FAQ's
For your convenience, we have provided a list of our most frequently asked Learning Unlimited questions along with our answers. Making it easy to find the answer to the questions you have about Learning Unlimited and our corporate team building assessment tools.
What exactly do you guys do?
LUC (Learning Unlimited Corporation) provides high impact services and products for individual, group, and organizational training and development. We specialize in using active learning techniques, sometimes called experiential learning*. Although we do use some outdoor facilities for training, most of our work is done indoors in places like hotels, conference centers, retreat sites, classrooms, and onsite.
Services - Training & Consulting
From intense, focused group development to just for fun, LUC brings people together. With LUC you will experience laughter, controversy, action, reflection, courage, curiosity, surprise, joy!
Assessment - Let's Talk!
Before we agree to work together, we need to discover if what we do is what you need and want. Through initial e-mails or phone calls we can share enough information for you to decide if you want a service proposal. Within a few days we’ll rough out a proposal to see if we are on track. We’ll adjust as necessary and when it’s a go, we’ll complete a more in depth needs assessment via instruments, interviews, or face to face meetings. Our customer service director, Mike Todd, and the consultant assigned to your process will maintain frequent contact throughout the design, delivery, and follow-through.
Delivery
Customers praise the skill and adaptability of LUC consultants. Seasoned, personable, able to facilitate productive learning environments - we connect with learners with respect for what they know, with shared humor; we take care to build the trust that gives us permission to encourage and confront as needed.
Follow Through
The key to successful training and consulting is the changes that happen back in the workplace. New insight and awareness does not mean instant behavior change! Your LUC consultant will meet with you within a few days of each program or step in the consulting process for evaluation and defining next steps. We will provide the coaching or help you plan how you will coach the learners as they put new skills into practice.
Training Focus Areas
LUC designs training or consults to processes that includes any or several of the following needs:
- understanding diverse behavioral styles - more effective teamwork – creative problem-solving - leadership - conflict resolution - management development - self-management - understanding team roles - improving communication - creating successful transitions - leading change - discovering and defining core ideology - jump starting new project teams - exploring attitudes - increasing spirit and commitment - supporting roll out of annual goals and objectives or new products - highlighting annual meeting themes - “entertRainment,” active learning with a fun message - active keynote speeches - training the trainer - meeting, focus group, or strategic planning facilitation
Types of Groups
Intact work groups or teams, departments, boards, task forces; open sign-up individual development; new or stagnant project teams; sales, marketing, or product development teams; leaders, managers, or coworkers from across the organization; customer and supplier groups; annual meetings or conferences; internal trainers/consultants wanting to learn to do it the LUC way.
Products
LUC uses instruments and activities to increase the effectiveness of our learning environments. We also sell the instruments, facilitator kits, simulations, and activities books for those who want to do it themselves. Most require no training for the experienced trainer, although we will gladly provide a train the trainer for those who wish additional support.
What is experiential learning?
Experiential, or active learning is quite simply, learning through experience. It’s how we learn best. LUC programs include active learning. We’ve all experienced the challenge of taking an idea or concept or skill we are excited about and making it our own. Reading or hearing about it is just the first step. It’s only after we struggle with it, try it out, practice, fail, try again, that we begin to gain competence. LUC processes build in those opportunities to try things out - to get enough of the satisfying experience of competence to make full competence be within reach... with practice. We’ll help you plan for the practice part as well.
Our consultants have developed their abilities experientially! They are experts in guiding participants through the learning process, in managing the risk of high action events, in asking the questions that stimulate the discussions that lead to awareness and commitment.
Within the wide scope of LUC programs, you’ll find that activity levels vary from low action, classroom table top problem solvers to high action outdoor events, sometimes including a ropes/ challenge course. During our initial conversations and assessment we explore what level of activity will be most effective for the outcome you require.
Risk Management in Choosing a Ropes Course...
Ask the right questions!
If an outdoor adventure such as ropes course fits your desired outcomes, it is critically important that you understand why Learning Unlimited is the right choice to manage the risk. All providers, all ropes courses are not equal. What follows is a list of questions and the answers you need to guarantee you are accessing a program that meets or exceeds the national standards for risk management:
1) Was your course constructed by or inspected during this calendar year by an Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) builder?
Answer needed - yes. Why? ACCT is the only organization whose sole purpose is to gather professional builders in a combined effort to establish and support the best practices in design and construction of ropes courses. They place strong emphasis on research, learning from subject matter experts in the technology and equipment used, and maintaining proven practices through the use of peer revue. ACCT board members are called in as expert witnesses when representation from the ropes course industry is needed. ACCT members hold product liability insurance, which holds them liable for the viability of the ropes course elements and equipment they build and/or inspect - ask for a copy of the certificate of insurance for your file.
2) What percentage of your business is comprised of Programs such as the one we are requesting with our type of population (i.e. adult, corporate, specific outcomes/objectives required)?
Answer needed - at least 75%. Many ropes course programs work primarily with youth groups or recreational groups and are not experienced in providing objective-based corporate training and development. The risk management issues and the design and facilitation processes are significantly different. Price shopping for a ropes course is a not wise unless all other factors are equal!
