Action Learning Associates
Action Learning Associates is a Crested Butte, Colorado–based leadership development consultancy that designs and delivers experiential, multi-module executive education programs for Fortune 500 and Global 500 enterprises, sold direct and through academic delivery partners including Tuck School of Business and UNC Kenan-Flagler.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersCrested Butte, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Action Learning Associates does
Action Learning Associates (ALA) is a Crested Butte, Colorado–based executive education and leadership development consultancy founded in 1989 (LLC formally established in 1991) by Richard O. "Rocky" Kimball and Mary Lou Skinner, and sold in 2008 to long-time senior associate Scott Miller, who continues to lead the firm. The company designs and delivers immersive, experiential leadership programs for global enterprises — primarily Fortune 500 and Global 500 organizations — using a proprietary Action-Reflection-Learning methodology unified by its "Red Thread" integration approach across multi-module, multi-country engagements.
ALA's product portfolio is organized into Signature Solutions (The Leader's Court™, The Marketplace of Ideas, Leadership Labs, Silver Bullet Runway / SBR, Kinesis, ALA Connections), Select Solutions (assessments such as MBTI, TypeCoach, HBDI, HoganLead, Leadership Journey; executive coaching; action learning projects; and custom solutions), and Complete Solutions following a 3D model (Design with Purpose, Deliver with Passion, Develop for Impact). The underlying technology is not a SaaS or AI platform but a curated set of proprietary simulations and behavioral practice methodologies deployed by a global facilitator network of 60+ senior associates in markets including the U.S., the UK, France, Taiwan, the Philippines, and China, with academic delivery partners Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (since 2001) and UNC Kenan-Flagler Executive Development.
Commercially, ALA monetizes exclusively through professional services fees: bespoke, multi-month program design, facilitation, coaching, and materials engagements priced via custom quotes (no public pricing tiers), sold through consultative direct enterprise field sales targeting C-suite and HR/L&D leadership, with secondary demand generated through academic partner referrals, case studies, and word-of-mouth. Programs have historically reached 35+ countries across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America, and the firm maintains named relationships with clients including General Electric, Microsoft, PwC, Thomson Reuters, Coca-Cola, Anglo American, National Australia Bank, Bank of America, Shell, Intel, Cigna, and Texas Instruments. A 2008 ownership transition to Scott Miller and a sister organization (World Action Teams) extend ALA's footprint into emerging markets through immersive discovery experiences.
Action Learning Associates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Action Learning Associates
- Legal name
- Action Learning Associates, LLC
- Website
- https://actionlearning.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Action Learning Associates is a Crested Butte, Colorado–based leadership development consultancy that designs and delivers experiential, multi-module executive education programs for Fortune 500 and Global 500 enterprises, sold direct and through academic delivery partners including Tuck School of Business and UNC Kenan-Flagler.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Action Learning Associates industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Executive Leadership Development Consulting
- NAICS
- Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Strategic Leadership & Business Acumen (EDABAAAC)
Keywords
Where Action Learning Associates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Crested Butte
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Action Learning Associates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Custom Executive Development Programs: ALA designs and delivers fully customized, multi-module executive learning programs for enterprise clients. Engagements are structured around the 3D model (Design with Purpose, Deliver with Passion, Develop for Impact) and typically span months. Revenue is generated through professional services fees for program design, facilitation, coaching, and materials. Long-term retainer relationships with major clients drive recurring revenue.
- Select/Modular Solutions: ALA provides individual interactive modules (e.g., Leader's Court, Leadership Labs, Marketplace of Ideas, Kinesis, SBR) as components within larger corporate learning engagements. These are delivered as standalone experiential modules or add-on sessions within broader programs, priced as discrete engagements.
- Assessments and Executive Coaching: ALA offers assessment services (MBTI, TypeCoach, HBDI, HoganLead, Leadership Journey) and executive guiding/coaching services as part of or separate from program engagements. These include pre-program 360-degree feedback, individual style assessments, and ongoing behavioral coaching.
- Custom Solutions and Consulting: Custom solution design engagements where ALA partners with clients to co-create learning solutions tailored to unique culture and business needs, applying the MRI approach to assess current reality and design toward desired organizational states.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Action Learning Associates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Action Learning Associates (ALA) is a professional services consultancy that designs and delivers customized, multi-module executive leadership development programs for global enterprises. Programs leverage proprietary experiential learning tools (Leader's Court, Kinesis, Silver Bullet Runway, Leadership Labs, Marketplace of Ideas) and follow a 3D model (Design with Purpose, Deliver with Passion, Develop for Impact) integrated through the Red Thread Action-Reflection-Learning methodology.
Product overview
Action Learning Associates (ALA) is a leadership development consultancy founded in 1989 that offers experiential and immersive learning experiences for global organizations. The company's portfolio consists of Signature Solutions (The Leader's Court, The Marketplace of Ideas, Leadership Labs, SBR/Silver Bullet Runway, Kinesis, and ALA Connections), Select Solutions (Assessments, Executive Guiding/Coaching, Action Learning Projects, and Custom Solutions), and Complete Solutions following a Design-Deliver-Develop methodology. The offerings are tied together by ALA's 'Red Thread' integrated approach that weaves Action-Reflection-Learning throughout engagements. ALA operates through a network of 60+ associates globally and partners with academic institutions including Tuck School of Business and UNC Kenan-Flagler.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Complete Solutions End-to-end custom learning solution design and delivery following the 3D model (Design with Purpose, Deliver with Passion, Develop for Impact). For global enterprise clients seeking full custom leadership development programs.
- Custom Solutions Learner-centered design solutions co-created with clients to address unique organizational culture and business needs, leveraging the MRI (Map, Recommend, Implement) approach.
- The Leader's Court A courtroom-style methodology that puts major strategic business issues on trial. Participants take roles as attorneys, witnesses, or judges to interrogate reality and surface critical issues related to values, strategy, or change initiatives. Delivered as a standalone module or within broader programs.
- The Marketplace of Ideas An interactive idea-generation process modeled on a marketplace where designated sales agents present to venture capitalists who commit funds to winning ideas. Captures collective perspectives on targeted business challenges.
- Leadership Labs Experiential behavioral practice fields where executives work in small groups on carefully constructed physical and mental exercises, designed to help leaders observe and test real-time leadership behaviors.
- Silver Bullet Runway (SBR) A four-hour business acumen simulation requiring team creativity, resourcefulness, and collaboration. Teams construct a pipeline to deliver a 'silver bearing' using limited resources under changing constraints to highlight the need for collaboration to reach enterprise targets.
- Kinesis A large-scale behavioral simulation that divides delegates into business units tasked with achieving performance targets, requiring unified strategy, resource sharing, and knowledge transfer across the enterprise to maximize enterprise output.
- ALA Connections
Quantifiable outcome
- Labor turnover among LiA program participants was less than 1% per year (3% over 5 years), compared to prior rate of 10–15% for the same peer group
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Action Learning Associates
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Action Learning Associates technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Action Learning Associates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / core, core and minor.
- Tuck School of Business at Dartmouthflagship / coreSince 2001, ALA has been key delivery faculty in Tuck's Custom Programs, Open Programs, Tuck Executive Program (TEP), Leadership and Strategic Impact programs (LSI), and the Global Leadership 2030 Program (GL2030). ALA's experiential approach is integrated into Tuck's executive education curriculum, with ALA's team of facilitators co-delivering programs alongside Tuck faculty. Tuck's mission to 'educate wise leaders who will better the world of business' is supported by ALA's experiential methodologies that accelerate individual and organizational transformation.
- UNC Kenan-Flagler Executive DevelopmentcoreUNC Kenan-Flagler is ranked as the No. 1 public university offering customized executive education in the United States. ALA partners with UNC to deliver experiential learning components within their custom executive development programs, bringing immersive methodologies to UNC's executive education portfolio.
- World Action TeamscoreWorld Action Teams (WATs) is ALA's sister organization with a mission to develop leaders who create value for business and society by partnering with corporations to design and deliver discovery experiences for leaders in rapidly growing global markets. WATs extends ALA's immersive learning approach into emerging market contexts, providing outdoor market simulations, cultural immersion experiences, and VUCA-world expeditions that complement ALA's corporate programs.
- Oliver Wyman/Mercer Delta (historical)minorALA collaborated with Oliver Wyman/Mercer Delta and National Australia Bank to design a solution accelerating the development of NAB's top leadership as a competitive advantage. This engagement combined ALA's Silver Bullet Runway simulation with strategic consulting from Oliver Wyman/Mercer Delta.
- IE Business SchoolcoreALA collaborated with IE Business School (Spain) alongside Tuck School of Business to co-design the Global Executive Program (GEP) for Thomson Reuters. IE Business School contributed international perspective and academic rigor to the three-party collaboration that delivered the GEP across modules in the U.S. and Spain.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Action Learning Associates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DDI (Development Dimensions International): Global leadership and talent development consultancy providing assessment, training, and coaching to Fortune 500 clients. Directly comparable buyer segment and behavioral-change methodology focus as ALA.
- Center for Creative Leadership: Nonprofit focused on leadership education, research, and applied behavioral science. ALA's founder Rocky Kimball came from CCL's faculty, and both firms serve similar executive development buyers with experiential methodologies.
- BTS: Business simulation and experiential learning firm serving enterprise leadership development. Closely aligned with ALA in delivery mode — facilitator-led business simulations for executive audiences.
Broad incumbents
- FranklinCovey: Global consulting and training firm offering leadership, organizational performance, and execution programs to enterprises. Compares to ALA on the leadership development consulting axis, though at much larger scale and broader content portfolio.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with a Leadership Consulting practice providing executive coaching, team effectiveness, and leadership development services to the same senior leadership buyer segment as ALA.
- INSEAD Executive Education: Top-ranked global business school's executive education division offering custom and open programs for senior leaders. ALA has collaborated with IE Business School, and INSEAD represents the scaled incumbent model ALA competes against.
- Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm whose Leadership Development practice offers executive coaching and team effectiveness programs for the same Fortune 500 buyer base as ALA, but at materially greater scale.
- Duke Corporate Education: Custom executive education provider affiliated with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Directly comparable academic-affiliated executive education model competing for similar enterprise accounts.
- IMD Business School: Swiss-based business school with a strong executive education portfolio targeting senior leaders and board-level audiences, providing competition for high-end experiential leadership engagements similar to ALA's signature programs.
- Egon Zehnder: Executive search and leadership advisory firm serving global enterprises with leadership assessment, coaching, and team development offerings that overlap ALA's senior-executive buyer segment.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Action Learning Associates social profiles
Digital presenceAction Learning Associates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Action Learning Associates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Action Learning Associates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Action Learning Associates M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Action Learning Associates
What does Action Learning Associates do?
Action Learning Associates (ALA) is a professional services consultancy that designs and delivers customized, multi-module executive leadership development programs for global enterprises. Programs leverage proprietary experiential learning tools (Leader's Court, Kinesis, Silver Bullet Runway, Leadership Labs, Marketplace of Ideas) and follow a 3D model (Design with Purpose, Deliver with Passion, Develop for Impact) integrated through the Red Thread Action-Reflection-Learning methodology.
Is Action Learning Associates a public or private company?
Action Learning Associates is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Action Learning Associates founded?
Action Learning Associates was founded in 1989. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Action Learning Associates based?
Action Learning Associates is headquartered in Crested Butte, United States, in the North America region.
How does Action Learning Associates make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Custom Executive Development Programs are the primary driver. The others are select/Modular Solutions, assessments and Executive Coaching and custom Solutions and Consulting.
Who are Action Learning Associates's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DDI (Development Dimensions International), Center for Creative Leadership and BTS. Broad incumbents are FranklinCovey, Heidrick & Struggles, INSEAD Executive Education, Korn Ferry, Duke Corporate Education, IMD Business School and Egon Zehnder.
Does Action Learning Associates have an API?
No public API is recorded for Action Learning Associates.
What industry is Action Learning Associates in?
Action Learning Associates's product category is Executive Leadership Development Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDABAAAC, Strategic Leadership & Business Acumen. Its NAICS code is 611430 and its SIC code is 8742.