SoftBank Group in Tokyo; China Minsheng Banking Corp in Beijing; Cartus in Danbury, Conn.; and the Adjutant General (AG) Branch, Noncommissioned Officer's Education System (NCOES) Training Development Team at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., were all named 2013 recipients for the Pike's Peak Performance Award presented by The Bob Pike Group for excellence in training delivery and results.
Marking a first for a company in Asia, the SoftBank Group (“SoftBank”) in Tokyo was named a recipient of this year's Pike's Peak Performance Award 
because of its "SoftBank University Internally Certified Instructor (ICI) System” that is implemented throughout the SoftBank Group and its in-sourcing of training programs.
In keeping with its corporate vision to realize workstyle innovation, SoftBank made a strategic decision in 2009 to create SoftBank University and begin moving its outsourced training in-house "to foster their strong corporate culture and effectively transfer the knowledge and skills that they have within their organization," said Ayako Nakamura, principal at Dynamic Human Capital, who nominated SoftBank for the award. At that time, SoftBank implemented its Internally Certified Instructor System. "Since then, they have been developing training programs and internal trainers, and now 50 percent of the training is developed and facilitated internally."
Xianliang “Robert” Zhao, the assistant director of the wealth management division at China Minsheng Banking Corp., in Beijing, received the second 
international Pike’s Peak Performance Award for his company’s adoption and successful implementation of participant-centered training.
In 2012, Zhao was tasked with training other product managers despite his lack of training experience. The assistant director of the Wealth Management Division eventually found his way to The Bob Pike Group and its participant-centered methods. After attending a train-the-trainer Boot Camp with TBPG, Zhao then sent eight of his product managers to the workshop. The nine of them then applied these training techniques to mutual fund sales training.
“It was a totally new training experience for China Minsheng Banking Corp.,” said nominator Jason Shi, training director at Promo Consulting Co., Ltd. After the training, the bank’s share of mutual fund sales in the country increased from 20 percent to 30 percent and brought in about $1 million U.S. in additional commission.
Cartus, a leader in relocation services located in Connecticut, was named a recipient because of its thoroughness in redesigning its training with the 
learner in mind. "Tricia [Small] is the nucleus behind the Cartus Learning and Development Department getting 'Piked' and implementing participant-centered training in our organization," wrote Jessica Olmstead, Cartus training specialist, in her nomination of Cartus and Small who has the "ability to drive and influence people to results beyond their own expectations."
As a result of the training championed by Small and Olmstead's implementation, "The difference that I see in my participants is immense to say the least. Changing my mindset and approach from instructor-centered to participant-centered learning has increased my participants' in-class and on the floor retention, participation and enjoyment and has also proven itself to be a great team/group building opportunity."
NCOES Training Development Team at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., received the award for its efforts and results in redesigning over 600 hours of academic instruction.
The training team "transformed the curriculum from old outdated methods of instructor-centered instruction to new curriculum that is instructor-led, participant-centered which creates adaptive leaders who are confident and prepared to perform their human resources mission whenever needed in any strategic, operational, or tactical environment," explained L.Z. Harrison, Jr., supervisory, instructional systems specialist, in his nomination of the team.
"Throughout the courses, students use reflective, critical, and creative thinking skills while demonstrating the 21st Century Soldier Competencies to complete course requirements, including written and oral communication assignments, practical exercises, small group work, facilitated discussions, and homework," Harrison explained. "No longer is a student able to just show up and pass. The courses require the full engagement of the student from start to finish.
"The results have been extremely well received by the graduates and a dramatic increase in understanding, retention, application, and transfer has been noted in summative evaluation results."
The Pike’s Peak Performance Award is a formal recognition of trainers or organizations who have transformed their training by implementing participant-centered, results-based techniques championed by Bob Pike. These techniques involve participants in their own learning instead of relying on an instructor-led, lecture-based format. The award recipients have demonstrated improved retention and training transfer in their sessions by implementing these methods as well as an increased tie-in to business objectives.
