A Profile in Excellence: Jim Harkins, Linkage, Inc.
When Linked 2 Leadership first started investigating ways to serve the group in a deeper and more meaningful manner, Jim Harkins, Program Director of Distance Learning at Linkage, Inc of Burlington, MA stepped up with a solution idea. Jim proposed the idea of providing short-format video content of the top leaders in leadership today to the L2L group. Although he is a content vendor, he really seemed to respect the sanctity of the group as a safe place that people could come to learn, grow, and help build other leaders without being exposed to overt commercialization and without being pounded on by vendors simply seeking their next sale.
When I read his email after his joining the L2L Group in late March 2009, his passion for leadership training excellence was clear. He said about his offering something that told me that he was the real deal. When he mentioned the following line, he got me very interested in what he was providing. He said something very simple, yet very compelling. He simply mentioned this: ““For 11 years, Linkage’s Excellence in Management and Leadership Series has gathered the 8-10 world class thought leaders per year for a 90-minute broadcast about important leadership topics.” After reviewing over 9,000 membership request to join L2L, I could sense that this man seemed authentic and probably had something to say, so I investigated his offering further.
And Yes! As it turns out, Linkage does offer really cool stuff and is poised to really impact a lot of people with their vast array of offerings. I found content from Marsahall Goldsmith, Dr. John C. Maxwell, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and much more. In a conversation I had with Jim, he indicated that the reason he joined the Linked 2 Leadership Group was so that he could keep his finger on the pulse of what is coming in the future in the world of training and development for leadership, organizational health, and personal & professional growth. His dedication to providing relevant content that impacts people right where they are is very strong.
Our conversation opened up dramatically when he realized how he could participate in the new Learn&Grow.tv offering that is debuting in fall 2009 for online “Micro-Training.” The short-format, high-impact video training that provides a constant stream of bite-sized training nuggets is a perfect way for Linkage to get new clients to sample their content with almost no risk and almost pure reward.
Since that initial conversation, Linkage has committed to being a Channel Partner with the new Learn&Grow.tv Micro-Training™ Platform. This will allow Linkage to be in a strong position of helping cash-strapped companies, non-profits, and government agencies with the ability to continue to train effectively with video, audio, and text-based training solutions that organizations can use to keep their hungry learners digesting great content in bite-sized pieces.
Jim also thinks that the $1.99 per person/month pricing model will help the platform reach the 100,000 user level goal by the end of the year. Here is his profile on LinkedIn. His commitment to leadership excellence and helping communities in noted. Keep up the great work, Jim!
