Designed Learning

What Designed Learning does

Designed Learning is a privately-held training and consulting firm founded by Peter Block in 1980 in Cincinnati, Ohio, now headquartered in Westfield, New Jersey. The company delivers experiential workshops, coaching, and consulting services built around three flagship methodologies drawn from Block's published works: Flawless Consulting® (influence without authority, structured into Contracting, Discovery, Feedback, and Implementation phases), Leader As Convener® (facilitation through the Six Conversations That Matter: Invitation, Possibility, Ownership, Dissent, Commitment, and Gifts), and Empowered at Work® (positive accountability and ownership culture). The methodology and brand are inseparable from Block's four published books, which provide the intellectual backbone and are sold alongside the workshops.

The company monetizes through six revenue streams: (1) public open-enrollment workshops (virtual and in-person) sold via a Shopify storefront; (2) customized in-house organizational engagements; (3) speaker bookings; (4) individual and group coaching; (5) consulting services delivered by certified consultants; and (6) sale of books and physical resources such as the 100 Acts of Connection Card Deck. Delivery is executed by a network of 25+ named facilitators and consultants distributed across the US, India, UK, Switzerland, Brazil, China, South Africa, Canada, and Singapore, supplemented by five channel partners that localize delivery in Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, and China. Training has reached more than one million professionals cumulatively across 35 countries and five languages.

The customer base spans named enterprises across healthcare (Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Pfizer, Novartis, Quest Diagnostics, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Yale Medicine), technology (Apple, Google, Amazon, Intel, Qualcomm), financial services (Charles Schwab, T. Rowe Price, Federal Reserve Bank), government (U.S. Department of Education), and large nonprofits (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, AARP), alongside mid-market individual attendees and community-facing facilitators served through the public workshop channel. The firm is founder-owned with no external venture or private equity investment, no disclosed financial metrics, and operates as an independent, founder-led boutique.

Name

Designed Learning

Legal name

Designed Learning® Inc.

Website

https://designedlearning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Designed Learning is a 45-year-old training and consulting firm founded by Peter Block that delivers experiential workshops, coaching, and consulting services. It serves consultants, leaders, HR professionals, and changemakers globally through three flagship programs: Flawless Consulting, Leader As Convener, and Empowered at Work.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training & Consulting

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Training Delivery Services (Onsite/Virtual Instruction, Workshops, Coaching) (BPAEANAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Consulting skills training
• Leadership development workshops
• Experiential learning programs
• Organizational consulting services
• Professional training workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Westfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Workshop Registrations: Fee-based registration for virtual and in-person public workshops including Flawless Consulting 1, Flawless Consulting 2, Flawless Refresher, Leader As Convener, and Empowered at Work. Sold through the Shopify storefront.
2. Customized In-House Organizational Workshops: Organizations commission customized training experiences delivered virtually or in-person at their site, covering any of the three core programs.
3. Speaker Booking: Dynamic speakers available for live events or customized virtual sessions, with fees based on engagement type and duration.
4. Individual and Group Coaching: One-on-one coaching for individuals applying workshop skills, plus group coaching for building communities of practice.
5. Consulting Services: Certified consultants partner with clients using the Flawless Consulting model to understand underlying dimensions of problems and provide recommendations.
6. Books and Resources: Sale of Peter Block's books including Flawless Consulting (4th edition), Community: The Structure of Belonging, The Empowered Manager, and Activating the Common Good, plus supplementary resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Designed Learning delivers experiential training workshops, coaching, and consulting services built on founder Peter Block's proprietary methodologies. Its portfolio centers on three flagship workshop programs — Flawless Consulting®, Leader As Convener®, and Empowered at Work® — offered as public open-enrollment workshops, customized in-house organizational engagements, and certification-based facilitator training, supplemented by individual/group coaching, consulting, and speaker bookings.

Product overview

Designed Learning is a training and consulting company offering a portfolio of experiential workshop programs, coaching services, and community events focused on building relational skills for organizational change. The core offerings consist of three flagship workshop programs: Flawless Consulting® (teaching influence without authority), Leader As Convener® (facilitation and convening skills), and Empowered at Work® (positive accountability culture). Each program offers multiple workshop levels (foundational, advanced, refresher), supplemented by individual coaching, group coaching, and consulting services. The company also provides public workshops and events, speaking engagements, and resources including the 100 Acts of Connection Card Deck and the Journeys of Growth & Belonging community program. All programs are rooted in the work of founder Peter Block and emphasize experiential learning, practical frameworks, and real-world application.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Flawless Consulting®: A flagship workshop helping consultants, managers, HR professionals, and changemakers learn to influence without relying on authority or control, based on Peter Block's best-selling book.
• Leader As Convener®
• Empowered at Work®
• Restore Commons

Products and services

• Flawless Consulting® Workshop Program Workshop program teaching consultants, managers, HR professionals, and changemakers how to influence without authority through a structured methodology covering Contracting, Discovery, Feedback, and Implementation phases.
• Leader As Convener® Workshop Program Workshop program teaching leaders and facilitators how to bring people together to build accountability and commitment through the Six Conversations That Matter® (Invitation, Possibility, Ownership, Dissent, Commitment, Gifts).
• Empowered at Work® Workshop Program Workshop program helping leaders and individual contributors build a culture of positive accountability where people choose to act as owners of the organization rather than passive observers.
• Individual Coaching One-on-one coaching service supporting participants in applying workshop skills to real-world situations and becoming trusted partners at work or in their communities.
• Group Coaching Coaching service bringing together small groups to build communities of practice focused on collaborative agreements with each other and the clients they support.
• Consulting Services Engagements where certified consultants partner with clients using the Flawless Consulting model to understand underlying dimensions of problems, share feedback, and provide recommendations.
• Public Workshops & Events Virtual and in-person public workshops, community gatherings, and events hosted by Designed Learning and partners worldwide, including the Connecting for the Common Good event.
• Book a Speaker Service providing dynamic speakers for live events or customized virtual sessions on topics of consulting, convening, and empowering.
• 100 Acts of Connection Card Deck Card deck of 100 simple prompts designed to help restore meaning, care, and agency at work through small acts of connection, created in partnership with Affiliate Consultant Andi Roberts.
• Journeys of Growth & Belonging Monthly community conversations exploring what it means to create workplaces, communities, and relationships rooted in trust, contribution, and belonging.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million professionals have learned through Flawless Consulting workshops
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EffiqualcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCanadian partner providing Flawless Consulting and Designed Learning programs in Quebec and across Canada. Represents the company in the Canadian market.
• SymphoniacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetherlands-based international partner offering Designed Learning programs in the Dutch-speaking market and broader European region.
• Flawless EnneascoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorItalian partner (enneas) providing Designed Learning programs and Flawless Consulting training in the Italian market.
• FlamecentrecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSingapore-based partner offering Designed Learning programs and consulting training in Southeast Asia, with focus on building strategic partnerships and increasing influence.
• Heyudao (和于道)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChinese partner (Shanghai He Yu Dao Management Consulting Studio) providing Designed Learning programs in China, including podcast appearances and training delivery.
• Restore CommonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn initiative of Peter Block and friends, Restore Commons is an online gathering place for stories and ideas about the common good. It serves as a content and community extension of the Designed Learning philosophy, curating ways of thinking and practice toward the common good.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FranklinCovey: Large-scale provider of leadership, consulting, and organizational performance training. Directly comparable as a corporate training/workshop business serving enterprise L&D buyers, though FranklinCovey offers a much broader curriculum portfolio.
• Crucial Learning (formerly VitalSmarts): Training company offering workshops on crucial conversations, influence, and leadership, also built around founder-authored New York Times bestselling books. Highly comparable to Designed Learning in IP-driven workshop model and enterprise customer base.
• Dale Carnegie Training: Long-established leadership, sales, and interpersonal skills training company offering public workshops and customized enterprise programs. Closely comparable business model and target customer base to Designed Learning's experiential workshop offerings.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): Nonprofit leadership development provider offering workshops, coaching, and customized enterprise programs targeting managers and senior leaders. Comparable in target buyer (enterprise L&D/HR) and delivery format (experiential workshops plus coaching).
• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Management and leadership training firm built around founder-authored content (e.g., The One Minute Manager). Comparable to Designed Learning in tying its brand and methodology to a single founder's published works and delivering enterprise workshops globally.

Broad incumbents

• DDI (Development Dimensions International): Large leadership development firm serving global enterprises with assessments, workshops, and consulting. Broader portfolio than Designed Learning but serves the same HR/L&D buyers for leadership and management training.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global leadership advisory and executive search firm with adjacent leadership consulting practices. Comparable in serving enterprise HR buyers for leadership capability building, though operating at a much higher price point and scale.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a leadership and professional development practice offering assessments, coaching, and customized programs. Comparable target buyer (CHRO/L&D) but operates as a full-stack talent and leadership advisory.
• McKinsey Leadership & Organization Practice: Management consulting practice offering leadership development programs and workshops to enterprise clients. Comparable in serving enterprise L&D/HR buyers for leadership capability building, but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• BTS: Global consulting and experiential learning firm combining strategy execution with leadership development simulations and workshops. Comparable in its emphasis on experiential learning for business transformation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLHH5kSgtt44AhZN11IDRaf6199zF4VyMk
• Xx.com/DL_Global

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Designed Learning