Learning: The Magic of Making Training FUN

This is a great piece by Marshall Goldsmith and Kelly Goldsmith One of the great causes of corporate dysfunction is the glaring gap between “I say” and “they do.” It’s a huge mistake to assume that just because people understand, then they will do. A few years ago, I saw a doctor for back problems. After running a few tests, the doctor sat me down and quickly rattled off 10 different exercises that I was supposed to do regularly. He assumed that once he had made the correct diagnosis and told me what to do, his job was done. Knowing about communication, I realized there was no way that I was going to remember what he said, much less do it. But he had checked the box on his to-do list. Time for the next patient! Like this doctor, leaders all too often believe that their organizations operate with strict down-the-chain-of-command efficiency. In a perfect world, every command is not only obeyed but obeyed precisely and promptly, almost as if it were a fait accompli. The manager never h...

You have a great opportunity at this year's Trainers Meet Trainers in Kuala Lumpur to hear experts such as Thiagi and Ed Scannel. More details from grace@smrhrgroup.com My colleague Karen Ong runs the programme Accredited Training Professional at several venues around the world. The programme based on my book The Magic of Making Training FUN attempts to increase learner effectiveness. I came across David Sousa’s work. David A. Sousa’s ideas are valuable for all of us who would like to accelerate learner effectiveness at the workplace. We echo all of his ideas in our programmes. Take for example the need for the First I – Introduction, in the programme, with the use of warm ups. The main objective is to create a positive environment for the learner, to get them excited about what they are going to learn. Sousa says : Relieve stress and help people feel positive about their learning environment. It will release endorphins in the blood, which gives a feeling of euphoria and sti...

To get a copy of the session notes please email palan99@hotmail.com

It was a wonderful experience delivering the opening keynote at the PSMB 2011 National Convention. I spoke on the subject - 5 HR Best Practices. the Conference theme was an interesting one: New Human Capital - what’s beyond. Change was a buzzword. We as HR practitioners know that we need to adopt new strategies to cope with these changes. Every government talks about a high income economy – this can only be driven by quality talent.

April 19th is a day that will be etched firmly in my memory. It was a great day in my life. His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Perak bestowed on me the title of '‘Dato’' , it was a great honour. My wife and I were extremely nervous but delighted with the recognition. It was a recognition for the Human resources community

I was looking at one of Bob Pike's old newsletters. He talks of the 90/20/8 rule. Adults can listen with understanding for 90 minutes. They can listen with retention for 20 minutes. We need to involve them every 8 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes learners may comprehend what is being taught but they cannot retain the information. Look at Bob Pike's Creative Training Techniques book to get more information.

The use of humour to support learning is not new. John Cleese of Video arts fame helped to pioneer the use of humour in corporate training with great training videos such as Meetings Bloody meetings. He sold his training video company with all the great humour training videos for great sum of money. The power of humour is becoming increasingly valued in the business world, and there is a growing trend towards trainers and facilitators acquiring the skills that will help them to introduce humour into sessions as they see fit, rather than simply putting on a video and sitting back to watch. Improv is a tool to help trainers learn the art of spontaneity as it is humour and not jokes that makes an impact on the learner. Visit http://appliedimprov.ning.com/profile/KatKoppett Dawn Smith looks at the link between humour and learning, and how laughter can be used in the training room to help make the message stick. Visit http://www.businesszone.co.uk/item/172912

This is the one question I get asked very often. FUN is a facilitative factor to deliver content, a required condition. The answer to the question depnds on how much we can redesign the content to make it interactive and engaging.

After a long time, I return to blogging today. The last blog I wrote seems so long ago, on April 11th, 2010. Coincidentally, the two liner I had extracted from a Chinese proverb was: “A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.“ The reasons for not being able to write I guess can be explained by the mad routines we force upon ourselves. We claim to be busy, I guess I was too. And, it is such a useless word when we are unable to do what we want to do. Over the last few months, I have increasingly enjoyed the company of my four year old daughter, particularly after the very successful and hectic Asia HRDCongress 2010 Kuching, Sarawak. This evening after a long walk with my four year old daughter, I realised that I have been taking life too seriously. I recalled the words of three friends this late evening. Jeremy Spoor, a former colleague and a wonderful trainer from the United Kingdom used to talk about stopping to reflect once in a while. My frien...

A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study. ~Chinese Proverb

I was there at the Sime Darby Lecture series with my colleague Subra to listen to Prof Ram Charan, renowned author and former Harvard Professor. Simple message: Leaders work on their basics just like athletes do. And, they are not shy of hiring people who are more clever than them.

The ASTD report: Bridging the Skills Gap: new Factors compounding the growing skills shortage covers the growing importance of talent to organisational performance and the growing skills gaps that threaten many organisations today. A Skills gap is identified as a significant gap between an organisation’s capabilities and the skills it needs to achieve its goals. Communities, regions and nations pay a heavy price when they cannot find or equip workers with the right skills for the right jobs. Jobs are changing and educational attainment is lagging; current global economic challenges may result in a jobless recovery where organisations may put off new hires and achieve productivity gains with existing employees. Such situations may provoke the social fabric prevailing in many developing and emerging economies. Each individual is responsible for his or her own learning if they want to gain high pay or keep their jobs.

I watched this lovely film today with my family. Enjoyed it immensely. The message do what you are passionate about and follow your heart resonated with me. Become an engineer if you desire so, become a photographer if you desire so not because of parental or peer pressure. All is Well were three most powerful words I took away from the film.

If you want to unlearn, relearn and change for the better, here is a movie you must watch. I watched Sharukh Khan's movie, I was so touched by the story line. My family enjoyed it too. The film is about an autistic person who shows leadership in adversity. He shows you to be yourself, taught me so much about what prejudices mean. I only wish every American Caucasian gets to see this film. The country that elected a non Caucasian to the country's highest office must be proud of this movie. It helps erase so much of the prejudices prevailing about Muslims and clearly communicates you cannot stop someone from showering their love and goodwill for you. A wonderful movie. Just made me sit up and recognise what I should be doing for the needy every day of my life.

What does the year 2010 hold for the learning and development community? We need innovations in Human Capital development to ensure learning stays on the agenda during these competitive times. ASTD and others list three key areas: 1. New ways to work with the Gen Y 2. 21st century Mentoring 3. Working with the Social evolution and breakthrough technologies

Budget and Staffing Cuts Continue The Bersin & Associates Annual Training Industry Survey is interesting; visit their website for more details. Some salient points: In 2009, the faltering U.S. economy continued to take its toll on training organizations. Companies cut their L&D budgets by another 11 percent from 2008 levels, with median spending falling to $714 per learner. Combined with the budget reductions that occurred in 2008, training budgets have fallen a total of 21 percent over the past two years. Spending was down across all company size categories. Small companies cut their L&D spending by 10 percent; midsize companies cut 11 percent and large companies cut 12 percent of their L&D spending. Many L&D organizations also shed jobs in 2009. The median L&D staff fell from 7.0 staff per 1,000 learners in 2008 to 6.2 in 2009. Small businesses reduced their training staffs by four percent, while midsize firms cut five percent and large companies cut eight per...

I have been honoured with the appointment as a Director of the Human Reources Development Corporation by the Honourable Minister of HR, Government of Malaysia. It gives me an opportunity to contribute to the development of human capital. The Human Resources Development Council manages the Human Resources Development Fund and aims to support human capital development. For more details visit their web site.

Do student grades determine their true potential? It does not, it looks like that there is huge gap between employer expectations and what the universities produce. This inconsistency between educational output, industry requirements and priorities pose a serious problem. Skills Invest Forum organized at the Dubai Knowledge Village assembled a team of experts to address this issue. A 2009 report titled “the Arab Human Capital Challenge – the voice of the CEO’s has lessons for all of us. The two factors cited as causes are worth further studying – the first is the need for the universities to partner with industry to identify needs and priorities, the second is for a review of the teaching methods. A joint study by the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings Institution and the Dubai School of Government states that a continued dependence on rote teaching methods stifles creativity and independent thinking. In July, we had the opportunity of partnering with a government linked co...

We talked about the three C's in the last blog. Brands must deliver. I have enjoyed travelling Emirates Airlines in the past but today was a nightmare. Growth creates challenges. You cut corners. I guess that's what happened today. The crew forgot to serve me lunch for 4 hours. No regrets, no apologies. Can you believe it it was the first time in my life I was served a quarter cup of mango juice with the promise she will return. She did not till I asked her two hours later. Yet, she did not say sorry. Pretty cabin crew but does that help deliver the brand. I doubt they understood the vision and mission of the airline or they were engaged. All that they told me in excuse was the new 777 Boeing aircraft was too big 340 passengers and “boy, it was full.’ They regret the flight was full. Lucky I had biscuits with me to ensure I did not die of starvation. Even if I had I do not think the crew would have minded that. They were just least bothered. Service recovery was even worse - I...

I read the article in the Research World - kind courtesy of my Saudi colleague Dr. Abdul Hai. The artilce talks about: The Culture - the internal culture of an organisation, The Community - how you engage them, and The Commercial - the primary focus of brands. The new world is about managing all three concepts.