1. continued »
Goodyear, North America Becomes a
Learning Organization
Goodyear is one of the world’s leading tire makers and the number one
tire producer in North America. This is a highly competitive market, and
Goodyear, North America is determined to stake its claim as a provider
of high value-added products and services. The strategy brings with it
many supply chain, production, and marketing challenges. Goodyear
recognized that grooming leaders who can meet these challenges requires
a commitment to nurturing a strong culture of learning among managers
at all levels in the organization.
Laying the Foundation
Goodyear, North America laid the foundation for becoming a learning
organization with a thorough inventory and assessment of its needs. They
engaged a third party to survey senior executives and other stakeholders on
the current state of learning at Goodyear, and how it fit with the company’s
business goals. The learning and development team then began to
work with Harvard Business Publishing to determine how to bridge any
learning gaps with a holistic learning approach. The resulting Great Leader
Academy is now grooming a large contingent of leaders at all levels.
C L I E N T S U C C E S S S T O R Y
“We use the program to prepare leaders for success. It works because course
material is grounded in reality. It’s not just theoretical; it’s a hands-on approach
to real-world situations. So our leaders are comfortable when they encounter
issues, because they’ve already been through similar experiences together.”
Steve McClellan, President, Goodyear, North America
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Building a bench prepared to assume
leadership roles at all management levels
AUDIENCE
850 leaders, from individual contributors
to senior managers
OFFERINGS AND SERVICES USED
Leadership Direct®
Harvard ManageMentor®
Custom Portal
IMPACT
> Midway through the first program, 25% of
the Great Leader Academy Senior Leader
Development Program participants have
received new assignments or increased
responsibilities.
Within six months of rolling out Harvard
ManageMentor-based programs, 50% of
the targeted audience are active users.
A T A G L A N C E
GOODYEAR, NORTH AMERICA
UNITED STATES | EUROPE | INDIA
For more information, visit: www.harvardbusiness.org

2. TYING THINGS TOGETHER
WITH A CUSTOM PORTAL
Goodyear, North America’s
learning program is tied together
with a custom learning portal
designed and implemented by
Harvard Business Publishing.
This portal provides a gateway
to course materials, discussion
forums, tips and tools, monthly
topics, and calendars/schedules.
Separate paths bring learners to
sub-portals designed specifically
to address the learning and
information needs of managers at
different levels.
Transparency is an important
value at the organization. With the
learning portal, Goodyear is enabling
transparency of learning. While
learners have portals specific to their
levels, all users can view and access
the curriculum that others (including
their managers) are working through.
A key feature of Goodyear’s
learning portal is its integration
with Individual Development Plans
(IDPs). This provides individuals
and their managers with a central
repository for IDPs, eliminating
version control problems.
UNITED STATES | EUROPE | INDIA
For more information, visit: www.harvardbusiness.org
Great Leader Academy Builds Great Senior Leaders
Goodyear is building a leadership bench that will fill general management
and senior functional roles throughout its organization. To develop
senior leaders with the traits that matter most—the ability to build talent
and teams; problem solving; effective communication; courage; and
delivering results—Goodyear worked with Harvard Business Publishing
on a program for its highest-potential leaders. Based on Harvard Business
Publishing’s Leadership Direct platform, the Senior Leader Development
Program kicked off in February 2012 with a face-to-face module on
strategy. Virtual modules on change management and results focus were
conducted during the spring and summer. The program held its final
session, a face-to-face module on developing talent, in the fall of 2012.
Action Learning Projects Fortify Learning
Action learning projects are an essential element of the Senior Leader
Development Program. The leadership cohort was divided into cross-
functional teams and assigned projects by the Goodyear, North America
Leadership Team. The projects are highly strategic in nature. To help
build general management know-how, teams were designed so that no
team member (including the project sponsors drawn from the executive
team) had worked in the topic or functional area of the assignment.
North American Tire’s Holistic Approach
The traits that Goodyear most values in leaders at the highest level are
also essential throughout its management ranks. Working with Harvard
Business Publishing, the team created custom curriculum aligned to
Goodyear’s leadership traits. Based on Harvard ManageMentor, there is
a specific curriculum for emerging leaders, new managers, managers of
others, and managers of managers. A self-development path through the
leadership traits is also available. This approach provides Goodyear with a
learning program that is scalable and repeatable, one that also provides a
consistent learning experience for leaders at all levels.
C L I E N T S U C C E S S S T O R YG O O D Y E A R , N O R T H A M E R I C A
MC176761012
© 2012 Harvard Business School Publishing. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.
“With its content, credibility, expertise, and
technological approach, Harvard Business
Publishing has been a great partner.”
Gary VanderLind, Vice President Human Resources, Goodyear, North America