Notes from the Road
CUX's Chairman reports from Dubai, Berlin and more

Overseas companies turning to corporate universities and performance management

Alan Todd

The message couldn't be clearer. The corporate university model, which couples learning closely to business strategy, is taking hold far beyond the borders of the United States.

During recent travels to the Leaders in Dubai conference, Online Educa Berlin, and some of the countries of the Gulf Cooperative Council*, I heard the same things over and over: We need to attract and train the next generation. We have a leadership shortage and need people with a global outlook. We are too reliant on one product and need innovative thinking to move forward.

All of us have heard similar comments from the leaders of U.S. companies. But rather than look for "flavor-of-the-month" quick fixes, the leaders I've talked to are looking to transform the way people lead and learn. They are investing in enterprise learning strategies with a clear mandate to develop people at all levels to meet the challenges ahead.

LEADERS IN DUBAI

The Dubai skyline

The Leaders in Dubai conference on November 28-29 was a gathering of the Gulf region's business elite, with speakers like Lou Gerstner, Michael Eisner, Queen Noor and Colin Powell. There were more than 1800 delegates from more than 40 countries. One of the keynote speakers, C.K. Prahalad, talked about the innovative strategies that will be needed to reach a developing world with 5 billion potential consumers. This set the tone for the meeting. Some of the other issues on the minds of the executives attending the meeting included the phenomenal growth in places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar, the relationship between government and business, and how to develop an educational system that prepares people properly.

Although some countries in the region are still tribal, and many of the businesses are family owned, the Arab world is rapidly being thrust into the global marketplace. Global leaders, people who can traverse cultures, develop relationships, communicate well outside their native country, and set a good example for others to follow, are critically needed. The businesses in the region know this and are starting to identify high potential candidates and move them through programs. They recognize that development processes must be based on merit, not on length of time on the job, family name, or ethnic origin. They also recognize that there is a role for business, government, and universities to collaborate in order to develop leaders in great numbers.

In some ways, the area is a victim of its own success. Petroleum was the fuel that fed corporate success. Innovation wasn't an issue, nor was efficiency or learning. But now companies feel that they have a socio-economic responsibility and can't rely on the government for what they need to succeed in business. And foreign investment is also changing the rules, though not completely. Lou Gerstner's Carlyle group has committed to investing $1 billion dollars in the region and there is money pouring into infrastructure and hard assets. But there still needs to be more investment in technology, scientists, innovation, ideas, and other human capital or soft-side areas. And businesses are stepping up to make those investments - starting with strategic learning.

Alan Todd in Dubai

ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN

Online Educa brought together over 2,000 delegates from 93 countries. Industry, government, and higher education were broadly represented. The global audience (the conference is conducted in English) represented a real mix in terms of tools and technology. Fronter CEO Roger Larsen said this is the only place where half the attendees are discussing web 2.0, blogs, and wikis, while the other half don't have broadband Internet and only occasionally have electricity. But all of the people I spoke to were optimistic about their learning initiatives, with the most popular topics discussed being podcasting, and the afore-mentioned blogs and wikis.

If there was a key word at this year's conference it was RAPID. Tools that create Rapid content, Rapid conversion of PowerPoint files to Flash, Rapid Podcast creators, Rapid, Rapid, Rapid. I couldn't find any products that claimed to be slow or complex!

During my session on management and leadership development, we discussed the role of senior executives in rolling out a leadership development or e-learning initiative. Everyone agreed that senior management must sponsor the initiative and there must be a solid business rationale. And it isn't always necessary to show senior executives a thorough financial model with ROI projections. Many times, projects can get carried forward based on a belief that it is critical to the organization to have a pipeline of people able to fill key leadership positions.

Berlin Hotel

MORE EVIDENCE

Meetings in December in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia cemented the impression gathered at Leaders in Dubai and Online Educa. Companies are hoping that well-designed enterprise learning strategies coupled with performance management will jumpstart their emergence as true global companies.

Alan Todd is the Chairman of Corporate University Xchange. He can be reached at atodd@corpu.com.

*Gulf Cooperative Council: Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates.

Attend Online Educa if you want to join in the global dialogue on Learning and Technology. The conference venue is set up nicely for lots of mingling, chatting, and networking. The trade show booths are scattered all throughout the hotel, as are the meeting rooms. I really like that layout better than having all vendors in one giant exhibition hall because it fosters much more intimacy. And, the coffee stations were spread out in different sections near the booth areas (see photo, above). I noticed many people getting their coffee or tea and then watching a demo or learning about some new learning technology.