The Situation
Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tyre companies. It employs approximately 70,000 people and manufactures its products in 56 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Through Innovation Centres in the USA and Europe, it strives to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry.

The Challenge
Keen to take a proactive approach towards Talent Development, the company’s EMEA team recently introduced a new structured development program called ‘U-trax’. A core component of the U-trax programme is the 2 day event ‘Brain Lab’. During this event Goodyear wanted to challenge its High Potentials with real business problems and develop their ability to cope with and respond to these challenges.

The Solution
Working with the Goodyear project team, Cubiks set about designing business-focused development experiences that would have credibility with both participants and the leadership team. Specifically, Cubiks partnered in the development of a four-step model in which High Potentials were required to work in teams to tackle eight realistic Goodyear business challenges.

The Results
For the 2010 ‘Brain Lab’, which was facilitated by Goodyear and Cubiks, 125 High Potentials were brought together in Brussels, Belgium. The feedback given by both participants and leadership representatives following the event was highly positive. The U-trax program and the ‘Brain Lab’ event  in particular, has provided Goodyear’s management with valuable insights into the commercial, technical and problem solving capabilities of its future top management tier. Importantly, the program has played a key role in providing participants with the motivation to strive for a leadership position within the company.