Diversity & Inclusion Course Workbook

The Challenge: Save a major account that was not happy with valiant efforts by other ID’s to meet the client’s demanding criteria. I was assigned to redesign the content and style of a 7-part leadership curriculum for a federal client. A proposed schedule for submission and client reviews of all components (workbooks, Power Points, and facilitator guides) had been created by a sales director. However, it had problems because it would require workbooks to be in review while Power Points were being created, etc.–a situation in which there would be a high probability of error, and wasted time.

Luckily, the client was very pleased with my first draft submissions, asking only for minor image changes. The original schedule was abandoned. I took over management of the flow of all materials between me, production and creative services, and the client for the many weeks it took to fulfill the project–and all materials were delivered on time for scheduled training.

The Action: I reviewed the prior workbooks to see what the client had asked for. Then, I researched the topics, created a plan for learning objectives and steps, and began to design learner activities that were highly interactive, linked to each other (to ensure indexing earlier learning) and guided learners in exploring and confronting their own thinking. I realized the client’s frustration was closely tied to the look and feel, so I pushed for a new design, selected all photos and closely monitored production of final print and PPT materials. The first drafts I sent were so well received that there were only minor changes to photos.

The Result: One very happy major client and trainers looking forward to teaching the new material. This series became the foundation for a new product line at my company–and a resource for other IDs creating new content.

©  Chanda K. Zimmerman, 2012-2020