Ram Charan to HR Managers: Build a ‘People Engine’ Geared for Results, Not Vision
Last week I had the great pleasure of hearing Ram Charan speak at the Bay Area Executive Development Network meeting. The theme of Charan’s talk was how the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) can add value and build a people engine that will help the business achieve its objectives. Charan has … Read more
Are You Using a Training Design Zoom Lens?
The lens through which we examine information can either help or hinder our ability to make good design decisions. Zoom in too close, and you may get overwhelmed or lose sight of the business strategies that training is supposed to support. Zoom out too far, and you may miss the warning signs of a changing environment that requires trainees to learn new skills or knowledge. Read more
Training Lessons from Seinfeld: Lesson #3 – Do the Opposite
It’s easy to get stuck in a design rut whenever there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. Re-using and re-purposing design elements that have served you well in the past is one great way to enhance your efficiency, but over time, it can lead to a course library that lacks visual identity or personality. When your 20th course starts to look and feel like a carbon copy of your first course, it may be time to stop what you’re doing and apply George Costanza’s “do the opposite” theory. Read more
Not Measuring ROI for Training? Then Don’t Bother With the Investment
Although many learning professionals talk about the importance of conducting return on investment (ROI) analysis of training programs, few actually do it. Many reasons are given for not conducting this level of analysis. One reason is that time and resources are limited and learning professionals have many other programs to … Read more
How to Transform Old Training Content into New Performance Support Tools
Our society has a ravenous appetite for just-in-time information. In the world of “there’s an app for that,” we don’t want to read a book or take a class to learn things when a simple keyword search will do. And this desire for self-directed, easy access to information doesn’t just vanish when we go to work. For most trainees (particularly the millenials) this is an expectation of the modern workplace – and it means that trainers must embrace opportunities to re-imagine old-school content into new-era performance support tools. But when you’re staring down a catalog of old school classroom training content, where do you start?
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