The power of orientation programs

 Modelled after Marine corps basic training

 To push new hires to their maximum limits

 Each day they are presented with an

insurmountable challenge
 Intense and intimidating

 But people emerge at the end as highly

confident

 To make people prepared to meet the challenges

 Objective - Bonding
 Transfer required knowledge
◦ Key resources and how to access them

◦ Key personnel policies

◦ Best ones address real business problems

◦ Compressed in their deadlines

◦ Compressed action learning

 Trilogy is a Texas-based American company

 Trilogy makes “configuration software's”

 Trilogy university was the brainchild of the

CEO of Trilogy Joe Liemandt and the VP, John
Price
 A salesperson from their organization goes to
the buyer and in his/her own laptop they
design the product/software that is required
buy the buyer while they are meeting with
them and the software is developed in that
time.
 They were able to get account of HP, Boeing

 Revenues grew up to $200 million

 Employee base was growing on the base of 35%

annually

 In 2000, they hired 450 new people on the base

of existing 1000

 Acculturation and learning of the new hires can

not take place in a natural way.
 Where the difference starts?

 The CEO of the organization is present on the

first day these new hires come to attend the
University

 ‘You’re going to be the future of Trilogy –the

company is relying on you – and everybody’s
waiting on you’
 People are divided into sections of about 20
people.

 There is one section leader who is an

employee.

 The section leader also serves as a mentor.

 They are given technical challenges that are closely
similar to the real life business problems.

 They are dramatically compressed in their time.

 Assignments become increasingly challenging

 Constant evaluation

 Comments and grades being upgraded into a

database.

 Such an intense functional training shows

that this is the most important characteristic
of this boot camp.
 “If people don’t learn Java in TU, I don’t care.
They’re very bright – they can pick up what
they need. But if they don’t develop nearly
unbreakable bonds with fellow TUers, if they
don’t learn to prioritize and make smart
decisions, if they don’t leave charged up,
then Trilogy is a failure”
(Allan Drummond: Trilogy VP)
 Sections stay for life

 Most emotional experience of life

 People are becoming bonded, not accidently

in this place but intentionally
 Another important attitude – Humility

 Risk taking

 Teamwork

 Success means solving customers’ problems

 Project month

 22 years old and just only month into the

organization and they are given the task of
defining the future of this organization.

 “We tell them that, in order for the company

to survive, they have to come up with a
frame-breaking great new business idea. And
they believe it because I really believe it”
 Teams of 3–5 people

 Generate an idea

 Create a business model for it

 Build the product

 Develop the marketing plan

◦ Set deep priorities

◦ Evaluate probabilities and measure results

◦ They also feel important for being noticed and their

ideas having a chance of being taken up

◦ 15% of projects turn into real life business ideas

◦ It also reinforces the value of humility

“We never want this feeling to end. Because
the moment you become arrogant,
someone will come and beat you.”
 Finding their place in the organization

 All the rest of them work on “graduation

projects”
 TU excels in giving them the basic training

 It prepares them in their skills, values,

realtionships
 TU has become the company’s primary
research and development engine

 It has become the setting for Trilogy’s

leadership development

 Inspiring these people; monitoring talent,

giving evaluation, communicating vision and
strategy
 It provides a great context and impetus for
management to revisit and communicate
strategic direction

 It serves as a constant source of

organizational renewal and transformation