• by Beverly Weinstein , July 14, 2009

Dear Bev: Time Inc., a company rich with intellectual capital, has found an innovative way to share the wealth with employees. Looking for some advice on whether you're ready to be the boss? How about insights on teamwork and strategy?

Lucky you, if you work for Time Inc., where top executives are teaching courses not only on those topics but 39 others as part of an innovative program called Time Inc. University's Learn From A Leader.

Martha Nelson, editor of People and CEO Ann Moore teach the courses mentioned above. Other executives involved in the program include Paul Caine, president of the Style & Entertainment Group and newly minted professor of "The Five Minute Sales Call," Grant Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer for the Lifestyle Group. promises insights on "Brand Speak: Fluency Guaranteed," and Jess Cagle, managing editor for Entertainment Weekly advises student staffers on "How to Land the Big Interview."

Betsy Frank, Chief Research and Insights Officer, when she's not teaching "All Print Is Not Created Equal" with her co-professor and vice president of corporate sales Peter Bauer explained how the program got started.

"Ann Moore, had a series of breakfasts with the top executives earlier this year. I think that's where the idea was hatched. Then she sent out a memo to her senior staff asking if we were going to teach a class or, if our fellow executives were going to teach a class, what it would be," said Frank. Time Inc. University was born.

The initiative provides an opportunity to motivate people and, at the same time, offer them skills and insights that give a more complete picture of how the business operates, added Frank. She went on to outline goals of Learn for A Leader:

· Provide information that will help employees with their careers

· Give employees tools to help them do their job more effectively and to understand how what they do fits into the overall business

· Broaden employees' areas of knowledge

· Give employees access to senior management

So far, Time Inc. U., which was launched this May in New York, has been a big hit with staff at all levels. The classes fill within 10 minutes of being announced via email, said Frank. If you're lucky enough to get into a class, your supervisor is notified and has to approve. Time Inc. is continuously adding to the curriculum as well as repeating classes that are already established.

Some of the classes have been "on the road" in a series designed for the Time Inc.'s Birmingham office. Plans are afoot to take Time Inc. University to Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and LA beginning this fall. According to Frank, there's even some discussion about opening them up to ad agencies later in the year.

In these rough economic times when raises are scarce and work hours are long, the gift of knowledge is something that the recipient can keep and use throughout a lifetime. I applaud Time Inc. for its generosity in sharing the wealth.