Andrew Spencer from Royal Bank of Scotland gave a talk on the development of an MBA programme for senior RBS staff with Harvard Business Publishing
The relationhship was established with HBP prior to the economic crisis or the banking collapse. The challenge was to produce a global programme that would meet the needs of a diverse audience.
The RBS group of companies spreads far.
I loved the way he put it. RBS came up with two kinds of L&D offering:
'Ready Meals and ingredients.'
Perhaps there's a place for cooking related anaologies. Mark Wagner has a podcast to an American Conference in which he calls a wiki a 'pot lunch.' In this respect a blog entry might be a Pot Noodle and a Twitter the last Hula-Hoop in the bag (a broken one).
In less corporate company Andrew might have said that the 'shit hit the fan' in this case it was the ship.
Some things would have to change.
They way RBS put it is that 'burning desire would have to transform into a desire for results.'
The cynic may say this is like saying greed had to be replaced by need?
Why HBP? For the brand and content and a previous working relationship.
A series of microsites were built so that people could find their way into the information. Andrew described this as a person finding the right door to go through. I'd go back to food and talk of a smorgasbord.
Once through this door a variety dishes are offered: insight videos, articles and indepth reports.
Take up of the offering picked up.