This past week myself and a colleague were presenting to a State Department on who the Mandt System are, how we want to connect with our partners and what we teach. In preparation for this I was thinking about our 40 years of experience of delivering learning and development and our own learning through that process. It stuck me that if we have learnt anything, it is that there is so much we still don’t know…
There is a danger of arrogance when your business has been around a while and survived some challenging times. You can think that you have cracked the formula and know all that there is for you to know. For us in the partnerships we have established with our customers we have a unique relationship and one that ‘by invitation’ can be an incredibly rewarding and engaging journey for all.
The Mandt System program may serve as the vehicle that our partner chooses to use on their journey to creating healthy relationships and safer workplaces but the route and journey are of their own choosing. Every once in a while our partner offers us a seat in the vehicle and allows us to share part of their journey. This experience is invariably a humbling one. Rather than us marveling at the great vehicle we have built we get to see how in expert, strong and often ‘loving’ hands the vehicle can be turned into something exceptional that delivers ‘above and beyond’ our expectations. This is when we realize that we know less than we think we do, even with our years of experience.
The journey is not ours to make, but the invitation, when made, is one we must and will continue to grasp as that for us, it is often the best learning and development gift of all.
Simon Kemp – Senior Vice President North America
