The Forum Corp., Paradigm Learning Introduce New Tool to Help Managers Lead in Tough Economic Times

Market Wire, September, 2008

Two prominent management training and consulting companies have combined forces to develop a new, free managerial tool, available at www.LeadingInToughEconomicTimes.com , to help managers lead their organizations through turbulent economic conditions.

Also available on the site are free white papers and podcasts that afford an in-depth exploration of the topic.

"Managers are under increasing pressure to deliver results even as markets and budgets shrink," said Ray Green, CEO of Paradigm Learning . "They have to keep their employees motivated and productive while they are also implementing difficult decisions and new strategies. These tools -- our Discovery Map® and action guide -- will help them focus on a handful of key management practices that can make a real difference."

The tools are built upon research by The Forum Corp ., which studied past recessions to learn what effective leaders do to succeed during an economic downturn. Forum, a leader in helping organizations execute strategy through people, identified 10 actions that successful leaders take in three areas during recessions to settle the organization, keep it headed in the right direction and emerge on top.

"It all comes down to leadership," said Ed Boswell, Forum's CEO. "For organizations to survive and thrive in this economy, managers should be paying attention to 10 specific aspects of three important areas -- financials, people and work climate. Knowing what to do can make the difference between success and failure."

This free Discovery Map® and Discussion Guide are designed to take managers and their teams through the process of examining each of the 10 steps so that they can lead more effectively. Managers can simply download the Discovery Map® and the Discussion Guide and see for themselves how they, their companies and their fellow leaders are performing in these times.

Discovery Maps® are fully customized educational sessions designed to ensure the strategic alignment of employees around corporate vision, strategies and new initiatives. Colorful table-sized "maps" create the visual foundation for a learning experience that transfers knowledge with unrivaled clarity using discovery learning techniques.

ABOUT PARADIGM LEARNING

Paradigm Learning ( www.ParadigmLearning.com ) is a privately held company based in Tampa, Fla. Since 1994, it has worked with more than half of the companies on the Fortune 500 list, creating award-winning business games, business simulations and Discovery Maps® to address a company's specific business needs. Its flagship business acumen training program, Zodiak®: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy , has been played by more than one million people worldwide. Other products address such issues as talent management, employee alignment, leadership accountability, building teams, project management and organizational change.

About The Forum Corp.

Forum ( www.Forum.com ) is a world leader in helping organizations execute strategies through people. For 35 years, its work has helped clients increase profitability, market share, revenue growth, and customer and employee loyalty. Forum combines experience and research-based insights in learning design, consulting and facilitation to bring about changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that enable employees to achieve and exceed the desired benefits of a strategic change, to reduce time to improved performance, and to sustain the change over the long term.

Paradigm contact: Diana Blackburn 813-287-9330 www.ParadigmLearning.com Email Contact Forum contact: Patrick Collins 617-553-0349 Email Contact