Of Best Intentions

Abstract

In addition to managing the requirements of our existing clients, I was asked to become a member of an executive advisory group that would lead the development of learning as an externally marketable product. Despite the individual and collective passion, there was immediate misalignment: the project manager insisted on accountability and timeliness of delivery; the product manager was focused on branding and marketing for consistency and repeatability; the training manager was driven by engaging sales and providing delivery collateral for a network of contract trainers; the director was committed to collaboration so that various business units could successfully coexist while meaningfully contributing their areas of expertise to the development of a new product; the executive vice-president was focused on long-term fit for market growth; and I was determined that we bring nothing less than theoretically sound and practice-proven programmes to our clients.