Our mission
We are a Canadian group dedicated to the successful growth of business through the provision of on demand and customised training that is both practical and effective and offered at affordable prices.
Our people
We are an eclectic group of colleagues with a diverse range of experiences, skills and specialties, and love sharing what we have to offer in the classroom or the boardroom. When necessary we also work with other trainers and consultants on a course-by-course or contract basis in order to provide customised and specialised training solutions for any unique training needs.
Together, our core partners boast an impressive list of clients, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, Alia Institute, Almatis Inc., American Eagle Outfitters, American Express, Bank of Canada, Blue Ocean Contact Centres, Business Psychology Associates Inc., Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC), Canada Post Corporation, Canada Revenue Agency, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, Canadian Council on Animal Care, Canadian Heritage, Capital Health, Children’s Aid Society, Citizenship & Immigration (CIC), City of Windsor, Cree First Nation Economic Council, CummingsMitchell Event Design, Datarite Inc., Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO);, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSDC), Department of National Defence (DND), DHL, Dominion Lending, DRS Pivotal Power, DuPont, Emergis, ENCON, Financial Services Commission of Ontario, General Dynamics, Grand Hotel, Jersey, HB Social Marketing, Health Canada, Heritage Gas, Hill Samuel Bank (Jersey) Ltd, Hub Halifax, Intelcan, Investors Group, Irving Oil, JC Penney, Jersey Electricity Company, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Justice Canada, Kahnawake Council of Elders, Kleinwort Benson , L’Etacq Woodcraft, Jersey , La Société de formation à distance des commissions scolaires du Québec (SOFAD), Land’s End, Ledgehill Treatment & Recovery Centre, Loyola Community Learning Centre, Continuing Education and Correctional Programs, Maalouf Monte Carlo, Maya Tea Canada, McGill University, McGraw-Hill Publishing, Metals Economics Group, Mount St. Vincent University, National Association of Friendship Centres, National Capital First Nations Governance, National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), NatWest Bank, NutriSystem, Office of the Auditor General, Canada, Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), Precision Biologic, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), R. J. Reynolds, Ratemiser, RCMP, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, Satlantic Inc., The Medical Association of Canada, The Ottawa Hospital, The Summit Day Spa & Wellness Clinics, Transport Canada, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), University of North Carolina, Uplift Technologies, YMCA, and Young Enterprise Jersey.
Anne Watkins, Managing Partner
Anne holds a Masters degree in sociology from Simon Fraser University, and attained UK professional qualifications in business management (MIMgt), marketing (MCIM), and human resource training and development (MIPD). She is a qualified and experienced trainer, with a UK National Award from the Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD, now a chartered institute, CIPD) for her work in training.
From 1988 – 2000, Anne was Director of the Business School and Management Centre in Jersey, Channel Islands, UK. She managed a local team of 20 part-time instructors and a team of over 90 international consultants. She conducted training needs analyses and developed customized training interventions for over 200 clients, including government departments, clearing banks and law firms, and designed and delivered personally a range of training workshops in leadership, management, supervision, effective business communications, effective business presentations, customer care, HR management, and training and development.
From 1998 – 2000, Anne was responsible for tutoring HR candidates in writing the formal management report which was a requirement for membership of the CIPD. (This is a post-graduate qualification.)
From 1995 – 2000, Anne tutored for the Institute of Management (UK) Certificate and Diploma courses, which focused on the management of people, operations, information, resources and change. She mentored managers to develop both their management skills and their skills in briefing senior management using the short business report.
From September 1983 to July, 1988, Anne taught the Business Communications Module for the BTEC Diploma and Certificate courses in Business Studies. Her students on the Certificate course were adults in full-time employment in government, IT and the finance sector. The module included the business letter, memorandum, short report, briefing note and meeting report.
Early in her career, Anne was employed for two years as Committee Secretary for four government standing committees in Jersey, UK. She was responsible for compiling briefing notes for committee presidents.
Since returning to Canada in 2000, she has designed and delivered a range of workshops:
• Making the Transition from Peer to Leader
• Managing for Superior Results
• Time and Stress Management
• Managing Time and Multiple Priorities
• Effective Team Work: How to Build a Winning Team
• Leading Virtual Teams
• Assertive Management and Conflict Resolution
• Assertiveness
• Dealing with Difficult People
• How to Manage a Difficult Conversation
• Assertive Communication and Conflict Management
• Negotiation Skills and Conflict Resolution
• Assertiveness Training
• Making the Right Hire
• Coaching for a High Performance Team
• Facilitating Effective Meetings
• Powerful Performance Appraisals
• Performance Management
• Train the Trainer
• Design and Deliver Effective Training
• No Sweat Presentations
• Practical Time Management Techniques
• Writing Briefing Notes
• Writing Reports and Proposals
• Taking Minutes
• Effective Business Writing
• Writing Skills for Impact and Influence
Anne’s government client list includes: Citizenship and Immigration, Canadian Development International Agency, Canadian Heritage, HRSDC, Department of National Defence, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Canada Revenue Agency, Health Canada, Justice Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Office of the Auditor General, and Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Other clients include: National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, RCMP, ENCON, DuPont, Ontario Real Estate Association, Cree First Nation Economic Council, Kahnawake Council of Elders, Children’s Aid Society, WUSC, City of Windsor, Ontario provincial government, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the Canadian Council on Animal Care, The Ottawa Hospital, Bank of Canada, Emergis, National Association of Friendship Centres, National Capital First Nations Governance, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, Canadian Plastics Sector Council and Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Anne’s approach to training is to customize highly interactive training with focus on the client organization’s main issues and challenges. Both her public and customized workshops enable participants to practice and develop the skills they need in a relaxed and fun environment.
Michael Watkins; Partner, Learning Director
Michael has bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in English from the University of Oxford, UK, where he taught English as a junior tutorial fellow at Trinity College. At Oxford, he won a number of prestigious medals, scholarships and prizes, including the Queen’s Junior History Medal, the Mrs Claude Beddington Literature Prize, the Violet Vaughn-Morgan Prize Medal, the Richard Hillary Scholarship in English, and a number of other undergraduate and graduate scholarship prizes.
Michael went on to teach English language in China, first at Ningbo University and then Wenzhou University. While at Wenzhou University, he participated in a research initiative into the promulgation of grammar mistakes in Chinese-published English-language textbooks. He won state-awarded medals for excellence in teaching: the Camellia Honour Medal, the Yandang Prize and the West Lake Friendship Medal. (This last prize is very rarely awarded to English teachers; it is normally reserved for high-level investors and scientific advisors.)
Since 2004, Michael has owned a successful English-training school in Wenzhou, China. The school currently has three campuses, a permanent Chinese staff of 40, 15 foreign teachers and 1700 enrolled students. The school offers extra-curricular support to middle-school students and courses for adults working in international trade and contract and maritime law.
As academic director of the school, Michael runs training courses for Chinese and foreign teachers in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning strategies. His innovative and effective approach to EFL has been recognized by the government: he is the only foreigner in the history of Zhejiang province to be appointed to the Education Consultative Committee; the education department has given him special responsibility for training all local primary-school English teachers in EFL.
In Canada, he has delivered both public and customized training workshops in writing skills, a preparatory course for people taking the Public Service Examination: Writing Skills in English: Multiple Choice Test, effective business writing, effective briefing notes, writing effective e-mail, creating and presenting effective Powerpoint decks, and writing reports and proposals. He also does editing work and has delivered training in training techniques, dealing with difficult people, and assertiveness and conflict management.
Aaron Bihari; Partner, Creative Director
Aaron brings an unusual angle to training. With a professional background in physical theatre, contemporary dance, visual arts, literature and graphic design, ten years ago he began examining how a creative skill set could benefit people in their everyday lives. This led him to design Physical Intelligence training, the success of which in turn led him into the world of corporate training and consulting. Our creativity expert, his unique background allows him to approach challenges from fresh angles, and challenge with fresh ideas. Currently he is directing several e-learning projects.
Geoff Crinean, Senior Coach and Trainer
Geoff is a business coach with clients who has been consulting with and mentoring people in business for 30 years across three continents, is a member of the International Coaching Federation, and is certified as both a Co-Active and a Bigger Game coach. In addition, his six other careers were as a nuclear physicist, computer programmer, software development manager, oil & natural gas industry consultant, marketing & sales director, and small business owner. He has a BSc and PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia.