Are You Helping Enable Your Business Partners to Sell More?

We have a dream, not an MBA - Our vision for enabling your business

By Prof. Ko de Ruyter and Dr. Debbie Keeling

As seasoned professionals in higher education, we have been hearing the trumpet sounds of a big elephant that is kicking up some seriously bad noise in the classroom. Particularly at business schools, we are slowly, but surely, coming to terms with the undeniable fact that our flagship product, the executive MBA, has become a challenged brand. This is based partly on the fact that the degree is largely associated with finance, corporate strategy and other stuffy boardroom topics, rather than in the digital-age features of speed and constant experimentation and skills, of rapid prototyping of ideas and data-driven decision making - attributes so characteristic of incubator firms.

“Personal development is recognised as the most effective way in which relationships with channel partners can be nurtured. ”

Companies are quickly grasping that such skills are not just for high-tech start-ups, they are required now in the IT industry, the cruise business, insurance markets, if fact, in every industry.

Personal development is recognised as the most effective way in which relationships with channel partners can be nurtured. And while business schools are having trouble to keep pace with these developments, this is presenting a very bright business future for online enablement. And it is not just about personal development. It is about studying for certification. In a recent project, we were able to provide hard evidence for the fact that certified business partners sell more! 

“In a recent project, we were able to provide hard evidence for the fact that certified business partners sell more! ”

So at Motivforce R&D we help clients with the development of quick learning modules. We update existing learning material and develop new stuff. We provide clients with multiple choice assessments and re-position learning objectives by writing abstracts. We even developed a new method called the Motivforce Thermometer to gauge whether exam questions are not too hot or cold (i.e., too difficult or easy).

Award winning enablement

We are also engaged in developing an innovatively narrative format to present content by experimenting with a new program called Storyline. A multitude of recent and industry recognized online learning awards attest to Motivforce as a market and thought leader in BP enablement.

“We are designing BP marketing plan competitions in which actual Big Data sets are used and learning becomes decisional doing. ”

We don’t rest on our laurels. While the main focus in our programs is on technical know-how and/or selling-critical business reflexes, we are experimenting with an innovative blend of content and format that will take us to the next level. We are designing BP marketing plan competitions in which actual Big Data sets are used and learning becomes decisional doing. We stimulate business partners to experiment with social and share experiences with peers in a digital channel learning environment. Bring them together in cross-cultural teams in virtual studio sessions to practice negotiations with clients on bundling a new line of server platforms is within reach.

At Motivforce R&D we believe that learner assessment should add to the learning experience and go beyond memorizing a few details (that’s why we use Google anyway). So, this is our vision for enabling your business. Developing a view of a wider horizon often starts with a dream, not an MBA.