COMPETITIVE EDGE
Training & Development
We have the right experience, people and knowledge to help you gain a competitive edge in the market. Over the years, we have developed a reputation for being different than the typical ad agency. One of those distinctions involves the consulting services that we provide our clients. These are services that have nothing to do with "buying ads" and everything to do with producing results. Competitive Edge is one of those services.
The Communications Group offers training and development for staff, executives, board members, community leaders and program managers. Programs are tailored to each organization. Our classes can be offered in a series or as a single class.
Executive Leadership Development
Our most popular and frequently requested training is the "Communicator's Complete" series. It includes in a single day:
• Personal Development
• Managing the Media
• Introduction to Message Mapping
Personal Development
• Increases productivity
• Improves employee satisfaction
• Helps employees prioritize and manage time
• Gives staff the tools to bring clarity and focus to their professional and personal lives
"There's no such thing as a separate work life and personal life. You have one life." This is the premise for Dan Cowling's leadership training that examines personal development as a means to becoming a more complete professional. His seminars are tailored for the audience and have been given to a variety of audiences from executives to college students.
Class time: 4 hours
Managing the Media
• Teaches you how to stay in control of your organization's message
• Teaches executive leadership how to stay out of trouble with the media
• Helps executives and spokesmen understand the inside workings of a newsroom and the news cycle
• Teaches staff how to respond proactively and reactively to media requests
"You have an obligation to tell the whole truth, but not all the truth you know." Renowned journalist Rex Nelson provides a media training session that teaches the important fundamentals, and then some, of managing the increasingly intrusive media.
Class time: 2.5 to 4 hours
Message Mapping
• Identifies the most important messages for your organization
• Teaches participants a technique to use for effective messaging and provides talking points for any situation
• Gives participants a tool that can be used for complex or simple projects, issues or situations that require a succinct, unified response
Developing a "home base" message is the key to learning how to map a message and stay on it no matter what the circumstances. Lisa Bondurant, APR, teaches a masterful technique for getting many messages focused, supported and on a single page.
Original Mapping Session: 4 to 8 hours
Development of Message Maps: 2 to 4 weeks
Strategy CircleTM
• Teaches a technique for executive problem solving
• Helps staff develop strategies for successfully addressing internal and external challenges
• Helps your team overcome organizational obstacles and move toward success
A Strategy Circle is a rapid-response, interactive tool to address a specific problem or obstacle. Strategy Circles have proven to be superior problem-solving tools for management teams with specific objectives and timelines.
Class time: 3 to 5 hours
Trainers
Dan Cowling, MA
Agency President
Lisa Bondurant, MA, APR
Senior Vice President,
Director of Public Relations