The Forum is effective for one simple and powerful reason - senior business leaders teach the program.

Rather than delegating leadership development to the HR function or outside advisors, Forum executives see it as one of their top goals and responsibilities. They remain front and center throughout the program and embrace the opportunity to teach the next generation of leaders themselves.

Forum executives teach what they know about the business, what they believe as leaders, and what has made them successful - not the latest business school theory or consulting approach.

The Forum is about established leaders teaching aspiring leaders.

What makes The Forum powerful is not polished delivery and studied technique. It is authenticity. You know your business and you have demonstrated success - your people want to hear it from you!

Brimstone will help you to crystallize what is really important to you - the experiences you've had, the principles you hold - and build a program around them. Through the Forum Framework, Brimstone helps senior executives organize their ideas; our process and teaching tools makes those ideas engaging and actionable.

The Forum typically involves a 9- to 12-month commitment by the senior executive and selected high-potential leaders.

Brimstone uses the initial coaching session with the senior leader to determine the issues and capabilities that need to be addressed. We also provide assistance in selecting the 12 to 18 individuals who will participate in the program. In our experience, The Forum works best when the participants are direct reports of your direct reports - i.e., when it's a skip-level program.

Employing the Forum Framework, Brimstone recommends agendas, teaching modules, assessment tools, and compelling readings. In most cases, we have a module template that can be customized; others can be created. We work with the senior executive to develop teaching points that play to your strengths. The actual curriculum is your decision.

Later in the program, Forum leaders up the ante on leadership development by assigning real-time business issues as homework. Participants work in small teams to develop solutions that add dollars to the company's bottom line. The financial payback from these efforts is typically a multiple of the program's cost.

For most Forum executives, however, the greatest return on the investment of their time and energy comes from building their own bench strength by preparing their best and brightest for executive leadership.