President's Corner CURRENT TRENDS 2010 has already been an exciting year. Many of our clients have been offering more training and professional development than in recent years. Recently, several of our clients have made an investment in long-term training implementations - both open curriculum and targeted to specific businesses - for large groups of employees. Some are putting together comprehensive learning paths that include webinar program kick offs, follow up and reinforcement, one-on-one coaching, as well as activities for participants to complete in between programs. Kudos to our clients for investing in their employees in this way - we know that it makes a big difference in employee performance, as well as in keeping them engaged and motivated. An additional trend we have been seeing much more of this year is clients requesting two co-facilitators for one program. Clients are really looking to get more value for their investment and when there are co-facilitators, participants really benefit from getting more feedback and more one on one time to discuss specific performance strengths and challenges.

President's Corner Reflections and New Offerings Over the past few months we have seen much more activity as our clients have been moving forward and forging ahead in 2010. Many of our clients, across different industries, have been again focusing on Training and Development to help motivate, engage and retain employees. We had the opportunity to design and develop some new programs, which included: Non-Verbal Communication for a major financial company to help sales teams read body language and build more rapport with clients A successful 'Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day' program for over 350 9-12 year olds! Webinars and Virtual Kick Offs for many of our programs to get participants engaged in the training

President's Corner November, 2009 All of us at The Madison Consulting Group want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for our clients, both longstanding and new relationships, our employees, our consultants, our suppliers - and for the opportunity to work with you this past year. And as this year comes to a close, we're also thankful to have celebrated our 16 year anniversary. I'd like to share a few of our reflections and what we've learned this year that will help us all to plan for 2010 training. Best regards, Marilyn What did Learning and Development look like in 2009? Some observations: Now more than ever, if you are going to make an investment in training, it is critical to clearly define what you want to accomplish with that training. More of our clients are taking small steps to sustain learning and to measure the value of training. There is a need for shorter, more condensed trainings, hence our Turbo Sessions. We all need to re-adjust our expectations, however - Madison, clients, and participants - instead of a robust training program to build and apply skills, the goal is often to raise awareness and introduce concrete tools. Sales, leadership, and management training have been the most requested this year. We'd love to hear some of your observations from 2009. Follow this link to tell us. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/289R8VQ New Programs We are excited to be developing our first webinar - Professionalism at Work - a one hour segment from one of our most highly requested instructor led training programs. This program has been updated to include aspects of Emotional Intelligence, Generational Differences and Social Media as they relate to Professionalism. We have developed a new sales program, Prospecting for Success, which helps participants increase their confidence and ability to secure appointments with qualified prospects.

President's Corner Now that we are into the second half of the year, I've been reflecting on my observations and experiences of the first half- and in particular what our clients have been experiencing. No surprises: Budget cuts, 'doing more with less', increased and pent up demand for Training Concern that employees will 'bolt' when the job market improves. We will have to re-focus- from a period of CHANGE to RESTORATION Greater interest in sales and service training to impact bottom line 'Turbo sessions' that offer a 'quick hit' to raise awareness- if not to build skills An important issue to keep in mind is the retention and restoration of top talent. We'll all need a restorative approach to re-energize, re-commit, re-invest. New Services Madison is also happy to introduce a new service this quarter: A Global Network of Facilitators of over 100 facilitators in 14 languages in over 40 countries. This will help us to support our clients with global operations. Some Interesting Numbers 72% of all businesses in the US are small businesses. I attended the Women President's Organization conference and the theme was Sustainability- how do we sustain our client relationships, our employees, our selves- during the downturn? (I was proud that Madison was the recipient of a Successful Sustainability award for the work we do 'nudging' our clients to stay involved and reinforce the learning long after the training program itself is over.) Average learning investment per employee rose to 37 hours and $1,103; the #1 skills training delivered was Management; top 3 benefits reported were Retention, Customer Satisfaction, Employee Satisfaction (ASTD) 90% surveyed reported that training opportunities are important in seeking new jobs (Training Magazine) Only 4% of companies surveyed measure the value of training (Fort Hill) Fewer than 1/3 of employees in 1,500 companies reported being engaged. (Gallup) Imagine the lost opportunities-in productivity, creativity, innovation. Here's to a great summer and 3rd quarter for all of us. Best, Marilyn

President's Corner I wanted to reach out to stay in touch and to give you an update on Madison's first quarter. First, Madison is pleased to be able to announce our new Career Development and Transition offerings. In these challenging economic times, we have found that many of our clients are looking for outplacement and career development services. These offerings provide individuals with support and professional development when transitioning out of an organization or into a new career, or to sharpen their skills and distinguish themselves in their current jobs. Second, Madison is excited to be hosting a panel discussion on May 28th with one of our clients, Premier Relocation Solutions. The event will examine best practices to manage during turbulent times. More details will follow. Finally, you may have missed this article in New York Magazine (since I think I bought all 400,000 copies in NYC) http://nymag.com/travel/2009/spring/55675/index1.html. Since I'm not traveling to Sardinia anytime soon, I am looking forward to springtime in NYC. Hope your 2nd quarter is off to a great start. Best, Marilyn

President's Corner December, 2008 As 2008 winds down, I wanted to wish you Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year. Madison is excited to be kicking off our 16th year and wanted to reflect on the past 12 months. For all of us doing business in the New York area in 2008, we have been 'blessed to live in interesting times.' We have been immersed in the questions we are all asking these days- How are we managing during these turbulent times? What are we doing to retain our top talent so that they don't leave once the job market improves? How can we 'engage the disengaged' and keep morale up- our own as well as employees? I am happy to say, we are moving forward and helping our clients with these issues. We are also proud to welcome: New clients, including The New York Public Library, Prudential, Premier Relocation Solutions, Hearst Magazines, Schering-Plough, and Swiss Re, and to have continued long term relationships with clients such as The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, Citigroup, Maersk, and Goldman Sachs. New consultants in New York, London, Boston, and Los Angeles. On a personal note, I have joined the steering committee of my organization - The Women President's Organization, and Madison was re-certified as a Women Business Enterprise. We are looking forward to a great New Year! Warm wishes and happy holidays, Marilyn

President's Corner October, 2008 As many of you begin planning for 2009, I wanted to let you know about some of our new workshop offerings for training and development: 2 ½ hour Turbo Sessions: Negotiations, Communications, Productivity, and Coaching Cold Call Coaching 'Discovering New York' Scavenger Hunt: a team building activity Developing High Potentials: Leadership Presence Global Communications Managing Difficult Conversations Managing During Turbulent Times Managing Remote Teams As the new year quickly approaches, please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you with your training and development plans. Best regards, Marilyn

President's Corner For the last fifteen years, The Madison Consulting Group has been a leader in customized, creative solutions that produce significant results for our clients. Today, we are expanding our capabilities beyond to include HR Consulting. Aligning your company's business goals with your HR strategies are critical in today's ever changing business landscape. Speed and agility are necessary ingredients in ensuring that your HR strategy is working. In today's world, you only get one shot to get it right. Our HR Practice can work with you to accelerate your transition to a high-performance HR function - one that adds value and adds to your top and bottom line to ensure success. Today, our consulting services enable companies to confront complex business challenges head-on. Here's where we can help: Recruiting and Selection Effectiveness Talent Management Performance Management Competency Models Organizational Change Executive Coaching Learning and Development Management Systems

Madison Celebrates its Fifteen-Year Anniversary We are very pleased and proud to be celebrating our fifteen-year anniversary in 2008 and are taking a few moments to reflect on this milestone. Since 1993, we've had the opportunity to develop over 80,000 employees, in over 100 companies, in more than 15 industries. We're proud of our long-term relationships with many of these clients - many of whom have been with us since the beginning. There have been many changes during this time, both in our business world and in Learning and Development - increased globalization, advancements in technology, Gen Y'ers and the aging workforce are all relevant issues. Yet some things haven't changed - we find that "people are people," and the issues and challenges we find in today's workplace are the same. The need for people skills and "work relationships that work" is more important than ever. Managing others is increasingly complex - matrix management and remote management are challenges that need to be addressed. How do we attract, retain, and motivate the best talent? (SHRM reports that "Talent Shortage" is still the #1 concern) How do we engage the disengaged? It's hard enough during good times, even tougher during change or cutbacks. Communication, recognition, and involvement become even more important. Now, perhaps more than ever, Madison is committed to helping our clients. We understand that their success is our success. In our fifteenth year and for years to come, we have one mission: "To protect and develop our clients' most valuable asset - their employees - throughout their life cycle - from new hires to executives." Here's to the next fifteen years! Sales and Service Suite Announcement Madison is happy to announce its new Sales and Service Suite to help our clients develop their business. This suite of programs for workshops or individual coaching includes programs in Consultative Selling, Effective Sales Presentations, Service Excellence, Effective Sales Negotiations, Major Account Selling, and our brand new, Service that Sells program. Whether taken alone or in conjunction with others, this group of programs will enable participants to better prepare, judge, and execute effective sales and service strategies and techniques to ensure a win-win outcome for the parties involved.

News from Madison Marilyn Volpe, our President and CEO, recently attended the 10 year anniversary conferences for the Women President's Organization - of which we are a member - and the Women Business Enterprise - through which Madison received our official certification as a WBE. Since we are working with a number of our clients to help them 'develop their women talent,' we wanted to share a few highlights with you: 1. Women own 48% of US Companies, account for 2 out of 3 start ups, and the largest growth market is 'prime time women' - mid life baby boomers! (Marti Barletta, Trendsight) 2. 80% of our purchase decisions are emotional - since we're in the 'the attraction economy,' and we're all in the business of attracting the best talent and the best customers, we need to 'thrill, delight, excite, connect, and inspire' our customers and our employees. These 'love marks' will make our brand, our company, our product or service - irresistible! (Kevin Roberts, LoveMarks) 3. What distinguishes 'great' leaders and companies from 'good': - Discipline - just keep doing it! - Humility - be open to new and wacky ideas - Ambiguity - embrace creativity along with discipline - BHAG - beyond the S.M.A.R.T. goals we set in corporate America, we all need to have a 'Big, Hairy, Audacious, Goal' (Jim Collins, Good to Great) Joshua Decker, our Client Relationship Specialist, was recently selected as the Key Note Speaker for the Westmoreland Human Resource Association (WHRA). As a specialist in the development and implementation of measurement tools, Joshua spoke to HR professionals from a variety of industries on the most cost-effective ways to measure the success of workplace training, organizational consulting, and internal HR implementations. Valerie Carey has joined The Madison Consulting Group as our newest consultant in the areas of human capital consulting, change management, and organizational development. Valerie has extensive experience in designing, developing, and implementing customized solutions for clients, and we are pleased to welcome her to our team! At the end of this year, The Madison Consulting Group will say goodbye to our premiere writing facilitator, Barrett J. Mandel. Barrett, the designer and master trainer of The Successful Writing Process will retire at the end of this year. Barrett has been an invaluable resource over the years and is currently available to help you address any of your writing-related needs. We would like to welcome our newest facilitator, Michael Crystal. In addition to Michael's extensive experience in corporate training and consulting, he holds degrees in psychology, industrial management, and organizational behavior, and has post-doctoral certifications in the advanced study of change management from Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia Universities. We're happy to have him as part of the Madison family!

The Madison Consulting Group Announces our Newest Book Publication As the newest addition to our Professionalism and On-Boarding curriculum, The Madison Consulting Group is thrilled to announce the launch of a fantastic, new book by our consultant Lindsey Pollak, Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World (HarperCollins, April 2007). In Getting from College to Career, Lindsey applies her expertise in career advice for young professionals and college graduates, sharing the tips and tactics that will help them land their first job, succeed from the very first day, and prep them for continued success in today's competitive workplace. As the newest element of our flagship program, Professionalism at Work, it can help you gain the edge you need in having your new staff hit the ground running. At The Madison Consulting Group, we are absolutely committed to providing the very best resources for our clients, and we look forward to helping you train your new-hires to become tomorrows leaders! Look for an e-mail about our special event to get your signed copy and hear Lindsey speak. If you wish to pre-register, simply e-mail info@tmcginc.com, and a member of our Client Partnership Team will contact you personally.

A Certified Women's Business Enterprise New York, NY - The Madison Consulting Group, a business specializing in corporate training and consulting, has received national certification as a Women's Business Enterprise by the Women President's Educational Organization, a regional certifying partner of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier/vendor diversity programs. WBENC's national standard of certification, implemented by the Women President's Educational Organization, is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women. The Women's Business Enterprise National Council is the nation's largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC's certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs.