Training Philosophy and Methods

• Overview
• A Rewarding Experience
• Encouraging Mistakes
• Ways of Learning
• Learning Through Activities
• Skill Building
• Our Trainers

Learning From Mistakes

A unique model. Our training leverages a fact most trainers overlook: people always learn faster from their mistakes. Because of this, we intentionally put our participants in situations where they often fail. This is especially important in strategy, where every move is an experiment. Since most experiments fail, people must learn how to fail safely and productively without any sense of shame. We call this system “failing upward.” By making mistakes safely in the Strategy School, you learn what doesn’t work and how to position yourself to take advantage of the opportunities that must eventually come your way. 

Constant challenges. Attendees are constantly challenged in our sessions and as they go through our on-line training. Our programs use the Socratic method. They constantly ask the attendees questions. Often, our trainers ask the key question before the participants are given the lesson or activity so they can learn how wrong their assumptions are. Half the value of this method is that it first forces attendees to think. The other half of its value comes from the fact that people simply remember lessons better when they have gotten them wrong initially.

The reverse of what people expect. Our method reverses the modern practice of giving a long lesson and then, sometime later, giving a test. In our programs, you are challenged constantly. You are also rewarded constantly, especially when you stand out from the crowd. The purpose of our programs is not only to teach the skills, but to give people the courage to use them—not because they will not fail, but because only by failure can they eventually arrive at the correct answers. This format more closely follows the real-life experiences of real people. 

Quality guarantee. At the Science of Strategy, we practice what we preach in terms of “failing upward.” If our courses are not successful, we want to learn from the experience. This is why we guarantee your satisfaction with our courses. We want every attendee to recommend the experience  to his or her colleagues. If for any reason your organization is not satisfied with any course, our trainers will give you credit toward another course of comparable value or refund the fee in full.