Learning: The Magic of Making Training FUN

Is listening a lost art? Harvard Professor James Heskett has outlined in his HBR article his views. He says several argue that the skill of listening is on the wane. I list here excerpts from the article. He refers to Shari Morwood who said: "It starts at the top-if we as management don't listen or don't know how, we can't tap the full power of the amazing talent in our own organizations. Listening is learning." He refers to Gael who raised the question to a more universal level with her comment: "Listening to oneself requires sometimes crude and painful honesty that most people feel they can't afford." That is why, she continued, it is so important to have real friends with good memory who can be our sounding boards. "Listening to others works better if you can show empathy and put yourself in the other peoples' shoes." In his new book Quick and Nimble, based on more than 200 interviews, Adam Bryant concludes, that, among other thin...

Nice article http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131024075342-42592294-can-founders-let-go-what-love-s-got-to-do-with-leadership?trk=tod-home-art-list-large_0

Budget Comments Kuala Lumpur, 25th October 2013 I like and love the strategic thrust on Inculcating Excellence in Human Capital in this year's Malaysian budget. Thank You Mr. Prime Minister. While there are some who would have preferred greater development expenditure and lower operating expenditure, some would even prefer a lower % deficit of the GDP, I think the budget has focussed on a key priority area: Human Capital, to improve the long term well being of the nation and our competitiveness. There are no short cuts to success. Education receives 21% of the budget. The commitment to implementing the Education blueprint and improving standards of English and upholding the importance of the National Language, emphasis on Entrepreneur development, supporting employers on the Minimum Wage Policy, the setting up for a private retirement scheme are positive initiatives. RM 400 million from the Human Resources Development Fund for employers for training, 330 million for Skills Tra...

Learning & Performance As I am completing my latest book The Global Journey of an Asian due for launch this year, I found that some books can be game changers. The 4 – Hour Work week by Tim Ferris was an astounding book. The lesson that you don’t want a million dollars but you want the lifestyle a million dollars will get you had a huge impact on me. Another lesson from the book and reinforced by my long time friend from the US Ajay is for the need to sever the connections between time and work. As an entrepreneur you want to live the life you want and not to keep investing time on a perpetual basis into work. The goal is to have the focus on the family and do things you like to do. I like most entrepreneurs today dreamed not about making money while I slept, commonly referred to as non linear income or income from multiple sources but about the impact I could make on the world. The 4 Hour Work week is not about working four hours or being lazy but about achieving the goals set b...

I found this article from Thiagi www.thiagi.com very useful While reviewing a training game on team formation, I came across this question: What are the four stages of team development? You probably know the answer: forming, storming, norming, and performing. If you answered the question correctly, what does it prove? Sure, you can recall the four stages of team development. But does this mean that you understand the principles and can apply them to real-world teams? Compare the original question with these questions: What is an example of effective facilitation behavior during the norming stage? What is an example of effective team-member behavior during the storming stage? Which team-development stage is the most critical one? Why do you think so? What additional stages would you add to the four team-development stages? I am sure that you noticed the difference between the original question and the latter questions. The latter questions require more thinking. They reflect the type o...

Prof Thiagi outlines what you can do to make your managers have faith in the value of games in learning. Some exctacts from his article: The Intelligent Choice When trainers challenge me with "Why should I use games and experiential activities?", Thiagi lists impressive research findings from cognitive sciences. These findings suggest that traditional training is severely limited -- and interactive, experiential techniques have great potential. Here are some specific details: YOU ARE OF TWO MINDS. Professor Seymour Epstein at the University of Massachusetts has a ground-breaking theory of intelligence called Cognitive Experiential Self Theory (CEST), which suggests that we have an experiential mind and a rational mind. Our experiential mind learns directly, thinks quickly, pays attention to the outcome, and forgets slowly. Our rational mind learns indirectly, thinks deliberately, pays attention to the process, and forgets rapidly. Epstein's contention is that you need b...

I had the honour of delivering a key note at the recent ASTD MENA ( American Society of Training & Development and Middle East North Africa) International Conference, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Even though I was nervous waiting to be cleared by a young Immigration officer for close to an hour, I could see the pace of change in the kingdom. The day I landed in Jeddah, the King had just appointed 30 women to the Shura Council, the traditionally all-male body which drafts laws, debates major issues and provides advice to the King. And, just a few minutes before my key note, I was very anxious as most of the delegates had not yet come in to take their seats. However within a couple of minutes past the start time, a flood of delegates moved into the conference room and I could see the rapt attention and the incessant desire to learn and keep pace with the world. The young people and the decision makers in the room were so excited to learn and perform and to catch up with the industry leade...

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.