This year we connected with over 1,000 organizations to determine the best LD programs and practices based on seven criteria:

1. Vision/mission. Are these statements linked to strategy, meaningful to participants, and focused on target outcomes?
2. Involvement and participation. How broad is the involvement and how deep the participation?
3. Measurement and accountability. What ROI measures are made and reported and to what degree is accountability for performance and results part of the program?
4. Design, content, and curriculum. How well designed is the program? How credible is the content? How relevant is the curriculum? How customized is the program?
5. Presenters, presentations, and delivery. What are the qualifications of the presenters, how effective are their presentations, and how is the program delivered?
6. Take-home value. What do participants take away and apply to improve themselves, their families, their teams, and their volunteer work?
7. Outreach. What is the impact of the program on stakeholders?

We honor the following companies for their efforts and encourage them to keep enhancing their leadership programs and practices.    —Ken Shelton

1. General Electric
2. Boeing
3. Procter & Gamble
4. Ritz-Carlton Hotels
5. Sun Microsystems
6. Fed Ex/ELI
7. Microsoft Corporation
8. Qualcomm
9. Yahoo
10. Caterpillar University
11. Chevron
12. AXA Equitable
13. Alcatel-Lucent
14. Capital One
15. General Motors University
16. Johnson & Johnson
17. Motorola
18. Pepco Holdings, Inc.
19. Cigna
20. Mars
21. McDonald’s/HU
22. Wachovia Corporation
23. Bank of America
24. Farmer’s Insurance
25. MasterCard
26. Northrop Grumman
27. BNY Mellon Asset Management
28. Schwan Food Company
29. Allied Barton
30. UBS
31. Black & Decker
32. Archer Daniels Midlalnd
33. Textron
34. Colgate
35. Disney/Disney Institute
36. Medco
37. Johnson Controls
38. JetBlue Airways
39. Digitas
40. Lowes

1. Carnival Cruise Lines
2. Saltwater Institute
3. MediaTec/CLO
4. Badger Mining
5. Wieland (Homes) University
6. Americredit Financial Services
7. The Container Store
8. Equity Residential
9. InsureMe
10. Analytical Graphics
11. Simonton Windows
12. Acuity
13. Direct Energy IS
14. Vulcan Materials Company
15. Genencor International
16. Creative Energy Options
17. American Laser Centers

1. University of Michigan Ross School of Business
2. JFK School of Government Center for Public Leadership/Harvard
3. University of Chicago/GSB/Leadership
4. UCLA/Anderson
5. USC/Marshall/CEO
6. Northwestern/Kellogg
7. Pennsylvania/Wharton
8. MIT/Sloan
9. Harvard Business/True North
10. Utah Valley University/CAL
11. Duke University Fuqua School of Business
12. Yale Leadership Institute
13. Stanford/GSB Leadership
14. Emory University
15. SMU Cox School of Business
16. BYU/Marriott/Leadership
17. Pepperdine/Graziadio/SBM
18. Carnegie Mellon/Tepper/Leadership
19. Alliant/Marshall Goldsmith School of Management
20. OSU/Fisher College of Business
21. University No. Colorado/Monfort Institute
22. Rollins College/Crummer GSB
23. Rider University
24. University of San Francisco School of Business

1. American Society for Training & Development (ASTD)
2. Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
3. American Management Association (AMA)
4. Human Capital Institute (HCI)
5. NYC Leadership Academy
6. ISPI
7. HR.Com
8. IQPC/Corporate University
9. National Management Association (NMA)
10. Greenleaf Center
11. Conference Board
12. Berkana Institute
13. Leader to Leader Institute
14. CAEL
15. Philips Ultrasound
16. Trinity Health
17. International Leadership Association
18. Healthcare Businesswomen Association
19. Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union
20. Rush University Medical Center
21. Best Practices in Leadership Development

1. Defense Acquisition University
2. U.S. Marine Academy
3. U.S. Air Force Academy
4. 4. U.S. Military Academy West Point
5. The FBI Academy
6. U.S. Naval Academy
7. NASA/Leadership Alchemy Program
8. U.S. Army Rangers
9. ASQ Baldrige Award
10. U.S. Coast Guard
11. Federal Aviation Administration
12. U.S. National Guard
13. National Defense University
14. U.S. Tactical/Seals
15. Naval Undersea Warfare Center

1. Korn/Ferry International
2. Marshall Goldsmith Partners
3. Zenger/Folkman
4. Jim Collins
5. Bluepoint Leadership
6. Ninth House
7. Human Performance Institute
8. Leader’s Toolbox
9. Marcus Buckingham Company
10. Tom Peters Company
11. Guttman Development Strategies, Inc.
12. Strategos
13. Maxcomm
14. Josh Bersin & Associates
15. Arneson Leadership Consulting
16. Liminal Group
17. Benchmark Communications
18. The Table Group
19. Chip Bell Group
20. Lebow Company
21. Leadership Challenge/KP
22. Authentic Leadership Institute
23. Leadership Development Services
24. iLeadUSA
25. Sensei International
26. Right Management
27. Michael G. Winston Leadership
28. Mariposa Leadership
29. The Levin Group
30. Perth Leadership Institute
31. Refinery Leadership Partners
32. Future Considerations

1. Linkage/GILD
2. Results-Based Leadership
3. Achieve Global
4. Center for Creative Leadership
5. Senn-Delaney Leadership
6. McKinsey/Leadership
7. Denison Consulting
8. DDI
9. Accenture
10. Lee Hecht Harrison
11. Adizes Institute
12. Richard Chang Associates
13. Dialogos
14. Booz Allen Hamilton
15. Hewitt/Leadership
16. Plante & Moran
17. BlessingWhite
18. Vital Smarts
19. Franklin-Covey
20. Ken Blanchard Companies
21. Integro Leadership Institute
22. Forum Leadership Development
23. Personnel Decisions International (PDI)
24. Human Potential Project
25. Crowe Horwath
26. Leadergrow
27. Kepner-Tregoe