Robin Ball, Managing Director, Management Development Services

Briton Robin Ball has had several different careers over the years, but it was his naval training that gave him the idea to start his own business in Hong Kong. 

In the mid-1990s, when he decided to test the entrepreneurial waters, Mr Ball looked for a way to share the rich leadership and team-building experience he had received during a decade as an officer in the Royal Navy. Hong Kong, he found, still had a long way to go in corporate learning and development. To address that, he founded Management Development Services Ltd (MDS). 

MDS specialises in coaching, training and developing leaders and managers in organisations operating in the Asia-Pacific region. From its Hong Kong base, the firm delivers programmes, in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean, right across the region, from Hong Kong and Shanghai to Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo. 

There was an “obvious need” for this type of training, said Mr Ball, MDS Managing Director. Arriving in Hong Kong in 1995, he started the business the same year. “I had been responsible for character and leadership training for officers under training at the Royal Naval College, so transferring management and leadership skills to a corporate setting was relatively straightforward.” 

Mainland Credibility

	MDS training can be delivered simultaneously throughout the region

“Hong Kong also gave us easy access to the Chinese mainland – and considerable credibility there as a Hong Kong-based company,” Mr Ball said. 

Starting as a one-man operation, he designed all the programmes and delivered them in English. That soon changed as corporate partners came on board, and demand increased and diversified. 

“As the business grew, MDS began to use psychometric instruments to step up the learning experience. We became the distributor for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and a centre of excellence for the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis. We have the capability to deliver programmes globally, although we tend to focus our attention on Hong Kong, Greater China and Southeast Asia,” he said. 

Today the business employs 20 full-time staff, and manages a team of 14 trainers and about 24 executive coaches to deliver its programmes. 

The services offered are based around four key areas: management development, leadership, executive coaching and strategic and conceptual selling. 

Tailor-Made

“We don’t, however, pigeon-hole our clients into thinking our way. Rather, we understand their needs and then tailor a programme specifically for them,” Mr Ball continued. 

“We also develop a strategic relationship with our clients that helps us develop the right programme, to allow them to achieve the business results they need. We then deliver the programme in a highly experiential way, using well-qualified and experienced trainers.” 

Along the way, MDS has formed strategic partnerships, teaming with executive coaching company OI Partners (Hong Kong) – part of OI Partners Inc, the world’s largest career-consulting partnership – and becoming the local distribution partner for the United States’ Miller Heiman Sales System. 

Mr Ball said companies of all sizes can benefit from the kind of training MDS provides, reaping “huge benefits” in terms of productivity, morale and employee retention. MDS clients include such names as Volkswagen, Lane Crawford, Deloitte, Friends Provident (FPI), Li & Fung, the Hong Kong Police and NTT.com. 

Worldwide Rollout

In one example of its work, MDS was asked to design and deliver a leadership programme for a major trading company. The training was to be rolled out over a six-month period to more than 700 managers around the world. 

“The programme, coordinated in Hong Kong, was delivered in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Delhi, Dhaka, Istanbul, London, Porto, New York and Guatemala City,” Mr Ball said.  

“It was presented as modules created specifically for the client, including role-play scenarios and characters to exactly suit the company. The programme culminated with assessment and practical exercises based on a case study that MDS wrote especially for the client.” 

The training took into account the company’s own leadership style plus an understanding of what motivates others. Mr Ball said the outcome “significantly improved its management of clients, leading to improved performance and employee retention.” 

Crisis Windfall

MDS itself continues to grow. Its leadership programmes are expanding, and Mr Ball expects the Miller Heiman tie-up will double its volume of sales programme delivery over the next five years.  But he also believes the financial crisis has delivered the business a windfall. 

“Companies are seeing the value in investing now in developing a leadership team that is committed to driving them forward. They will not have time once the recovery begins – like most other recoveries over the past decade, it will be sudden and fast.” 

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Management Development Services