Content about Punctuation

March 23, 2012
A Rant on Big Meetings

Traditional big meetings are the ultimate lose-lose. The organization spends tons of money and yet has little to show for it. Why? Because the entire focus is on the content and not on the attendees. All that matters is what’s being shown versus what’s being learned.

By Dan Cooper, CEO, ej4.com

A special piece of the classroom experience is a standard ritual in organizations—the traditional “big meeting.”

A front-line Marketing specialist attended the annual two-day sales extravaganza. The meeting consisted of a steady stream of product manager presentations for full eight-hour days, with a 15-minute break in the morning and afternoon.

March 5, 2012
Leading the Facebook Generation

Our younger colleagues keep us on top of our game, and we can learn a lot from them. Doing so requires that we take a fresh look at how we manage work and lead people. We should be looking for ways to give them opportunities to make the leaps forward based upon their mental models.

By Ty Kiisel, Manager, Social Outreach, AtTask, Inc

I work with a team of mostly young people. Except for the fact that I’m a 50-something guy who rides a Harley rather than a 20-something guy who rides a bullet bike, there’s no real generation gap among my colleagues. Of course, there are some age-related differences, but, for the most part, they are minor things less associated with work and more related to fashion and other personal preferences.

February 22, 2012
Your Secret Weapon—Your Scorecard

Track every action that relates to the area of your life you want to improve, advises Darren Hardy, author of “The Compound Effect.” Simply carry around a small notebook and a writing instrument. You’re going to write it all down. Every day. Without fail. The biggest difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people are not.

By Darren Hardy

I’m about to walk you through one of the single greatest strategies I’ve ever used in my personal development. This strategy helps me take control of the choices I make throughout the day, causing everything else to fall into place, and leading to behaviors and actions that shepherd my habits into line like dutiful, loyal minions.

February 22, 2012
Your Secret Weapon—Your Scorecard

Track every action that relates to the area of your life you want to improve, advises Darren Hardy, author of “The Compound Effect.” Simply carry around a small notebook and a writing instrument. You’re going to write it all down. Every day. Without fail. The biggest difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people are not.

 

By Darren Hardy

I’m about to walk you through one of the single greatest strategies I’ve ever used in my personal development. This strategy helps me take control of the choices I make throughout the day, causing everything else to fall into place, and leading to behaviors and actions that shepherd my habits into line like dutiful, loyal minions.

February 10, 2012
This Week in Training: February 13th—17th

See what's new in Training this week!

 

Everything from new articles on our website to new webinars in our social learning community, get a preview of this week’s activity at Training magazine.

January 24, 2012
Conference Highlight: The End from the Beginning

Design training with the end in mind for efficiency and effectiveness.

 

Training 2012 Conference & Expo speaker Dave Goodman gives real-life examples of the value of new perspectives.

January 20, 2012
Conference Highlight: Create a Powerful Executive Presence

You may have the right knowledge, the right skills, even the right attitude, but if your presence lacks, so does your training.

 

Training 2012 Conference & Expo speaker Dianna Booher explains the importance of communicating through our presence just as strongly as our words:

January 18, 2012
Open Communication Boosts Profit

While communication typically is considered a “soft skill” that’s often overlooked in machine-filled manufacturing plants focused on production, many of the ills in manufacturing are actually symptoms of poor communication. Once better communication is established, the manufacturer’s bottom line often can increase by 10 percent or more very quickly.

By Del Williams

Mishandling communication can cost a manufacturer—from missed orders, quality issues, and running out of material to increased scrap, absenteeism, and turnover, to misunderstanding customer need and selling the wrong product. Separate silos of information can arise between functional departments, to the point where it’s almost necessary to introduce Engineering to Production and Sales to Accounting.

January 13, 2012
You Like Me, Right? I Mean Really Like Me?

We want our clients to like us. Sometimes we assume they like us, or that we satisfy, delight, inspire, them. But do we know and can we ask? It’s always nice to check in and confirm what we know—in all of our relationships. Head off a small problem before it’s a big one. And just like being thanked—it’s always appreciated.

By Julie Bennett, Training Account Manager, Signature Worldwide

We want our clients to like us. Sometimes we assume they like us, or that we satisfy, delight, inspire, them—add in your word du jour. But do we know and can we ask? It’s always nice to check in and confirm what we know—in all of our relationships. Head off a small problem before it’s a big one. And just like being thanked—it’s always appreciated.

January 4, 2012
Differences in Leadership

Few innovations from a best practice study are transferable from one person to another, even though they all came from top performers doing the same job, at the same level, in the same organization, discovered Marcus Buckingham, author of “StandOut: The Groundbreaking New Strengths Assessment From the Leader of the Strengths Revolution.”

By Marcus Buckingham

December 16, 2011
Break Your Own Rules: Proceed Until Apprehended

There are plenty of instances in life when proper protocol entails obeying the rules. However, there are many othertimes when you need to give yourself the green light to proceed. Being bold and resolute takes practice. Here are some hints to help you proceed until apprehended.

By Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath, and Mary Davis Holt

There are plenty of instances in life when proper protocol entails obeying the rules. However, there are many othertimes when you need to give yourself the green light to proceed.

Being bold and resolute takes practice. The best way to add assertiveness to your repertoire is by looking for opportunities to flex your muscles. Here are some hints to help you proceed until apprehended:

November 9, 2011
Values? What For?

It is time to put an end to the old-fashioned vision of a company: one that makes a company look completely “commercial” or only “ethical,” says Thierry Wellhoff, author of “Values.” Marketing or ethics? Marketing andethics! It is high time that companies reconcile these economic and societal dimensions.

By Thierry Wellhoff

In the corporate environment, the subject of values often is viewed either with mistrust—and there have been many cavils, at times exaggerated—or with a zeal that may induce dizzying hopes, or end in bitter disappointment.

October 7, 2011
Are There Ways to Survive Tough Times?

At the end of the day, the reality is that everyone is replaceable. What you are trying to do is make it such that when your leaders sit around a table going through the tough process of determining whom in their organization they can do without, your name is the one they put on the list as the kind of talent they have to find more of.

By Robert Knowling, Chairman, Eagles Landing Partners

October 7, 2011
Trainer Talk: Listen, Learn, and Then Speak

Before you think about who you need to speak to, think about who you might need to spend some time listening to. It could be work related, but it just as easily could be a child, a spouse, or a parent. The awesome power of the listening ear will give amazing power to your voice when you use it.

By Bob Pike

Which is more important to the training and performance professional: speaking or listening? Please…right now…before you read on…think of your answer in this moment…then write it down. Have you done that? I hope so. You’ll gain more from this article if you did.

September 29, 2011
From There to Here

It would be so easy if there were a clear pathway that guaranteed success, says Bob Knowling, author of  “You Can Get There From Here: My Journey From Struggle to Success.” That doesn’t exist. But in its place is a reliable, tested strategy that will always work to advance your interests, Knowling believes. He is certain about the central element at the heart of most success stories: You have to really want to win.

By Bob Knowling, Chairman, Eagles Landing Partners

September 27, 2011
Every Conversation Is an Opportunity

The busy pace of communications in today’s work environment can make it all too easy for us to react our way through the day. Being aware of what we are sayingand understanding how what we sayin any given conversation will have a life beyond the moment it is spoken is an important component to the productivity of any company.

By Kevin T. McCarney

August 11, 2011
The Lifetime Value of a Customer

Do we sometimes look at our customers for their one transaction and not their lifetime value? Maybe they are only spending $100 for their room tonight, while others are paying twice that. Maybe our attitude toward them reflects that. If we could see their personal tote board, what they have brought to us in the past and what they can bring in the future, we might treat them in a manner that says, “Thank you, we appreciate it.”

By Julie Bennett, Training Account Manager, Signature Worldwide

July 21, 2011
Key to HR Success: Control

Are you in control of all things that impact your value? If your answer is “No,” then there is not an article, job role, or vendor product that’s going to cure your woes. How do we fix this? Here’s one thing to get the change started: Manage the life-cycle. Talent Management, Performance Management, Organizational Development, call it what you want, but manage all of it.

By Richard Lynell

I was reading an article the other day, “Delivering Value to the Business,” and while I can say I thought the author was heading in the right direction, she quickly moved from what was a challenge to what her employer’s HCM system could do for you. My concern with the article is she never really got to the underlying issue for HR: control. You see I believe that Training, and HR in general, can do a lot more within the organization than the current organizational structure and/or mindset allows.

July 18, 2011
Impromptu Speaking Tips

Speaking in public often is considered to be one of the worst fears people have. Impromptu speaking, where you have little time to prepare, is even more frightening for many people. Here is a summary of advice and insights from several sources to help you to quickly develop and deliver an effective and entertaining impromptu speech.

By Rick Sheridan, Assistant Professor of Communications, Wilberforce University

Speaking in public often is considered to be one of the worst fears people have. Impromptu speaking, where you have little time to prepare, is even more frightening for many people. Here is a summary of advice and insights from several sources to help you to quickly develop and deliver an effective and entertaining impromptu speech.

June 6, 2011
Trainer Talk: Education vs. Training

Training is about applying knowledge and skills to get results. It is not knowledge alone. As a trainer, if you haven’t caught it, I haven’t taught it. Training is a partnership. My job is to inspire, empower, and equip you to get results. So what can you do? Here are six things you can beginning doing now—if you’re not already.

By Bob Pike

Are you a trainer—or an educator—and why is the difference so critical?

I once was asked to be the opening keynote speaker at a national conference for people who trained first responders: emergency medical technicians, paramedics, etc. As I prepared for the presentation, I asked this question: “Is there anything I need to be particularly sensitive to—topics, vocabulary, etc?”

The response was, “Yes, do not use the word, ‘trainer.’ Our attendees are called educators, not trainers.”

May 9, 2011
Examining Executive Presence

Organizations are concerned. Executives are worried. And HR representatives are freaking out. All because of executive presence. No matter what the industry, the question arises, “How can we create executive presence?” A look at the reasons behind this concern and tactical ways to address the issue.

 

By Karen Hough, founder and CEO, ImprovEdge

Organizations are concerned. Executives are worried. And HR representatives are freaking out. All because of executive presence. I’ve been working with C-level executives for well over a decade, but in the last 24 months, the issue has exploded. No matter what the industry, the question arises, “How can we create executive presence?” Let’s talk about reasons behind this concern and tactical ways to address the issue.

What Is Executive Presence?

May 2, 2011
Surviving Report Writing

Is writing a report a daunting task? Would you rather have a root canal? Do you dread writing a report for your boss? Do you need to teach others to write reports? Writing effective reports does not have to be intimidating. If you follow a few basic guidelines and view the task as manageable parts, your report can be completed without too much frustration.

By Dr. Rhonda Rhodes and Dr. Joyce Kupsh

Is writing a report a daunting task? Does the task seem terrifying and arduous? Would you rather have a root canal? Do you dread writing a report for your boss? Do you need to teach others to write reports?

Writing effective reports does not have to be intimidating. If you follow a few basic guidelines and view the task as manageable parts, your report can be completed without too much frustration. The manageable parts are: Organizing, Starting, Writing, Polishing, Producing, and Finishing.

April 11, 2011
Training Made Easy: Hire a College Grad

It will take recent grads a while to ramp up, I don’t deny that. But the ramp up is often hilarious, they hit the ramp running, go at it happy and hard, and live in the present. Recent grads are dialed in to learning. They catch on faster as a result. We could solve all our training and most of our hiring problems today if you would do as I do and purposely hire people who are not unqualified, but simply not yetqualified.

By Danny Cahill

Let’s start with this: If you hire a college grad, you’d be training someone grateful. I train trainers, and of all the whining they do—and they do their share—their big complaint is, “How do I tell this know-it-all in my training class that we simply don’tdo it that way here?” College grads don’t whine. They smile. They laugh. Their energy is infectious. They’re happy to be wherever they are.

October 18, 2010
BB&T's Best Practices in University Partnership
When BB&T (along with Bank of America, First Union, and Wachovia) departed from the North Carolina Bankers Association in 1997—an act that made employees of those banks ineligible to attend the North Carolina School of Banking (at UNC-Chapel Hill)—the company responded by creating the BB&T Banking School at Wake Forest University. BB&T has since rejoined the North Carolina Bankers Association, but has continued to operate its own internal school—the only one of its kind in the United States.
By Margery Weinstein When BB&T (along with Bank of America, First Union, and Wachovia) departed from the North Carolina Bankers Association in 1997—an act that made employees of those banks ineligible to attend the North Carolina School of Banking (at UNC-Chapel Hill)—the company responded by creating the BB&T Banking School at Wake Forest University. BB&T has since rejoined the North Carolina Bankers Association, but has continued to operate its own internal school—the only one of its kind in the United States.
October 1, 2010
Last Word: The Note

While writing thank you notes is one of the most basic pieces of business etiquette 
advice, it often is ignored, which can result in unfortunate consequences.

By Peter Post

The young woman suddenly raised her hand. I was giving a talk at the Penn Club in New York City. I had just mentioned the importance of writing a thank you note, and clearly I had struck a nerve.