Excellence Training LLC was originally founded in 1991 under the name Leadership Connection. Johanne Edwards , founder of Leadership Connection, left a position with General Motors to begin her company.
While at GM, Johanne engineered many large assembly line facilities. She utilized many team building skills to bring diverse groups to the party for successful instillations and start-ups. When she left GM she was in charge of joint activities between the Union and Management. She began optimization programs and workshops to maximize resources using a team approach. Millions of dollars in savings and productivity improvements were gleaned out of these workshops and collaborative relationships between departments resulted.
Leadership Connection was focused on team based strategic planning, team building, empowerment, and creativity seminars. Johanne created the Eating Meeting Series where companies could learn leadership skills and problem solving over breakfast, lunch and dinner. “Lunch and Learns”, the “Breakfast Meeting” and “Super Suppers” where conducted to help with time constraints. The company also provided personal and individual coaching for business leaders and owners. More than 30 companies where transformed using the collaborative approach to team problem solving. Individual coaching resulted in transforming the leadership of many companies and small businesses. The spotlight was on Automotive and Construction companies throughout the state of Michigan.
Leadership Connection also brokered, marketed and co-facilitated seminars with Value Management Incorporated in Flint, Michigan. Many community leaders where trained in leadership, empowerment, and communications. The Value Management seminars (called Empowerment) were very intense and focused on individual development.
In 2001 Leadership Connection expanded to offer human potential seminars, and developed a powerful emotional intelligence seminar. The new seminar series was called Adventures in Excellence . At this time the business was reformed and renamed Excellence Training LLC. Excellence Training LLC expanded their influence and began conducting their business and personal development seminars in Canada.
Many graduates of the Adventures in Excellence series have become trainers and co-facilitators. They volunteer their time in order to continue to learn more about themselves and to help others do the same. Many are now skilled practitioners that can lead the transformation process.
During the last six years of conducting the Adventures in Excellence series we also noticed that 10% of our participants were Master Level Social Workers. They began to work with Excellence Training LLC in a collaborative process with their clients and found that the Adventures in Excellence curriculum seemed to speed up the client’s recovery process.
One major non-profit organization, The Windsor Family Forum, with a client focus on addiction and anger management, began sending their staff and clients. Many of their staff who were also social workers, and had taken the course volunteered to assist in the training weekends in order to expand their own knowledge of the training. There is now a group of Master Social Workers who are well trained in this discipline and can now assist as training assistants and co-facilitators. We now have hundreds of graduates in the self development area and we continue to add businesses to our client base.
Johanne has recently published a book about the business transformation process, E =MC2 Relative to Business . This book defines many of the transformation steps used in the Excellence Training curriculum in two parts. The first part will lead a company into the high profile business of Innovation, Creativity, and the utilization of their Human Potential Capital. The second part is about Optimization of their current resources. The book is about creating a team approach and creating companies that can innovate.
Johanne is available for speaking engagements and book signings. Speaking topics include:
“Building Powerful Relationships for a Better Bottom Line”
“Global and Cultural Trends”
“Innovation Creativity and Problem Solving”
“Empowering Teams”
“The Execution of Change — The Transformational Leader”
You can also retain Johanne for these powerful business related seminars:
“Adventures in Collaboration”
“Adventures in Attitudes”
“Team Based Strategic Planning”
Requests for training or further information about Excellence Training, LLC can be made here: