How the CEO Sees It

Creating an ITT Learning Organization

In this regular feature, CEO Steve Loranger takes a closer look at ITT's corporate priorities. Here, he explains what ITT is doing to create a learning organization.

Since ITT became an independent company in 1995, we have been evolving steadily from a holding company to a true operating company. We want to be more than a collection of companies with the same name; we want to be a united operation that moves forward with a shared vision and set of values toward a common goal.

This year, we are accelerating our journey. One of our top corporate priorities for 2008 is creating an ITT learning organization. Learning organizations provide consistent training and development in terms of content and quality.

What does this have to do with building a united ITT company? Simple. If we want everybody to be on the same page, we need to make sure we are all using the same "textbook." Training and development is one of the key levers we can pull to create a culture and environment where everyone has the same understanding of where we are heading and how we want to get there. As one of our employees pointed out to me recently, when you have a strong training program, individuals need less management and are better able to achieve their goals -- and our collective goals.

By creating a learning organization, we will become a company that:

• Leverages the strength and breadth of our entire enterprise


• Competes more effectively by being collaborative and sharing best practices


• Uses the best processes to make better decisions


• Represents more value to our customers because we can bring collective solutions together in a distinctive way


• Provides greater talent development and opportunities by offering richer challenges for employees

Five Areas of Concentration

The creation of the ITT learning organization has commenced. Class is in session.

First, we identified the five key areas of our ITT curriculum. In each of these areas, we are developing consistent content that will drive ITT-wide training and development activities going forward.

• Living Our Values -- understanding our vision, values and ethical standards


• ITT Management System -- understanding and using our strategic processes such as Value-Based Management and Value-Based Product Development


• Leadership and management development -- understanding our leadership competencies (create the future, lead with character, build through teamwork, inspire commitment and deliver results) and what we expect from managers at ITT


• Functional excellence -- building technical competencies in all of our jobs


• Skills training -- giving employees increased access to general education and training sources from inside and outside ITT

You recently got your first glimpse into our future as a learning organization when you attended the ethics and compliance training session at your site. You heard the same messages and received the same materials as your coworkers across the globe. In the next year, everyone at ITT will also attend a Living Our Values training session so that we are all in alignment around our vision and values.

The Next Steps

A learning organization also provides self-directed learning opportunities to its employees. We are currently developing an electronic learning management system that will support training and self-development activities -- giving you 24/7 online access to a wide range of courses and certification programs. 

This virtual learning portal will offer both ITT-specific courses and the best offerings from universities and professional organizations. We are working with a learning management provider and piloting this technology at our Water and Wastewater and Industrial Process value centers.