1.  First, we listen to your objectives.

We begin with a conversation to understand the basics of your company’s development needs and determine if there is a match between your requirements and our expertise and resources. At this stage, we ask you to do most of the talking; we will listen closely to your objectives, get a good feel for the individuals or teams that comprise the audience and get a broad appreciation for any overarching circumstances that will help guide us as we build a relationship between our two organizations.

2. Then, we dig for details to understand your developmental needs.

One of the first steps we will take is to establish a team for your organization. Your team will be comprised of at least two individuals—one Vanderbilt Executive Education faculty member and an administrative person—who will work on the development and delivery of your program. Expect that we will spend time with individual and collective members of your management team. The goal is to ensure that we comprehend all facets of your developmental needs and desired outcomes. Many of our clients also find that this process ensures buy-in from senior leaders during the initial stages of our partnership.

3. Next, it’s to the drawing board where we tailor a program for your organization.

We will call upon other Vanderbilt faculty members, as appropriate, to devise and customize a blueprint that melds relevant curriculum with innovative learning practices. Because of the tailored nature of these programs, you will find this to be a collaborative and iterative process. We will prepare drafts of curriculum plans and consult you for feedback. We will continue to edit the curriculum plans and consult you, modifying and perfecting the content and design until they meet your approval. Our development process is a joint effort that requires your organization’s involvement from start to finish.

In addition to the instructional content, there are many other factors to be considered to optimize the experience for your organization. Classroom delivery or distance? Case study, lecture, facilitated exercises? Delivery of information within a single, intensive time frame or bite-sized segments staged over several months with assignments in between? Real organizational issues and projects to work on? Your place or ours? A combination of any or all of the above? We will work in collaboration with you to figure out which  elements best suit your needs.

4. We provide a learning experience that fits your group’s needs.

Expert faculty and extraordinary instruction is what Vanderbilt is known for and this is what you will receive throughout the planning, implementation and evaluation phases of your Custom Program.  If you choose to conduct your program on our campus, you’ll also benefit from Vanderbilt’s beautiful and conveniently located campus, our exceptional classroom facilities, business lounge and service center and operations support.

5. It doesn’t end at delivery. We work with you to evaluate the impact of the program and its ROI over time.

• We believe in the effectiveness of long-term relationships. As a result, our work for you extends well beyond the point that your employees leave the classroom.
• To understand how well the program served your objectives, we start with a thorough evaluation process, surveying participants, and internal sponsors to gather a variety of perspectives.
• Many of our client companies find it helpful to schedule periodic refreshers to discuss and reinforce concepts once employees have had the opportunity to apply them at work.
• Our faculty will stay in touch as they express interest in your organization’s overall momentum and progress toward the goals laid out for the program. Not only have you added a distinguished Vanderbilt professor to your network, but the increased knowledge of your organization benefits any future partnership between our organizations.