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The Challenge: Developing Qualified Corporate Leaders
Many of the world’s largest corporations face a common, significant challenge: the struggle to develop qualified leaders internally. According to Louis Carter, CEO of the Best Practice Institute (BPI), quality leadership development requires more than small, sponsor-driven events. True change and effective leadership are achieved through deep dialogue and genuine interaction with peers and experts.
An Exclusive Solution: The Senior Executive Board
To address this need, BPI convenes an ultra-exclusive Senior Executive Board, bringing together top talent and leadership executives from global corporations for intensive, twice-yearly, three-day meetings. This community serves as a unique, family-like environment for some of the world’s leading business minds from companies including:
- Walmart
- Bank of America
- British Petroleum
- Saudi Aramco
- Ingersoll Rand
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Pfizer
Membership is limited and highly selective, requiring candidates to be recommended, vetted, and approved by the existing group to keep the board intimate and effective. The goal is to create a space where top-tier peers can interact on the same intellectual and experiential level—an opportunity many lack in their daily roles.
The Board Meeting Experience: A Catalyst for Change
The BPI board meetings are designed to be transformational experiences that drive measurable results for both the leader and their organization. The format is a unique blend of:
- Think Tank: Generating ideas and challenging assumptions.
- Organizational Transformation: Modeling processes that leaders can bring back to their own companies.
- Peer-to-Peer Coaching: Providing advice and insights that, as one member noted, "a consultant couldn’t give me for a million dollars."
Carter explains, "We practice the BPI process in the room so they can bring it back to their organization." This hands-on approach ensures that the breakthroughs achieved during the sessions are transferable to the workplace.
Measurable Impact and Lasting Value
The benefits extend well beyond the meetings themselves. Brian Fishel, SVP of Enterprise Leadership Development at Bank of America, noted that the board is "a great platform for stimulating ideas and challenging my assumptions... forcing me to go back and ask questions."
The results often translate into increased shareholder value, sales, profit, quality of hire, and retention. Members describe the year-long engagement as a "lifelong change," emphasizing the unique value of a collaborative environment where even competitors can unite for worldwide change.
Broader Resources for Leadership Development
While the Senior Executive Board is its most exclusive offering, BPI provides a wealth of resources to its more than 10,000 members across the globe. Most members view BPI as a premier knowledge center and online learning portal, with access to:
- A rich library of research and case studies.
- Over 300 archived interactive webinars.
- A faculty of more than 200 experts, including renowned thought leaders like Marshall Goldsmith, academics, and retired military leaders.
- Accreditation opportunities for Human Resources professionals (PHR, SPHR, GPHR).
Carter’s vision is for BPI to be the definitive source for leadership development, organization change, and talent management by focusing on the human element. "Whether a corporation succeeds or fails is entirely in the hands of people," he states. "You just can’t possibly lead people if you don’t get the psychology right." '''