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BruceHolland

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Comments from private sector clients

What would you say to someone else considering Bruce Holland?

Customers using Strategic Process

• "Excellent, well paced, well moderated, took us along the path at just the right pace. A very robust and obviously well-tested process that more than achieved its objectives. Trust the process! It's tested and it really works. Taking all factors into account the workshop was one of the best I've been to. 5 out of 5". Peter Lee, CEO, Institute of Financial Advisers.

• "Excellent facilitation as usual! Skillful guidance of a herd of cats. Excellent process for bring focus to strategic thinking. Taking all factors into account the workshop was one of the best I've been to. 5 out of 5." Liz Koh, Director, Institute of Financial Advisers.

• "Good focus on what's important. Go for it. I'm converted! 4 out of 5." Nigel Tate, President, Institute of Financial Advisers.

• "Extremely worthwhile! We needed to agree as a team and this was achieved. It's a good process controlled to a large extent by the participants. 4 out of 5." Neville Caird, Director, Institute of Financial Advisers.

• "I think the workshops were very useful, targeting intended objective. The prework was relevant and easy to follow. As for the facilitation, this was one of the best workshops/courses I attended. It was engaging and interesting. Use Bruce. Guaranteed to deliver. Very interesting and engaging methods of facilitating a workshop. Rating 5 out of 5 (one of the best I've been to)." Zvonko Lazic, Magnet Engineer, HTS-110.

• "Overall, I enjoyed the experience of attending the project workshops and felt that there were some valuable results obtained in the workshops. I thought the modules well presented, entertaining, thought provoking, and well worth the time used. Your chairing of the meeting start and end was also very competent. I felt that there were real benefits to be had in the presentations and exercises and would recommend it to others. Rating 5 out of 5 (one of the best I've been to)." Mike Fee, Magnet Design Engineer, HTS-110.

• Very effective process whereby facilitator has low profile with consequential high involvement of participants. Process provided desired outcomes in timely and broadly involved manner. Overall score 4 out of 5. David Hill, Chief Executive, Capacity Infrastructure Services.

• The pre-work reading was well prepared and very useful preparation for our workshop. Bruce Holland is an excellent facilitator. He managed to draw everybody into the project and kept our focus. He had a vision of how we needed to progress through the process. Very dynamic workshop with plenty of interaction. Overall score: five out of five. John Baines, Engineer, Capacity Infrastructure Services.

• Excellently facilitated. Pre-reading material and formative and challenging in the right way. Workshop focused and empowered staff, a great way to get the best out of everybody in a warm way. Overall score: five out of five. Bill Arnold, Senior Engineer, Capacity Infrastructure Services.

• The workshop was very well organised, material was available to read through before attending the workshop. It was useful in terms of getting to know Capacity's future direction and strategies. I strongly recommend Virtual Group for similar purposes. Overall score: five out of five. Diana Isaacs, Engineer/Planning Team, Capacity Infrastructure Services.

• The process was insightful and reminded me of exciting times at a previous job. this bought direction, confidence and belief to our ability to succeed. Go with an open mind and be prepared to be challenged. This process has bought direction to our company. It has identified our strengths as a team. Overall score: Five out of five.Murray Seamark, Manufacturing Director, Canary Enterprises.

• Pre-work excellent. Well run, right amount of intervention and guidance to ensure desired end is met. Very useful means of defining objectives and achieving consensus within a team. An inclusive process. Overall score: Four out of five. Ross McCullum , Consultant, Canary Enterprises.

• Insightful, thought-provoking and satisfying. Enjoyed the pre-reading. Like the way things kept moving along. Comments to someone else: Don't wait. Be ready to get out or the box and answer/ ask hard questions. Overall score: Five out of five. Kylea Heaton, General Manager Operations, Canary Enterprises.

• Workshop was structured in a way that took all participants through a process that delivered the end result that we were looking for. Bruce is an excellent facilitator with great experience in leading a team to develop their own conclusions. Overall score: Five out of five. Derek Bartosh, Director, Canary Enterprises.

• Overall impressions, very good. The pre-reading was thought out and provoking and intriguing. The process of the workshop built to a nice conclusion. Very favourable results indeed. Good on you. It was a really enjoyable and thought provoking. Comments to someone else: It will be hard work. It will challenge you, but will also be rewarding and directional. You will have a plan. Overall score: Five out of five. James Gray , Director, Canary Enterprises.

• The prework notes were fantastic. I was really inspired by the story on the Tipping Point. I would recommend using Virtual Group because of the independent view and constructive approach to facilitating workshops and creating positive outcomes. Mele Collins, Manager ANZ National Bank

• Good notes and relevance to work covered... Bruce allowed a good free flow of ideas and discussion. Overall the workshop was excellent for bring the team together. Good value in Herrmann and Strategy. Craig Burns, Manager Support Services, ANZ National Bank

• Great presentations, well managed and good deliverables. Enjoyed every minute. Highly recommended. You clearly delivered on what you set out to do - loved it all! Luke Maxwell, Manager Transaction Services, ANZ National Bank

• Really relaxed and non threatening but very valuable in terms of results. I would recommend it to anyone. Dave Penrose, Manager ANZ National Bank.

• The workshop was excellent. It brought out a high level of commitment from the team to the goals. This is what I was seeking. Bruce is an excellent facilitator - one of the best I have been involved with over many years. David Ley, Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging, Chief Executive Oceania.

• Very good. Getting people out of their shells- to communicate. Very good discussions, especially at end - to conclude. Highly recommended. Inspiring (which was surprising). Miles Jeffrey, Snr Engineer, EXICOM

• Very good overall and since you managed to get emotions out of this lot you have done well. Bruce was very relaxed and fair. Paul Larkin, Snr Technician, EXICOM

• Very good at drawing out ideas and comments that were relevant and brought the group together. Tom Clarke, Technician, EXICOM

• Very insightful. Has broadened my thinking about how I may make a difference. A good investment and well presented. Do all the pre - course work. Wayne Visser, Component Engineer, EXICOM

• Very good participation and outcome, against a very tight deadline. A very open and useful planning process for anyone to undertake. Kyran Newell, CEO, SMC Building Society

• The written material was most appropriate. And the programme suited SMC needs extremely well. Geoffrey Clark, Director, SMC Building Society

• Very interesting. Everyone participated which was due to the facilitators input. Would recommend. Bryan Mooar, Director, SMC Building Society

• Hard work. Great facilitation. Generated enthusiasm. Very worthwhile - happy to recommend. Richard Calvert - Chairman, SMC Building Society

• Has given me great inspiration. An incentive to help the Club strive and thrive for many years. Don't just think about it. Make time - it is well worth it! Marilyn, Loans Officer, SMC Building Society

• It was a great learning curve. I will make sure it helps me in business and setting guidelines for Committee Meetings in the future. Do it, be open minded and enjoy it. ..... One of the best training Courses I?ve been to! Excellent. Barry Clarke, MTA

• Top job and insight into leadership and strategic thinking in the available time. Good interactive practical sessions. Pre-meeting material superb. Any training that breaks down theories and bureaucracy and provides practical elements has to be worthwhile. Excellent. Jeff Dobson, Director, MTA.

• Very enlightening! Have learnt nuts and bolts of why and how people should be handled differently, and why they react as they do. A totally different approach. Dave Trial, MTA

• Interesting prework. Excellent knowledge of facilitation techniques and great implementation. I leave with a sense of achievement and good understanding of the ground we have covered and where we need to go in the future. One of the best sessions I've been to.! Graeme Goulden QA Manager TAB

• Very useful. Exceeded my expectations. Bruce facilitated well, he let the group maximise their contribution. A very effective approach, one of the best I've been to. Warwick Wright, General Manager TAB.

• One of the highlights of the last year has been the Strategic Planning session you ran for the Northern Region. It was a memorable learning session for me and I felt compelled to write and say 'thank you'. I am richer for the experience!..... Thanks Bruce for your wisdom, your guidance and above all the challenge to think hard about the future. Mike Spraggon Regional Sales Manager BNZ

• Good preparation material, well linked into workshop .Good facilitation with diverse group. Kim Wicksteed, CEO Saatchi & Saatchi

• This will truly inspire employees to feel pride and to feel really valued with a great 'Team' spirit nationally. I love the concept and look forward to its coming into fruition. Shirley Goff, Norwich Life.

• The level of lateral thinking and honesty. Richard Harvey, CEO Norwich Union Holdings

• Very well run and explained. Broken up with a bit of humour but retained focus and direction. A fantastic way of bringing a group of people together to form a team. Jono Bushell. Manager, Comm Arts.

• Just a note to say how much I enjoyed the last two days. I have been to several planning "retreats" over the years and I thought you outshone most in getting the participation of the whole group. You earned your money alright. Tom Young, General Manager- Energy, Electra Energy.

• Bruce this type of session was a first for me so I found the experience exhilarating.! Val Findlay , Blueprint Consultant BNZ

• Come with an open mind and not pre- judge the sessions mid way through...Style of presentation and leadership was encouraging. Had more of an impact than perhaps I initally realised...At times I did not quite see where the the direction was taking us. However, this was evident in the final session. Mark Carlyle, Norwich Union

• Be prepared to contribute. Be prepared for something a little different...Enjoyed it!! David Biegel Norwich Union

• As a vehicle to promote communication, focus thinking on particular problems and initiate commitment to an ongoing process there is real merit in a session of this nature...Personally I enjoyed the sessions... Bruce, Thanks for your efforts. Your attempts to get people thinking on the right track were noted. Craig Thorn, Norwich Union

• Yes: Made me think in a new way- slightly controversial. Helped build our team. Nigel Hooper Telecom National Accounts Manager

• Group brain-power and feeding off one another. One end result. Without Bruce's input I don't think we would have come up with as high a quality strategies as we have. Created an excellent team feeling. The strategies are 'ours'. Beth Baker, Regional HR Manager BNZ

Retail customer comments

''What a great time we had! I got a lot from seeing our people enjoy themselves, be more of themselves and open up to new thinking. The tools and concepts around being better at giving great service have been very valuable and helped us all get a common understanding of how each customer is an individual and so are we. Many of our people were new to training and development and Bruce's style was key to succeeding in getting people to relax and bring their best. As an organisation we needed to begin somewhere and this was perfect for us. Not too heavy, but not a walk in the park either, with most people reflecting on one thing or another for weeks afterwards.... We achieved the objectives I set in a positive and engaging way. Overall this was 5 out of 5, one of the best development programs I've been to.''

'"I thought the material was well researched. Documentation and workshops professionally prepared. Half-day workshops were a good amount of time, keeping information to the point. Thought Virtual Group provided inspirational training to a broad range employees with different jobs and different skills, but it worked well for all of us.''

''My overall impression was that the project was very good and thought provoking'. A great strength is the relaxed manner in which it was facilitated, which placed everyone at ease...''

''It was a very worthwhile project, I think enjoyed by all who participated. It was an opportunity to work more as a team and take people out of their comfort zones. The readings and pre-work were all worthwhile and gave you an insight to the upcoming workshops. I would highly recommend Virtual Group, it certainly opened my mind and thought processes. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Overall this was 5 out of 5, one of the best I've been to.''

''Great, very thought provoking! Thoroughly enjoyed, found the exercises and workshops very good and very useful to our team. Thought provoking. Many discussions coming to team meetings from all areas. Well worth the time and effort. Very beneficial to anyone who attends. Overall this development programs was 5 out of 5, one of the best development programs I've been to.''

"I found it thought provoking and interesting. It was well presented and great to work in teams. The 'concepts were easy to understand and follow. It is a worthwhile investment. It not only teaches one how to apply oneself in the workplace, but also allows one to find out more about oneself. Overall this development program was 5 out of 5, one of the best I've been to."

''On a personal perspective I found the course beneficial even though in my job I have minimal contact with external customers. The course was enjoyable and the instruction easy to understand. Attend the course with an open mind."

"Very professional. Bruce was easy to understand and his practical workshops enjoyable. Colouring your customers does work and this information will prove very helpful in my dealings with customers. Great to share with the group. Bruce was enjoyable to listen to and his choice of music was excellent. More Bob Dylan! A great learning tool for any customer focused company. Overall this development program was 5 out of 5, one of the best I've been to."