About Us

Peter Sprague, President of Corporate Training Partners, Inc. brings a unique combination of experience, skills and knowledge to his work with organizations.

What did Peter do before forming Corporate Training Partners?

In what industries does Peter have experience?

What are some of the accomplishments of Corporate Training Partners?

What is Peter’s education and professional development background?

What other organizations can Corporate Training Partners bring to your project?

Peter's Work Experience

Peter is a former accountant and certifiable high school biology teacher turned performance consultant. Why does this matter? And how does it help you?

Accountant. Peter’s experience in accounting gives him the perspective of a CEO. He worked as a financial and cost analyst for Raymond James and Associates (a member of the New York Stock Exchange), designing a cost accounting system responsible for providing the data on which to base internal transfer pricing decisions. He was at the forefront of implementing Activity Based Costing as it was being invented, in an industry with no tradition of such detailed operational analysis. He gained experience working with his CEO, CFO, subsidiary presidents and department heads as they worked to create systems in which individual and organizational goals were fully aligned.

Peter is not just another trainer or facilitator. He’s completely at home with the analytical, financial side of business, as well as the people side.

Biologist. Peter’s education as a conservation biologist and understanding of evolutionary biology gives him a unique perspective. Rather than viewing change as a series of discreet events, Peter applies a systems view to understanding change through the lens of your organizational culture. For change to have a lasting impact, it must become part of the culture, or risk being shrugged off like the wave on a beach. Any action taken by Corporate Training Partners begins with an analysis of the existing pressures that shape your organization’s behaviors and how the intervention will fit into this existing landscape.

Performance Consultant. Peter began his work in the field of Human Resource Development as a one-person corporate training department for Raymond James. He applied his experience with the financial operations of Raymond James to the performance improvement needs of the Raymond James employees. He was instrumental in the creation of Raymond James University, a program with curriculum in the securities industry, customer service and leadership development. Beyond merely offering classes, Peter partnered with line managers to ensure that learning was integrated into the performance management activities for each employee.

Over eight years the one-man gang evolved into a 10-person department, to support Raymond James’ growth from $286 million to $922 million in total revenues during the same time span. Peter’s work in building a culture of superior service at Raymond James was instrumental in helping the organization achieve such remarkable growth.

Peter’s corporate experience gives him a clear understanding of the environment in which the internal corporate manager is working. This client perspective is something he brings to each and every project. It gives him the ability to anticipate your needs, providing solutions that prevent problems, not just react to them.

Industry Experience

Peter has worked either internally or with clients in these industries:

• Financial Services / Securities & Brokerage
• Mutual Funds
• Banking
• Insurance
• Technology Products Distribution
• Telecommunications
• Automotive Parts Distribution
• Golf Instruction
• Directory Publishing
• Information Technology Consulting Services

Accomplishments

Peter Sprague and Corporate Training Partners have numerous accomplishments, including:

• Developed and delivered Mastering Management I and II, a management development curriculum for a telecommunications client. These three-day management courses provided their managers a foundation of effective, useful management skills.

• Created "CommQuest! Becoming a SuperCommunicator," a flexible communication skills learning tool using discovery learning techniques to promote rapid skill development.

• Designed and facilitated visioning process for leadership team of a telecommunications company.

• Created customized learning activities for numerous clients of Paradigm Learning using Zodiak ™ The Game of Business Finance and Strategy.

• Designed and developed highly interactive 25-hour course for a Fortune 100 technology products distributor to support the implementation of standard internal controls worldwide.

• Developed workbook "Professional Success – Personal Growth," an advanced financial advisor training program offered by Life Enhancement Systems.

• Modified "Professional Success – Personal Growth" workbook for use with branch managers trained by Life Enhancement Systems.

• Designed, developed and delivered "Brokerage Industry Basics," a seven-hour course that shows brokerage employees how to navigate the complex world of processing various financial instruments while focusing on providing outstanding customer service.

• Designed, developed and delivered "Introduction to Mutual Funds Operations," an add-on module to "Brokerage Industry Basics."

• Created and conducted a Continuing Education (CE) needs analysis survey of more than 1,000 financial advisors, resulting in the design of a strategic training curriculum for these same professionals.

• Delivered presentation skills training for United Way Loaned Executives to help them develop their public speaking abilities to be used in an $20 million fundraising campaign.

• Trained hundreds of Volunteer Executives the fundamental sales skills needed to earn an organization’s commitment to participate in the annual United Way campaign.

• Designed and implemented Raymond James University (RJU), an educational program for brokerage home office employees. Course topics ranged from the securities industry to customer service, supervisory skills and leadership.

• Designed, developed and delivered a comprehensive management development program combining workshops, assignments, mentoring and testing to promote consistent, effective management practices throughout the organization.

• Designed and delivered "How May I Help You?", the customer service course that Raymond James’ Associates uses to translate the Service 1st philosophy into action.

• Designed and delivered Directions I and II, an in-depth orientation program that shows Associates how to start their career with the best possible focus on delivering great service.

• Managed growth of RJU to support Raymond James Financial’s (RJF) revenue growth from $250 million to $900 million.

• Created cost accounting system used as basis for intercompany transfer pricing decisions at RJF

Education & Training

Peter’s education and professional development activities include:

• B.A., Accounting, from Catawba College, 1983. Includes extensive coursework in Conservation Biology.

• M.A., Science Education, University of South Florida, 1989

• Certificate of Completion, Securities Industry Institute, from Wharton College of Business, University of Pennsylvania and the Securities Industry Association

• Series 7 license with NYSE / NASD (currently inactive)

• Attended the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) International Conference in Exposition in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 2002

• Attendance at the National Speaker’s Association convention 2001, 2002

• Certificate of Completion, Instructional Design (3-day course), taught by Practical Management, Inc.

• Western Florida Division champion, speech evaluation, Toastmasters International.

• Peter is an active member and officer of numerous professional organizations such as the Suncoast chapter of the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD - VP Professional Development 2002, President Elect 2003), Senior Human Resources Development (HRD) Forum (Treasurer & Membership Administrator, 1999 - present), Toastmasters International (Advanced Toastmaster Bronze, various club officer positions 2000-2002), National Speakers Association and National Speakers Association - Central Florida chapter.

Partners

Corporate Training Partners has the ability to create a virtual project team for large-scale initiatives. Organizations and individuals that have expertise for a variety of situations include: