Company Overview

Since its inception in 1975, The Professional Development Institute PDI Inc. has been a leading provider of consulting services and cutting-edge management education, systems and performance-improvement products throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, Japan and China. Our product portfolio includes management seminars, strategic road maps, software, planners and tools to help business and governments excel. PDI is a leading developer of patented productivity-improvement tools for managers and knowledge workers in high technology, finance, health sciences, communication, government and business schools. In 25 years, we have learned a great deal about customer care. We always listen to your feedback to fully understand and appreciate your evolving needs, to innovate in everything we do, and serve you better every day. We provide advanced seminars on Strategy, Business Intelligence, Risk Management, Ethical Leadership and Negotiation, Management of Change, Project Management and Time Management. All our seminar leaders have practiced as senior executives, taught management at the graduate level and published widely in business. We are the architects of Harvard University Global System (HUGS) and the Harvard Planner. HUGS is a series of strategic road maps to improve planning and control. We are developing the software version of HUGS to support strategic thinking, complex project management, time management and teamwork (meetings, virtual realm).

Our Management Team:

Two managing partners lead PDI team of professionals: Alain Paul Martin and Dr. Andre Potworowski. Both are alumni of the Harvard Business School and both have served as senior executives in large companies and in advisory committees for The Prime Minister of Canada. Both have taught management in Graduate Schools of Management and both have a current background and experience in information technology (IT) and entrepreneurship.

Our Clients:

Our consulting and training experts have served decision-makers from heads of governments and business leaders to professional and administrative staff. Multinationals and small firms, educational institutions and governments buy our products. Our clients include Nortel, Alcatel, Boeing, Bombardier, IBM, banks and UNESCO. The seminars have been delivered throughout North and South Americas, Japan, China and Europe.

Our Strengths: Product Innovation, World-Class Harvard Brand & Customer Service

Characterized by innovation and a global reach, our complementary instruments help users, validate strategy, mitigate risk, boost productivity, negotiate deals and facilitate world commerce. We strive to become the partner of choice for leaders.

As an entrepreneurial niche organization, we must constantly reinvent ourselves. Our practical innovations aim at building world-class talent, validating strategy, mitigating risk, boosting productivity, improving decision making and facilitating world commerce. They capitalize on the best practices and cutting-edge knowledge on decision theory, ethical leadership and negotiation, change management, productivity, risk management, project management and IT. In project management, we cover project incubation and address the complete value-creation and extraction cycle. We are investing in R&D to lead the market with an innovative framework, tools and software. We strive to become the partner of choice for leaders.

With Harvard University, PDI has earned a reputation for creating and delivering products and services of high quality standard. We are totally committed to continue to live up to this reputation by focusing on innovation, customer service and strategic alliances with global partners who share our values.

PDI Management Seminars:

Great companies seed their success by relentlessly building talent.

The management role has never been an easy one and it is more difficult in a rapidly changing and volatile business world. In the new and lean workplace, front-line professionals are entrusted with unprecedented responsibility. This means greater opportunities for achievers who can lead, seize the moment, master risks and get the best value out of their limited time. But the greatest opportunities do not come readily. Missed opportunities abound. Many intelligent and hard-working professionals lack the leadership skills essential for the current tough business world.

Armed with new expertise and entrepreneurial skills gained through our seminars, entrepreneurs, executives and professionals have expanded their horizon and created unprecedented business value for their respective organizations. Our aim is to continue to deliver the skill training required by our clients to compete and grow globally.

Harvard University Global System (HUGS):

Knowledge, technology and change are the seeds and levers for unparalleled opportunities.

HUGS Collection is a library of decision-support instruments (management road maps, posters, working forms and checklists for entrepreneurs, executives and professionals). It guarantees superior value to users when compared to current tools and technologies.

Harvard Road Maps are genuine management materiel based on extensive research and experience. They offer a proven template and practical methodology for preparing business plans, formulating a strategy, managing risk and time and realizing goals. Both the laminated and the framed posters are so attractive, they can fit in a boardroom, a learning centers or an office. So far, four posters are available: From Vision and Strategy to Value Extraction (Business & Government versions), Risk Management and Time Management. HUGS Management Templates speed-up the planning process and enhance the productivity of managers and professionals, be they tackling big-ticket items or day-to-day work. Subjected to extensive field tests, HUGS management templates are potent fact- finding tools to speed up 'days to market' and rigorously investigate complex opportunities by making rewards and risks explicit. The Strategy Checkerboard is a creativity tool that helps users seek a complete panorama of strategic choices with less guesswork. It widens the window through which we view opportunities. With the Checkerboard, we can organize our thinking process and break down the barriers to innovation at every step along the value chain. Even when the strategy is clear, its execution can be fraught with perils. That is why the tool also provides a step-by-step scenario to help users reduce implementation risk and reduce resistance to change.

The Project Charter and the Change Definition Grid provide the road map to establish a clear mandate with valid objectives and deliverables, adequate resources, verifiable performance indicators and a sound evaluation system. They include a framework to identify and manage risks related to the conditions beyond management control.

The Responsibility Chart helps users assign roles and accountability in a team. It mitigates the risks related to responsibility and veto and facilitates negotiation. It has been proven equally useful in preventing conflicts, managing transitions, reorganizations and job analysis.

The Harvard Time Log permits users to quickly analyze where their time goes. A comprehensive checklist helps them draw timesaving lessons and take corrective action.

HUGS Management Templates are the result of extensive research and are considered genuine innovations unmatched by competitors. In addition to these tools, a set of Harvard work-saving Forms is also available for Meetings, Notes & Tabular Reports, Client Contact, Communication, Action and Expense logs.

Harvard Organizers, Planners, Calendars and Diaries:

Our patented planners and organizers currently marketed under the Harvard brand have brought substantial benefits to clients worldwide year after year. With its extensive international holiday grids by date and by country, the Harvard Planner is the ideal tool for managers and professionals with global connections and aspiring leaders in colleges and universities. The product line comes in three sizes (desk, medium and pocket), three bindings (book-bound and gilt edged, Wire-O, and refills for 3-, 6- and 7-ring binders) in English, French and bilingual versions.

Our proprietary software engine facilitates the creation of Harvard Planners in any western language. Developed in-house, this powerful system permits us to create a planner with the content and format selected by the client within a short notice.

The Touch of Harvard Leather:

Until recently, our focus has been on improving the functionality of the Harvard Planners. We have created a small nucleus of leather covers and portfolios primarily to respond to demand from Harvard-Planner users. The exclusive quality of the portfolios and the Harvard brand appeal provide us with a unique value proposition to expand the leather product line and secure a niche in the growing market.

Books:

Each publication in this series addresses an important aspect of entrepreneurship and decision-making.

Book V40: Harnessing the Power of Intelligence, Counterintelligence & Surprise Events

Full of practical illustrations and insights from business, government and the military, this seminal book covers the offensive and defensive functions of intelligence, their organization, leadership, tools and culture. It reveals new human intelligence instruments, platforms and breakthrough concepts to address the issues facing intelligence analysts, both at national and corporate levels. It can help companies use smart intelligence to win customers, team-up with selected allies, and shield their assets from competitors and other adversaries. Its focus is on detecting threats and opportunities, by legal and ethical means, and earlier than can be learned through reliable media and other intelligence sources. Readers will learn how to orchestrate and hitchhike on surprise events to create value.

The book is based on Harvard University Global System management road maps pioneered by the author Alain Paul Martin. It bring Martins intelligence framework to life and goes further by sharing hard-won lessons from experience in business and defense. For those who want to dig further, there are extensive endnotes, a multilingual bibliography, a series of recommended Web sites, a handy book index and two colorful Harvard road maps on strategy and risk. The book is designed to permit readers to refer to the intelligence framework and practical tips, time and time again.

The book is suitable for general audiences. Learning about intelligence can help each of us make wiser choices, work better and be a more informed citizen. New ideas are clearly presented and technical terms are explained thoroughly. Without being simplistic, the language is within the reach of corporate staff of all levels and functions. Some stories could be used to stimulate discussions and give college students a primer on intelligence. Numerous real-life examples about people, events, current affairs and important issues will be fun to read, talk about, both at work and at home. As Harvard Emeritus Professor William J. Bruns said: Martin has created a framework and processes that anyone or any organization can adapt and use to create information and intelligence that will prevent or reduce unpleasant surprises in their lives or work.

All in all, this is an excellent, timely and easy to read book with entertaining, vivid examples and breakthrough instruments, most of which are not available elsewhere. Highly recommended for managers, professionals and educators.

Book V27: Bringing Time to Life: 120 practical tips for managing your time and enjoying life

Time management is about doing a superior job the first time. This book bridges the gap between vision and daily practice. It offers 120 tips to make time for a better life where we can nurture our total growth professional, spiritual, physical and emotional.

Book V25: Essence of a Proactive Life: 2 Practical Essays on Life & Career Planning

'Life Planning', the first essay, invites us to a candid self- examination which results in discovering those moments when we rejoice in life and find sources of fulfillment. 'How to Stay Alive', the second essay, is an invaluable guide for change agents and offers eight principles on working with decision makers.

Conclusion:

Anticipating corporate needs... challenging leaders to gain the sharpest insights on business intelligence, innovation, strategic thinking, negotiation, project and time management providing decision makers with cutting-edge tools to build talent, select and retain the best customers, manage teams, communicate plans, track progress and grow business wherever they wish... that is the essence of our mission. Give us a try. We deliver. And thats the prelude to a lasting partnership.

Company Information

Additional Details

Legal Name: The Professional Development Institute

Contacts

Services

• Advanced Management Seminars

  Great companies seed their success by relentlessly building talent. But, the management role has never been an easy one and it is more difficult in a rapidly changing and volatile business world. In the new and lean workplace, front-line professionals are entrusted with unprecedented responsibility. This means greater opportunities for achievers who can lead, seize the moment, master risks and get the best value out of their limited time. But the greatest opportunities do not come readily. Missed opportunities abound. Many intelligent and hard-working professionals lack the leadership skills essential for the current tough business world.

  Armed with new expertise and entrepreneurial skills gained through our seminars, entrepreneurs, executives and professionals have expanded their horizon and created unprecedented business value for their respective organizations. Our aim is to continue to deliver the skill training required by our clients to compete and grow globally.

  As an entrepreneurial niche organization, we must constantly reinvent ourselves. Our practical innovations aim at building world-class talent, validating strategy, mitigating risk, boosting productivity, improving decision making and facilitating world commerce. They capitalize on the best practices and cutting-edge knowledge on decision theory, ethical leadership and negotiation, change management, productivity, risk management, project management and IT. In project management, we cover project incubation and address the complete value-creation and extraction cycle. We are investing in R&D to lead the market with an innovative framework, tools and software. We strive to become the partner of choice for leaders.

• Management Consultant - Corporate Management/Organization
• Management Consultant - Training

Products

• Harvard Business Planner
• Harvard University Global System - Managment Road Maps

  HUGS Collection is a library of decision-support instruments (management road maps, posters, working forms and checklists for entrepreneurs, executives and professionals). It guarantees superior value to users when compared to current tools and technologies.

  Harvard Road Maps are genuine management materiel based on extensive research and experience. They offer a proven template and practical methodology for preparing business plans, formulating a strategy, managing risk and time and realizing goals. Both the laminated and the framed posters are so attractive, they can fit in a boardroom, a learning centers or an office. So far, four posters are available: From Vision and Strategy to Value Extraction (Business & Government versions), Risk Management and Time Management. HUGS Management Templates speed-up the planning process and enhance the productivity of managers and professionals, be they tackling big-ticket items or day-to-day work. Subjected to extensive field tests, HUGS management templates are potent fact- finding tools to speed up 'days to market' and rigorously investigate complex opportunities by making rewards and risks explicit. The Strategy Checkerboard is a creativity tool that helps users seek a complete panorama of strategic choices with less guesswork. It widens the window through which we view opportunities. With the Checkerboard, we can organize our thinking process and break down the barriers to innovation at every step along the value chain. Even when the strategy is clear, its execution can be fraught with perils. That is why the tool also provides a step-by-step scenario to help users reduce implementation risk and reduce resistance to change.

  The Project Charter and the Change Definition Grid provide the road map to establish a clear mandate with valid objectives and deliverables, adequate resources, verifiable performance indicators and a sound evaluation system. They include a framework to identify and manage risks related to the conditions beyond management control.

  The Responsibility Chart helps users assign roles and accountability in a team. It mitigates the risks related to responsibility and veto and facilitates negotiation. It has been proven equally useful in preventing conflicts, managing transitions, reorganizations and job analysis.

  The Harvard Time Log permits users to quickly analyze where their time goes. A comprehensive checklist helps them draw timesaving lessons and take corrective action.

  HUGS Management Templates are the result of extensive research and are considered genuine innovations unmatched by competitors. In addition to these tools, a set of Harvard work-saving Forms is also available for Meetings, Notes & Tabular Reports, Client Contact, Communication, Action and Expense logs.

• Management Books

  Alain Paul Martin & Dr. Brian Morrissey: Harnessing the Power of Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Surprise Events, ISBN: 0- 86502-924-5 This is an extraordinarily thoughtful and well written book on a topic of great contemporary importance. Its advice is detailed, practical and completely on target. F. Warren McFarlan Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration Harvard Business School This is an extraordinarily thoughtful and well written book on a topic of great contemporary importance. Its advice is detailed, practical and completely on target. F. Warren McFarlan Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration Harvard Business School This book is crisply written, offering a conceptual framework to tie together technical tools and practical wisdom. It is a must-read for Chief Intelligence Officers and others focused on moving to the forefront of their industry or shaping the next competitive arena. Professor John S. Carroll, Sloan School of Management Massachusetts Institute of Technology

NAICS Categories

• 323119 Other Printing
• 511190 Other Publishers
• 541510 Computer Systems Design and Related Services
• 611430 Professional and Management Development Training

Additional Information