Clients
The following synopses provide an overview of programs that
SCS has developed for its clients in a variety of industries:
For more client stories and additional
information on these and other programs, please contact Joann
Dobbie at (312)
503-3839 or jdobbie@northwestern.edu.
Nonprofit Organization
Northwestern University's School of Continuing Studies
is working with an international nonprofit organization
to help its volunteer and staff leadership to develop a strategic
plan for its second 100 years. This prominent, well-known,
mission-driven organization has been very successful in
achieving
its goals in the past, but now faces many new challenges
in an increasingly complex global environment as they seek
to continue to have a major global impact in areas such
as health, education, and disaster relief. Consulting and
facilitation
services provided by Northwestern are helping this organization
to review diverse international humanitarian needs for
the next century, survey its complex and international constituency,
and work with a strategic vision committee to establish
a
new direction, set of priorities and associated action
plan.
The School of Continuing Studies is also working with the
nonprofit's professional staff to provide leadership
development as this organization gears up to move forward
with its new aggressive agenda. The program is delivered
by experienced consultants in the fields of leadership development
with extensive management and leadership experience in the
business world as well as strong personal credentials and
leadership training certification.
The custom Art of Leadership program developed as a custom
program for the nonprofit organization includes the following
topics:
- Translating and communicating the organizational mission
and strategic themes.
- Gaining commitment to program, service
and strategic changes.
- Resolving conflicts and disputes.
- Building high performing
teams.
- The leader as coach.
Financial Services
A large financial services institution asked The School
of Continuing Studies to develop a leadership boot camp for
50 emerging leaders. The firm, which has a history of strong
earnings, needed to find new ways to maintain its high
wealth
customer base in an increasingly competitive global environment.
The leadership hoped to increase the firm's competitive
advantage by enhancing the program participants' sales skills,
product
knowledge and financial planning skills. Following a collaborative needs assessment with the company,
SCS created a program that focused on three key themes: (1)
building client loyalty; (2) honing financial planning skills;
and (3) interacting effectively with clients.
The initial program was conducted over a span of 5 sessions
with cohorts of 25 participants in each session. The highly
interactive curriculum includes a customized case study based
on a client with real needs, and the interaction between
the client and the participant using a consultative approach
with skills learned during the sessions. Participants deliver
real advice for the clients in the case study spanning financial
planning for investment, educational, and retirement needs.
Both the participants and the financial services organization
are benefiting from key interactions throughout the program,
and developing communication skills to enhance client relationships
and increase client loyalty. Participants report significant
gains in a more strategic approach to customer relationship
management and new hands-on skills in financial planning.
This very successful program is now being extended to reach
a national audience of firm employees. In addition, the company
has asked SCS to offer its Certified Financial Planner program
as a custom program for a select group of employees.
Information Technology
The School of Continuing Studies was invited to develop
a custom program for an information technology leadership
association with membership organized into special interest
groups for industries including healthcare, insurance,
education, and financial services. The project, called
the IT Retooling Program, was developed for the IT industry,
but can be applied to any industry in transition. The
response
to the RFP included a focus on creating a leadership
development program for current IT staff in response to a
changing
environment. Key elements of the program were designed
to transition IT staff from a technical focus to a business
focus, and help participants to develop leadership skills,
and blend their business and IT knowledge to better serve
internal and external customers. The rationale for the program is that information technology
industry, like many other sectors, is facing a baby boom
generation work force that is nearing retirement. Succession
planning has taken on new meaning in IT, especially because
of the focus on strategic outsourcing, a new emphasis on
driving business value, and the need to increase organization
productivity and innovation through technology. In addition,
SCS is offering assistance with knowledge management strategies
so that corporate IT knowledge is shared in an intentional
and programmatic way before the senior leadership retires.
The program modules in the IT Retooling Program for emerging
leaders and those who will take on new technology leadership
roles in the organization include:
- Professional communication skills
- Financial management
and risk assessment
- Business value of information technology
- Customer relations
management
- Innovation and technology
- Project management
- Knowledge management
- Competing in a global environment
- Impact of regulation
and compliance issue
The program also includes follow-up leadership coaching
and benchmarking services to track how competitive companies
provide employee development opportunities.
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