Meet Cicerone

The future of sustainability leadership isn't another workshop. It's a conversation that actually changes how you work.

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There's a quiet crisis unfolding in boardrooms across the globe.

Companies are investing billions in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) training. They're running workshops, distributing slide decks, and checking compliance boxes. Yet when employees return to their desks on Monday morning, something troubling happens: nothing changes.

The statistics are sobering. 70% of training initiatives fail to translate into lasting behavioral change. Only 25% of organizations effectively measure training ROI. And perhaps most telling: the vast majority of employees who complete ESG training programs still don't know what they're supposed to do differently.

This isn't a failure of intention. It's a failure of design.

And it's exactly why we built Cicerone.

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The Authority Gap No One Talks About

Here's an uncomfortable truth that most corporate training programs ignore: 85-99% of learners lack the authority to implement what they're learning.

Think about it. Traditional ESG training teaches what executives should do—how to set sustainability targets, how to restructure supply chains, how to embed climate goals into corporate strategy. It's powerful content aimed at the 1-5% of employees who actually have strategic decision-making power.

But what about everyone else?

What about the mid-level manager who sees opportunities for waste reduction but can't mandate changes? The procurement specialist who wants to prioritize sustainable suppliers but doesn't control the budget? The junior employee who cares deeply about their company's environmental impact but has zero authority to change it?

These professionals—the overwhelming majority of any workforce—leave training programs inspired but paralyzed. They know what needs to change. They have no idea how to make it happen from where they sit.

We call this the Authority Gap. It's the distance between the change someone wants to create and the formal power they possess to create it.

And until now, almost no training has been designed to bridge it.

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Enter Cicerone: A Different Kind of AI Coach

Cicerone (pronounced "chi-che-ROH-nay") isn't another learning management system with a chatbot bolted on. It's a fundamentally reimagined approach to professional development—an AI coaching platform built on a 2,400-year-old philosophy and cutting-edge cognitive science.

The name comes from the Latin word for "guide"—specifically, the kind of guide who doesn't just give you directions, but walks alongside you, asking questions that help you discover the path yourself.

At its core, Cicerone does something deceptively simple: it meets you where you are.

Personalized to Your Authority Level

Rather than delivering one-size-fits-all executive content to everyone, Cicerone's curriculum is organized around learner progression, not topic categories.

For someone without direct authority, the focus isn't on "here's what your CEO should do about carbon emissions." It's on:

• How do you research and quantify the opportunity, so you can make a compelling case?
• Who are the stakeholders you need to influence, and what do they care about?
• How do you build coalitions with colleagues who share your concerns?
• What language and framing will resonate with decision-makers?

For emerging leaders, the questions evolve: How do you champion change across departmental silos? How do you handle resistance? How do you maintain momentum when organizational change is slow?

And for executives, the focus shifts to strategic integration, long-term value creation, and scaling impact across the enterprise.

The content adapts. The coaching adapts. The entire experience is calibrated to what you can actually do from your position in the organization.

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The Protreptic Method: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Application

If you've ever had a conversation that genuinely changed how you think—not because someone lectured you, but because they asked the right questions at the right time—you've experienced protreptic in action.

The term comes from ancient Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all practiced protreptic: the art of exhortation toward the examined life through dialogue. Rather than transmitting information directly, protreptic uses questioning to help individuals discover wisdom within themselves.

Cicerone's AI coaching is built on this foundation.

When you engage with Cicerone, you don't get lectures. You get conversations. The AI coach uses a structured approach—hint → guide → answer—that prioritizes your own insight and discovery.

Here's how it works:

If you're grappling with how to approach a skeptical colleague about a sustainability initiative, Cicerone won't hand you a script. Instead, it might ask:

"What do you know about this colleague's priorities and concerns? What would success look like for them?"

If you're stuck, it offers a gentle nudge:

"Sometimes resistance to sustainability initiatives comes from perceived tradeoffs with other goals. What competing pressures might this person be facing?"

Only after you've explored the terrain yourself does direct guidance emerge—and by then, it's guidance you're primed to receive and apply, because you've done the thinking that makes it meaningful.

This isn't artificial helplessness. It's deliberate cognitive engagement. Research consistently shows that knowledge gained through active discovery is retained longer and applied more readily than information that's simply delivered.

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Learning That Actually Sticks

The science behind Cicerone isn't just philosophical. Every element of the platform is informed by evidence-based learning design.

Spaced Repetition

The brain doesn't learn well in marathon sessions. It learns through repeated exposure over time. Cicerone uses adaptive algorithms to schedule micro-reviews at expanding intervals—1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days—ensuring that key concepts move from short-term memory into durable, retrievable knowledge.

Microlearning

Most professionals can't carve out hours for training. Cicerone delivers focused content in 5-15 minute sessions—short enough to fit into a commute or a lunch break, long enough to create real progress.

Real-World Application

Every concept connects to concrete actions. Cicerone's roleplay scenarios let you practice difficult conversations before you have them for real. You might navigate a discussion with a resistant supplier, advocate for budget allocation in a cross-functional meeting, or handle pushback from a skeptical team member.

These aren't simplified simulations with strawman objections. They're realistic workplace situations featuring genuine resistance—the kind you'll actually encounter. Because learning to persuade someone who's easy to persuade teaches you nothing.

Behavioral Mapping

For every topic, Cicerone provides specific actions for different authority levels:

If you have direct authority: Add sustainability criteria to your next three RFPs.

If you can influence but not mandate: Research sustainable alternatives, quantify the opportunity, and present your findings to decision-makers.

If you're building capability for the future: Complete a supply chain sustainability certification. Network with procurement professionals. Track regulatory developments.

No more leaving training wondering "now what?" Every session ends with concrete next steps calibrated to your actual situation.

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The Five-Phase Journey

Cicerone structures development through five interconnected phases, each building on the last:

Phase 1: Discovery & Assessment Before prescribing solutions, you need to understand where you stand. Cicerone's initial assessment evaluates your ESG knowledge, DEI competencies, leadership style, and implicit biases. But this isn't a test you pass or fail—it's a diagnostic that shapes everything that follows.

Phase 2: AI-Curated Learning Based on your assessment, Cicerone builds a personalized curriculum. Microlearning modules adapt to your pace and style. Industry-specific case studies make concepts concrete. Interactive simulations let you apply ideas before the stakes are high.

Phase 3: Coaching & Reflection Learning without reflection is just information consumption. Cicerone's AI coaching sessions guide you through structured self-assessment, helping you connect new knowledge to your values and goals. When situations require human insight, escalation to human coaches is seamless.

Phase 4: Real-World Practice The platform doesn't stop at knowledge. Project-based learning connects you to real ESG challenges. Mentor matching creates accountability partnerships. The goal isn't to simulate application—it's to enable it.

Phase 5: Measurement & Growth Progress reassessment shows how far you've come. Business impact metrics connect individual development to organizational outcomes. And continuous pathway refinement ensures your learning journey evolves as you do.

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Beyond Compliance: Values-Aligned Growth

Cicerone isn't just about making you better at your job. It's about helping you align your career with your values.

For many professionals, ESG isn't just a business strategy. It's personal. They chose their field because they want to make a positive impact. They stay awake thinking about climate change, inequality, and corporate ethics. They want their work to matter.

But navigating that desire in a complex organization can be lonely and frustrating. How do you push for change without becoming the person everyone avoids? How do you maintain idealism while being realistic about organizational constraints? How do you measure progress when transformation is slow?

Cicerone provides a space for those questions too.

Through guided journaling and reflection prompts, the platform helps you clarify your own values and track your alignment over time. It's honest about the realities of organizational change—the setbacks, the compromises, the long game—while helping you maintain purpose and resilience.

And it never pretends to have all the answers. When you ask something beyond its knowledge, Cicerone tells you: "I don't know." That intellectual humility isn't a bug. It's a feature. It models the kind of honest, curious inquiry that sustainable leadership requires.

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The Gamification That Doesn't Feel Like a Game

Let's be honest: most gamified learning feels patronizing. Arbitrary points, meaningless badges, progress bars that measure clicking through slides rather than genuine development.

Cicerone takes a different approach.

Experience points (XP) are earned through meaningful engagement: completing modules, participating in coaching sessions, applying skills in roleplay scenarios, reflecting on your learning journey. The gamification isn't a veneer—it's an accurate reflection of effort and growth.

Quests and missions group related learning objectives into coherent journeys. Leaderboards foster healthy competition while celebrating different kinds of contribution—not just speed, but depth and consistency.

And streak bonuses reward the behavior that actually matters: showing up regularly. Because sustainable leadership, like everything worth building, is built through persistent practice, not sporadic intensity.

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Designed for Real Organizations

Cicerone isn't just for individual development. It's built for the complexity of modern enterprises.

For HR and L&D leaders: Get visibility into organizational capability gaps. Track real behavioral change, not just completion rates. Demonstrate ROI in terms that matter to the C-suite.

For team managers: Assign relevant learning paths to your direct reports. Facilitate group challenges that build shared capability. See where your team is growing and where they need support.

For executives: Scale leadership development across the enterprise. Align individual growth with strategic ESG objectives. Build the organizational muscle to execute on sustainability commitments.

The platform offers industry-specific content for automotive, technology, renewable energy, mining, and global transportation sectors—because the sustainability challenges facing a mining company aren't the same as those facing a software firm.

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The Future of Leadership Development

We're at an inflection point.

The next decade will demand unprecedented change from organizations—rapid decarbonization, supply chain transformation, new approaches to stakeholder capitalism, genuine commitment to diversity and inclusion. These aren't initiatives that can be delegated to a sustainability department. They require every employee to think differently, act differently, and influence differently.

Traditional training can't meet this moment. It wasn't designed to.

Cicerone was.

It's a platform that recognizes learning is personal, that most people lack strategic authority, that behavior change requires repeated practice, and that genuine development comes through dialogue, not delivery.

It's an AI coach that asks good questions rather than just dispensing answers. That adapts to who you are and what you can actually do. That helps you become the kind of professional who creates change—regardless of your title.

The future of sustainability leadership isn't another workshop.

It's a conversation that actually changes how you work.

And that conversation is just beginning.

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Interested in bringing Cicerone to your organization? Contact us to learn more about our enterprise solutions and pilot programs.

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About Cicerone

Cicerone is an AI-powered coaching platform focused on ESG excellence, DEI implementation, and values-aligned professional development. Built on protreptic coaching methodology and evidence-based learning science, Cicerone creates hyper-personalized learning experiences that drive measurable behavioral change. The platform serves individual contributors, managers, and executives across industries including automotive, technology, energy, mining, and global transportation.