Kate Zabriskie
INSPIRE . ENERGIZE . LEARN
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Kate Zabriskie
Business Training Works
Kate Zabriskie is a high-energy learning and development industry veteran with a passion for finding innovative answers to clients’ needs. She has a knack for quickly understanding challenges, building trust, and crafting practical, creative solutions. Over the years, she has developed more than 300 training programs and is known for her ability to create easy-to-understand models and frameworks that simplify complex concepts.
Kate has worked with organizations of all sizes to define their corporate cultures; articulate their missions, visions, and values; and align employees’ performance with strategic goals and objectives. In addition to her strategic work, she’s an engaging classroom trainer who excels at designing one-of-a-kind interactive activities and participant-focused training programs. Her work has taken her across North America and to international locations such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, India, Japan, and Kuwait.
Clients
Kate’s clients include Toyota, AstraZeneca, PayPal, The Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders, Georgetown University, the United States Coast Guard, the Bank of Kuwait, City of Hope, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The National Academy of Sciences, Sodexo, Yum Brands, and Microsoft.
Professional Background
Kate’s diverse background has been instrumental in shaping her approach to learning and development. After college, she began her career as a trade show exhibits manager for a national defense association, gaining skills in booth sales, program management, and event planning.
She then transitioned to association and trade journal advertising sales, quickly learning the nuances of industries such as automotive aftermarket, petroleum, cosmetics and chemicals, and adult education.
After completing her MBA, Kate joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) as a staff consultant, working on projects in the pharmaceutical and banking sectors. Her undergraduate degree in art history and her professional experience caught the attention of The Franklin Mint, where she was hired as a manager in artist relations. In this role, she handled art sourcing, licensing, client entertaining, and contract negotiation. She eventually oversaw the artist relations department, corporate museum, and video licensing.
In 2000, Kate leveraged her teaching and presentation skills to launch Business Training Works. Starting as a one-person operation, she quickly grew the company into a network of facilitators, coaches, speakers, and consultants. Her reputation for creating engaging learning experiences, handling the unexpected with ease, and bringing a creative touch to every project established the foundation for the company’s success.
Publications
Kate has authored several books, including The Communication Jungle: Understanding Yourself and Others, Customer Service Excellence: How to Deliver Value to Today’s Busy Customer, Taming the Time Monster: How to Stop Procrastinating, Start Planning, and Get More Done, and Negotiation Power Skills: How to Get What You Want Without Being a Jerk.
Her work has also appeared in textbooks such as Operations Management: A Supply Chain Process Approach, Relationship Marketing: Concepts, Theories and Cases, and Contemporary Marketing.
Media Mentions
Kate is a regular contributor to trade magazines and has been quoted or featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Los Angeles Times, The Detroit Free Press, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company.
Education
Kate holds a BA in art history from George Mason University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.
An Interview with Kate Zabriskie
Q. What three or four words describe your facilitation style?
Interactive, fast paced, and responsive.
Q. Do you tend to follow “the book” or work “off the cuff?”
A little of both. I have a plan for every session, and that plan evolves throughout the day as I interact with people and learn about a group, its needs, and the participants’ mastery of various topics. While it doesn’t happen often, I’ve been known to abandon a training plan and create something in real time if I realize the initial agenda isn’t going to get the group where it is supposed to go. If you want a facilitator who will adhere to a strict minute-by-minute timetable or someone who does eight shows a week the same way each time, I’m not a good fit for your project, and the work is better suited for another member of our team.
Q. How do you handle disengaged participants?
I strongly believe participants should be put in the driver’s seat immediately. They’re adults and should have a say in how our time together looks. Usually, that approach is enough to persuade even the “voluntold” to give me and the program a chance. During the sessions I facilitate, it is unusual for people to multitask or check out. If I observe those behaviors, I adjust the program.
Q. What are your favorite topics to facilitate?
Something participants see value in learning. Whether it’s creativity, coaching, conquering a formal table setting, or some other soft skill, I certainly know my stuff. However, that doesn’t really matter if the people I’m working with don’t think they will benefit from learning the topic.
Q. How do you tailor your approach to meet the needs of a client?
I like to understand what a client wants to achieve. In other words, what’s supposed to be different after I leave? Once I know the practical goal or goals, I can craft a training plan that focuses on developing the skills needed to reach the objective.
Q. Where do you find the inspiration for your programs and activities?
I’ve written hundreds of training programs since I started in this business. At that volume, it doesn’t take long to exhaust the obvious. Luckily, ideas find me everywhere. Some of my best work has come from places you wouldn’t expect: children’s stories, song lyrics, museum exhibits, dollar stores, the street of Anytown, USA, and so forth. I’m always asking myself, “how can I use this?” Or better still, “if I had to use this, how would I incorporate it?” I enjoy the unexpected and figuring out how to adapt it to my work.
Q. What types of projects do you turn down?
Anything that I don’t do well, opportunities where I know what I can do won’t help solve the problem, and projects that will consume a disproportionate amount of time or are peripheral to our core business. That last part might seem a little harsh, but I mean it. Time is one of my most valuable resources, and I need to be strategic about how I spend it. When I’m working with a client, I’m one hundred percent present. I need the hours available in order to do that. So, if something isn’t a good fit, it doesn’t make sense to push rocks uphill. The people who’ve worked with us for years and rely on us deserve better.
Q. How do you stay current with what’s happening in talent development?
I’m always learning from my clients, and I read, and then I read some more. I also maintain a large network of contacts who are always willing to share information or weigh in with an opinion or idea.
Q. When you’re not working, what are your interests?
I’m active in my community, and I have a passion for historic preservation, a strong interest in material culture, and a love of recreational travel.