Interbrew UK: breakthroughs for all

In 2001, we ran our first major corporate programme for all the senior people in Interbrew UK, including the MD. It was a breakthrough for us in delivering our work. and the breakthroughs were shared by all who took part.

This is a re-print of an article that appeared in The Grocer. it says it all:

Unbridled force for change

The director of learning and development for Interbrew UK, is one of the brewing giant’s 90 top executives who have completed a core programme in developing natural leadership skills.  For her, change began with a horse and what felt like a miracle.

Almost 90 of our top leaders have completed this breakthrough programme and it is a core part of the leadership strategy in Interbrew UK of creating ‘unstoppable people’. Typical comments from them were:

“…It allowed me to recognise how I can realise my potential in work and in life.”

“…Understanding that I am more than capable of achieving anything I want to, and the realisation that the power of me and the team is awesome.”

Where did it begin?  It began with a miracle, or so it seemed to me at the time.  I was in the middle of a round pen with a large bay mare called Maddie, who was standing about 15 feet away from me, almost asleep. My task was to send her around me. I had no ropes, whips, or tools of any kind and had been trying for the previous 20 minutes with no effect whatsoever and was feeling a bit of an idiot, quite frankly – nothing that I knew or did seemed to have any impact on her. Then Paul, who was coaching me at the time, asked me a question.  I can’t even remember what the question was, but I did something else, something new.  Something beyond words. My energy went out to the horse and she moved.  She walked around me and kept walking.

Stretch targets

And as I thought about it later, what kept coming back was that moment of complete alignment – intention, clarity, belief, focus, energy, choice.  I felt responsibility , but it felt like freedom…this concept of aligning my body’s energy behind my thoughts – the energy of my whole being – the full force of my personality.  I felt something in that moment of sending Maddy out – I felt its force. In that moment my life changed.  I had experienced something that I had to share, to understand, to explain, to explore.  If you are in business today, then I am sure that you, like us in Interbrew UK, one of the world’s biggest brewing companies, are faced with stretch targets, shareholder value, performance management….The pressure on organisations today is immense and relentless.  The trouble is, it is not on the organisations, is it? The pressure is on the only living force inside those organisations, which is, of course, people.  Our challenge in Interbrew is to help our leaders find a new way.  And that must be a way that will allow them to achieve not only the business targets, but to have balance in their lives.  David Whyte captures it beautifully in his book, The Heart Aroused…”How much do we pretend to be alive, while all the time dying a little every day as we deny ourselves in our willingness to hide ourselves in bland compliance to powers or careers to which we have made ourselves slaves.”

Breakthrough programme

On a cold Wednesday morning in January this year, I was standing in a huge arena in Stow-on-the-Wold with the Customer Services executive team, a facilitation team from the Natural Leadership Centre and yes, you’ve guessed it, three horses weaving their way between us – all of us wondering what on earth was going to happen next.  And then the miracles started to happen.  The comments below are from two of the delegates who have taken part in the programmes and they describe reactions that are typical among participants

“…Allowed me to recognise how I can realise my potential in work and in life.”

“…Understanding that I am more than capable of achieving anything I want to, and the realisation that the power of me and the team is awesome.”

Almost 90 of our top leaders have completed this breakthrough programme and it is a core part of the leadership strategy in Interbrew UK of creating “unstoppable people”.

go back a page