Movers & Shakespeares uses the ancient wisdom of Shakespeare for its interactive executive training that can run from two hours to a day.
 Drawing on their extensive experience in top positions in government, public corporations, and non-profit groups, Carol and Ken Adelman work closely with companies and universities to customize each program to address the key issues facing their particular organization at the time.
The Adelmans select the most apt Shakespeare play to fit the program's purpose. For leadership and ethics, they draw on Henry V, for change management, Taming of the Shrew, for risk management and diversity, Merchant of Venice and for crisis management, Hamlet.
No prior knowledge of Shakespeare is required. The seminars use movie versions of the plays that deal with today's management problems. Participants watch scenes of hit films during the seminar and discuss the meaning for them in today's business world. For example, Carol and Ken guide the group through the most famous of motivational addresses, the St. Crispin's Day Speech, and analyze the key elements of motivating any work force or team.
Participants divide into small discussion groups to relate the lessons of these Shakespearean scenes to their own company practices. The groups report back to the whole seminar on whether and how the company handled the situation better (or worse) than King Henry V, Portia or Claudius.
While the leadership seminars are serious -- emphasizing that "'tis the mind which makes the body rich" -- the final message is one that the Bard well appreciated: "No profit grows where is no pleasure taken."
Carol and Ken Adelman
FOUNDERS, MOVERS & SHAKESPEARES
 "To many people-even the well-educated-the plays of William Shakespeare are dense and obtuse, which would seem to make them an odd
choice as business-topic teaching tools. But buried in the complex stories
and challenging language of the Bard are potent lessons on leadership, crisis management, ethics, diversity, and other key business issues, say Carol and Ken Adelman.
Ken, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and U.S. arms control director for President Reagan, and Carol, who headed major overseas programs for the U.S. Agency for International Development, have channeled their love of Shakespeare
and an understanding of complex organizations to create Movers & Shakespeares.
Through their executive training company, the Adelmans bring business
lessons to life-often with participants donning capes and crowns-for large and
small audiences.
timeless lessons
"Enduring, timeless lessons come from Shakespeare," says Carol Adelman, the company president. "Shakespeare had the greatest insights into people. And to be a good manager, leader, or director, you have to understand people. You must know how to rally them around you and how to bring out the best in them."
Whether it's the famous St. Crispin's Day speech from "Henry V" (leadership) or admonitions from Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" (diversity), the Adelmans have a scene from Shakespeare that speaks to key business challenges.
customized
In front of groups from organizations as diverse as Northrop Grumman, the American Red Cross, and The U.S. Air Force, the Adelmans create an interactive environment that's customized to meet the learning need of the client. "We break down Shakespeare into bite-sized pieces," explains Ken Adelman. "The apprehension of a chief learning officer often is,'Oh my gosh, none of my people are going to understand this.'"
But at some point, usually about 20 minutes into the session, the participants become accustomed to the words and they begin to get it. "The confidence of the participants grows when they realize that they have just finished a scene on strategic decision making, and they actually understood what was incomprehensible to them before," explains Carol Adelman. TD
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 Movers and Shakespeares creates a fun skit after the training seminars, using actors from your own organization.
Each performance is customized to the client's organization and specific conference theme. Volunteer actors read fun, easy-to-understand Shakespearean lines or short vignettes on the stage in front of their colleagues, as Ken emcees and Carol directs the show.
Movers and Shakespeares is:
- Fun, with each performance bringing howls of laughter during the introduction of the players in costume, and by the funny lines they read, before receiving their standing ovations
- Interactive, as senior executives and conference participants are part of the show, rather than part of the audience
- Team-building, since the brief rehearsal and performance create comraderie in a new theatrical experience
- Educational, since anything using Shakespeare's wit and wisdom is
- Unique, for there's nothing like Movers and Shakespeares!
"The Leadership Journey"
May 22 - 27, 2005
Wharton Executive Education
Scores are based on a scale of 0 to 4
Total Respondents: 90.91%
| What is your overall rating of this program? | 3.86 |
| I have gained new knowledge, abilities and/or insights as a result of this learning experience. | 3.86 |
| I have experienced a good "return on my time invested" by attending this program. | 3.89 |
| I would recommend this program to others. | 3.86 |
| Overall Average of all the sessions | 3.67 |
Shakespeare's Lesson in Leadership
Ken & Carol Adelman - Movers and Spakespeares
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| 1. Content | 3.83 |
| 2. Effectiveness | 3.93 |
| 3. Overall Evaluation | 3.97 |
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Ken and Carol Adelman with Mr. Ronald Langston, National Director, U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, Washington, DC.
"I extend a heartfelt thanks for your presentation at our National Conference last May 28-31, 2002. Your creative methods of teaching management tools was reflective of our efforts to address one of the Bush Administration's initiatives concerning the strategic management of human capital in order to maximize the strength of the federal government...Your presentation was well-received and you undoubtedly played a major role in making this year's Conference an outstanding event!"
Ronald Langston
National Director, U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, Washington, DC
Initially, I had reservations. I didn't know how the stories of Shakespeare would be productive or constructive...but the experience put Shakespeare in a whole new light for me. I could certainly link the communications example of Henry V to my own business experience. Sometimes training can be stilted, but the Movers and Shakespeares session was filled with humor. I think humor is always a successful mechanism in learning and training."
Art Morrissey
Vice President of Business Development
Lockheed Martin Corporation
"Flying back from Europe, Harry [Henry V] came to mind," said C. Lloyd Carpenter, Vice President for International Operations at Northrop Grumman and a Movers & Shakespeares seminar participant. "I found myself making a mental checklist which turns out to be a combination of things derived from Henry V."
C. Lloyd Carpenter
Vice President for International Operations
Northrop Grumman
"Straying from the classic didactic lecture, the Adelmans incorporate fun into the training process through the use of video clips, role playing and dramatic readings...They explore, through performance, the relation between the wisdom of classical literature and the demands of the modern marketplace."
Cover story Incentive magazine (April 2000)
"Shakespeare's timeless characters...are inspiring a minor literary boom in new management books and prompting executives to rely on Shakespeare as corporate consultant." The Adelmans' "Shakespeare crash course is part of a grander strategy to raise a new generation of executives to think more creatively and nimbly."
Front page of the New York Times business section, 12/22/99
"Ken and Carol Adelman like nothing more than to see a CEO in tights. They aren't voyeurs, rather, the two former Republican politicos run Movers & Shakespeares, which uses lessons from the Bard to teach business skills to executives and MBA candidates."
Fortune, April 1, 2002
"Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, AT&T, Ocean Spray...have all used performances by Movers and Shakespeares to unearth an innovative approach to resolving boardroom issues."
Director's Alert (February 2000).
"Sincere thanks for participating in the tenth Annual Government Ethics Conference. Your session was a highlight... A few of the written comments from participants: 'Especially enjoyed Shakespeare presentation,' 'Excellent program!' 'The Movers & Shakespeares were excellent!'"
F. Gary Davis
Acting Director, United States Office of Government Ethics
"The photos are great, and a great memento of a very memorable day...Those who didn't attend will forever think themselves accursed they were not there, [and] they surely missed something valuable, instructive and fun... Thanks for the best training exercise I ever participated in!"
Andy Walkshul
Executive Director, Social Security Administration
Office of Appellate Operations
"We had quite a bit of feedback from the Movers and Shakespeares afternoon - all of which is excellent. You have made the Veridian management look good and creative! Thanks. Seriously, you did a terrific job, and we accomplished the goals of getting people to think about leadership and the leadership challenge in a different way."
David Langstaff
President and CEO, Veridian
"The Adelmans...have long looked to the Bard as an aid in navigating the labyrinths of politics, business, and family life... Each workshop ends with students donning Elizabethan garb to act out what they've learned."
People Magazine March 11, 2002
Calling Carol and Ken Adelman "itinerant Shakespearean corporate motivators," Forbes FYI concluded its feature article on Movers and Shakespeares: "The Adelmans would admirably adorne thy next management retreat."
Forbes FYI April, 2000
"I for one must tell you how absolutely wonderful and hilarious the Shakespeare performance was."
Maureen Schaefer
Arthur Page Society
"You all were the hit of the meeting! (Of course you're probably used to hearing that.)"
Bridgett Wagner
Head of the 400-member Resource Bank conference |
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The Leadership Journey" Wharton Executive Education Comments
"One of the highlights of the journey!"
Daniel J. Sweeney
"Awesome, another example of the many varied locations we can find leadership examples."
Laura Larson
"Very applicable and transparent meaning to transferable skills."
Jeff A. Weber
"New appreciation for Shakespeare. Great lessons in human emotion and leadership."
Kevin Dlaton
"Interesting and entertaining."
Narelle T. Smith |
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