Developing a corporate learning strategy: creating intrapreneurs

Strat. Change, 9, 469–479 (2000)

Strategic Change, December 2000Copyright Þ 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Colin Coulson-Thomas Developing a1Centre for Competitiveness, Luton BusinessSchool, University of Luton corporate2Adaptation Ltd, Water Newton,Cambridgeshire, UK learning strategy:

creatingintrapreneurs

ž Too little training and developmentis devoted to the important areas ofbusiness development andentrepreneurship. HR professionalsare missing an historic strategicopportunity to contribute toknowledge and value creation andthe achievement of corporateobjectives.

ž Excessively general approaches arefailing to address the particularrequirements for successfullylaunching E-businesses and othernew ventures and securingopportunities that are put out tocompetitive tender.

ž Corporate initiatives to developknowledge entrepreneurs or equippeople to use E-business are few andfar between. Specific steps to promoteand support enterprise andcorporate venturing and to developentrepreneurial attitudes and skillsare required.

ž Corporate survival and prosperitymay depend upon how quickly acritical mass of passive employees canbe helped to become motivated

*Correspondence to: Colin Coulson-Thomas, intrapreneurs and committed businessAdaptation Ltd, Mill Reach, Mill Lane, Water Newton, partners who actively develop newCambridgeshire, PE8 6LY, UK. E-mail:

income streams by establishing [email protected] and other new ventures.

Colin Coulson-Thomas

Copyright Þ 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Strategic Change, December 2000

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ž Modern corporations need to become key decision makers in customers,incubators of enterprise that can tap, suppliers and business partners andbuild and realize the entrepreneurial be a significant source of incrementalpotential within their people. revenues.

ž Education and training initiatives Copyright Þ 2000 John Wiley & Sons,can help develop relationships with Ltd.

Introduction

For a generation, boards have introduced asuccession of corporate initiatives from qual-ity, through process improvement and re-engineering to knowledge management. Manyof these have involved contributions fromtraining and development staff, particularly tohelp people understand, adopt and apply stan-dard methodologies and common tools andtechniques. Most of them have been con-cerned with raising productivity and loweringthe cost of existing activities. In manycontexts, squeezing the cost base and theassociated reduction of staffing levels con-tinues to the present day.

However, new concerns, preoccupationsand requirements have also emerged. Cor-porate leaders and a growing number of inves-tors are now placing more emphasis uponcreating value and intellectual capital, develop-ing E-businesses and other new ventures andgenerating additional sources of revenue. Thesupport of new enterprises, especially inknowledge industries, has also become a highpriority of the European Commission andnational governments around the world.

The rapid take up of E-business is havingmultiple impacts upon boardroom discussions.Many investors have valued certain recentlyestablished ‘dot-com’ companies that havenever made a profit more highly than longestablished and profitable businesses that arerun by experienced management teams. Retailchains and financial institutions whose oper-ations are property intensive find the physicalassets that once strengthened their balancesheets have become a source of vulnerabilitywhen electronic transactions that do notinvolve people visiting their premises can beundertaken at a small fraction of the cost.

Many boards face a dual challenge of deter-mining their own E-business strategy, while atthe same time retaining the very staff whoseengagement and support will be needed if theyare to develop successful new E-ventures.Many consulting firms and banks and a growingnumber of specialist providers are already los-ing talented and energetic individuals to ‘dot-com’ business start-ups. Particular categoriesof staff such as recently qualified MBAsattracted by the prospect of a relatively quickcapital gain assisted by the availability of ven-ture capital funds and E-business start-up sup-port offered through the business schools fromwhich they graduated, are especially difficultto retain.

This article draws upon an ongoing familyof investigations into why some businesses areso much more successful than others which isbeing led by the author. Over 2000 companieshave so far participated in the research pro-gramme. The findings relating to individualsand enterprise and specifically what can bedone to create and support intrapreneurs sug-gest those who are alert, imaginative andresponsive have an unprecedented oppor-tunity to contribute to the transformation ofthe contemporary corporation into an incu-bator of enterprise (Coulson-Thomas, 1999b).However, certain occupational groups andcommunities of professionals are respondingto the challenge more readily than others are.

Assessing corporate learningstrategies

Let us consider one such group. What can orshould HR professionals do to help companiesidentify and release entrepreneurial talent;

Developing a corporate learning strategy


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stimulate, facilitate and enable enterprise; andsupport new ventures?

Specifically, what are corporate devel-opment activities contributing to the achieve-ment of strategic goals and the changes neededto equip people to be more entrepreneurialand to win business in an increasingly com-petitive environment? Not as much as theycould according to one investigation withinthe research programme which examined cor-porate learning plans and priorities (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a). The excessively generalapproaches that were encountered are failingto address, inter alia particular requirementsfor successfully launching E-businesses andother new ventures and securing opportunitiesthat are put out to competitive tender.

The two year study undertaken between1997 and 1999 involved corporate visits, work-shops and a programme of structured inter-views with directors, senior managers and HRspecialists responsible for the training anddevelopment of over 460,000 people in 69organizations based or operating in the UK.Most of those contacted faced importantstrategic decisions. For example:

ž Some were considering whether or not toestablish a corporate university or to offerdistance learning programmes via a cor-porate Intranet.

ž Others felt their existing course portfolioand corporate facilities had become datedand needed a first principles review.

ž Most were aware of new learningapproaches and technologies that they hadyet to assess.

Corporate learning does appear to be at a cross-roads (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a). Courses wereexamined and facilities visited that appear tobe coming to the end of their effective lives.Colleagues of some interviewees are intro-ducing new tools and activities under the guiseof ‘knowledge management’ that have sig-nificant implications for their roles. Thoseresponsible for corporate learning are con-fronted with many choices and challenges.Some of the options go to the essence and coreof current operations. For example:

ž Should training and development pro-fessionals themselves have entrepreneurialaspirations?

ž Could their activities become a revenuecentre or form the basis of a separate trad-ing business that could offer services toexternal customers?

ž Should particular activities or the whole‘central training’ function, be either out-sourced or closed down and its responsi-bilities and budgets devolved to businessunits and operating divisions?

ž How might training and development bettersupport business development and the pro-cesses of value and knowledge creation?

Most of the major organizations examinedface similar development problems and chal-lenges and yet many of those interviewedwrestled in isolation with issues such as howto select the most relevant learning tech-nology, or reduce the cost of education, train-ing and development activities.

The requirement for enterprisesupport

The contemporary business climate is very dif-ferent from that experienced by many seniorHR professionals at the outset of their careers.On the whole they implemented rather thancreated. Market conditions and competitivepractices have dramatically changed. Manyobstacles and certain traditional barriers toentry can now be relatively easily overcome.E-business allows direct contact to be made

Customers are demandingbespoke services and moreimaginative responses to

their individualrequirements

with any customers that have Internet access.Customers are demanding bespoke services



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and more imaginative responses to their indi-vidual requirements. To attract their attention,individuals and organizations have to dif-ferentiate their approaches and tailor theirofferings.

Increasingly, people in direct customerroles are being required to think and actmore like entrepreneurs. It is neither desir-able nor practical for staff in corporate headoffices to become involved in the multiplicityof individual relationships that require a dis-tinct approach to meet the peculiar needs of aparticular situation. Hence, the recent pre-occupation with empowerment and the del-egation of responsibilities. Senior managementhave to trust those who are in direct contactwith users and consumers to respond and actappropriately. However, many corporate train-ing initiatives are exceedingly general, whilethe rationale for allowing more discretion isnot always made clear (Coulson-Thomas,1999a). Empowerment may need to beaccompanied by specific steps to promoteenterprise and develop entrepreneurial atti-tudes and skills. Entrepreneurs recognize theneed for entrepreneurial qualities. Of coursenot everyone may have the potential tobecome a winner and there is widespread dis-illusionment with restructuring, retrenchmentand re-engineering. Many employees havebeen expected to work progressively harderand for longer hours, while ‘cost cutting’ isoften perceived to be the negative conse-quence of a failure by uninspired management.Many employees experience a mismatchbetween greater material reward and the lackof sufficient time to enjoy its fruits. They donot feel they are in control of their lives. As aconsequence of delayering during the 1990sthey also feel vulnerable in the midst of plenty.There appears to be less prospect of continuityof employment for those who remain as cor-porate employees. A change of direction maybe required in order to obtain a more balancedlifestyle.

Many also sense that as well as being lockedinto a treadmill from which they cannot escapedue to their reliance upon income, they havelittle prospect of achieving the capital gainswhich media reports suggest are being made

by ‘dot-com’ entrepreneurs. Rather than con-tinue as a pawn on someone else’s chessboard,they would like to play and win their owngame.

Opportunities for entrepreneurs

There appear to be a host of opportunities forbusiness and social entrepreneurs in health,leisure and learning. The investigation of cor-porate learning strategies and priorities ident-ified no fewer than 25 categories ofinformation and knowledge based serviceswhich could be shared, undertaken col-laboratively or offered to third parties com-mercially by electronic means (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a). There is also plenty of scopefor imaginative responses to social andenvironmental concerns, for example, prac-tical ways of increasing security, tacklingcrime, recycling and utilizing renewableresources.

For those seeking greater independence andpersonal fulfilment there are a multitude ofopportunities to establish information andknowledge based businesses (Coulson-Thomas, 2000). Knowledge entrepreneurs arehelping people to create value for their cus-tomers and indeed, the greater ease withwhich buyers and sellers can be broughttogether in cyber-space creates unprecedentedpossibilities for establishing new and inter-national markets (Coulson-Thomas, 2000).

Organizations that fail to respond to thesechanging internal aspirations and evolvingexternal expectations risk losing their com-panies’ most capable people and their mostvaluable customers. The emphasis for manyneeds to be switched from de-layering anddownsizing to innovation, business devel-opment and the creation of greater value forindividual customers.

The contribution of corporatelearning

Strategies for exploiting E-business oppor-tunities and developing new ventures need to



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be established. How then are training anddevelopment professionals responding andwhat are they contributing? Discussions withsenior practitioners in the organizations exam-ined suggest many of the current generation ofcourses have indeed passed their ‘sell-by date’,while at the same time essential requirementsand critical corporate priorities are largelyignored (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a). Sig-nificantly, in relation to the trends anddevelopments just reviewed, far too littletraining and development is devoted tothe vitally important areas of businessdevelopment and entrepreneurship.

Too little training anddevelopment is devoted tobusiness development and

entrepreneurship

One company that was visited derives some80% of its turnover from major bids wonthrough a competitive bidding process.However, members of the team working uponthe most strategically significant bid in pro-gress could not name a single person withinthe corporate training community! The solecontribution of the central training departmentin recent years appears to have been to take outtwo key people for ‘empowerment’ trainingat the most sensitive stage of the process ofbidding for a major contract!

Such experiences are not unusual. Millionsof pounds are being spent on standard andgeneral training in vague areas such as ‘quality’,‘teamwork’ and ‘leadership’, while particularrequirements of critical importance are over-looked. Only one of the organizations that wassurveyed has a programme in place to equipits people to be more successful at winningbusiness. This is an area which is consideredin a related article in a future issue of StrategicChange (Coulson-Thomas, 2001).

Many of those responsible for training anddevelopment do not appear to be reacting totrends and developments in the businessenvironment. There is a particularly pressing

need for information, knowledge and learningentrepreneurs who can make money by pack-aging what is available to meet individual needs(Coulson-Thomas, 2000). Presentations on‘knowledge management’ abound but specificcorporate initiatives to develop knowledgeentrepreneurs or equip people to use E-busi-ness are few and far between (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a).

Overall, so much effort is being devoted tothe achievement of corporate objectives, thatmany of the aspirations of individuals and par-ticularly their interest in E-business oppor-tunities and their desire to run their ownbusinesses are being largely overlooked in themajority of the organizations examined (Coul-son-Thomas, 1999a). Putting more emphasisupon the encouragement and support of inno-vation and entrepreneurship would further theachievement of both individual and corporateobjectives.

HR professionals in many companies are miss-ing an opportunity to reconcile and align indi-vidual, corporate and wider collective interests.People are seeking greater freedom from centralconstraints and more control over their per-sonal destinies. Corporations are expectingtheir employees to manage their own work,careers and development, while governmentsof ageing societies are concerned about meetingthe cost of future social obligations and areencouraging citizens to assume greaterresponsibility for their own financial security.

Reconciling individual andcorporate interests

There is considerable scope for individuals andorganizations to reach a strategic accom-modation based upon mutual or, at least, com-patible interests (Coulson-Thomas, 1999b).Senior managers do not want their staremployees to leave in order to set up their ownbusinesses. More directors are also becomingaware of the bottom line benefits of securingan equity or commercial stake in some of theE-businesses and other new ventures beingestablished by former employees.



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From an individual perspective, new ven-tures are inherently risky. Many sources offunding are requiring ‘proof of concept’ orsome form of demonstration prototype beforecommitting development finance to E-ventures. As some people ‘take the plunge’,others become aware of how voracious theappetite of a growing business for investmentfunds can be. They may not relish the prospectof turning their backs on valued relationships,trusted colleagues and promising in-house cor-porate opportunities.

Modern corporations need to become incu-bators of enterprise that can tap, build andrealize the entrepreneurial potential withintheir people (Coulson-Thomas, 1999b). Openand enterprising companies invite their peo-ple to come forward with suggestions for E-business applications and other new ways ofexploiting corporate capabilities and creatingand delivering value to consumers. As anexample, Booz Allen & Hamilton allow itsconsulting staff to work on a part-time basiswhile they are developing proposals for E-businesses.

Within enterprise cultures senior managersstimulate diversity and reward innovation.Working environments are conducive of infor-mality, interaction and reflection. People areallowed to work, learn and operate in whateverways fire their imaginations and are best suitedto the tasks in hand and the preferences ofthose involved (Coulson-Thomas, 1997).

Increasingly, professional practices and con-sulting firms are establishing E-business devel-opment funds. They and many companies arelikely to enter into various forms of col-laborative relationship and business part-nership with their own people and externalcustomers and business partners. Venturestart-up and development capital, marketingassistance and central support services such aslegal, finance, and personnel could be pro-vided in return for an appropriate equity stake.Such an arrangement allows entrepreneurs toconcentrate upon the essential operationalcore of their ventures. The rewards of suc-cessful entrepreneurship are shared amongthose primarily responsible for generatingthem.

Elements of enterprise supportstrategies

The creation of enterprise cultures and thecorporate sponsorship of internal and externalentrepreneurs are likely to make new demandsupon HR teams. Certain existing tools, tech-niques, activities and approaches may still berelevant but some new ones are also likely tobe required. For example:

ž New processes may be required forevaluating E-business opportunitiesand proposals for new ventures andfor securing whatever approvals arerequired by the board. Subsequentdevelopments will also need to be moni-tored and additional reporting arrange-ments may have to be put in place.Although specific E-business and knowl-edge opportunity evaluation checklistshave been drawn up (Coulson-Thomas,2000a), all the organizations visited appearto be using more traditional approaches.

ž Many people need development sup-port in order either to become entre-preneurs, or to manage corporaterelationships with them. In not one ofthe organizations examined were specificsteps being taken to increase awarenessof entrepreneurial skills (Coulson-Thomas,1999a) even though relevant and testedexercises and checklists for aspiring entre-preneurs are available.

ž Exercises and diagnostics have beendeveloped which individuals, teamsand organizations can use to betterunderstand the situation they are inand review their aspirations, assesstheir capabilities and determine whatthey need to do to create and launchnew ventures (Coulson-Thomas, 1999b).Practical issues such as: securing familysupport; assembling the right team; over-coming inhibitions, pitfalls and constraints;getting started and winning business arealso covered and these should beaddressed.

ž Critical skills relating to business



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development are also being over-looked by all but one of the companiessurveyed (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a).Despite the availability of relevant tools(Kennedy, 1999) and the extensive workwhich has been done to identify the criticalsuccess factors for winning business (Ken-nedy and O’Connor, 1997) and buildingkey account relationships (Hurcomb,1998).

ž Staff in ‘client facing’ roles may notbe aware of the customer relationshipmanagement opportunities that E-business offers (Stone, 1999). The cre-ation of tailored responses and bespokepackages involving complex products andservices could give rise to additional tech-nical, financial, and management risks.Rapidly growing companies like Eyreteluse configuration and pricing tools to helpsales staff design, cost and propose solu-tions for particular prospects.

ž Xerox found that a half of those apply-ing to set up new businesses under itsUK ‘networking’ scheme lacked thecombination of attitudes and skillsrequired to run an independentventure. Tests were devised to assess theextent to which applicants possessed thenecessary personal qualities. Most com-panies lack the means to judge the suit-ability of aspiring individual entrepreneursand the members of proposed new busi-ness teams for the ventures they would liketo establish.

ž Personal counselling, mentoring sup-port and start up advice may also berequired and the skills and experienceneeded for this may not be foundwithin an existing management team.Xerox arranged for the business plans ofintending ‘networkers’ to be critiqued byan existing entrepreneur. In most of thecompanies visited few of the managersencountered appeared to have had muchpractical experience of running an inde-pendent enterprise.

ž Internal specialist and professionalresources may need to be sup-plemented with additional capability

and external support. For example,advice may be needed regarding the legalframework and arrangements to adopt inrespect of a particular business initiativeor the most appropriate way of splittingshared costs between different ventures.

ž There are likely to be new venture, col-laboration and partnering agreementsto negotiate plus additional relation-ships and arrangements to manage. Inparticular, partnering is a priority issue forboth key account managers (Hurcomb,1998) and purchasing professionals (Fitz-Gerald, 2000). Development support maybe required to encourage the ‘win–win’attitudes and build the professional skillneeded to balance the individual and mut-ual interests of the different partiesinvolved.

ž Certain ventures might benefit fromdistinct approaches, policies or toolsthat meet the needs of the particularsituation and circumstances (Coulson-Thomas, 1997). A variety of differentframeworks may be required; elements ofwhich are likely to be bespoke.

ž It may be advisable to incorporate cer-tain ventures as separate legal entitiesin their own right. These companies mayrequire dedicated support, elements ofwhich might need to be recruited or con-tracted in. Specialist assistance may alsobe required to handle any unfamiliar legal,financial and regulatory duties andresponsibilities that result from incor-poration.

ž Spawning additional companies canalso create a director developmentrequirement. An effective board of com-petent directors may need to be selectedfor each new venture that is incorporated.This might involve looking outside of a cor-poration for non-executive directorswhere suitable candidates cannot be ident-ified within a parent or group context.There might also be new board and man-agement processes to design (Coulson-Thomas, 1993).

ž Central functions and specialist cor-porate teams may have to negotiate



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service level agreements with a num-ber of separate ventures. New mech-anisms may need to be devised forallocating specialist and professional staffbetween the many competing claims thatare likely to arise and for charging thoseventures which make use of their services.

ž Diversity itself can create additionalcosts and give rise to particular prob-lems. Some of those who are accustomedto operating within a common corporateframework may not be comfortable withthe variety of arrangements and require-ments that can result from the estab-lishment of a portfolio of new ventures, orthe particular needs of E-businesses andvirtual teams. Thus, new ways of workingwith customers, suppliers and businesspartners and the variety of different agree-ments which may have to be negotiatedcould give rise to concerns about networksecurity and the protection of intellectualproperty.

ž Some practitioners may lack the skillsor experience to either operate withinor support E-businesses and other newventures. Smaller enterprises may simplynot have enough people to operate thetypes of process they are familiar with oruse the ways of working they may haveadopted in the past. Many traditional man-agement tools and techniques might notbe relevant, applicable or appropriate.

There will be a growing demand for theservices of advisers and counsellors to helpothers become successful entrepreneurs.

There will be a growingdemand for the services ofadvisers and counsellors to

help others become successfulentrepreneurs

Many new ventures will need relevant learningand business development and support ser-

vices at various points in the enterprise lifecycle. HR and other professionals should con-sider the roles they would like to play anddetermine the contributions they intend tomake to help emerging E-businesses andenable whatever enterprise transformation isrequired.

In many companies, business professionalsalready find themselves facing requests forthe provision of a much more varied rangeof continuing and ad hoc support servicesthan previously. An appropriate mix ofinternal staff, associates and specialist externalresources may need to be determined,obtained and subsequently managed. Someconsulting firms have established E-businessteams that can provide clients with start-upand/or certain support services at a reducedrate or even for free, in return for an equitystake in new ventures.

The supply chain dimension

Certain E-commerce technologies have alreadyhad a profound impact upon supply chainrelationships (Bartram, 1998). Complex net-works of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists,technology and support providers may be cre-ated in response to E-business and other entre-preneurial opportunities.

Competition could increasingly be betweenconsortia of such collaborating partners. Asgreater use is made of outsourcing and boardsfocus upon core corporate competencies,value is increasingly being generated and deliv-ered by supply chains rather than individualcompanies. Hence, the importance of learningand shared learning along and across supplyand value chains (Coulson-Thomas, 1997).

In spite of a trend towards greater col-laboration and interdependence, theemphasis within the organizations exam-ined was overwhelmingly upon theinternal training of employed staff (Coul-son-Thomas, 1999a).

The development needs of contractors, sup-pliers, customers and business supply chainpartners were largely ignored, even though



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companies such as IBM and Microsoft aredeveloping significant businesses in theseareas. HR teams are failing to perceiveeducation, training and development as ameans of building relationships with keydecision makers in strategic customers, sup-pliers and business partners, or as a sourceof incremental revenues. Yet, as mentionedearlier, exciting learning opportunities aboundin many situations and contexts (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a).

Learning, knowledge creation andknowledge entrepreneurship

In many sectors, the value of goods and ser-vices accounted for by ‘know-how’ continuesto grow. However, general managers and pro-fessional specialists in most of the companiesexamined do not appear to fully appreciate theextent to which education, learning, trainingand updating are rapidly becoming enormousand global markets in their own right (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a). They are among the mostexciting of contemporary business oppor-tunities.

There is enormous potential for income gen-eration, higher margins and knowledge entre-preneurship (Coulson-Thomas, 1999a, 2000).Many websites and E-businesses have aninsatiable thirst for ‘content’. Information canbe sold and ‘know-how’ from simple tools andtechniques to high level expertise can belicensed.

Some explicit knowledge managementinitiatives were encountered but theseappeared to have been conceived and to nowbe operating quite independently of trainingand development departments andprogrammes. In the main, existing knowledgeis being shared but new knowledge is notbeing created. Also, the approachesadopted tend to be based upon imitationrather than innovation.

The management of a current stock of infor-mation, knowledge or understanding whichmight or might not be relevant, either to indi-vidual aspirations and customer requirements

or corporate objectives is becoming anobsession (Coulson-Thomas, 1997). Attentionshould be focused upon flows of new insights,discoveries and breakthroughs and the dynam-ics of the creation and the application of per-tinent knowledge.

Training and development professionalsmust address the creation and application ofknowledge and understanding. Tomorrow’sbusiness leaders will be those who progressbeyond the passive importation and sharing ofexisting information, knowledge and under-standing. Rather than play ‘me-to’ or ‘catch-up’ according to yesterday’s rules, they willenergetically create, imaginatively innovateand restlessly explore. They will invent new

Tomorrow’s business leaderswill energetically create,

imaginatively innovate andrestlessly explore

games, establish new markets, introduce newways of working and learning and generallypush back the boundaries of what is possiblein order to deliver greater value to their cus-tomers.

HR professionals should help organizationsto inspire and foster entrepreneurship andbecome a fertile source of knowledge, valueand enterprise creation. To do this they mustwork more closely with information tech-nology specialists, business unit teams andfacilities managers. Too many workingenvironments still constrain innovationand creativity, where they should enablethe development of additional intellectualcapital and be a positive force for greaterbusiness flexibility and a spring of freshentrepreneurial activity.

By allowing ‘knowledge management’ tobecome an unchallenged responsibility of theIT community and vendors of tools for captur-ing, structuring and managing existing knowl-edge, many HR professionals are missing an



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historic and strategic opportunity to con-tribute to knowledge and value creation andthe achievement of corporate objectives.

The need for a fundamental reviewof corporate learning strategies

Some HR teams appear to be addressing theirown rather than corporate interests. Theyseem to persuade senior management that allmembers of staff should go through standardprogrammes regardless of individual interestsand needs. As a consequence, large sums ofmoney have been spent exposing a diversityof people working on very different activitiesto common experiences that may have littlerelevance to their particular requirements andpriorities.

Not surprisingly, such education, trainingand development expenditures are oftenregarded and treated by boards as a cost thatis incurred in order to achieve some other pur-pose, rather than as a strategic activity in itsown right. They are too rarely perceived as thevital investments in the creation of knowledge,intellectual capital and value for customers thatthey could so easily become.

HR professionals with training and devel-opment responsibilities should urgently exam-ine contemporary trends and their impactsupon customers, suppliers and fellowemployees as well as corporate employers, inorder to assess the implications and conse-quences for their own roles and responsi-bilities. Impacts should be prioritized and thespecific contributions which trainers anddevelopers could make identified and costed.When determining appropriate responses,every effort should be made to work withappropriate collaborators and supply chainpartners in order to obtain more leverage andimpact by sharing available resources.

Many boards need to put a high pri-ority upon ensuring that an appropriatecorporate learning strategy is developed,agreed and implemented. Corporate learn-ing strategy must reflect what is desired,happening and possible. In particular, it

should explicitly complement and directlysupport E-business and business developmentstrategies.

Biographical note

Colin Coulson-Thomas is Professor of Com-petitive Studies at Luton Business School andChairman of Adaptation Ltd, ASK Europe plc,Cambridge Management Centres plc, CotocoLtd and other companies. He leads the ‘Win-ning Business’ and related researchprogrammes, chairs the panel of judges forthe Awards for Innovation in E-business and isDirector of the Business Development Forum.He is an experienced counsellor of entre-preneurs, an adviser on corporate learning andcan be contacted by tel: +44 (0) 1733 361 149;fax: +44 (0) 1733 361 459 or e-mail: [email protected]

Further information

A free brochure on the report Developing aCorporate Learning Strategy (Bedford, PolicyPublications, 1999) by Colin Coulson-Thomascan be obtained by e-mail: [email protected]; fax: +44 (0) 1234 357231; ortel: +44 (0) 1234 328448. His book Individualsand Enterprise can be ordered from BlackhallPublishing by tel: 00 353 1 2785090; fax: 00353 1 2784446; or e-mail: [email protected]

References

Bartram P. 1998. The Competitive Network: Re-engineering the Supply Chain through theEnabling Technologies of Electronic Commerce.Policy Publications: Bedford.

Coulson-Thomas C. 1993. Developing-Directors:Building an Effective Boardroom Team.McGraw Hill: London.

Coulson-Thomas C. 1997. The Future of the Organ-isation. Kogan Page: London.

Coulson-Thomas C. 1999a. Developing a Cor-porate Learning Strategy. Policy Publications:Bedford.



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Coulson-Thomas C. 1999b. Individuals and Enter-prise: Creating Entrepreneurs for the New Mil-lennium through Personal Transformation.Blackhall Publishing: Dublin.

Coulson-Thomas C. 2000. The Information Entre-preneur. 3Com Active Business Unit, Winnersh.

Coulson-Thomas C. 2001. Winning business: busi-ness development issues and priorities. StrategicChange, forthcoming.

FitzGerald P. 2000. Effective Purchasing: The Criti-cal Success Factors. Policy Publications: Bedford.

Hurcomb J. 1998. Developing Strategic Customersand Key Accounts: The Critical Success Factors.Policy Publications: Bedford.

Kennedy C. 1999. The Contract Managers Toolkit.Policy Publications: Bedford.

Kennedy C, O’Connor M. 1997. Winning MajorBids: The Critical Success Factors. Policy Pub-lications: Bedford.

Stone M. 1999. Managing Customers with E-Busi-ness: The Web-Based Future of Customer Man-agement. Policy Publications: Bedford.

Documents

Developing a corporate learning strategy: creating intrapreneurs