The aim of this Unit is to equip trainees with the theory, practice and strategies required for better cooperation between customers, suppliers and all parties negotiating with the business or organisation, with the ultimate goal of achieving the desired results in each case. Negotiation skills are important for the success of a business and, at the same time, are an integral part of the everyday duties of a manager or executive. It also aims to:

• Help our side communicate effectively with the people on the other side
• Understand the demands, needs, wishes and possibly the dirty tactics of the other side
• Have sound knowledge of the rules and practices of principled negotiation and apply them
• Be properly prepared for every negotiation
• Get to know our own negotiating style, etc.

The Unit “Negotiation Skills” will contribute (directly or indirectly) to improving the skills and behaviours of company executives who negotiate on its behalf. Successful negotiations will improve the negotiator’s psychomotor attitudes and help them believe in themselves. Building on the existing knowledge, experience and behaviours of those in charge, this Unit helps improve participants’ skills through:

• Improving human relations within and/or outside the business
• Improving their effectiveness in negotiations, in an effort to build their reputation as negotiators
• Developing the right reflexes with regard to the other side’s negotiating tactics
• Gaining knowledge of how to overcome deadlock without burning bridges
• Managing the time at their disposal properly (time is money!)
• Providing feedback to management and seeking information useful for the course of the negotiation
• More thorough preparation and organisation of both the team leader and the negotiating team
• Maintaining and promoting the corporate image
• Making use of the simulated situations presented in the case studies
• Resisting pressure from the other side
• Excellent cooperation among the members of the negotiating team
• Recognising weak communication signals that the other side may be sending
• Assessing the risks to which the corporate image is exposed by failed negotiations
• Building and maintaining good relations with the other side in repeated negotiations
• Monitoring and understanding developments and the modern tools emerging in negotiations.

The aim of this Unit is to equip employees with the practices that are useful for their work and their careers. It is not limited to employees, but covers everyone who seeks self-improvement so as to be able to make the most of every future opportunity on a personal and professional level.

All employees and executives of businesses and organisations can dramatically improve their performance by improving certain key skills, such as motivating their colleagues and providing them with effective support, so as to turn around any poor performance, shape a satisfying culture, develop the ability to solve problems and make well-founded and rapid decisions, and also create an environment that fosters and develops creative thinking. Building on the existing knowledge, experience and behaviours of those in charge, this Unit helps improve participants’ skills through:

• Preparing them to accept personal improvement and include it in their schedule
• Organising the actions required to set aside the necessary time for their personal improvement
• Developing the right reflexes to identify, each time, the skills and behaviours that need improvement
• Gaining the necessary knowledge of the benefits expected from improvement in certain areas of their lives
• Providing feedback to management and their supervisors on the actions taken towards their self-improvement
• Problem solving and decision-making: a rational process
• Creative thinking: obstacles and methods
• Creating personal planning and managing time effectively
• Delegating tasks and responsibilities effectively
• Improving the performance of colleagues and subordinates
• Preparing and organising communication
• Recognising their own strengths and weaknesses
• A better understanding of each employee’s role

The position of the secretary – Personal or Administrative Assistant – in the company’s organisational chart is usually alongside that of her superior. The 21st-century secretary^st  does not merely perform the duties of simple typing, filing and processing of certain basic data or documents on behalf of her superior or the managers to whom she reports. On the contrary, she handles many more and far more responsible matters and covers many areas of the workplace. The aim of this Unit is to show how businesses or organisations can make the best possible use of the administrative and organisational abilities of their secretaries, which they had overlooked in the past. Today, secretaries have far more knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviours than in the past. It is aimed mainly at Executive Assistants, Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants.

By attending the Unit “The Professional (Executive Assistant) Secretary”, secretaries will acquire the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviours, tools and techniques required to become more effective in their work. They will further strengthen their interpersonal skills and build long-term professional relationships with all the employees who come to their office seeking a meeting with their superior. Building on the existing knowledge, experience and behaviours of those in charge, this Unit helps improve participants’ skills through:

• Better preparation, planning and organisation of their workspace
• Developing the right reflexes to handle difficult situations
• Gaining knowledge of how to deal with demanding salespeople, visitors and employees
• Managing their own time as well as that of the managers they work with
• The confidence needed to solve various problems and make difficult decisions
• Providing feedback to management and/or the executives they work with
• Adopting personal goals and developing a professional plan
• Empowering and strengthening their role as secretaries
• Maintaining and promoting the corporate image
• Critical thinking in difficult situations and prompt response in solving the various problems that land on their desk
• Preparing and organising communication so as to be more persuasive
• Recognising their strengths and weaknesses
• Taking responsibility whenever and wherever required
• Managing media relations during a crisis
• Planning their personal development.

The Unit “Time Management” aims to highlight the importance of time in our lives. Our success or failure in this world depends to a large extent on the way we manage the time available to us. Lack of time or poor use of time is one of the causes of stress. If we make proper use of our time, we are very likely to manage to reduce stress and/or cope with it satisfactorily.

Limiting or minimising any interference from the time-wasters present in the workplace is a matter of the utmost importance for every employee in a business or organisation. This objective is achieved by improving the skills of the executives attending the course. Building on the existing knowledge, experience and behaviours of those in charge, this Unit helps improve participants’ skills through:

• The best possible preparation and organisation for taking part in a meeting
• Developing the right reflexes to react when an unexpected ‘visitor’ interrupts them during an important task
• Resisting the temptation to spend hours on the phone with no benefit to themselves or the business
• Gaining knowledge of how to react and say ‘NO’ to their superior when they are already being asked for too much
• Managing and making better use of time spent waiting outside an office or in a queue
• Providing feedback to management and all employees on urgent and important matters that must be dealt with first
• Adopting and achieving personal and professional goals
• Making use of the Daily Energy Cycle
• Recognising their own strengths and weaknesses in time management
• Using technology to improve participants’ time management
• Improving communication in the workplace

This Unit aims to analyse the symptoms of stress and its sources, to contribute feasible suggestions and ideas for reducing the tension caused by stress, and to propose methods of coping with it that will help people control their stress levels and improve their quality of life.

The special design of the course, the teaching method, the practical applications, the exercises, the exchange of views, the real-life cases and the methods analysed make this course essential for everyone and, at the same time, give participants the opportunity to hear ideas which, if put into practice, may well help them overcome stress. We seek to limit and/or minimise any harm or other effect that stress may have on a person’s life. This objective is achieved by improving participants’ skills. Building on the existing knowledge, experience and behaviours of those in charge, this Unit helps improve participants’ stress management skills through:

• Better organisation of their time
• Developing the right reflexes to avoid settings where conflicts exist and may escalate to unpleasant levels
• Resisting pressure from managers to give in to excessive and conflicting demands
• Gaining knowledge of how to prioritise important and urgent tasks
• Managing periods when stress is unavoidable in our lives, e.g. unpleasant events
• Providing continuous feedback to management on the progress of the tasks we have undertaken to complete
• Understanding the company culture and how we work with it
• Accepting and adapting to the changes introduced in the business
• Maintaining good work habits that do not cause us stress
• Recognising our own strengths and weaknesses
• The best possible communication within the business or the environment in which we live
• The necessary attention to and care of our lifestyle, e.g. diet, sleep, leisure, etc.

This Unit is a practical guide for family businesses and business consultants. It will help all of them create and manage relationships which, in turn, will help family businesses resolve effectively the frictions and problems they face, plan their future, bridge the generation gap, make use of the help of external partners, prepare heirs for succession and long-term planning, and deal effectively with this change.

The special design of the Unit “Succession in Family Businesses”, the teaching, the practical applications it refers to, the exercises, the discussion among trainees, the case studies and the answers to comments and questions make the course an enjoyable learning experience for all. We make every effort to limit or minimise any possible harm or other effect that succession may have on the reputation and public image of a business passed from one generation to the next. This objective is achieved by improving the skills of the executives who will be called upon to discuss and manage a future transfer of the business. Building on the existing knowledge, experience and behaviours of those in charge, this Unit helps improve participants’ skills through:

• Proper preparation for succession, both on the part of the founder – owner of the business and on the part of the successor
• The best possible organisation of succession by all parties involved
• Developing the right reflexes as a family so that the transfer of the business takes place as smoothly as possible, without upheaval or unpleasant consequences for its image in the market
• Gaining knowledge of the transfer and succession of the business
• Properly managing the transitional period after succession
• Continuous feedback to management and prospective successors so that everyone is kept informed and friction between them is minimised
• Maintaining and promoting the corporate image after succession
• Recognising the existence of strengths and weaknesses both on the part of the founder – owner of the business and on the part of the successor or successors
• Accepting the external consultant who will coordinate the succession process.