ICO

ICO stands for innovation, communication and organization. The course considers these words the building blocks for success within any organization. These are not skills an employer knows a new employee possesses. The employer hopes the new hire will have these skills.

An employer is hiring because the person possess a set of skills and knowledge that fits the subject they are hired to work on. A College degree is a certification that the new employee is an intelligent person with a set of thinking skills and learning skills that the employer can count to master the task the person is hired to do.

Sometime during that employees first few years the employer will be looking among the people hired with him or her for a select group of people who will rise quickly within the company or within the industry. Those are the people who will lead the organization, including its people, its assets and its strategies.

The ICO is about learning the process of understanding and mastering innovation, communication and organization. How many times have we heard the statement “If I knew then what I know now”. That is rarely about mastering a subject such as business, engineering, agriculture, Spanish, military science, biology. What a person wishes they knew at the beginning of their working life that they now know at the mid point or at the end of a career is what ICO is about.

The ICO is 36 hours of learning divided between lecture, assessment tools and exercises. The learning style is interactive where members of the class learn from each other as much as they learn from the instructor. Of the 36 hours of instruction no more than 6 hours or 20% is lecture. The 36 hours will be divided into three one and a half day workshops.

Learning at ICO depends on the class’s ability to ask questions. In fact the first major rule of the class is that all questions have validity. Assessments are constant, fast and easy to score. The value of an assessment to a participant is equally about the individual score, the class scores and the questions about the scores. Generally a class will end with more questions than answers. The ICO considers this type of learning to be closer to what actually happens in a career or job.

ICO will be a demanding and sometimes frustrating process. For many people who have used the principles of ICO it is a critical part of their success.

If you are interested in attending one of the seminars or would like to request that Herman Wright conduct a workshop in your area, please contact info@thelongblackline.com.

INNOVATION

“THE INTRODUCTION OF SOMETHING NEW” Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary WHAT IS IT? This is a one and a half day workshop that examines your ability to handle change and see the opportunities for success that are part of change. HOW WILL WE DO THIS? We will examine the components of change and learn skills needed to handle change individually and as a team. WHAT WE WILL ACCOMPLISH? We will enhance your value to those leading teams. Whether you are creative or not we will enhance your value to any team that is responsible for creating something new.

COMMUNICATION

“A PROCESS BY WHICH INFORMATION IS EXCHANGED BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS THROUGH A COMMON SYSTEM OF SYMBOLS, SIGNS OR BEHAVIOR” Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary” WHAT IT IS? This is a one and a half day workshop that will help you assess your communication and presentation skills and provide you with tools to continuously improve your ability to reach your goals and achieve success. HOW WE WILL DO THIS? We will examine the components of communications, negotiations and presentation. We will help you find your strengths and challenges in communicating. We will help you position your skills for maximum effectiveness. WHAT WE WILL ACCOMPLISH? There is not one right way to accomplish a task or achieve a goal. Once you realize that there are multiple ways to collect information, process it and make decisions from that information you begin to understand how critical communication is to your success regardless of profession or job.

ORGANIZATION

“THE ACT OR PROCESS OF ORGANIZING OR OF BEING ORGANIZED” Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary” “TO CAUSE TO DEVELOP AN ORGANIC STRUCTURE’ Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary” WHAT IS IT? This is a one and a half day workshop that will provide you with concepts and skills that senior executives and entrepreneurs use to build their organizations to success. HOW WILL WE DO THIS? We will integrate what you learned in the communication and innovation workshops into the concept of “systems” thinking WHAT WE WILL ACCOMPLISH? We will help you identify and gain strong mentors. We will help you find strong peers to associate with. We will give you a foundation of knowledge to build on which can help you find answers to the questions you will have as your career and success develops