Learning: The Magic of Making Training FUN

I was watching the movie - I think Bourne Ultimatum and I liked the expression: Hope for the best Plan for the Worst

Is HR delivering on the promise of transformation? A great majority of the multinational companies globally have completed or are in the process of HR transformation. However many HR departments have yet to deliver on the transformation promise. There remains a significant gap between what is expected of HR leaders and what HR leaders deliver. Many research studies have reported that companies are being driven by the need to align the HR function more closely with business objectives and by the desire to offer more strategic support to the organisation. yet, the HR functions of very few companies are driving business outcomes. Many professionals from the financial profession view HR as a cost centre and one that is only essential for compliance. HR is not being seen as a strategic partner. Nevertheless HR executives perceive that they are spending more time on strategic activities. The two decades of work still does not show the impact of HR on business performance A small percentage o

Traditional Human Resources Management emphasises job descriptions. This helps neither the organisation nor the employee. Job descriptions were part of the industrial age. With the pace of change now, we have to move beyond the industrial age. Competency based HRM's focus on competencies enables the reinventing of the HR department. Competency becomes the foundation of all HR efforts. A concentrated focus on Competencies can accelerate productivity gains. Over the next few eeks I intend to cover this subject beyond what is described in my book Competency Management: a practitioners guide. In the next blog post, we will talk about the transformations that are taking place in HR.

I read the book Marketing Genius by Peter Fisk - a great book. Some of the ideas - Vision of Google, Rise of Starbucks, evolution of e bay and the focus of Apple make interesting reading.

I have spent the last few days in Melbourne, Australia. The days with academics in the University and some of the world's top CEO's of software companies was a refreshing experience. Who is a digital native? Most likely your children and Gen Y's. Digital Immigrants - needless to say it is more about people in their 40's and above. It was an interesting debate. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Victoria made 4 important points: 1. Solution Pull is always more effective than Technology push. It is about soultions not how great the technology is. 2. It is always the simple things that win in the market place. 3. All it requires is to work till we exceed the threshhold to get success such as Hot mail. 4. User interfaces and learner needs are more important than the features of your product. The business world here is buzzing with several new initiatives despite the elections here.

Time Management has always been a misnomer. We can never manage time, we can only manage ourselves with respect to time.That was a valid argument, I thought. Today, I read Tony Schwartz in this month's Harvard Business Review. He says most of us respond to rising demands in the workplace by working longer. This will inevitably lead to longer working hours and will take a toll on the physical, mental and emotional health. The core problem with time is that it is a finite resource.Energy is a different story. Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four main wellsprings in human being: the body, emotions, mind and spirit. While the body is all about physical energy; the emotions about the quality of energy; the mind the focus of energy and the human spirit the energy of meaning and purpose. In each, the energy can be expanded by establishing specific rituals with the goal of making them habits. We can make it a ritual to exercise in the gym everyday as some of u

Annual Performance Appraisals have always had mixed reviews. Managers do not like it because of the time consuming process and employees do not like it because of its perceived unfairness. The entire exercise loses the original intention of improving employee learning and performance and becomes a dreaded process. In a survey by New York based On Point Consulting, only slightly over 40% of line managers and HR Managers think there is value in a performance management process. While the tool by itself might be useful, the prevailing culture in an organisation is critical for its success. One way to improve is not to just do the annual appraisal but schedule quarterly meetings to discuss performance and make the meeting a feedback event. This requires managers to be coached. A successful performance management system should - 1. Help employees build their skills and competencies 2. Is consistently applied across the organisation 3. Uses a rating scale that enables differentiation of perf

We have talked about leading clever people, B players and preventing poor performance in the last few blogs. I was reviewing my old notes and then decided to check out what great economists had to say. Next week, we will see a quote from someone opposed to Keynes but for this week, I thought this quote from a great economist may make sense: "With the General Theory, as it became known, Keynes sought to develop a theory that could explain the determination of aggregate output - and as a consequence, employment . He posited that the determining factor to be aggregate demand. Among the revolutionary concepts initiated by Keynes was the concept of a demand-determined equilibrium wherein - unemployment is possible, - the ineffectiveness of price flexibility to cure unemployment, - a unique theory of money based on "liquidity preference", - the introduction of radical uncertainty and expectations, - the marginal efficiency of investment schedule breaking Say's Law (and thu

We talked about Leading Clever People and Effective Learning in the last couple of blogs. Over the last few weeks I had the opportunity to read the outstanding book FREAKONOMICS . If you have not read it, you MUST. The book will help every reader - all of us redefine the way we view the world. The most important lessons I learned from the book - the world may be complex but is not unknowable if we just can ask the RIGHT QUESTIONS . All it takes is a new way of looking. I liked the concept of Broken Windows. I first read it in Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell and now again in the FREAKONOMICS by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The concept first appeared in an article titled Broken Windows by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, which appeared in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly.The idea is based on the following example: "Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eve

How do we get learning to take place in a most effective manner? Just list a few: Good Schools Good Teachers Action Learning Experiential Education Adventure Learning E Learning Instructor led Learning Active Learning Accelerated Learning FUN learning We can go on discussing the various ideas proposed. Over the weekend I was rewriting my book The Magic of Making Training FUN! and as I was surfing the internet, I was overwhelmed by the amount of literature available out there. The bottom line still seems to focus on Attention, Participation, Retention and of course Transfer of learning. Education Queensland highlghts five principles: In essence, the principles emphasise the need to: understand the learner; understand the learning process; provide a supportive and challenging environment; establish worthwhile learning partnerships; shape and respond to, a variety of social and cultural contexts Let us explore these in the next couple of blogs. How do we develop people into clever peopl

Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones identify several things we need to know about leading clever people. It is essential to know the characteristics most clever people share, these collectively make them a difficult crew to manage. 1. They know their worth. 2. They are organisationally savvy. 3. They ignore corporate hierarchy. 4. They expect instant access. 5. They have good networks and are well connected. 6. They are bored easily. 7. They won't thank you and thye assume they know most of the things. 8. They are results oriented.

Signature experiences, Inclusiveness and Congruence seem to be the answer. The Harvard Business Review article by Tamara J Erickson and Lynda Gratton describes the need for every company to have a signature experience that sets it apart. In the War for Talent, many organisations talk about being employer of choice. Signature experiences explicitly communicate what makes your firm unique and can improve employee engagement and performance dramatically. My first question after reading the article was - are we doing that in our organisation? Matching other organisations with the right offer may be attractive enough to bring employees to the door but may not be good enough to bring great employees enthusiastic about their work and fiercely loyal to the organisation and its mission. To enhance the elements of engagement and to foster deeply committed employees, the following are needed: 1.A comprehensive understanding of the types of people who will be productive to the organisation over

The answer is EQ. When you bring intelligence to your emotion, it is known as Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Emotional Intelligence is often rated as the single most important differentiator for success in a highly competitive world. It is far more important than IQ - intelligence quotient. More importantly, EQ can be learned. We from the SMR Group had the honour of having dinner with the Honourable Secretary of Energy from the Philippines. To him, the entire day was a compact day. He said that with a smile. Speaking at several high profile events and meeting top diplomats had not put him under pressure. The sense of humour, he displayed was infectious. I loved his lines when he remarked in jest – “if you can’t dazzle them with your brilliance. Then baffle them with bullshit.” Laughter is indeed a great influencing tool. I relate this as I have had a packed day and have another packed few days. I am just about to collapse into bed late at night – past 130 am. Just imagine how well you

I spoke at the ARTDO Bali Conference. Around 300 participants attended the event. While I wished the Conference programme could have been more engaging, the hosts were very hospitable. And, Bali was wonderful. I happenned to read the monograph from Hay Consulting who were exhibiting at the event.Two key statements from the monograph attracted me: 1. The phrase 'our people are our greatest asset' may sound like a platitude, but the evidence is that this is true. 2. In evaluating CEO's, accountability for human capital is a key differentiator. What do you think?

The European Commission has presented a green paper - flexicurity - to balance flexible contracts with the need for job security. This system has been hugely successful in Scandinavia. The unions and employers have been unimpressed.

Talent Management: Don't forget the B players There is so much focus on the War for Talent. Everyone talks about the looming talent crisis. Stars, A players and the top 5% hog the limelight of all discussion. What about the B players? This afternoon I presented a tele seminar on the subject and late at night I was reading the magazine from the Institute of Personnel & Development, United Kingdom. The article Room for Growth made a huge impression on me. The story about Hilton Hotels learning strategy coincided with my thoughts on the subject. The international hotel chain believes it has internal talent that it needs to focus on. The business results have been impressive. The Company's long term plan is to fill 80% of its senior positions from within.

M-learning , or "mobile learning", now commonly known as "m Learning" promises to be the next learning revolution. From a survey of literature, it looks like it means different things to different people. Even though it seems to be close to e- learning and distance education, the primary focus seems to be on learning across contexts (learner mobility) with mobile devices . One definition you commonly find on the Internet is “ Learning that happens across locations, or that takes advantage of learning opportunities offered by portable technologies.” We talked about collaborative learning in the past blogs. We have a m learning product coming out next year. The last couple of days I have talked to at least three collaborators who seemed very excited about accommodating and supporting the learning of an increasingly mobile population. Imagine the difference we can make to learning in countries such as China, India and Indonesia. Their huge populations are connected to

Successful Companies enforce Postive Discipline. They are high on Emotional Intelligence, that does not mean being nice but straight to the point. My friend Uday calls it straight talk. What can we do to enforce positive discipline and get employees to recognise it is for their well being.

Yesterday we talked about Accountants with a heart and the benchmark data, to day, let us review the need for HR professionals to be business savy. One reason HR professionals have not been able to make headway is their inability to partner with business. Jim Kirkpatrick has time and again written about the need for business partnerships. Business Savvy is a competency in short supply among HR professionals. What can we do about it?

Succession Planning 76% Small and 72% Medium organisations have a program in place. Top HR Professional reporting to the CEO 88% of organisations ensure HR person reports to CEO. Employee Referral Bonus 68% Small & 92% Medium compnaies pay an employee referral bonus. Paid leave to volunteer 80% Small and 88% Medium organisations allow employees to take paid leave to volunteer. Source SHRM Magazine

Heinfield, Meech & Co. PC,an accounting practice,rated by their clients as "nice", "helpful" and "great staff" to describe the partners, believes that happy employees equal happy customers. FUN is a big part of the firm's culture. Their principal partner says that they don't have a 'gotcha' attitude but reverse their approach with a positive orientation - seeking what they can do or teach rather than catch. They practice diversity, team work and a strong service orientation. They recognise their power comes from helping the businesses. The company was rated one of the best 50 Small & Medium Companies to work for in America by the Society of Human Resources Management(SHRM), USA. Interesting piece from the SHRM magazine.

Effective leaders use decencies to build great workforces one gesture at a time. Steve Harrison writing in the HR magazine talks about examples of best practices that he calls as decencies. You can mould a company culture by adopting small decencies. In my own experience, I have either experienced some of these decencies with the people who I worked for or tried them out. It is about the way leaders choose to behave – the actions leaders embrace – every day, especially during the quite moments when we think no one is watching. Some of them are: 1. Be sure that nothing important or creative is perceived as the leader’s idea, 2. Write personal notes to employees and customers, 3. Walk an employee or a customer to the door, 4. Always greet people in a sincere way, 5. Make as many allies as you can within the organisation all the time, 6. Talk about disagreements in private personally and try to resolve them or atleast agree to disagree, 7. Let every employee have a sense of ownership – g

Yesterday we talked about the need to engage B players just as much as A players are important. Today, I like to look at the subject of weighing pay incentives. While everyone agrees that incentive plans should motivate the employees to perform at a superior level; they should not encourage them to engage in questionable behaviour. The story of fire fighters being paid incentives to respond to emergencies in a timely manner resulted in a firefighter resorting to arson to claim the incentives is a good one to consider when we plan incentive plans. While we have talked about collaboration and the need to engage employees, incentives cannot be forgotten. The first step in devising incentives is to determine whether they are right for your organisation and your employees. Several white papers have been published by the Society of Human Resource Management to guide employees.

Professor Thomas DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan in their article 'Let’s hear it for the B players' succinctly explain that though organizations downplay average performers because they lack the luster and ambition of stars, they may be the best supporting actors in times of need. I was pleased to hear that as I am certainly a B player who always attempts to hire A players. The argument that companies do not notice the importance of the B players and their roles in counter balancing the ambitions of the company’s high performing visionaries - whose esteemed strengths when carried to an extreme can lead to volatile behavior did make sense to me. With the abundance of literature on STARS, it was refreshing to read this article. The truth is that companies need to recognize their B players are not necessarily less intelligent than the STARS. While A players maybe demonstrate an achievement oriented behavior much more, the B player clearly demonstrates an aversion to calling atte

We have talked about Collaborative Learning to some extent in the last few blogs. Contnuing our discussions from the last blog I like to highlight some principles for learning effectiveness.For people to maximise their learning, there are at least six principles: 1. Create a positive learning environment 2. Ensure learner involvement is total 3. Make it collaborative for learners 4. Use variety to appeal to all learning styles 5. Make learning relevant to the workplace 6. Make it FUN.

Herein is some information on Magnets from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet#Characteristics_of_magnets. Continuing our discussion from yesterday on activity based events to accelearte learning and create a collaborative environment, let us see what the information is, then we will see what I learned from kids some activities that Karen used exceedingly well in her session with technical trainers. Magnets Magnets are materials that produce a magnetic field of their own. Extreme examples of magnets are (1) "hard" or "permanent" magnets (like refrigerator magnets), which remember how they have been magnetized, and (2) "soft" or "impermanent" magnets, which lose their memory of previous magnetizations. "Soft" magnetic materials are often used in electromagnets to enhance (often by factors of hundreds or thousands) the magnetic field of a current-carrying wire that has been wrapped around the magnet; when the current increases, so do

Collaborative Learning – Learning in a FUN way My colleague Karen was running a programme on Creative Training for an electrical utility. As the participants were technical trainers, we had to think of ways and means to get them engaged. Remember the three principles of collaborative learning: 1. Intentional Design 2. Co Labour 3. Meaningful Learning While I was thinking of strategies to achieve successful learning outcomes, I recollected Dave Meier’s words – an activity based event is often far superior to a presentation based one. I learned from my niece Meena and sons Maha and Subu on how a lesson on Magnets can be conducted in a very engaging and collaborative way. Karen was very enthusiastic to use the exercise and her experience was just outstanding. I will share the exercise tomorrow. The learning point is you get ideas for a collaborative learning session from unexpected sources like kids.

Visit www.hrdcongress.com to gain more details about Asia's premier learning event.

Visit www.hrdcongress.com to gain more details about Asia's premier learning event.

Learning from my mentor Tom Antion

Conflicts and not saying NO can mess you up As I was finishing up my day today, my colleague Robert Lim gave me some important lessons in Conflict management, even though it was pretty late. He was referring to intra personal conflict, conflict within oneself. To be specific, he was saying to me that there was a need to say NO! Not too many bosses would listen to a short lecture but I did. This is something that has intrigued me all my life. My father told me to learn to say NO!. My teachers told me to say NO! Well, I will admit it. My wife and sons have told me from time to time to say NO! Not that they are pretty good at it themselves. I have lost so much money simply because I was not able to say NO. In the Myers Briggs Type Indicator there are two dimensions the T and F – Thinking and Feeling. I agonise saying NO for fear of hurting people and in the process I have hurt myself. My psychological training places so much premium on treating people well that I just cannot bring upon m

I have been fascinated by Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat. I bought the 2005 book in 2006. I mentioned it in the Learn & Perform E News after a first reading in 2006. This morning, I had a chance to read it again. It is a master piece that no executive can afford to miss. I was at the hospital this morning for a series of check ups. In between the checks I had a re read. Oh, my goodness, it is indeed a powerful book. Full of stories and an underlying message that just does not allow you to put the book away. The hospital staff were pretty annoyed with me. And, I am sure my family is annoyed with me for staying so late to finish this blog post. I wish I had read it more times much before. The message that the world is flat, the playing field is levelled and the ten forces that flattened the world are a must to know for any executive. The Triple Convergence and the great sorting out again are powerful tips for survival and relevance in a competitive world. The words that anyt

I had the opportunity of running a teleseminar on the subject Collaborative Learning. The discussions revolved around Active Learning. The goal is to ensure we have no passengers. Though there were no objections to that remark, there was a valid question. One of the participants asked the question - How do we manage passengers in a teleseminar? Any thoughts.

The progressive transform simple lifes into great destinies. Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Nasser, George Washington, Mohammed Yunus are some great and outstanding people who started ordinary but created extraordinary feats. How can we collaborate to be progressive?

Over the Chinese New Year holidays, I was clearing my University papers and notes and I found some pieces of information very useful and relevant to this blog. The blog post start off with Trainer roles and deals with difficult conversations that everyone of us have to have with our colleagues and family. I have had to have them with my colleagues at work, my nephew and friends. It was and is never easy. We have great difficulty taking to bosses, colleagues and family something that we do not wish to discuss. We adopt the flight or fight mechanism. Trainer Roles Instructor, Trainer, Facilitator, Coach, Co-Learner are all trainer roles. They need to be viewed on a continuum, depending on the discipline, workshop objectives, personal training style and participant profiles. . Even though there is a great amount of debate among academics on the interpretation of a training role, one thing almost everyone agrees is that the role is much more than a dispenser of information . Collaborati

I was very pleased to read the comment to my last post. It was a short but to the point response. My comment that one person can derail was responded to by a simple statement – it may derail the train but so long as the passion to make the learning and work collaborative remains, the goal to help people learn and perform is paramount, such incidents are only rare obstacles. It may derail but the train can get back and up running very quickly with collaboration. The best swordsman does not need to fear the second best but only the antagonist who has never handled a sword before is true for the trainer. A participant who knows more than the trainer is not to be feared, the one to be feared is the one who has no knowledge at all and is in the training room as a very reluctant participant as he or she has been told to do. Dealing with a diversity of participants is always a challenge. It is here we address the issues of Trainer roles. Instructor, Trainer, Coach, Facilitator and Co Learner

I posted on Sunday ideas on how to implement collaborative learning. This week Monday and Tuesday were tough days. Hence this additional post tonight. Monday It was a day of intense preparations by my team to the Board. We learned how the Board of Directors can promote collaborative learning. Tuan Haji Ishak Hashim., a Director on our Board emphasized the need for democratic learning and what we can do about it. Insightful ideas, incisive action plans and a day of soul searching led to very meaningful learning as a result of co labouring due to intentional design. Tuesday A day most INFJ Chief Executives would worry about. On the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I am an INFJ. FJ executives tend to be more emotionally driven than TJ executives who are more logical. That is as simple as I can describe the MBTI. Suffice for now, that there is much more to be explained in MBTI but as an ISFJ, I had to grapple with decisions I had to make as a CEO. The day started pretty good. We ha

We have discussed in the last couple of blog postings on the need for collaborative learning. The discussions on the three essential components for collaborative learning - intentional design, co labouring and meaningful learning set the groundwork for our discussions. Sometimes the research on instructional methods is highly criticized for comparing average classroom sessions with carefully designed experiential learning. Hence, the need for comparing the best classroom session with the best experiential activity. Results show greater learner satisfaction, involvement and learning based on the results. Though most of the research is often in the educational setting, my own experiences in corporate training can vouch for it - I have found experiential learning extremely powerful. The criticism from practitioners that collaborative learning takes more time and results in the content not being followed is being overcome by the strong results. Collaborative learning when well done leads

Small Groups Enhance Learning We looked at collaborative learning and the three essentials for it. Our discussions revolved around the use of small groups for collaborative learning. I had the opportunity to visit a website that detailed how small groups can lead to effective learning. Small group work can enrich your learners’ learning experiences. Small groups are a good motivational tool because they add variety to an instructional activity and allow participants to learn in different ways. For example, by participating in small groups, some of your learners may be able to comprehend the content that they may find difficult in a lecture. Small group activities are also important because they help your learners learn social skills such as cooperation and communication, which they are not always able to do to the same extent in a regular lecture environment. In addition, some learners especially in an Asian situation - high context cultures, do especially well in small groups because

While working in small groups on a collaborative assignment, group members must increase their knowledge and deepen their understanding. The learning tasks must be structured to ensure the learning objectives are achieved. The responsibility for learning is shifted to the learners in a collaborative learning environment and the learning environment vibrates with high energy and FUN. All of this is useless if the learning is not meaningful. In summary, collaborative learning is about a small group of learners labouring together and sharing the workload equitably as they strive to achieve the learning outcomes.

All learners must engage actively together towards stated objectives. If one group member watches them it is not collaborative learning. Thiagi (www.thiagi.com) often says that there can be no passengers in a game. If there are, then the entire game becomes a flop. All students must contribute equally. If one person is watching the others complete a group task, then it is not collaborative learning. Elizabeth Barkley and colleagues (www.amazon.com/Collaborative-Learning-Techniques-Handbook-College/dp/0787955183) say that the meaning of the Latin based word collaborate shines through as clearly today as in antiquity: to co-labour. Equitable engagement is an important element. However it is useful to consider learning styles of the learners here. Whether all members receive the same group task or different tasks, all learners must contribute more or less equally. I say this because recently we had an experience where a participant dropped out of a programme that we conducted commenting

Collaborative Learning It is all about working with others. This is the thinking behind the 5 I’s in the book The Magic of Making Training FUN! Even though collaborative learning has been called by many different names, the essence of it all remains stills the same, working together to achieve shared learning goals cost effectively. Whatever names, it maybe called; there are three essential features 1. Intentional Design 2. Co Labour 3. Meaningful Learning Intentional Design Having a group exercise if of no use unless and until the facilitator structures intentional learning activities for the learners. Very often, I have seen facilitators give a group exercise simply to break the monotone of a lecture. There is no purpose of alignment to the learning objectives. And, the learning gained is also not processed adequately. In today’s world where there are many ready-made prescriptions available, facilitators may structure learning activities by choosing a suitable one from a list of pre

Why Small Groups? We promote the use of small groups for FUN learning in all our training programmes, as they are very effective in accelerating learning as well as maximising retention. Even though many learning professionals use small groups to enhance learning, I was often perplexed that very few of them actually know the thinking and the underlying foundations behind the use of small groups. There is a need to explore this subject in this blog to facilitate greater understanding over the use of small groups in learning. Practitioner’s perspective From a practitioner’s perspective, it makes sense, as it is easier to manage the participants in small groups. There has been extensive work from academic cum practitioners like Thiagi and Mel Silbermann. Practitioners like Bob Pike use round tables to get group work going while academics like Brufee provided clear epistemological distinction. Active Learning When I wrote the book The Magic of Making Training FUN, my colleague Dr Nat and

As I begin to blog more promptly, I must introduce to all of you the Google. Group FUNLearning. My interests in terms of research, consulting and training is firmly focussed on the areas of Learning & Performance/ Within this macro area, I have focussed on making learning FUN – ensuring the attention, participation and retention of the learning of the participants. Equally important is the transfer of the learning to the workplace. Our businesses within our SMR Group (Specialist Management Resources) maybe summed up as being in the Competency – Learning – Performance areas. Our software, consulting, training and outsourcing functions are all passionately committed to helping people learn and perform. Though in the past I have covered several areas in this blog with 14 postings over the last 3 years, they have all still focussed on the areas of learning & performance – leadership, talent management, competency & performance connection, Rainbow, Planning etcetera. My goal is

Hi! I have not been prompt with my blogs. I am sorry. However, my New Year resolution for 2007 is to be prompt. Starting with Jan, I plan to do it weekly before progressing to daily. Have a great year ahead. Happy New Year. Rgds Palan