Education and Training — Cole Stanton CV

Education and Training

How to build education, sample of recent program and list of notable courses.

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I am at my best when teaching. I can free associate, get to where my learners need me to go, and make it memorable in my own unique style. Put in charge of the MasterWorks education community platform taught me the discipline and structure of corporate education that contributes to growth.

Ed & Sales MUST share a feedback loop. This was my first big fire: NYC Madison Ave skyscraper in, and the stink was pungent. Teaching the restoration techniques onsite closed the sale, and informed my teaching with street cred.

3rd & Chestnut, Philadelphia

*Education cannot be boilerplate,* and teaching to the test ultimately underserves the user, while generating no kinetic energy for the sales and marketing teams. This was a fire job that via months of board-up became the mother-of-all-mold projects. Lessons in cross-selling that reciprocate with education. **Lesson Unlearned: I’m wearing my respirator wrong!**

STANTON, COLE – Building a Powerful Corporate Education Program:

Education and Sales to me are always in tandem. My next position will reflect that conviction, and my new employer will invest in my capabilities as a corporate educator both because I offer a skilled and positive delivery as an instructor; and that I can build out a sustainable learning system that drives growth at all levels of the business.

Education programs for building materials or services must match the dynamics that govern the purpose of the product, the degree of specifier involvement, the role of any specialized workforce, and the path from originator to satisfied client. These factors are mandatory considerations, but the variability of each determines relative priority and emphasis. What cannot be disputed in today’s business environment: When the product or service provided is the premium in its marketplace, or aims to be, then education must be strategic, not incidental.

[Education and Training are synonymous for this writing, but can have independent meanings.]

For the programs I have built, here are my five fundamental types of education that are in play, and ideally all are developed and integrated:

1. Commercial Content – Product/Service Promotion (Specifier, Owner & User)

2. Continuing Education (CE) – Industry approved, non/”soft”-commercial content that satisfys maintenance criteria for vital professional designations (again Specifier, Owner & User)

3. Installer Certification – Accredited partners (applicators for products; subs/franchisees for services)

4. Channel Partners and Influencers (Tailored knowledge for distributor sales for products; code enforcement or adjusters for services)

5. Internal Education - Strategic & Corporate Initiatives (Sales, EH&S, HR share comm avenue)

An education system that serves all five types is possible to build-out internally, with minimal outside consulting, when a company is resolved to build for the benefits. While the following vary, certain functionality must be established.

· Scaleable – Every company has vital knowledge and valuable minds, but if even the best designed education can only be delivered by in-person subject-matter-experts (SMEs) one presentation at a time, then impact is self-constrained. Content must be digitalized, available on-demand, consistent with real-time SME instruction, accredited for CE, and adjusted nano-packets must be broken out for narrower needs (on-boarding, project pitch/prep/bid). When traffic to our knowledge is voluntary, unimpeded and attractive then impact is greater.

· Certification – Participants should always get something. Simple e-certificates generate loyalty. Documentation is also often required by Submittals in specifications, including of course the specifications issued/promoted by the company. Certificates also include expiration dates to drive participant return for CE. The detail obligation involved with proper certification issuance and management is often overlooked, and that can doom the entire effort. Investment in automation of the certification process equal some of the best dollars spent in education.

· Community – A platform designated for knowledge and training is a key component for education, especially when promoted as a destination for every party that makes the business succeed. Ideally, there is ready-access to the content described above at “Scaleable”. There is also a Knowledge-base, or Body-of-Knowledge, where all the information lives about products and services that doesn’t have a home elsewhere. Once specifiers are aware of this resource, this reinforces boomarking in their browser. Depending on the company, the community can be where crowdsourcing among users, specifiers, partners and influencers can be incorporated to further drive involvement.

· Thought Leadership – There are two parts here. First, think of TED talks as an example. Regular, scheduled, promoted sessions that provide real knowledge, not empty promotion. Offered in real-time livestream by the company SMEs, these sessions become events that grow the overall reputation, build-up SMEs to make them more effective at closing opportunities, generate leads, and distinguish company and brands from competition. Once established, thought-leadership can be considered by the audience as giving back to the industry (and it often is), but it has also become a powerful messaging tool at low cost. The second part of thought leadership is authorship of content and exposure. Trade publications and e-media are always looking for editorial and current issue content. The more specialized the industry discipline, then that media more often finds themselves in a content desert. Media consumers of your well-designed education program will prefer a planned calendar of articles, interviews, case studies, etc., rather than ad hoc, occasional submissions. This sounds like Marketing, and this is a cross-over area where cooperation is required. With original content the difference is that value is maximized when the new content flows steadily into Thought Leadership, and overall Education.

· Continuing Education (CE) – Commercial promotion education must be provided and maintained as the minimum. But alone, that is marketing, not education. However, combined with approved CE that helps professionals earn credit to maintain their industry designations, an education program now has more legitimacy with the core audience, and greater reach into adjacent audiences. This is especially important with influencers and specifiers. These professionals are billing hourly, and time spent with a service or product provider can be viewed as lost revenue. However, these same consultants are obligated to complete within a certain time cycle participation in a minimum quantity of sessions that are pre-approved by the authority that oversees their credentials. Since this is vital for their professional continuance, the argument for attending the company’s CE event is much more compelling. It needs to be mentioned that some companies discount the value of professional CE because to have the education content approved, typically the certifying organization prohibits mention of products in the name of protecting their members from unsubstantiated sales pitches. The fear a company may have is that there isn’t a direct enough connection between the education and purchasing decisions. The truth is that most professional organizations permit a brief commercial promotion before or after the CE content is presented. Additionally, in advance or as a follow-up, the company benefits from the opportunity to send product or service information to each of these qualified leads, and sales can select from those with the greatest potential.

WORK PRODUCT EXAMPLE - Continuing Education program MasterWorks as of June 2022.

ICP CONTINUING EDUCATION – INDUSTRY ACCREDITED/APPROVED:

Continuing Education is offered without commercial content, and sessions are governed by partnerships with leading organizations associated with the construction and safe operation of our indoor & outdoor environments. ICP accredited and quality controlled education is offered in both public and private sessions for specifiers, regulators. builders, installers and managers of our structures. To jump straight to some of our most popular CE offerings for architects, please click here for http://www.icpgroup.com/aia‐courses/. We also provide continuing education to professional organizations – and you can find more information on these sessions at MasterWorks.

By joining our ICP MasterWorks Community, you gain access to our training calendar ( go to All Learning ) to see if a webinar, thought‐leadership, or other public training fits your schedule; or, select Find Your Representative to submit a private training request for your organization.

AVAILABLE SESSIONS ELGIBLE/ACCREDITED FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION*

‐ Designs and Coatings Post-Pandemic Spaces AIA, IDCEC(ASID-IIDA), PDH

‐ Changing How You Think About Paint AIA, IDCEC(ASID-IIDA), PDH

‐ Resinous Floor and Wall Systems AIA, IDCEC(ASID-IIDA), IICRC, PDH

‐ Antimicrobial Coatings AIA, IDCEC (ASID-IIDA), IICRC, PDH

‐ Antimicrobials 101 AIA, IICRC, PDH

‐ Green, Sustainable and Restoration Solutions for your Roofing Systems and Beyond AIA, PDH

‐ Chemistry Considerations in Fire Damage Restoration. AIA, IICRC, PDH

- Athletic Court Surfaces: Understanding Construction, Performance and Life-Cycle†AIA,ASLA, PDH

‐ Asbestos & Abatement – An Introduction IICRC, AIA, PDH

- Lead-Based Paint & Abatement by Encapsulation – An Introduction† IICRC, AIA.PDH

‐ Designing for Success and Stability in Inclement Weather Areas *AIA, PDH

‐ Nano Technology in ESD Flooring †*AIA, IIBEC, IACET, PDH

‐ Fire Concerns and Code Complexities in Waterproof Deck Coatings *AIA, IIBEC, IACET, PDH

‐ Decorative Concrete ‐ Applications and Trends †† AIA

‐ Sealing the Deal on Surfaces: Protecting Porous Building MaterialsAIA,PDH

‐ Surface Disinfection + Hygiene in Pandemic AIA,IICRC,PDH

‐ Introduction to Intumescent Advancements in Fire Protection† AIA, IICRC, PDH

‐ Defensible Structures & Spaces: Coating for Wildfire Resistance† AIA, IICRC, PDH

- Coatings as Tools Solving Moisture Challenges† AIA, PDH

† AVAILABLE AUGUST 2022 ONWARD

†† AVAILABLE VIA THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CONCRETE CONTRACTORS; INSTRUCTOR & ADMIN PROVIDED BY ICP www.ascconline.org

* AVAILABLE VIA THE BNP CONTINUING EDUCATION CENTER https://continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com/index.php

ICP QUALIFIED INSTALLER TRAINING

In support of specifiers and specifications, ICP makes training in methods and products available as needed and promptly so that installers can acquire product knowledge, and demonstrate proficiency. We recognize that bid situations and other project dynamics are often time-sensitive, so our people are responsive. Whether ILT (Instructor Led Training) or VILT (Virtual Instructor Led Training), ICP has dedicated professionals that can, in-real time or via recording, deliver actual knowledge that makes all the difference between success vs call-back/repair. ICP manages documentation of this training for you in the MasterWorks portal, and with a PDF certificate for each trained individual. Any time that documentation is needed, it is available in MasterWorks. Request via specifications@icpgroup.com

A sampling of special courses prepared and taught for a range of clients:

A "Fire-y Crash Course": Fire Damage & Chemistry from an UnchemistA "Fire-y Crash Course": Fire Damage & Chemistry from an Unchemist

9-25-14 IAQA Seattle9-25-14 IAQA Seattle