October 2007

I love this time of year. As a huge football fan, I spend my free time consumed with college and professional games and the debates that rage about “Who’s number 1?” But while most analysts can agree about where the teams should rank among the elite programs, many have trouble agreeing about what makes them great.

Is it the coaches (or leaders) that give their teams the edge, or the offensive and defensive strategies, or the players (or personnel)? What creates the winning culture? As I put together this issue of BEST Award winners, I realized that some of these same questions can apply to these winning organizations. Do their leaders, employees, culture of learning, or developmental strategies make them special? Or is it a combination of all of those things?

One thing is for sure—the BEST organizations, like championship football teams, possess a winning culture—one that has best practices for creating high performing teams. As with any championship football team, having one great key element—such as a coach (or CEO)—isn’t enough to move a team from good to great. The same holds true for BEST Award winning organizations. One learning strategy won’t put the organization into an elite category, but it’s a great start.

For a football team to gain elite status, it must have a strong draft (hiring strategy), great team chemistry (teamwork), a winning philosophy (culture), an innovative coaching staff (leaders), and cutting-edge strategies to combat the challenges that other teams throw at them. As you will read in this issue, the 42 BEST Award winning organizations all found ways to link learning to their organizations’ business strategies, develop the skills of their employees, and promote a culture of performance.

Workplace learning and performance professionals can create programs to align learning to business strategies, but unless employees buy into their value, they are just programs. BEST organizations not only create programs for their employees, but many include those employees in the training, using them as coaches, teachers, and mentors. They take buy-in to a whole new level. Like championship teams, BEST organizations are admired for their best practices and their innovative ideas and programs. Take the time to read about these top organizations; maybe next year your organization will be in the spotlight.

Paula Ketter
Editor, T+D
pketter@astd.org

FEATURES

2007 BEST AWARD WINNERS
BEST: Better Than the Rest
We’re often asked “What does it take to be BEST?” It isn’t just one thing that makes a company a winner of an ASTD BEST Award. Organizations only make it to the ranks of the BEST if they can demonstrate excellence in several of these areas: alignment, C-level involvement, efficiency, effectiveness, investment in learning, learning opportunities for employees, measurement of effectiveness and efficiency, and success with nontraining solutions to business needs.

Many BEST organizations involve their top leaders, including the CEO, as teachers and mentors. Their CEOs support the corporate university and see it as a way to help prepare the next generation of leaders designated by the company’s succession plan. Companies gain efficiencies too, by training managers as trainers. Forty-two companies made the grade this year. Find out who.

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DEPARTMENTS

INTELLIGENCE
Cultural Fusion
Don’t let random performance be the impetus of failure after a merger.

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RE:SEARCH
Reliance on Coaching May Have Peaked
Survey finds that some organizations will rely on coaching less than in the past.

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TRENDS
Stretching: Good for Mind and Body
Stretch assignments are revitalizing careers.

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FUNDAMENTALS
Teaching the Intangibles
Contrary to popular belief, soft skills can be taught in a virtual environment.

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DEVELOPMENT
The Art of Give and Take
Negotiating is the one tool that can help you excel in any type of business situation.

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IN EVERY ISSUE

WHAT THINGS COST
What Does Teleconferencing Cost?

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THE LONG VIEW
T+D profiles John (Jack) H. Zenger, CEO of Zenger | Folkman, a leadership-development company, in Orem, Utah.

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BOOKS

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