Strategic from the start.

Our founders started out in the business trends and publishing business, and soon realized that trends were the raw material of strategy. They spent a substantial amount of time with senior leaders clarifying and refining their strategy.

What did they notice? A “canyon” between the leaders who could see what needed to be done but didn’t have their hands on the levers of change, and those in the organization who had their hands on the levers of change but simply could not see the big picture.

Their answer? Bridge the canyon by giving everyone involved a comprehensive understanding. That was 1989.

Timeline

• 

  1984
  The First A-ha!

  Root Publishing is founded.

• 1987
  Root Publishing Transforms

  Our founders transform their ideas into consulting products and services, and realize that the combination of business analytics and artistic illustration create breakthrough possibilities.

  
• 

  1989
  Planting the Seed

  The Root Learning Map® process is launched. Our first client: Preston Trucking.

• 1990
  Taking Root

  Learning Map® solutions become a larger part of the business, which is still chiefly consulting and research. Our visualization and dialogue begin to fuel our growth rate and we employ five Rootsters.

  
• 

  1992
  Growing Up

  We serve our first Fortune 500 client, Harley-Davidson, and are featured in More Than a Motorcycle: The Leadership Journey, a book by Harley-Davidson CEO Rich Teerlink.

• 1994
  Pepsi and the Berlin Wall

  PepsiCo begins a longstanding relationship with Root that continues today. Root expands globally and culturally by working with Mercedes-Benz in former East Germany shortly after the Berlin Wall comes down.

  
• 

  1995
  Financial Milestones

  Root employs 18 Rootsters. Our Fortune 500 clients include PepsiCo, Hewlett-Packard, Bergen-Brunswig, Maytag, Boeing, and PacifiCare Health Systems.

• 1997
  Growth Spurt

  Root enjoys steady growth, leading to larger clients, including IBM, Taco Bell, and Dow Chemical. We experiment with digital technology with MichCon and implement our first giant rollout: 400,000 UPS employees participate in a strategy activation process.

  
• 

  1998
  Harvard Business Review

  Root’s work with Sears appears in Harvard Business Review, engendering a wave of new clients. Root is chosen “Supplier of the Year” from a list of 10,000 suppliers at Sears Roebuck & Co.

• 2000
  New Frontiers

  We expand in two ways – opening satellite offices in Chicago and London, and introducing eLearning as a line of business. We establish a set of values and present the inaugural Rootie Awards to honor those who best live out Root’s core values.

  
• 

  2001
  Reaching More People

  Large same-day strategy rollouts become more common – 16,000 Dresdner Bank employees in four locations in Germany experienced a Learning Map® solution in one day, as did 50,000 Charles Schwab employees in three countries.

• 2002
  Expanding Venues

  Three thousand civil servants in Hong Kong participate in a one-day Learning Map® session – our first foray into government affairs rather than business, and our first Asia Pacific rollout.

  
• 

  2003
  Honors Abound

  Root Learning wins awards from two magazines – HR Executive and Training.

• 2004
  Digital Learning

  We begin a multi-year project with a client to completely redesign its learning curriculum digitally. Since then, we have done the same type of work for others, including Holiday Inn Express and Panda Express restaurants.

  
• 

  2005
  New Framework and Recognition

  We introduce the Strategic Engagement Process to help clients assess their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to strategy execution. Our first year on the Top 25 Best Small Companies to Work for in America list by SHRM and the Great Places to Work Institute.

• 2006
  Sharing Our Thinking

  We publish the first issue of our quarterly newsletter, The Watercooler.

  
• 

  2007
  On the Move

  Root moves to our Sylvania headquarters, designed as a client destination and more creative home for Rootsters. Over this time, Root has been spotlighted in 12 business books.

• 2008
  More Growth

  The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and Possibilities, by Jim Haudan, CEO Root Learning, is published by McGraw-Hill. It’s named on USA Today’s best-seller list. We launch our frontline manager development program – Compass.

  
• 

  2009
  More Awards

  Root Learning is named one of the Top 15 Small Workplaces by the Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces.