Gladwell Academy

"It was very good course due to fantastic lead trainer. he was very knowledgeable , engaging and made course very interesting.
I have many Safe certificate and material where more or less the same and common between different courses but Elco has made it very interesting and engaging" - 22-12-2023 09:55

"De training was erg zinvol en praktisch toepasbaar. Dit kwam mede door alle gedeelde ervaringen van de docent en medestudenten. Het was fijn dat de docent veel voorbeelden gebruikte uit het werkveld. De afwisseling tussen theorie en afwisselende oefeningen was erg prettig." - 21-12-2023 12:30

"Trainer Niels weet van de theorie een duidelijk verhaal te maken en de essentie over te brengen, wat erg belangrijk is met een uitgebreid framework als SAFe. Service en locatie waren uitmuntend.
Ik besefte vooraf niet dat de eerste 2 dagen (in de praktijk 2,5) bedoeld waren voor Leading SAFe, daar zat voor mij geen toegevoegde waarde daar ik die kennis al heb. Daardoor was het voor mij veel tijd voor de waarde die ik zocht (Implementing SAFe). Ik vermoed dat het voor een deel van de doelgroep (die Leading SAFe al beheersen) nuttig kan zijn om de training modulair aan te bieden." - 20-12-2023 12:22

"I liked the online course because in that way I can profit from the views of scrum masters in other countries. We had a small group of five, from the Netherlands and Germany. They were all experienced scrum masters. It was awesome.

I also liked the honesty of the trainer. Besides the theory he had a lot of practical tips.

to be improved: internet connection of the trainer." - 22-11-2023 08:52

"The training resembles the Leading SAFe Training quite a lot. However, I value the trainer more in this case. Yet, not to disqualify Arie as a trainer, but for a training like this I'd expect a trainer with more experience in the role of System Architect.

It is really a pity that it is an online training. Also, 4 is really a very small group to have enough experience and interaction in the room.

This is why I will rate the training as 'unsatisfied' not because I am not satisfied at all but I expected more.

The collaboration environment is simple and helps to bring varience in the training.
Yet, the learning experience does not come even close to my experience with Xebia in the Scrum and PO trainings with Jeff Sutherland and David Bulkin.

The content is Ok, although I do have an opinion on the complexity of SAFe.
Planning and support are good, but the TTF cases should have been shared well before the training.

The training content has many 'discussion' type of excercises. I like a more empirical style with more reallife examples and pitfalls." - 15-11-2023 16:06

"content was ok , however I'm working already more then a year now in a Safe context, so I was quite familiar with what many concepts mean in practice; I wonder how this will be for someone with no or less experience ?" - 06-11-2023 15:56

"The course covered basically the whole SAFe framework, with an emphasis on the RTE role, which matched my expectations. The trainer kept the atmosphere lively, even though there was a lot of information to cover, really great. I liked the breakouts into smaller groups for practicing with the material, but I think some exercises could benefit from better instructions within the virtual classroom; we were a little lost from time to time. The virtual classroom tool itself could be improved a bit as well: click and drag to select multiple items would be awesome, and it would save time if the tool could remember the last item type you used and use that for the next item as well. It was quite time consuming to change the item type manually every time. The use of Zoom for the course was very convenient for me and worked well for this course. One thing that I would improve to increase information retention for the participants is more "serious games" in the course, like quizzes or matching statements. These could be done in the virtual classroom environment, and could replace simply presenting some the information." - 27-10-2023 09:55

"Even though I've been to many trainings on different topics, I can say without a doubt that the Implementing SAFe (SPC) course, led by Niels Groen and Hans van Herwaarden, was one of a kind and very educational.

From the very beginning of the course, it was clear that Niels and Hans are more than just trainers; they are also deeply experienced experts and passionate supporters of the SAFe methodology. Their synergetic way of teaching brought academic ideas to life and turned them into chunks of knowledge that were easy to understand and useful.

The sessions were especially good because they were involved and interesting. It was carefully planned that each module would encourage active involvement and help everyone learn by working together. Practical activities, simulations, and case studies were cleverly used to help students really understand how SAFe principles work in the real world. This made sure that the information they learned wasn't just theoretical, but also very useful.

The learning journey was also very rich and relatable because they were able to use personal stories, useful insights, and anecdotal proof in their lessons. Excitement, wonder, and a shared desire to learn more about the SAFe framework filled the training room like an electric current.

They cared about the success of their trainees in more ways than just the training room. By giving their students extra readings and tools and talking about problems they were having in real life, Niels and Hans showed that they were truly committed to helping their students understand SAFe principles in a deep and lasting way.

To future participants of the Implementing SAFe course, I wholeheartedly recommend embarking on this journey with Niels and Hans as your guides. Not only will you gain a wealth of knowledge, but you will also experience a unique learning adventure that will linger in your professional memory for years to come.

In closing, I extend my deepest gratitude to Niels Groen and Hans van Herwaarden for not merely being exceptional trainers but for being mentors, guides, and relentless supporters of our learning endeavors." - 08-10-2023 19:41

"
Ik ben zeer tevreden over de RTE-training van Gladwell. De vele tips van de ervaren en professionele trainer en de wijze waarop deze training is gegeven voldeed aan mijn verwachtingen.
De accommodatie en service was ronduit goed en de locatie is goed bereikbaar met de auto.
Ik heb geen punten voor verbeteringen.
" - 06-10-2023 20:10

"Though I was warned that this online training would be very intense, I managed to learn a lot and time really flied during these four days. The trainers were very well informed, and even managed to sneak in some jokes and fun. So for an online training I thought it wa sreally great!" - 06-10-2023 06:56

"Like:
Despite the training being very long, the trainers prepared it very well. As a solution to the tiresomeness and duration of the training, they used good tricks such as music, kahoots, and a good mood.
Good examples offered by the trainers and good discussions related to different topics.
It's a good idea to have a user retrospective each day, and the trainers really considered it.
Working in groups with support from trainers

What could be improved:
- It is a bit hard to understand some of the SAFe material (slides) without a good trainer to explain it to you (the last 2 chapters)

" - 05-10-2023 15:52

"Everything was very nice and interesting, from the location to the training material.
Both Niels and Hans were very involved in teaching us, providing great examples and support in finalizing the exercises. They were very flexible in being interrupted by out requests and proven very helpful in clarifying our questions." - 24-09-2023 22:50

"I must say that RTE training I attended recently has been one of a kind. Although content was very complex and sometime difficult to me understand as I do not hold yet RTE role, my takeaways are quite huge and solid. I believe that it will help me significantly at the beginning of my upcoming RTE role transition. What I admired mostly was the way how Eduardo kept my attention whole day with his hands on experience, incredible knowledge, dedication and humor. He created great environment to discuss, share and common understanding of the RTE topic. I think that composition of training was also great balance of theory, discussions as well some "fun". Definitely recommend it!
" - 18-09-2023 14:34

"Trainer was poorly prepared. Was not affine with using Zoom and made many mistakes. Correct Solutions to the exercises were barely shown and only discussed very shortly: Quoting: "Yeah so thsi is the solution...moving on..."
I did not geht any value out of this course that I would not be able to learn myself via studying the workbook or website articles myself.
The whole group was very disengaged from the trainer.

He also could not answer alot of questions and said he will get back to us... which he never did

the initial assessment of our wishes was barely complied with. At the end he looked at our wishes again and realized himself that only a few were achieved. --> so what was the exercise / initial assessment there for at the first place.

I also wished best practices and insights from the field to make SAFe more hands on and not so conceptual. THis also never happened or the trainer could not say much about it" - 15-09-2023 06:03

"I found the exercises quite difficult, with not enough background information about the transportation company. However, the trainers tried to give as as much answers as possible and support us.
I personally found the training difficult, as I have no prior experience as a PO (I became one a month ago) and so many situations were totally unknown to me. So it is probably more for experienced POs." - 19-06-2023 07:53

"The trainers were very good, and the ambiance in the clasroom was open and safe. The content of the SAFe training was interesting, albeit too much for two days. The food and drinks were good, although the chairs were quite uncomfortable. Location was fine. In the mail you receive before starting the training the information on the availability of lunch (including allergy options) should be mentioned." - 16-06-2023 08:20

"LIKE: Experienced trainers, very good prep (room), well documented with online tools, excellent materials,
IMPROVE: Rythm of the training - slow and fast, too much attention to specific questions from participants on their situation was not always relevant and ended up in a 1:1 discussion" - 16-06-2023 07:52

"The course seemed to be well planned. I liked the videos that loosened up the frontal teaching. I loved the slides that were build (painted) during the course because you could focus on what was said instead of reading the slides and listening to what was said at the same time and you had immediately a picture in mind that could be remembered very well. I loved the exercises and quizzes during the course to directly use the new knowledge. Sometimes there was really much text on a slide and it was difficult to read and listen at the same time. Maybe you could show one point after another on a slide." - 16-06-2023 07:44

"a good base is realy needed for this course
I prefere to have a course in real life
trainer was goed with a little bit of humor and that helped
level of people wasn't the same" - 08-06-2023 14:39

"Inhoud van de training geeft een goed beeld van SAFe en de rol/verantwoordelijkheden van de RTE. Veel aspecten in de rol van RTE zijn behandeld. De trainer heeft hier veel aandacht aan gegeven. Zeer ervaren trainer. De planning over de 3 dagen was goed verdeeld." - 01-06-2023 15:53