By CHRISTOPHER S. STEWART November 2nd 2003 - Executive Life   Fear of Technology, Quietly Conquered

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They meet in crowded bookstores or public libraries, where anonymity is guaranteed. For sessions at work, they settle in behind closed doors, typically early in the morning or after hours.

Yes, when an executive finally learns how to work a computer, secrecy can be crucial.

Over the years, many of these executives managed to put off computer training. But they have reconsidered as computers have become an unavoidable part of the business world. Rather than face derision from colleagues - or worse, appear obsolete - some are seeking out teachers and coaches who can educate them on the sly.

"It's a lot like those people who were illiterate in the work force years ago and talked very secretly about learning to read," said John A. Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement firm. "In the past, it was a point of pride to say you didn't buy into technology. But now it's our life, and the late adopters really feel guilty about it."

One trainer of executives, Jennifer Shaheen, says that many of them ask her to tutor them clandestinely. "I call myself a 'tech therapist' because so many business people want to be taught in confidence," said Ms. Shaheen, who charges $300 a session, which generally last an hour. "What I do is a lot like therapy - the getting over the fear of technology and being embarrassed."

More than half of Ms. Shaheen's 20 executive-level clients (she will not offer many names) request some degree of confidentiality. She describes the training sessions - covering fundamentals like setting up a computer and sending e-mail messages, as well as more advanced software issues like putting together a PowerPoint presentation - as resembling some sort of cloak-and-dagger enterprise. Usually she contacts her clients by cellphone or on private lines and meets them before work or at night or at their homes over the weekends.

One executive at a national transportation company asked her to work with him at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in New Jersey until they decided there were too many people around and moved to a private room at a nearby public library. "He showed up with a laptop that he'd just gotten and said, 'What do I do?' " Ms. Shaheen recalled. Another man, who "didn't know what the right mouse button did," instructed her that if anyone asked about her visits to help him, she should say she was "just a consultant for the company."

While statistics are hard to come by for how many executives are untrained in using computers, Andrew Sherwood, chairman and chief executive of Goodrich & Sherwood, an outplacement firm in New York City, said he thought the number was substantial.

"You'd be surprised how many don't know anything," said Mr. Sherwood, who estimated that more than 75 percent of his clients lacked basic computer skills. "A lot of these executives work 16-plus hours a day and they've never had time to get into computers or had very skilled administrators working for them. They tend to fudge their computer skills, and just smile."

Among those caught in the learning gap are executives who previously had two or more assistants managing all their computer work, from sending and receiving e-mail messages to typing proposals and correspondence. As companies started cutting the size of their work forces in a sluggish economy, some executives were left stranded without such help.

Ann Rose, the president of Montville Carpet and Flooring in Montville, N.J., said that until a few months ago, she had relied on others to do her computer work. But she decided that she was in danger of becoming outdated and chose private tutoring at the Career Center, a career and management firm in Manhattan that specializes in technology-related work. "I didn't want anyone to know at first," said Ms. Rose, who is 54. "The fact that I missed the boat on computers, it's embarrassing. Particularly when the young ones come in and know everything. It's a way of life with them."

The difficult job market has made more executives aware of their tech shortcomings. But a fear of being discovered, and stigmatized, is driving many executives underground for help, said Debbie Ringler, a founder and vice president of the Career Center. "Many of them are scared of being exposed," she said. "Some of their staff is leaving, and they don't have the skills to pick up the slack. Or they're looking for a new job and don't have the most fundamental computer skills to make the leap."

Ms. Ringler recalled one executive who was sent to her by his company to learn a specific program. In fact, the executive knew nothing about computers, so instead of studying the program, he used the time to learn skills like word processing, spreadsheets and navigating the Internet. He made her promise not to give up their secret, she said.

Dan Kenyon, corporate sales manager at ExecuTrain, an international training firm, said it did very little teaching that was truly secretive.

Still, he said, "most of the executives that come in prefer privacy." Mr. Kenyon's company has tutored about 100 executives in the New York metropolitan area this year, a slight increase from previous years. "It's not a surprise," he said of the abundance of executives who need to be taught the basics. "It's more of a giggle."

Some relatively self-reliant - and guarded - executives are turning to tutoring programs that run on a computer. One is the Video Professor, a suite of computer CD's that allow users to learn everything from Windows to Lotus 1-2-3 to PhotoShop at their own desks, by themselves.

Still, secrecy can be hard to maintain. Michael Gallin, vice president of one of the oldest building contractors in New York, John Gallin & Sons, brought Ms. Shaheen to the office for secret instruction on using e-mail and mobile technology, like a personal digital assistant.

"We started out with her as a regular visitor,'' said Mr. Gallin, who is 46. "She didn't make any noise."

But eventually, he said, "people started to ask questions and the cat was out of the bag.''

"So I told them, 'She's here teaching me the computer and she's great,' " he added. " 'You should all try her out.' "

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