Learning: The Magic of Making Training FUN

Vietnam is a country gripped by fierce patriotism. The goal on the top of each Vietnamese mind is to recover from the war that destroyed generations. I had the opportunity to speak at The Talent Management Conference organized by SMR Group and our local partners AITC at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce. Simultaneous translation was provided and the focus of the event was unique – make Vietnamese talent a premier one in the region. The 250 participants were exposed to a variety of speakers. The number of government enterprises is going down substantially and free enterprise is blossoming in Vietnam. Our local partner bought a book to understand Vietnamese history and I had the chance to take a photograph with the legendary President Ho Chi Minh. Organisations that have focused on their people and on their future people needs are likely to be the winners in the next expansion cycle.

Tomorrow I speak at a CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) event - the Trainers Meet Trainers KL. The subject - Collaborative Learning. I will focus on three areas: Intentional design Co-Labour Meaningful learning

I have been in the Middle East for the last two weeks. Fascinating and incredible are words that I can use to describe my experience.While the oil is hitting the $110/- a barrel, the US$ is falling to an all time low and there is a talk about the dollar peg with most of the Middle East countries being discontinued, the growth in the region just left me speechless. The quest to be the best and to learn faster than the neighbours is evident in every citizen in these countries. Their investments in education are substantial just as they are putting up the infrastructure. I also had the chance to read the book the secrets of a millionaire mind. You must read it - simple and easy to read book.

It is quite a while since I posted the last blog. I have been travelling through to four countries. While navigating through the cold weather of Chicago, I found two motivating incidents: 1. The momentum of Barack Obama in the US elections was staggering; he is very likely to be the next president of the United States of America. 2. He seemed to sell the idea that“The best performance improvement is the transition from the non-working state to the working state.” There is certainly a lot of excitement in the air and as Senator Ted Kennedy said " I feel change is in the air."

Appraisals get done by now for most organisations. The question now is how to translate these performance objectives into reality. Until now many organisations have focused on looking at historical performance management methods. If we drive looking at the rear mirror, we are very likely to crash. With plans in place, there is a need to look forward resulting in forward looking performance management. Anthony Politan says you can integrate what if scenarios with traditional budgeting and planning systems to change faster than industry norms and acquire a competitive advantage, Such an approach he says takes performance management to the next level. Visit this webpage to get to know more about taking performance management tot he enxt level. http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/articles_taking_performance_management_next_level.html

2008 is here. I like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year.

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...