Each bus is filled with entrepreneurs who use the journey time to create a team, and then build an innovative, working business. In Austin, they pitch their businesses to serious venture capitalists at South By South West. The winners receive start-up funding.  (www.startupbus.com)

Follow the Tampa Bay-based tribe at http://startupbus.com/americas/tribes/florida. The stock exchange is completely addictive.

Competency & Performance Solutions would like to highlight two aspects of Startup Bus this year:

1. The 2012 Bus is a Florida Bus, leaving from Tampa Bay. In 2011, it was the Miami Bus, yet its success was significantly based on Tampa Bay Buspreneurs. Stories about Florida are often restricted to Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville, so it is gratifying to see Tampa Bay’s huge talent putting Central West Florida on the map.
   

   Greg Ross-Munro and Leon MacIntosh receive the Fintech Business Planning Award

2. The role of Conductor on a Startup Bus is critical. This honor goes only to leaders who understand business and entrepreneurship thoroughly. The Florida Conductor is Greg Ross-Munro, Vice President of CPS. CPS shares Greg with his other businesses SourceToad.com and Teburu.com… (hey Carlos Ghosn can run Nissan and Renault). We are all proud of his knowledge, experience, creativity and ability to inspire, lead, teach and problem-solve.

CPS trains and coaches innovation, creativity, leadership and entrepreneurship, amongst other topics.

Congratulations Greg. You make us proud as always.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers in Business.
The workshop is suitable for those who need to:

• Build and manage multi-cultural business teams.
• Maintain relationships with diverse customers, project partners or suppliers.
• Work in international business.
• Promote supplier diversity.
• Manage differences between companies, industries and professional orientations.
• Manage mergers or other cultural differences.

This is an interactive training workshop, not a presentation.

Facilitator: Glynis Ross-Munro, President of CPS.

Queries: Hilton@c-psolutions.com or 813 598 9180. Please arrange dates, times and venues with Hilton.

Workshop content:

• Ways in which culture affects all business processes.
• How to assess (and appreciate) your own cultural matrix.
• The benefits of cultural fluency in a world of many types of diversity.
• How cultural barriers damage careers, teams, and bottom-line business results.
• Seven cultural barriers that are usually invisible, and how to recognize, understand and overcome them.
• Ways to make cultural fluency part of everyday working systems.
• Team and customer cultural solutions.
• How to build a personal cultural fluency tool-box..

Facilitator: Glynis has many years of experience in international business, and is also an expert in training cultural fluency. She is the Vice President of the Tampa Bay International Business Council and a past Director of the American Association of Training and Development. She has three psychology degrees and a special interest in interactive, accelerated learning. Glynis is internationally qualified in training assessment and competency-based instructional development through City & Guild of London.

CPS is deeply committed to building friendship and understanding between the USA and the world, and are part of the Tampa Bay International Business Council (www.tbibc.org).

CPS empowers our international participants to build communities with quality of life, advanced products and services, prosperity and a competitive advantage in international business.

Our international 90-day soft landing program was created for people of any age who want to come to the USA, improve their business English, technology, vocational and cultural skills. It also connects our participants with Central Florida’s vast vocational and entrepreneurial training resources, and with our world-class recreational facilities.

Our participants return to their home countries refreshed and inspired, with measurable, certified skills, to contribute to their own communities and economies. They remain our friends, potential business partners with the USA, and creators of a new and peaceful world of mutual understanding.

This program was first requested for the new Libya. An Arabic translation of the program is available here. This file will not open on the website. It is a downloadable pdf: نقر على وصلة إلى الترجمة العربية   : http://www.c-psolutions.com/2011/09/90dayarabicversion/

Here is an English video about the program: video. فيديو

The program includes:

Total Participant Care

• Full accommodation in a luxury suite hotel, near a premier university,  within one kilometer of a huge, international-class medical university and medical complex of facilities.   Two people share each large suite, with two queen beds, bathroom, lounge, dining room and kitchenette. Laundry facilities and a gym are on site.
  

  Internal atrium of USF Embasssy Suites.

• All meals and refreshments are included. Participants have many options for lunch and dinner on non-training days. This is covered by an ample cash allowance, international and US grocery stores, and many US and international restaurants.
• All transport is included. Participants will be greeted and guided to and from Tampa International Airport, and transport is provided for excursions, shopping, etc.
• Transport is provided to and from places of worship. There is a Libyan Mosque, and we arrange optional involvement in local Libyan community events.
• All participants will receive cell phones for 24-hour contact and  support. Cell phones have cameras.
• There are guides and interpreters on all entertainment and cultural outings.
  

  Two people share a queen suite. Please see video of lounge, dining room, kitchen area, etc.

Training

• The program focuses on effective training by highly-qualified staff, providing training in English (reading, writing and conversation).
• English is applied in many situations beyond the classroom. There will be consolidation work (including computer-based consolidation). Many activities will immerse participants in English, international culture, computer skills,  business skills,  developing networking abilities and exploring vocational skills.
• Each participant will receive a new HP laptop, laptop case, headphones and microphone. All laptop computers are new, with warranty and MS Office software with licenses. Tutors will train everyone to use Skypeand Gmail Chat for easy, free communication with home.
  

  Textbook choices uses Multiple Intelligences

• The program includes English language software, all training books, pictorial dictionary, workbooks, stationery and printing.
• Participants will be assessed regularly on their progress, given guidance and encouragement, and helped with vocational assessments.
• The program will end with a graduation celebration, certification and report.

Business Connections

• Green Business. Participants will visit Tampa Bay’s recycling plants, to see recycling programs, the use of landfills with best practices, and how Tampa Bay makes electricity from waste.
• Construction and other business experiences. Participants will visits various industries, and vocational training schools  according to participant interests.
• Vocational training.  The first three months include English, computer skills and cultural fluency. They also include aptitude testing, interest testing and assessment. They do not include vocational training.
  

  Tampa Bay makes electricity from waste

• After the first three months, training can range from construction to nanotechnology. The construction and pipeline curricula usually follow the NCCER’s standards, unless otherwise required.

The amazing Kennedy Space Station

Entertainment

• Busch Gardens Theme Park, The Disney Magic Kingdom World, the Kennedy Space Center, Universal Studios (the world of movie making), Sea World and other theme parks offer all participants world-class entertainment and educational experiences.
• The program includes tickets for these tours, with transport, meals and special arrangements for disabled participants.
• Busch Gardens is close to the program base, with free transport and “endless admission” tickets. This allows participants to visit the park as often as they like.

Edu-tainment

• The program includes visits to the world-class Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa Bay Aquarium (with the Dolphin Boat Tour). The Mosi (Museum of Science and Industry) and Imax Dome. Participants may choose discussions about ways to teach children science and math and ways that such programs might be of use to Libya. (www.plantmuseum.com/)
• A History of Tampa Bay tour visits two museums and explains how Tampa Bay developed and became the most multi-national, multi-cultural metropolis in Florida. After the tour, there will be a discussion of ways to communicate history and heritage, and how this can be integrated with tourism.
• Different picnic events take advantage of Tampa Bay’s wonderful weather. These include Lettuce Lake Park and some of the Best Beaches in the USA (Fort DeSoto and Honeymoon Island). These tours introduce participants to the ecology of Florida, and the beauty of the region. They also show ways to make local environments user-friendly to those who live locally, and how to attract tourism revenue.
• The Manatee Tour is only available in winter months. This introduces participants to the strange animals that exist only in Florida. The Manatee Tour can be paired with the Outlet Mall Tour. This will probably be near the end of the program, when participants are interested in gifts for family and friends at home.
• The American Sporting World. Participants attend an ice hockey, baseball or American football game, for an American cultural experience. The game chosen depends on the season.

International Connections

• Networking with the world. The Tampa Bay International Business Council (TBIBC) includes Chambers of Commerce from Brazil, Britain, the Caribbean, China, France, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Scandinavia, and many counties in Central and South America. Participants can choose to meet the international community at TBIBC events.
• Dinner with fellow-warriors: The Coalition who has worked with the National Transitional Council is largely based out of MacDill in Tampa Bay. They have a close relationship with TBIBC. Celebrate freedom together.
• Meet the IBB. Speed-network with the students of the International Business Board. This activity teaches participants to meet new people and to introduce themselves. Many IBB members are international students, and benefit from this activity too.

Schedule (varies by group needs)

Monday: Program (ESL, technology, culture and conversational English)
Tuesday: Program (ESL, technology, culture and conversational English)
Wednesday: Business or Entertainment Outings.
Thursday: Program (ESL, technology, culture and conversational English)
Friday: Short Program. Mosque transport available. Shopping, Busch Gardens and other transport available.
Saturday: Short Program.
Sunday: Day off. Some Entertainment Outings.

Summary

This program equips participants with a range of international communication skills, from English to cultural fluency, to help them with their careers on their return home, or to prepare them for successful further training.

It ensures that they experience life in an American city, and enjoy many new and enriching experiences.

This is a “soft landing” program. It is designed to build learning, and to provide the recreation and refreshment of a vacation.

A soft-landing program

CPS works closely with participants and with our nation-of-origin advisers to cushion participants from being away from home and their culture. It provides on-going support and help throughout the time that they are in our care.

CPS, the Tampa Bay International Business Council and the Tampa Bay Community will be honored to welcome those who have fought so bravely for their country. We look forward to building strong ties with our international students and their nations.

IBM’s report on Black Friday & Cyber Monday shows results of the long, slow struggle of the US economy back towards prosperity.

It also shows that managers, leaders, planners and entrepreneurs need solid skills to access and interpret data, as they lead their businesses into 2012.

Business is too complex to trust to “gut feelings.” Your whole team needs good thinking skills and information-crunching skills, including the ability to find and assess data sources. They also need to understand the strategic implications of hard data.

CPS works with leaders, planners and front-line sales people on this issue, because businesses buy from those who understand their market, their industry, current trends and future developments. No one wants to buy from an uninformed order taker. Vendors add value by knowing,  thinking, and being ahead of the curve.

It’s not that difficult.  Organizations like IBM lay out the pieces for you. Okay… so my father was an IBM training manager – but read their report and tell me if I am wrong!

Online sales were up 33% on the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend. Social networking impacted sales. The timing of sales has a clear pattern. iPads and iPhones dominate everyone’s “iWant” lists.

What about your industry?

1. Where is the demand coming from? Can you map your patterns of demand? Which sources are most profitable? Which are growing or diminishing? Where is there confusion/ambiguity (probably opportunity)?
2. What are your industry’s three biggest problems? What is the iPad of your field? How can you deliver it? What are your three biggest internal areas of resistance (internal attitudinal factors) to tackling this? What are your main technical/logistical or other practical barriers to delivering it?
3. What is your sales cycle? What can shorten it or to make your business a better choice for your customers? (Review your differentiators.)
4. Imagine you’re a purchaser. You’ve turned your back on some vendors this year. Why? What was the biggest reason? Rank the reasons. If you were a customer, buying your own products or services, what information would you want from your sales consultant?
5. Now be yourself, a vendor, again. Which of your own sales people knows and provides this type of information to customers? Does this result in sales or simply in unpaid consulting?

Please contact CPS for more information about training and coaching in this area. Contacts include: Glynis: 813-598-9184. Glynis@c-psolutions.com or Hilton: 813-598-9180 Hilton@c-psolutions.com.

Thank you to IBM and other top organizations who generously share their data with many other businesses who do not have the reach or resources to collect valuable information. You help teams to grow their businesses in a challenging economy. You make a difference.

• You don’t have to be Siemens or General Electric to looking ahead, and use that knowledge to know whether to tighten your business focus or broaden it.
• There’s plenty of information out there that can guide you when plotting a strategic course. For instance, you can make a very good, well-informed guess whether to customize more or commoditize more strictly, if you know your own differentiators.
• Larger guide-lines are emerging. For instance, when in doubt, given the choice between more product innovation or more process innovation, there is generally better ROI from process innovation.

At CPS, we nearly all have post-grad level statistics qualifications. We’ve spent our careers (longer or shorter) loving economics, strategy, projections and futurists.

As a growing small business, we see the following trends as we look into the near-to-medium future:

1. The continued rapid growth of technology and complexity. We are particularly interested in management of information overload, collaborative information crunching, and the growing crisis of information security. The other side of security is transparency: personal and employer brands will be significant in the search for both jobs and talent.

2. Globalization. Global economics, trade and global wages will affect all economies for the foreseeable future. The fall-out in ‘expensive cost of living’ nations, now competing with developing nation wages, will depend on many factors. One of these is the ability to keep educational development chasing tech development as closely as possible.

3. Multi-culturalism will be a major challenge for all nations in a global economy, but for different reasons. Diverse nations will need to learn to work with multi-cultural customers and suppliers at home as well as abroad, so their whole staff will need training. Less-diverse nations will be able to concentrate on training international negotiators, service agents and executives,  winning RFPs and contracts more effectively. “Culturally-similar” nations will have unexpected difficulty bridging invisible cultural gaps (e.g. USA, UK). Nations with recent proud histories (France, USA) will find cultural fluency harder to learn than many others, until the loss of international business hurts enough for them (us) to become sincerely interested in learning necessary skills.

4. The rising gap between education exit standards and the requirements of business. This includes (a) the application gap between college knowledge and working knowledge, (b) the “Boomer gap” where people of any age can’t keep up with the speed of change and (c) the “blue collar gap” where a gulf develops between the better-educated and those who become disenfranchised from a high-tech economy. We can add (d): the misalignment of economic needs with education outputs (e.g. the US’s graduating more visual arts people than engineers) which may create tension between business and immigration if China, India etc produce more engineers and technicians than they need internally.

5. The need for leadership. Flatter, more networked and collaborative leadership delivers better results in business today, yet these skills are difficult and learned, not inborn. [US society itself is tending to become more hierarchical (fitting millenia of anthropological patterns).] The work of training leaders with all the skills they require is mind-boggling.

6. The reorganization of large business.  In a transparent, networked world, knowledge workers will always engage with each other. Any large, vertically-structured or hierarchical organization will need on-going reorganization. Where employees have valuable talent and knowledge, this will accelerate change if barriers to entry for small business are low (e.g. software).   Capital intensive industries (hospitals, defense, transportation etc.) may take a longer time to evolve.

7. The on-going rise of small/medium business. Small and medium sized enterprises will continue to grow in number and competitiveness. One effect will be a tension in the struggle for talented leaders and innovators with large organizations. Many hard-to-retain services (such as IT) will simply be outsourced. As always, the price of such services will measure the scarcity of the resource.

CPS applies our view of the future: We like our field of custom, interactive training and consulting because our differentiator is breadth of knowledge, width of business experience, and a passion for training the skills of the New Economy.

For instance, we can take a cluster of problems with IT implementation, leadership, sales and teamwork and resolve them all together (including writing new documentation for field- and Boomer-users of the problem technology. We write English not Geek).

What’s your differentiator(s)?

1. What is your future?
2. Which client do you want? Which market should you try to service? What isn’t and shouldn’t be part of what you offer?
3. What process should you improve? What skills do your people need?
4. Check……what three factors do nearly all futurists agree will impact all businesses in five years time?

Call CPS for a free discussion about your business, and how we can make your life easier and a lot more profitable. Talk to us about how we frequently get 50% funding for our affordable programs. Ask us for references. You won’t be disappointed.

Glynis Ross-Munro

President, Competency & Performance Solutions

glynis@c-psolutions.com 813 598 9184

Six Quick Questions:

1. You work with a Colombian guy and you have heard that he has a very sick cousin. Should you inquire about this, or is it none of your business?
2. Three people come late to a meeting. One is an American from San Diego, one a Venezuelan who has lived in the USA for five years, and one is a visiting Chinese businessman. Can you guess the order in which they will arrive, simply from knowing their cultural background? Why?
3. What one extra feature would probably significantly have helped the sales of US vehicles, in Japan, in the 1970s -1990s?
4. You meet a client from the UK. She orders a beer at lunch and uses some language that makes you blink. Is she a bad woman with an alcohol problem?
5. African-American culture tends to be higher-context or more ‘diffuse’ than Caucasian American Culture. True or False? What would this mean to your sales process with an African-American client?
6. If someone asked you for the percentage of household spending done by disabled family members, or for the approximate spend of the disability community in the USA, what would you reply? (www.EnableAmerica.com)

Five Strategic Questions:

1. New York culture is lower-context or more ‘specific’ than Florida culture. How would this affect your customer service training if you have many more customers in FL than in NY?
2. You are in retail and your IT is outsourced to an applications/data storage management IT company. Most of their team is Indian and they seem to deal unusually well with confusing, ambiguous situations. Is there some sort of cultural advantage operating here? How can your company develop a competitive advantage from examining this factor?
3. One of your new sales reps reports a sharp downturn in business from an account that previously produced a steady stream of income. S/he describes the (Lebanese) customer as “from one of those South American countries.” Your senior manager wants to see your coaching plan for the new sales rep. What does it include?
4. A major client company has recently gone through a merger. Their new head office will be in Paris instead of San Francisco. What are you going to do about retaining this account and the flow of business from it?
5. Your customer base is getting younger. A new check shows that the median age is eight years younger than your last measurement. What should you do about this change in customer demographics?

You are invited to schedule a CPS workshop on Finding and Keeping Multicultural and Diverse Customers: glynis@c-psolutions.com or 813 598 9184.

CPS apologizes for any hitches in our new, evolving but extra-safe website. IT security is one of the three major issues that futurists predict will affect business in the coming decade.

Finding, winning and keeping multi-cultural customers.

In a multi-national and multi-cultural world, businesses are all challenged to build and maintain relationships with widely different customers, project partners and suppliers. Glynis Ross-Munro, President of CPS and Vice-President of the Tampa Bay International Business Council, will involve participants on how to achieve this result.

Date: Thursday, 1st December 2011.

Time: 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.  Registration and networking from 7.30 a.m.

Venue: The Centre Club, 123 South Westshore Blvd, Tampa, FL 33609.

Cost:  $55.00 for  Centre Club members, or  TBIBC Members  (or 30-second sign up for TBIBC newsletter at www.TBIBC.org. This helps ensure consolidation). Anyone else – $79.00.

Breakfast is included. Free parking included.

Registration: http://culturecustomers.eventbrite.com/

Queries: Hilton@c-psolutions.com.  813 598 9180.

Glynis has years of experience in international business, and is an expert in training many topics, including sales, diversity, customer service and cultural elements of international trade. She has three psychology degrees and a special interest in interactive learning.

Workshop participants will learn:

Why companies need a multi-cultural business and sales strategy.

• The case for cultural fluency: culturally-diverse customers, employees, suppliers, and business partners.
• How to make more cultural barriers visible.
• How to assess some limitations that culture is placing on your business success.

How to find customers.

• Ways to find new opportunities through cultural fluency.
• How to save time by avoiding non-negotiable mis-matches by values checks.

How to win customers.

• Your own cultural strengths and experience range.
• Identifying key cultural issues in winning customers.
• Solutions to three major challenges.
• Building solutions into systems.

How to keep customers.

• Identifying your cultural strengths and experience range.
• Key cultural issues in retaining customers.
• People forget, systems remember.

Wrap-up: Personal Plan and Take-aways.

Glynis has many years of experience in international business, and is an expert in training many topics, including sales, diversity, customer service and the cultural elements of international trade, which she trains for USF SBDC. She has three psychology degrees and a special interest in interactive learning.

It is hard to change an elephant if you live on the elephant permanently. Handy saw the usefulness of external partners that can create change in an elephant without being trampled – they hop on and off like fleas.

Flea-partners are useful for building diversity, cultural fluency and many OD issues such as mergers etc. They also make great partners for many training situations.

They have some specialized skills or niche experience, or manage tasks that no-one has time to do, but the big saving in time, money and frustration may come from the “flea” nature of the relationship.

Here are six situations in which your training people, management or HR/OD should shout for a good flea.

These situations are based on work done with BMW, HSBC, Volkswagen-Audi, Coca-Cola and many other large and small organizations that have training and OD departments, but know the value of externals in training.

1.         Objectives are not clear enough, and time is of the essence:

You’re in internal training. You’re pushing a training project but meeting lack of clarity and fuzzy objectives. This includes:

•  “I’ll get back to you” (especially from senior staff when asked questions like “what business outcome(s) do we need here”).
• Moving goal posts.
• Scope creep.
• Multiple departments trying to get in on the action, or everyone has an opinion (often changing opinions).

If you bring in an external consultant, even for an initial consultation, there is more focus. Cell phones are off. The decision makers are present. They apply thought to what learning gaps exist and why these need to be addressed.

If there is a new business opportunity, and new capacities are needed, that is on the table too.

It is easier for a consultant to get ”conditions of satisfaction” for a project in writing, with metrics and a price attached.  One manager usually owns the project (i.e. the person whose budget is funding the training). Suddenly the project is moving.

2.         When there are non-training (process etc.) problems that need to be solved:

You have a good idea that the situation behind the call for training is not merely a skills-and-knowledge gap. Someone needs to  assess the process and performance factors around the “training-plus-something-else” issue. You smell office politics.

An external is usually better positioned to tackle a front-end analysis, and report on them as part of the project. The issues are neutralized, minimized, and can be fixed much more easily if you have someone between you and the problem. The training is much more likely to be successful.

Sometimes, the problem is not a training issue at all. Your external can then take the heat, present an analysis of the problem and a solution. Everyone saves time and money and avoids applying the wrong solution to the problem.

3.          When the project is likely to run into resistance:

All organizations (elephants) resist change to some extent, but some resist more strongly than others. Kurt Lewin’s model  is a great way to understand how this maintains the status quo in any organization.

Organizations need externals to get through this resistance barrier. Your external is like a pointed tip – with authority to complete a clearly-defined task. S/he can therefore take a quick charge at a small section of the normal resisting forces, and achieve a breakthrough.

This is a great strategy if people are anxious about “naming, shaming and blaming” or are very protective of their territory. The resisting forces are weaker against an external person, who is uninvolved in company politics, or has no interest in who has (or has not) been following procedures or leaving things undone. The neutral fixer is not with one or another political camp. Ethics is always the best tool.

You need to soothe fears and save faces, so tell the consultant which “hot button topics” to avoid.  This way, the past can be left behind, and project goals can be reached quickly and effectively.

4.          When there are hidden problems which need to get solved, or innovative ideas going to waste:

This is a related problem, and also easily solved by using an external consultant: Good people know that there are various “cans of worms” which need to be opened and repaired, but they keep quiet about it.

An external stands outside the political structure of a company. The good consultant can gradually handle several projects ethically and confidentially for the company, and then be seen as a trustworthy and undramatic problem fixer. Such a flea can become a reliable resource to fix problems as they occur.

The idea here is to keep things calm. The problems come to light, are solved, and melt away. Often, with hindsight, no one can remember why these were ever hot-button topics, or why no one saw the solution in the first place.

Externals can also find out where systems or processes are not working, simply by listening. Many people in an organization have great ideas about how productivity and profitability can be improved. The consultant is often in the right position to tap into creative solutions and innovative ideas that already exist in the company. The result can be nurtured into improvements in systems, capacities, products or services in ways that use the intelligence of the whole organization. (Avoid externals who want personal glory for this. Prima donnas and glory-hungry externals are a problem.)

5.          When there is a lot of “heavy lifting” hard thinking work to do:

Use a external when the knowledge needed for a new program is hard to get at. If the SMEs are busy or difficult to deal with, an external can do the heavy lifting.

Most people with valuable knowledge are busy, and usually dislike getting down to the job of handing over their knowledge. It is hard work to systematize it, even with expert help, and they will avoid it, if they possibly can.

Any WLP/Learning Project developer needs to:

• Find who has what knowledge.
• Persuade them to part with it.
• Assess what is  best practice.
• Find out what practices make the most difference (identify the key pay-off behaviors).
• Document the agreed processes, practices and procedures that will be used in any training.
• Get to grips with task sequences, guidelines, and compliance issues.
• Understand where things go in a pyramid of knowledge: e.g. what is basic knowledge, and what needs to be added later at a higher level.
• Specify the criteria to which any task will be performed, the circumstances under which that performance will be required, or the proficiency levels.
• Describe training outcomes in the form of behavior, or give performance measures using observable or measurable terms.

Any learning project developer also soon finds that:

• People do not know certain things.
• Most people are not motivated to work out complex information when they are busy.
• People disagree on information.
• Most people do not like tasks that require rigorous thinking.

The external usually has many templates or resources from which to do this work, as s/he has done it many times before. If an organization is creating a new workshop, an internal developer may have to “reinvent the wheel” by creating a whole process from scratch.

6.          When management does not like to share details and numbers:

Externals are a big help when management holds on to information and is unwilling to share it with less-senior staff, or with people outside their departments.

Senior management usually has the key business metrics that training wants, for metrics-based outcomes.

The VP of Learning or Knowledge Management might be able to get at this information, but s/he isn’t developing workshops, which is often done further down in the organizational hierarchy. Senior managers often resist handing over their business results to in-house trainers.

There’s the disconnect. Training needs to evaluate cost/benefit ratios, ROI on training programs, and results. These often relate directly to business unit goals outputs, quality control, sales, costs, customer satisfaction, employee retention, engagement absenteeism or marketing effectiveness.

One way to avoid unhappiness from the heads of business units, and still tie training outputs to metrics, is to use a training external. The answers are then often quite easily available, because the clock is ticking for the project, and the results are achieved.

Together we continue to build stronger global links because of the rich, multi-cultural nature of Central West Florida. With the bi-national Chambers of Commerce and Trade Associations, we work towards an inclusive community, an appreciation of diversity, and a prosperous economy.

1. The TBIBC Fall Networking Event was a big success. Joe Lopano, CEO of TPA spoke of the need for more direct international flights to Tampa Bay, and the huge economic benefit of such flights. Many people made new business connections and renewed old friendships.

Please mark your calendars for January 19, so that you don’t miss the entertaining Tampa Bay International Business Council Mid-Winter Networking Event.

2. On Friday, the Scandinavian Trade Association hosted a luncheon to learn more about Yara, the world’s largest supplier of mineral fertilizers. This Oslo-based company has an important office in Tampa, and is a major customer of the Port of Tampa. http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/USA_FL_Tampa_Port_Authority_96.php.

November 2011

3. The fertilizer trade makes Trinidad one of Tampa Bay’s major trading partners. If you are interested in Caribbean culture rather than nitrates, there is a Moonlight Caribbean Calypso Cruise on Friday, 11th November. This is a Tampa Caribbean (Chamber Partner) event, and will be held aboard the Yacht Starship II, boarding is at 11:00 p.m. Tickets are $75.

4. The Chinese American Chamber of Commerce is hosting a significant event on Thursday, November 3. This will be a panel discussion titled Looking for Growth in a Slow Economy – Trade with BRIC Countries. This event will be held from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the John F. Germany Library Auditorium and is $10 for members or guests and free for students. Www.ccctb.com.

5. The highlight of the French American Business Council year takes place on Friday, November 18. FRAMCO will host Beaujolais Nouveau. This global wine event allows you to taste the new harvest, flown directly from France. Beaujolais Nouveau will be held at the GFWC Tampa Women’s Club from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. There will be wine, live music, and a silent auction. Tickets are $45 for TBIBC members, $55 for non-members, and there is a $5 discount per person for couples/pairs.

December 2011

6. On December 8, The Tampa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will share their monthly luncheon and networking event with cnFMSDC. Tampa Hispanic is a key Chamber to get to know, and the Florida Minority Supplier Diversity Council (www.fmsdc.org) is a powerful partner in helping to integrate Minority Business with the mainstream economy. The lunchtime presenter will be Michael Kohn of BJ’s Wholesale Club, and his topic will be Time Management: Do I Ever Have The Time? Do we really have 365 days in a year to get it all done? The lunch will be held at The Events Center at The Law offices of Edgar Guzman. Please RSVP or email info@tampahispanicchamber.com.

7. On December 10, the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay, Florida will host a Health Care Workshop at St. Leo University. The workshop will be from 8:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. and include breakfast. The cost is $15 for all TBIBC Chambers and $10 for students. Queries or RSVP: president@tcctf.org.

8. On December 15, the British American Business Council will host its International Holiday Party at the Armed Forces Military Museum. This event will be from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. Please contact joanne.cornell@ogletreedeakins.com. for details or see BABC Tampa Bay.

Save the dates for 2012:

On January 19, the TBIBC will hold the Tampa Bay International Business Council Mid-Winter Networking Event. We have a wonderful evening planned. There will be speed networking and tables for chambers and sponsors. Please contact any Board member or glynis@c-psolutions.com for details.

The TBIBC International Business Summit will be on Thursday, 29 March 2012 at the Rusty Pelican in Rocky Point, from 8.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There are no fees to be a member of the TBIBC. All members of any member bi-national Chamber or Trade Association are members of TBIBC. We thank our generous sponsors and volunteer Board for this excellent situation. Those who support Collaboration, Diversity and Prosperity include Bright Hose, Nielsen, Ogletree Deakins, Fowler White Boggs, Regions Bank, Tech Data, HART, The Tampa Port Authority, Impact Industrial Suppliers and Sundax Florida.

Sincerely

Glynis Ross-Munro
Vice President
Tampa Bay International Business Council
www.tbibc.org
glynis@c-psolutions.com
813.598.9184

Collaboration, Diversity, Prosperity

CPS offers:

• Wide and global business experience.
• International qualifications and success in instructional design.
• Extensive, award-winning experience in results-based training.

Some reasons you might choose CPS:

• Your challenges are not ‘generic’. You need training based on a full understanding of your situation.
• Your people are too busy for long programs, boring lectures, or material they already know.
• You want trainers who have actually done the work they are training – especially in leadership, culture, international trade, high-tech improvement etc.

Some CPS examples of custom programs:

• Management and leadership skills, from emerging leaders to operational and strategic levels, including operational planning.
• Culture, diversity and inclusion, understanding US culture, generations, international business, mergers.
• Entrepreneurship, sales, business development, and marketing.
• Computer and technical skills.
• Financial skills for non-financial managers and business professionals.
• Creativity, critical thinking, planning skills, project management concepts, business execution skills.
• Communication skills: e-writing, business writing, report writing, second-language English, team communication, presentation skills, communication across difference and distances.
• Customer service, team-building, confidence, conflict resolution.
• Programs covering change, continuous improvement, creativity or change management. Includes change or creativity in high-tech environments.

Training is usually a solution to a problem, before it is a content issue.  CPS does not train any one specific topic. Our focus is the new economy – the skills that create a competitive edge and success in a world of complexity.
These skills include strategies to manage technology, complexity, information overload, the need for continuous innovation and improvement, and the impact of growing globalization and diversity.

Training method:
In a busy world of information overload, good training usually depends on:

• Identifying the specific skills, knowledge and attitudes which will improve performance, the needs of the organization and training participants.
• Building engaging, interactive training modules that suit the needs of participant learners, customized to their industry, level, learning style and specific challenges.
• Fitting training into the work schedule. This often means short training modules of two or three hours, so that busy people can still get work done.
• Using cutting-edge learning methods that improve work processes, communication, analysis, evaluation, critical thinking, problem solving and innovation, on a permanent basis.
• Using facilitated, highly-interactive group-based training to solve problems, build teamwork, engage staff and improve communication. Blended learning is also available.

Metrics:
Training outcomes need to be tied to metrics. Clients usually set these metrics. They differ widely depending on the nature of the training, the organization and the time investment in training. CPS is strongly in favor of bottom-line outcomes, whether these are productivity and quality of a production line or measurable increases in sales, customer loyalty, revenue growth or retention.

About CPS:

CPS is an 8(m), W/MBE and DBE business. NAICS codes include 611430, 541611, 541612 and 541990. CPS’s 8(a) registration is being completed.
Business Tel:          (813) 598-9184 (Glynis) or (813) 598-9180 (Hilton)
Business Fax:        (813) 482-0010
Email Address:      Glynis@c-psolutions.com or Hilton@c-psolutions.com
Website:                  www.c-psolutions.com
Certifications:        DBE (Certifying Body: Aviation Authority)
Woman-owned Small Business (Certifying Body: State of Florida).
Minority-owned Small Business (Florida Minority Supplier Development Council: # 596003).

       The CPS Team:
http://c-psolutions.com/who-we-are/.  Some team members do not appear on the website yet.

CPS is an award-winning small business with a world-class team that is widely experienced, highly qualified and deeply ethical. The entire, diverse team has extensive business and international experience, graduate qualifications, and demonstrable success in business  and training.

Each team member has a deep belief that principled business is the best long-term business, and can demonstrate the science behind the importance of ethics and reputation in business success. Every member of CPS is involved in unpaid community service, and has a commitment to the growth of our businesses and our economy.

   Insurance:
CPS has both a security bond and a $2 million business insurance policy. These are adjusted as required by work in hand.

   Please contact glynis@c-psolutions.com for references, DUNS, Tax ID, WBE, MBE, DBE certificates, and other requirements.