L&D Strategy and Design
Organizations are navigating complexity at unprecedented speed. We support L&D functions in creating learning systems that keep up with changing demands.
Clarity for today.
Architecture for what comes next.
We help you build the structures that make learning scalable, human, and future-ready. Our advisory services are grounded in applied expertise. These are some of the use cases:
Strategic Advisory and Consulting
Learning Strategy Refresh
Redefining purpose, governance, and priorities for the future of your L&D function
Portfolio Optimization
Turning scattered initiatives into a coherent architecture that delivers consistency and impact
Capability Frameworks
Clarifying the mindsets and behaviors needed for leadership, culture, and performance
Transformation Support
Building learning plans and narratives that support cultural or strategic shifts
Curriculum & Program Design
Program design and refreshes
Curriculum architecture & journey flow, co-designing or updating learning experiences
Module creation
Building new sessions, experiential inserts, or virtual components, drafting and facilitation guidance/training
Capability-building journeys
Designing multi-modular programs for skillset, toolset and mindset development at scale
Scaling efforts
Creating consistent curricula, content mapping and experience design for global rollouts
Integration work
Aligning internal content with external input/immersive activities, stakeholder and provider alignment and orchestration
Why Organizations Partner With WDHB
1
Human-centered advisory
We start with diagnostic conversations, stakeholder interviews, and a clear understanding of where your teams are — and where the business needs them to go.
2
Co-design, not consultancy-from-a-distance
We build solutions with you, not for you. Your language, rhythms, and realities shape the design.
3
Clarity through narrative
We help your organization articulate direction through stories and frameworks people can act on — making strategy accessible, meaningful, and repeatable.
4
Enablement at the core
Every engagement builds internal capability: toolkits, operating models, governance, or train-the-trainer support. We step back when you’re ready to lead forward.
Client Impact
Examples of our design and consulting work:
Hybrid learning journeys for emerging managers at scale
Equipping nearly 1000 new managers with purpose-driven leadership through immersive, experiential learning
- Long-standing partnership developing a pipeline of future-ready leaders
- Focus on rapid change, building high-trust teams, and leading with clear purpose
- Nearly 1,000 managers developed since 2023
- Hybrid delivery of experiential methodologies
Caterpillar needed to equip emerging managers with both hard leadership skills. Without sacrificing impact, the company wanted to give a large returning cohort of new managers the opportunity to build the skillset, toolsets and mindsets required for collaborative decision-making, managing uncertainty and acting with urgency.
WDHB co-designed a hybrid program of 10 modules, 6 of which draw from WDHB’s proven signature leadership experience and global exchange partnerships, addressing critical leadership competencies: leading with purpose, managing change, building psychological safety and collaboration, fostering belonging and trust, and acting with urgency.
Every cohort of 35 is consistently executed, and the modules continuously refined. The program maintained rigor and impact while scaling to 150-200 managers annually, demonstrating that human-centered learning doesn’t sacrifice efficiency.
Shaping the Future of Beauty
Empowering executives to master digital transformation and global-local innovation models.
- Engaged over 1,500 leaders through immersive global programs
- Strengthened strategic alignment and digital fluency among executive teams.
- Anchored a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and confidence.
As a global leader, L’Oréal faced constant disruption from digital acceleration and sustainability demands. They needed to strengthen executive alignment and build cross-functional cohesion to navigate the next frontier of innovation.
WDHB designed high-impact Learning Expeditions and Strategic Summits across global innovation hubs. This included
- A landmark Executive Committee immersion
- Over 10 Learning Expeditions for Executive Committee, Brand President Community, Community of Country CEOs and Zone Directors, Operation Management Committee, Professional Products Management Committee, Travel Retail Management Committee
- Immersive Development Programs for L’Oréal China (Shanghai) and Lancôme (New York City)
- Senior Leadership Meetings for Consumer Products Division (London & Paris), Asia Pacific Zone (Seoul, Hong Kong, & Kuala Lumpur) and Eastern Europe & Africa, Middle East Zones (Dublin & Berlin)
“The program helped align our newly established organization and leadership team to deine our desired future and strategic frame with a clear roadmap.”
Creating a Network of Change Drivers
Transforming leadership culture combining a high potentials program with an annual Top150 summit
- Experiential Learning Expedition connecting leaders to external ecosystems
- Annual summit engaging 120+ leaders across divisions and markets for strategic collaboration
- Program links individual leadership development to Swiss Life’s strategic priorities
Swiss Life sought to evolve its flagship leadership programme to deliver both individual capability and tangible strategic value.
The ambition: continuously link development with foresight and collaboration—transforming learning journeys into a shared engine driving innovation and cultural alignment across the organization.
WDHB co-designs the Key Persons Programme, curating thematic focus and the annual Shaping the Future Day—an immersive summit uniting leaders, alumni, and executives.
We provide full program architecture: concept design, content creation, event facilitation, and training—ensuring every touchpoint connects individual growth to Swiss Life’s strategic priorities and shared culture.
“In a challenging situation, WDHB co-developed with us an ad-hoc curriculum and co-creative process to analyze and respond to challenges associated with Covid-19. They were also instrumental in designing the Shaping the Future virtual event setting new standards in the use of media and interaction tools. Together, we continue to shape the future of learning & development at Swiss Life.”
Reinventing Leadership and Culture for Media’s Digital Future
Empowering France’s leading media group to transform through experiential learning, cross-industry collaboration, and leadership development at scale
- 35+ programs delivered to 750+ participants across all divisions over 19 months
- Engagement with 120+ innovation partners including startups, global brands, and disruptive thinkers
- Dual national HR awards recognizing excellence in innovation and transformational impact
- Multi-year partnership spanning Learning Expeditions, TF1 Connect, and Leadership Connect programs
- Certified by accredited French business schools and co-financed through employee learning funds
As France’s leading mainstream media and integrated communications group, TF1 faced the industry’s fundamental disruption: audiences shifting to on-demand platforms, new distribution channels emerging, and content production diversifying rapidly. Traditional organizational silos and legacy structures threatened the agility needed to compete. Despite market leadership across five free television channels and digital equivalents, TF1 recognized the risk of complacency and the urgent need to evolve from traditional TV leader into a multi-platform media powerhouse captivating audiences across all channels.
WDHB partnered with TF1 Corporate Academy beginning in 2015 to design and deliver a multi-phase experiential learning journey. Starting with three week-long Learning Expeditions to innovation hubs (Austin & Los Angeles, Seoul & Tel Aviv, Seattle & San Francisco) for senior management, the collaboration expanded into TF1 Connect—35 Paris-based immersive programs combining discovery activities with upskilling sessions on innovation and collaboration. The initiative culminated in TF1 Leadership Connect, a dedicated residential program with individual coaching for the top 400 managers. Each experience exposed participants to evolving ecosystems, fostered cross-divisional collaboration, and embedded new mindsets while leveraging Paris’s dynamic business landscape and a network of 120+ exchange partners spanning multinationals, startups, incubators, and academic institutions.
“After expeditions had served as a strategic wake-up call, we were happy to count on WDHB bringing their approach to experiential learning into a local and scalable format exposing over 1,000 employees and 400 leaders to a tailored growth experience driving transformation at TF1.”
Building Change Agents Through Immersive Development
Empowering high-potential talent to become transformation champions through multi-year experiential collocations
- Multi-year partnership designing onboarding and annual collocations for Accelerated Career Development Program (ACDP)
- Hybrid format combining Learning Expeditions with development offerings across global locations including Zurich, Chicago, Miami, and Singapore
- Consistently high stakeholder appraisals establishing collocations as landmark career events
Amcor, a global leader in packaging with roots dating back to 1860, evolved from an Australian papermaker to a diversified manufacturer supplying specialized, safe, and sustainable packaging solutions to the world’s best-known consumer and healthcare brands. With products touching every 11th item consumers encounter, Amcor recognized the need to inject fresh, diverse talent into its leadership pipeline. The company established the Accelerated Career Development Program (ACDP), recruiting exceptional talent through highly competitive assessment for four-year rotations in Sales or Marketing roles.
The challenge was creating meaningful touchpoints that would develop these high potentials into fluent business leaders while building an empathic, mutually supportive community capable of driving Amcor’s transformation agenda across a complex global matrix organization.
For its first ACDP-cohort in 2015, Amcor selected WDHB to be the design and delivery partner for an onboarding session in Zurich. WDHB built a diverse program developing original formats for Amcor-specific materials, integrating relevant outside-in perspectives and providing platforms for community-building and reflection among the ACDP team.
The mix of internal contents, external keynotes and company exchanges, workshops, peer-to-peer coaching as well as individual and collective reflection was a perfect match to the group’s needs. The combination of WDHB’s signature Learning Expeditions and components of its Development offerings has become a blueprint for annual collocations at Amcor’s international locations such as Chicago, Miami and Singapore.
From onboarding to the annual meetups and the final graduation, the collocations for the ACDP cohorts have become landmark events in the career path at Amcor with consistently high stakeholder appraisals. It’s where they take a breather from the demanding environment of their everyday duties, reconnect among peers, reflect on their learnings and chart the path for months to come.
Moreover, an ingenious mix of internal and external components has allowed these sessions to become important platforms to react to changes in the environment and Amcor strategy and inject inspiration ranging from global macro-trends and industry evolutions to contemporary management and leadership practices.
“The level of actionable knowledge you gain by engaging intensively with top business minds from other industries cannot be acquired in a classroom. As a participant, WDHB’s programs have helped me evolve my mindset and further develop the way I impact our organization.”
Say hello!
Whether you have a specific need, are looking for a new partner, or simply curious about what we do, our team would love to hear from you.
FAQs
We love to find answers. Let's start a conversation about how our experiential learning programs and services can answer your needs.
Organizations can determine their specific L&D needs by conducting a thorough assessment that includes analyzing current skills gaps, evaluating business goals, and gathering input from employees and leaders. This approach helps align L&D initiatives with strategic objectives, ensuring they address the most pressing areas for development and growth.
We are focused on anticipating the ever-changing landscape facing organizations today. We help you create the momentum necessary to strategically solve problems and address obstacles in bold, unconventional ways. From L&D consulting to custom on-location and virtual experiential learning programs, we are here for you.
We are a forward-focused team dedicated to helping you continually improve your L&D strategy. With our robust ecosystem of experts and partners, we provide unparalleled access to people, research, and stories that provide learning mindsets, skill sets, and toolsets for you to achieve your greatest strategic visions.
Measuring the effectiveness of a learning and development program involves tracking key metrics such as employee engagement, skill acquisition, and performance improvements. Regular feedback, assessments, and alignment with business outcomes are also crucial. These measures help ensure the program is driving meaningful impact and contributing to the organization’s overall goals.
We collaborate and partner with our clients to ensure that content and context are applicable, relevant, and customer-focused. Trust is vital to these relationships. Significant time and energy are spent in collaboration to go beyond the surface of whatever situation you are facing. When we get to the heart of the matter and address it in ways that resonate with the participants, you unlock real progress. Our research shows that effective L&D is not “one size fits all.” It is customized and evokes emotion and engagement from the participants so they connect with the content and embrace the learning journey. By customizing our programs to fit your goals, they have unparalleled impact on how learners operate as individuals, teams, and organizations.
WDHB explores both well-established theories and the latest trends in learning and development. Our research team is dedicated to understanding how learning happens in organizations and then develops cutting-edge approaches to corporate L&D for today and tomorrow. Visit our Resources page and subscribe to our monthly newsletter to get immediate access to our latest research reports as they as published.
We would be delighted to speak with you. Please contact our Client Solutions Team or schedule a call to start the conversation today.