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February 19, 2013
Training Today: Dive Into 2013 Training Trends

In the Words Consulting offerssome trends training professionals should consider tapping into in 2013 (if you haven’t already).

In the Words Consulting offers some trends training professionals should consider tapping into in 2013 (if you haven’t already):

August 10, 2012
Losing It in One Easy Presentation

Author Bill Lane has seen only a few a careers destroyed at senior management levels by awful presentation skills. But he has seen more careers destroyed, or set back, as a consequence of one poorly prepared, rambling, artless, and useless presentation. Find out what NOT to do when it comes to presentations.

By Bill Lane

I have seen only a few a careers destroyed at senior management levels by awful presentation skills. But I have seen more careers destroyed, or set back, as a consequence of one poorly prepared, rambling, artless, and useless presentation.

Here’s how to do it—how to “Lose It” in one business presentation:

August 8, 2012
3 Ways to Unleash Someone’s Potential

The best things you can do to facilitate someone else’s success go beyond addressing their skills, behaviors, habits, and mindsets. Unleashing potential in others is about three things: seeing them for who they can become, holding them accountable to that vision, and then walking the walk yourself.

By Rory Vaden

I study successful people for a living. I’m fascinated by what makes them tick, and the behaviors and habits that drive them to achieve great things while the rest of us settle for mediocrity. I use the insights gained over the years to help other people become more successful, and have learned that the best things you can do to facilitate someone else’s success go beyond addressing their skills, behaviors, habits, and mindsets. Unleashing potential in others is about three things:

August 1, 2012
Building a Gender-Diverse, Gender-Inclusive Culture

“Inclusion” is about how people experience the workplace. An inclusive leader creates an environment in which as many in the organization as possible, regardless of their “diversity profile,” are engaged. Recruiting diverse talent is hard enough. But creating inclusiveness may be even more of a challenge. One solution is to start with the group that offers the greatest “bang for the buck” and practice inclusion on that group.

By Caroline Turner

The term, “diversity,” is a bit “yesterday.” It brings to mind quotas, affirmative action, and other means of ensuring people in an organization don’t all fit the same profile. In any event, diversity alone is generally not adequate. To leverage the benefits of a diverse team, and to sustain diversity, the culture must be “inclusive.” The best workplace cultures are both diverse and inclusive.

July 27, 2012
A Revolution in Business Technology Creates a New Talent Gap

Over the course of the last few years, a series of innovations have fundamentally altered the way businesses function. As technology moves from the back end to become increasingly a part of each employee’s everyday tool set, these changes have created a gap in skills that many organizations now are struggling to fill—a gap that blends the needs of IT with sales, marketing, and other departments, and may be best bridged through training rather than hiring.

By Eric Berridge, Co-Founder, Bluewolf

Over the course of the last few years, a series of innovations have fundamentally altered the way businesses function. As technology moves from the back end to become increasingly a part of each employee’s everyday tool set, these changes have created a gap in skills that many organizations now are struggling to fill—a gap that blends the needs of IT with sales, marketing, and other departments, and may be best bridged through training rather than hiring.

July 23, 2012
Self-Image, Self-Communication, and Performance

Self-image is essentially how you view yourself—what strengths and weaknesses you believe you possess and what you believe you are capable of achieving. Self-image management starts with consistently sending the correct messages to yourself about yourself. Continually focusing on experiencing the success you desire causes your own belief in your ability to grow.

By Jason Selk

July 20, 2012
How to Run More Interactive Meetings

Don’t let your meetings turn into a weekly data dump. Surely, with all the new methods of communication (e-mail, company portals, etc.), you can find a way to disseminate data effectively. Instead, use your meeting time to share ideas and listen to your people. And, every meeting should have some element of training.

By Darryl Rosen

Do you use meetings to routinely dump mounds of facts, features, goals, and inventory levels on your team? Do your meetings exist solely for the purpose of disseminating information, or is some interaction built into the agenda?

July 18, 2012
Always Be Ready

Identify about a dozen 10- to 20-minute activities you need to do over the next 10 days. Bring these small work chunks with you wherever you go. While waiting for a meeting to start or for a delayed flight to depart, you’ll be able to reply to an e-mail or phone call or review materials for a project you are working on.

 

July 18, 2012
Best Practices: Training Across Time Zones

While time zone problems seem clear, being aware of the differences in time and reaching compromises to reconcile those differences will help make your training more effective.

By Neal Goodman, Ph.D.

A major leader in the manufacturing industry was poised to launch a new series of lessons for its leaders around the world. The sessions would take place in offices around the world but begin with a single teleconference for all participants to introduce the series. The organizers were proactive in converting the time zone difference for all participants, but unfortunately, they didn’t account for some (but not all) time zones observing Daylight Saving Time. As a result, nearly one-third of the participants called into the meeting an hour late.

July 18, 2012
Early Warning Strategy for At-Risk Diversity Hires

With all the effort that goes into diversity hiring, a new hire survey strategy can help preserve the investment while also combating early attrition for new employees overall.

By Beth N. Carvin, President and CEO, and Kerrie Main, Journalist, Nobscot Corporation

July 18, 2012
I Want to Work There!

Can training help organizations foster engagement?  We looked at the 2012 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list (produced by Great Place to Work Institute) to find leaders in employee engagement and cross-checked it with our 2012 Training Top 125 and Training Top 10 Hall of Fame lists, which boast leaders in training. Some 19 companies appear on both lists; here are 12 of their stories, plus tips you can apply in your own organization.

By Lorri Freifeld

“TGIM” (Thank God, It’s Monday) is phrase rarely heard from employees. But most organizations wish it were. Research continues to show that engaged employees are productive employees. And productive employees mean a bigger bottom line.

July 18, 2012
Last Word: Less Teaching…More Learning

To engage your learners and ensure knowledge transfer, incorporate a four-pronged approach in your training sessions.

By Michael Rosenthal

Q: While I have been working in L&D for several years, the combination of a promotion and a consolidation now demands that I facilitate soft-skills workshops, as well. I want my sessions to stand out, engage the audience, and result in knowledge transfer. Any tips?

July 18, 2012
Training magazine Events: Blowing Up the Classroom?

At Learning 3.0, we’ll explore how the rapid pace of technology literally is exploding the classroom as we know it from two different perspectives.

By Tony O’Driscoll

his summer I visited the Lost Colony in Manteo, NC, with my son, Aidan, for a school trip. Aidan’s fourth-grade class was instructed to find out all they could about how the 107 people tasked with establishing the colony mysteriously disappeared.

July 18, 2012
Training Today: Paying It Forward Pays Back

 

High-potential talent who were themselves mentored, coached, or sponsored to advance in their careers are more likely to “pay it forward” by developing the next generation of leaders, according to a Catalyst report, “Leaders Pay It Forward.”

 

July 18, 2012
Training Today: Survive and Thrive at Work

 

Why do otherwise brilliant and successful people crash and burn at work? A speechwriter for former GE CEO Jack Welch for nearly 20 years, Bill Lane lays out often-overlooked causes of failure at work and shows how to avoid them in his book, “Losing It.” Here are his 10 tips for surviving and thriving at work.

 

July 18, 2012
World View: Focus on Spain

 

Spanish culture is relationship oriented and somewhat hierarchical, and the people are flexible, as well as multi-focused in that they tend to divert their attention among various issues and obligations. Spaniards generally will do their best to make the training experience warm, fun, and meaningful for everyone.

By Rob Giardina

July 17, 2012
Life Is What You Make It

Creating and maintaining a positive attitude is the most efficient and low-cost investment you can make to improve your life. A positive way of thinking is a habit that must be learned through repetition and conscious effort on your part.

By Liggy Webb, Founding Director, The Learning Architect

I am delighted that I will be doing a monthly online column for www.trainingmag.com, and I am looking forward each month to sharing with you positive and insightful information. My work as a presenter and writer takes me all over the place, and as an international consultant with the United Nations I go to some fascinating places.

July 12, 2012
Educating a Better Customer

In the hospitality industry, the more time and patience you invest in your guests and the more you “educate” them on “how things work,” the more they can become the “dream guest.” You are the hospitality associate who took the time to make their life on the road easier. This will result in not only higher, customer-service satisfaction scores, but will build loyalty because you made it all about them.

By Norma Jarman, Training Account Manager, Signature Worldwide

A customer may not know about the skills needed to succeed…but they know what does not work. How can we condition a customer to stay at our hotel property repeatedly?

For us Road Warriors, that time of year when our patience will be pushed to its limit is quickly coming upon us—the summer travel season!

July 12, 2012
Preparing for the Future

The successful manager identifies and meets emerging issues before they take a toll. Based upon studies of the business climate, counseling with top corporations, and insight into business problems and challenges, here are the major emerging issues of the next two years that can open new doors for companies that are prepared.

By Hank Moore Corporate Strategist

The business climate ahead is tough and filled with uncertainty. Those who believe the old ways still work shall fall by the wayside. Innovation and the ability to fill new niches signal the successful businesses of the future.

Take this quick test, as part of your strategic planning for the next two years:

July 6, 2012
The Art of Interviewing Like a Pro

Focusing on the needs of others is one of the secrets to mastering the interview process and landing great opportunities. If you can find out at the beginning of the conversation what the interviewer is hoping for in/from a new hire, the rest of the dialogue has a much higher probability of being useful and relevant.

By Michael B. Junge

June 27, 2012
How-To: Journal the Journey

Formalize the feedback loop by keeping a journal of what you do every day. Acknowledge what you did, how things are going, and where you plan to focus your attention next.

By Jason Womack, MEd, MA, Founder and CEO, The Jason Womack Company

We love to read about life. We talk about what happened, who’s doing what, and where people are going. One look at the newsstand in a bookstore or airport and the headlines of what people did compete for your attention!

June 25, 2012
Using 3-D Animated Video for Workforce Training

Digital 3-D modeling and animation technology has been used for decades in the scientific, architectural, and engineering industries, but its high cost has limited its use in more common, everyday applications. But a drop in price and steady increase in computing power has opened the technology up to more mainstream markets.

By Joelle Scheldorf

Media designer Ruben Jauregui studies one of two widescreen computer displays on his desk. It shows an image of an industrial machine, dense with rollers, servomotors, and other mechanical components.

“It’s called an Embosser,” Jauregui explains. “It’s used for combining two paper plies together. This model took me three weeks to make. It can take less, but this one was pretty complicated.”

June 18, 2012
Mission Impossible

Millions of people are successful at what they do but have never done the impossible. Achieving the impossible requires openness to change. Achieving the impossible requires taking risks. Achieving the impossible requires a journey into the unknown. Here are The Seven Guideposts to Achieving the Impossible.

By Guy L. Smith IV, Executive Vice President, Diageo North America, and the Diageo North America Corporate Relations Team

How many times in your life has someone said to you, “You can’t do that; that’s impossible”? You just can’t do it!” A parent? A teacher? A coach? A colleague at work? Your boss?

“It’s impossible to do that. No one has ever done that.”

“You can never go faster than the speed of sound.”

“Man cannot fly.”

June 15, 2012
What Business Acumen Can Do for You

Many people, even those with jobs that others think of as incredibly complex, view their business much like rocket science: a lot of complexity, hard-to-understand data and formulas, communications in a language that barely resembles English. Yet most of them wish they could more clearly understand the business of their business and how to help their companies perform better. What they seek is business acumen.

By Kevin Cope, Founder, Acumen Learning

Years ago a colleague of mine was consulting with a group of senior NASA managers at Cape Canaveral. He tried to explain, in simple terms, an organizational change strategy. The managers seemed confused. In an effort to clarify, he said, “Please don’t make this more complicated than it is. It’s not rocket science.” To which they sincerely answered, “We wish it were. We’d understand it better!”

June 13, 2012
What Makes an Exceptional Leader?

Leadership lessons learned from the polar adventures of Shackleton, Scott, and Amundsen.

By Dennis N.T. Perkins

“For scientific discovery, give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel, give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” —Sir Edmund Hillary