go through the program? In groups/classes? On their own? As part of another program? Other(s)?
In the case of an online program, will your learners have consistent access to computers and the World Wide Web?
How will you evaluate the quality of the process in your program? How will you identify what outcomes were achieved by learners? How will you show evidence of that learning?
What expertise might you need to offer and support the program? Subject-matter experts? Trainers? Evaluators? Advertisers?
How will you advertise your program and recruit learners? Advertisements? Newsletters? Classifieds in newspapers? Direct mail? Word of mouth? Other(s)?
What materials and facilities do you need? Training materials? Classrooms? Parking spaces? Other(s)?
What costs are involved? Trainers? Subject-matter experts? Facilities? Advertising?
What fee will you charge learners?
Where will you get help if needed?
What is involved in kicking off the program?

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How Peer-Training Groups Make It Easy to Provide the Program

Adults learn best when they a) actually apply new information and materials, and b) exchange ongoing feedback with others around those experiences. Few traditional classroom conditions support these ideal conditions for learning. In most cases, an expert delivers the training and afterwards learners leave the room, seldom to see each other again. Too often, training materials sit on shelves collecting dust -- learners never really apply their new learning. This problem doesn't happen in peer-training groups!

The process in peer-training does provide ideal conditions for learning. The peer-training process is based on the action learning process, which is used across the world for personal, professional and organizational development.

Before Peer-Training Begins, Sponsor Markets Program and Recruits Learners

Before the peer-training process begins, the program sponsor organizes learners to go through the program. This involves some basic advertising and promoting about the program. How that marketing is carried out depends very much on the nature and needs of the sponsoring organizations and the locale in which the program is being offered.

How the Peer-Training Process Works

Once the group of learners has been organized, here's generally how the peer-training process works. The following sequence repeats itself for each topic in a program.

1. The sponsor provides training materials in regard to a certain topic. (In this case, all of the materials are already completely and available for free in the Free Micro-eMBA.)
2. Learners meet on a regular basis, for example, every two to four weeks in three-hour meetings. Meetings are about three hours long.
3. Between meetings, learners read the training materials in regard to the topic.
4. Each meeting starts with some type of training activity, often just a one-hour, open discussion about the particular topic that the learners had just read about previous to coming to the meeting.
5. Immediately after the one-hour discussion period, learners are organized into groups of 5-7 learners each to do a two-hour peer-training circle (ideally, in separate rooms).

6. In their groups, learners share any materials that they brought to share with other learners in their group, for example, policies, plans, etc., that were developed from applying new information and materials learned during the program
7. In each group meeting, each learner gets a specific amount of time (a time slot of, eg, 20 minutes) to get help from other members of the group. During their time slot, each learner addresses five specific questions, including:
a) How did I apply the new information and materials gleaned from the meeting of two to four weeks ago?
b) What did I learn from applying that information and materials? (It's highly suggested that the learner write down their perceptions of their new learning.)
c) How do I plan to apply the new information and materials gleaned from today's meeting?
d) How can this group of peers help me apply the new information and materials before the next meeting in two to fours weeks?
e) Are there any information and materials that I'd like my peers to bring for me in the next meeting that we'll have in two to four weeks?
8. At the end of that meeting, each member evaluates the quality of that meeting and specifies what could have been done to make the meeting even better.
9. Between meetings, members apply the new information and materials that were gleaned from the previous meeting.

Suggested Number of Meetings Per Learning Module

The program's learning modules vary in the amount of materials to review and activities to conduct (in order to build systems in the organization). Therefore, it may be prudent to use more than one meeting to address certain modules (this is in the case where the program sponsor has chosen to organize learners together in meetings, e.g., in peer-training groups).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)