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Client Information

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Testimonials

Shellie Crandall, Senior Vice President, Operations, Brinks Incorporated

I can see the impact of our business literacy process on a daily basis. Our employees are now thinking and acting like business partners. Because of the training programs, Money Maps, and reinforcement process, everyone feels a part of the success of the company and is working to improve the numbers every day.

Seema Khan, Learning and Development Manager, Granite Construction

We went through a rigorous process to determine the best approach and vendor for our business acumen programs. We chose the Business Literacy Institute because of their expertise in customizing their classes. Our goal was to turn our managers, who were already experts in construction management, into business people. They needed to understand their financial results, our financial goals, and how their decisions impact the local and corporate level. We collaborated with the Business Literacy Institute to develop an initial four-day pilot program. The audience was so enthusiastic, they suggested adding a day! The five-day program has been rolled out to all of our leadership levels, and now we are rolling out a two-day program and a one-day program to the rest of the organization. We are achieving our goals of turning all our employees into business people, and the Business Literacy Institute has been integral to that process. Their program has been a huge success for Granite and for our employees.

Laurie McGraw, Director, Education and Training, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center

The Business Literacy Institute developed one of our most successful training programs. They integrated our key measures, the basics of financial measurement, and the line of sight concept into a Money Map and training program. Now, there is an increased awareness about how our organization defines success, and individual employees have a better understanding about how they can contribute.

Lou Poole Mobley, Training Consultant, Gulfstream Aerospace

The Business Literacy Institute's program really hit the mark for us. They responded to all our requests for customization of the classes, and their facilitation is a combination of smart and fun. We can't wait for the next class!

Richard O'Donnell, Manager, Leadership Development, GE

Erik Rydstrom, Director, Industrial Operations Team Development, sanofi pasteur

We were looking for a way to teach everyone (employees, managers, directors, etc.) about business and finance. We also wanted to ensure that each individual understood his or her impact on the success of our vaccines and on the company as a whole. The Business Literacy Institute helped us develop training programs and Money Maps to meet our objectives. We've used the Maps over and over again in a variety of settings, always successfully. In addition, the Business Literacy Institute will be facilitating the training program: "Finance for Non-Financial Employees" for us on a regular basis. The Business Literacy Institute understood our needs and how to work with us effectively. Their level of professionalism and quality is top-notch.

Gary St. Pierre, Vice President, Human Resources, MacDermid

The Business Literacy Institute won the bid to create and deliver a customized executive finance course for our multinational corporation. This five-day course was built around our unique financial beliefs and practices and included a series of challenging, real-life business cases. This course came in on budget, on schedule, and was executed with great professionalism and enthusiasm. Their teaching approach is very down-to-earth, smart and real world. They have now delivered the course four times to all of the senior managers and other high-potential employees in our major business segments. Each time, they were able to customize the course to meet the unique needs of each segment. We will continue to drive this course down to the next management levels of our company. In fact, BLI helped us create a one-day version of this course which we are delivering to every U.S. employee to help them understand the financial drivers of our company, as well as our strategies and corporate philosophy. In addition, BLI developed a train-the-trainer program; we now have twenty employee trainers who are certified to deliver this course to our employees. The reaction from the employees has been universally positive. A lot of training providers say they know how to partner with corporations, but BLI truly "gets it." They understand that our investment of time, staff, and budget must be utilized respectfully and effectively. They are a pleasure to work with in every regard.

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Case Studies

Case Study 1
A FINANCE BOOT CAMP
The CEO wanted to transform the organization into a "metric-driven company." The first step was to ensure that the international leadership team had a strong foundation in finance, financial measurement, and analysis. They also needed to thoroughly understand the metrics they used to measure their own business and the impact they had on the business.

The Business Literacy Institute developed and facilitated a five-day leadership boot camp that included both foundational and advanced concepts, case studies, and company specific analysis. Executives also participated as presenters, ensuring that everyone understood how important it was that the participants be fully immersed in the concepts. The program was put together in a way that inspired everyone to make plans to improve their own business. The team is now moving forward, applying the concepts and analysis to improve the entire organization.

Case Study 2
ON THE ROAD TO FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
A Fortune 500 company wanted to start a process of financial transparency. To begin, they needed to educate all managers about financial statements, ratios, capital budgeting analyses, and other key concepts. They placed the Business Literacy Institute's two-day Finance for Non-Financial Managers program into their learning and development catalog so that it was available to managers nationwide. Classes were held several times a year at different locations. Highly customized classes were also developed, based on the specific needs of targeted audiences in their global divisions.

Case Study 3
FINANCE AS A PART OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
A new leadership development program targeted the high-potential managers in this organization. One of the key objectives was to ensure that they all understood the basics of financial measurement and analysis. The Business Literacy Institute developed three customized courses: Foundation, Analysis, and Strategy. Classes were held once a month across a three-month period. These courses gave the managers the knowledge and tools they needed to continue their personal and professional progress—and enabled them to better support the financial goals of the organization.

Case Study 4
DEVELOPING TEAMS
In this company, the team-based workforce had a great deal of autonomy and authority. However, business literacy training was required to ensure that all team members understood how financial success was measured in their organization and how their decisions impacted results. The Business Literacy Institute developed a customized program and Money Map, and through a train-the-trainer program, certified the managers to roll out the program to their own teams.

Case Study 5
CREATING BUSINESS PARTNERS
A Regional Director of a national company wanted to transform the culture from a mentality of "us vs. them" to "business partner." The Business Literacy Institute developed a highly customized training program that was initially delivered by the Business Literacy Institute to the top management and then rolled out to the entire work force through a train-the-trainer model. This program included Money Maps that illustrated the organization's strategy, money flow, and process. Other activities surrounding the training focused on increasing communication about and transparency of the business. This system approach has transformed the organization.

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Case Study 6
MONEY MAPS BRING THE CONCEPTS TO LIFE
In this organization, each individual was well trained in his or her specific job function, but lacked the big picture. How did their function fit into their department, division, and company? The employees had no idea what an enormous impact they had on the success of the company.

The Business Literacy Institute developed programs and Money Maps to fill this gap. One Money Map illustrated employees' daily processes and the positive or negative impact of their activities on their company's results and profit sharing. The income statement of this organization was difficult to read so it was translated into a picture that showed everyone where the money actually goes. The financial goals were printed on the Money Map and every month the actual results were added in so that everyone could see their progress toward the company goals.

Case Study 7
KEYNOTES TO COMMUNICATE CRITICAL MESSAGES
When the sales force gathered for their annual meeting, they were presented with new expectations regarding their role in the profitability of this multinational company. The organization had a new financial focus for the year, and every manager needed to be on board with a strong understanding of the key measures and strategies.

The Business Literacy Institute developed a customized keynote address for this purpose. This keynote provided the key concepts and tools that the managers needed to enhance their understanding and ensure that the new expectations were met. The keynote speaker then traveled the world, addressing, discussing, and involving audiences around this topic.

Case Study 8
KEYNOTES TO GET EXCITED ABOUT FINANCE
Every position in every company must be more and more attuned to the financial side of the business. Human Resources, however, has a particular reputation (not necessarily deserved) of not being attuned to the financial lingo and results. This keynote focused on the key concepts every HR professional should understand to be a true business partner.

Case Study 9
GOING PUBLIC
When this multinational corporation went public, it was a whole new world for its managers. In the past, as long as they had the money, they could spend it. Now, suddenly, they were accountable for numbers, budgets, accruals, and the like.

The Vice President of Learning and Development asked the Business Literacy Institute to develop a program that would teach managers and supervisors about their new responsibilities. They needed to know exactly what reports and measures are important in a public company, and then how to read the reports and interpret the results. The Institute developed a pilot program that taught these new skills — a pilot that was so successful that the company is rolling it out across the world.

Case Study 10
PARTNERING AT THE BUSINESS LEVEL
In this company, the sales force was learning how to partner with their clients at the business level. Each sales team member had to know what their clients needed to improve their business. To accomplish this, the salespeople had to improve their own business acumen so that they could understand the finances of the client companies. They needed to be able to talk intelligently about the client's business, as well as understand how they could help the client achieve the company's financial goals.

Because the sales force was dispersed geographically, the Business Literacy Institute developed two webinars to provide the salespeople with the knowledge they needed to talk confidently with their clients about the business side of their businesses. A follow-up live class presented a series of case studies that allowed them to practice what they had learned.

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