When 4-Day Workshops Failed, We Created ESP

Sunil Dutt Jha
May 1
3 min read

Why the Enterprise Select Program (ESP) changed everything at ICMG Academy

For years, we did what most serious enterprise teams try: Short, high-intensity training sessions. 3 days. 4 days. Packed with frameworks, case studies, and templates.

And still… nothing changed.

Teams attended, but couldn’t apply. Leaders listened, but didn’t transform. Projects stayed stuck in the same patterns.

We faced the same wall every organization faces: Training didn’t stick. Workshops didn’t move the needle.

That’s when we asked the hard question: What if training alone isn’t enough?

From Exposure to Execution: The Birth of ESP

That’s when we built ESP – the Enterprise Select Program.

Instead of starting with a classroom, we started with reality.

We didn’t teach in the abstract. We evaluated actual projects. Not to judge, but to diagnose.

And everything about how we delivered learning changed.

Here’s What We Did Differently

1. Rating Before Training

Before any training began, we didn’t assume readiness—we rated it.

Using our Enterprise Rating Framework, we evaluated two critical dimensions:

Project Architecture – What’s working, what’s broken, and where the internal anatomy is misaligned.
Leader Readiness – Not just titles, but actual readiness: decision clarity, architectural thinking, execution rhythm, and transformation maturity.

This wasn’t about filling forms or ticking boxes. It was a structured diagnostic to surface invisible gaps and make them visible.

By rating both the project structure and the leader’s capability, we built a sharp baseline—a precise starting point from which real transformation could begin.

This became Ground Zero of ESP. No generic workshops. No one-size-fits-all.Just clarity on where you stand—and what you need to evolve.

2. Training with Context: Every Leader Gets a Personal Scorecard

Discover the anatomy. Every ESP participant was a real project or department leader.

They began with their own project anatomy, performance gaps, and diagnostic scores.

This made training contextual, relevant, and immediately actionable—not abstract theory.

3. Prototyping and Application: Learning by Building

Once the Enterprise Anatomy Model (Project Anatomy Model or Software Platform Anatomy) was introduced, leaders didn’t just study it—they used it.

They rebuilt their own strategy, processes, systems, components, and operational plans using what they learned.

This wasn’t hypothetical—it was hands-on enterprise (Project / Platform) redesign.

4. Evaluation of the Same Project

This was our moment of truth.

After training and application, we didn’t just move on—we went back and re-evaluated the exact same project. Same team. Same organization. But now, the difference was stark.

Because something profound had happened:

Each leader had applied the Enterprise Anatomy Model to their project.
Every task was no longer floating in isolation—it was anchored to a defined component.
Those components were mapped to systems—the exact digital and physical tools enabling execution.
Each system was clearly tied to a process—no more ambiguity about what it supported or how.
And those processes were directly enabling strategy—with full traceability all the way to outcomes.

What was once foggy became crystal clear. What was once hidden inside the mind of a few experts was now structured, documented, visible, and verifiable.

This wasn’t just a cleaner chart. It was transparent enterprise logic—laid out in a way that anyone could follow, question, and improve.

Clarity replaced confusion. Confidence replaced chaos. And execution finally had Anatomy.

That’s what made the transformation measurable. That’s why ESP didn’t just train—it recalibrated enterprise thinking.

The results were undeniable.

✔ Clearer decisions ✔ Faster execution ✔ Predictable outcomes ✔ No jargon ✔ No hype—just transformation, tested and proven

The success of ESP taught us something that changed the Academy’s direction:

Real transformation doesn’t come from exposure. It comes from application, iteration, and reflection.

ESP wasn’t a better training program. It was a transformation lab. And it became the foundation for our One-Year Mastery Program at ICMG Academy.

This long-form program now extends ESP’s principles into a deeper, structured journey—designed not just to teach, but to build enterprise architects, product strategists, and transformation leaders from the inside out.