Sometimes the specific "expert" sought for a particular situation turns out to be one who has had similar experience in another field. This was the case with Dept. of Transportation's St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) in Massena, NY.

CHALLENGE:
SLSDC was seeking an expert in maritime operations to conduct training for their supervisors, many having been promoted from the employee ranks. A proposal from Creative Concepts International aroused their interest but failed to offer the expert instructor they sought. A phone call from Thomas Lavigne, associate administrator at SLSDC, expressed their concern that the proposed CCI instructor Gary Wetherbee did not have a maritime background.

Wetherbee joined CCI as a staff instructor after ten years as Training Manager, Executive Trainer, and Curriculum Manager at the highly-regarded BellSouth Leadership Institute in Atlanta. He had developed and delivered training programs, similar to the topics required by SLSDC and had experience in working with labor unions. CCI felt Gary was the ideal person for the job. After a conversation with Wetherbee, SLSDC decided to accept the CCI proposal.

SOLUTION:
Program developers began gathering information about the seaway culture, questioning SLSDC personnel on supervisory and managerial skill needs, and determining the most suitable self-assessments to be included in the training program. After several telephone conversations with CCI and Wetherbee, a five-day Introduction to Supervision course tailored to SLSDC requirements was created.

RESULTS:
Once Instructor Wetherbee began training and interacted with class participants, he heard many of the challenges they faced at the Massena port. They were basically no different than those brought forth in classes he conducted at the telephone company's institute. With the knowledge he had of these similar situations, Gary was able to offer practical advice and answers to their questions by applying solutions to their problems. Experience counts! Evaluations from the five-day course were excellent and unanimous praise for Gary becoming the "expert" they sought.

Creative Concepts International, Inc. is a veteran-owned small b business located in Woodstock, GA (suburb of Atlanta) specializing in soft-skill training since 1979 - GSA: GS-02F-0100T.. For information, call 404-630-1712; email gene@geneswindell.com or visit our website www.geneswindell.com.