Life

Begin with the Business in Mind

Posted on by Seniye Groff

It is no secret that the “training department” is often viewed as an expense rather than a revenue-generating partner.  So how can the training group change the perception and be viewed as a partner in running the business?  “Begin With the Business in Mind” by Matt Donovan shares some ideas.

Donovan suggests that the training organization “should be able to effectively describe the organization’s competitive position in terms of:

  • Industry and key features
  • Range of products and services provided
  • Customers and their affinity for the company’s products and services
  • External partners in the value chain
  • Competitive strategy
  • Competitive advantage
  • Current and emerging competitors.”

Once the training organization understands the company’s competitive advantage, it should then understand how the company structures itself to execute its strategy.  The PARC model in the book “Strategic Management” is mentioned as an ideal framework.  The PARC model is comprised of People, Architecture, Routines and Culture.  Only after the learning team has mastered their understanding of the company’s competitive position and its competitive advantage can they move forward to  being a true business partner rather than just an order-taker.  Trainers will be much better at assessing the business challenge, the cost of the training solution and ultimately the cost of the problem.  When trainers begin to use the language of “business problem” and “cost of the problem” rather than just cost of trainee per hour or smile sheet evaluation results, they demonstrate their position as a true business person.  Now that will be music to any leader’s ears!

The Real Education Gap

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Chief Learning Officer’s January 2012 issue contained a relevant article on “The Real Education Gap”.  The article describes the lack of communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking skills present in today’s workforce.  The article suggests that “82% of American schools fail to teach curricula that imbue students with the skills leadership demands.”  One could argue that school should (and are) teaching students reading, writing and math.  The challenge lies in the need for other skills to excel in today’s modern workplace and global arena.

The 2010 American Management Association (AMA) Critical Skills Survey uncovered the need for the “Four C’s”:

  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Effective communication
  • Collaboration and team building
  • Creativity and innovation. 

The most important of the “4C’s” is communication, which includes thinking clearly, figuring out what information is most important and then communicating back clearly.  Given my experience in training and education, I believe it would be fairly simple to practice these skills, even with existing content.  Revising content so that is culminates in real-life, practical application would be an easy fix for organizations. 

Ultimately, if practitioners ask the question “How does this training change behavior?” it is more likely the content will have some practice and skill development built into the design.  The article concludes with “organizations that develop their people have more success across all performance metrics.”  I think this is an obvious insight because as the old adage goes:  Don’t worry about training people that then might leave, instead worry about not training employees and having them stay! 

Family Glue

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Last night I met my friend Victoria to celebrate her new job.  We commiserated about the elusive work/life balance, motherhood, bosses, sacrifices and other trivial gossip.  We munched on appetizers and dinner, drank flowing wine and took a few bites of two disappointing desserts that descriptions sounded better than they actually tasted.  At nine p.m. I noted a call from home but chose to ignore it as I enjoyed my few hours of freedom. 

I arrived home at 10 p.m. weary from so much talking and laughing.  It was a good weary…a satisfied weary.  I immediately heard my ten-year old stomp down the stairs in record time.  She launched herself to my chest with a thud as tears streamed down her cheeks. 

I asked, “What’s wrong?”  

She tearfully replied, “You were gone so long!”

It is great to feel missed and needed but I had left at six p.m. with the meal prepared, homework completed and piano practiced.  Four hours away.  I rarely , and I mean rarely, go out by myself.  Yet, for my daughter the hours seemed indefinite.  And no matter how overdue I felt my reprieve was, it quickly came to an end with three little words, “I missed you”.  Ah, the joy and duty of motherhood.

15 Years

Posted on by Seniye Groff

This week is full of milestones and today’s milestone is making it to 15 years of marriage.  I have always believed that getting married was the easy part, staying married a little more difficult.   I never really wanted to “be married” just based on the fact that my parent’s marriage was so troubled.  But, I suppose, if you meet the right person and think that “you can do it differently from your parents”, then why not?  And that is exactly what happened.  I met a person that could be a partner, friend, confidante, explorer and whatever else we discovered along the way.  It did not hurt that his family seemed pretty “normal”.  He had a positive, respectful relationship with his mother.  All signs pointed to a potentially long-lasting relationship. 

I don’t mean for it to sound like a business transaction, but if people thought about marriage a little more thoughtfully past the madness of “being in love”, they might be married after 72 days…I’m just saying…

And our 15 years together has brought several trips oversees, two homes, two kids, two careers that have diverged and plenty of ups and downs.  But , never, any explosive arguments or fights.  I am not saying that fighting could not be part of the equation, especially since I am a triple A personality (and Eric  is triple laid back) but it just never has been.  Could there be an element of compromise in how we approach things?  Maybe. Certainly an element of respect.  But I also believe it is an element of perspective…perspective of what is really important…what really matters.  When your perspective is in the right order, everything else falls into place.

Turning 10

Posted on by Seniye Groff

When my daughter was born I was consumed with learning how to change diapers, how to make sure she got enough food and most importantly, how to get more sleep!  The awe that something so small could create so much joy, love and work was befuddling.  And then you figure it out.  You get caught up in the play dates, school assignments, plays…basically the daily minutiae of life.  And suddenly your daughter is asking to stay home alone while you run that 20 minute errand.  She is downloading songs on her iPod that you have NEVER heard of and she has a definite opinion of what real style is and begs you to “Please don’t wear your gym clothes when you pick me up at school!”

So on this day that she is turning 10, I ask myself “Were the diapers, baths and no sleep easier?”  Would I be willing to go back if I had a chance?  Would I enjoy pregnancy the second time around rather than fight it every step of the way if I knew what I know today?”  Oh, how I miss her toddling around unsteadily while she is learning how to walk. 

But I love our thought-provoking conversations.  I love her inquisitiveness.  I love that she has taught me what motherhood is and is not.  Difficult, yes.  Tiring, yes.  Beautiful, yes.  And on this day, I confirm (if only with myself) that I would not trade turning 10 with anything.  But, instead, I must now prepare for what 10, 11 and even beyond will bring, as well as, teach me.Image

Avoid the “Culture Clash”

Posted on by Seniye Groff

In the February issue of Chief Learning Officer, there is a great article titled “Your Brain on Culture“.  Neal Goodman points out that “culture provides us with the guide to survival, we naturally feel protected by our own and threatened by other cultures.”  This “Us versus Them” attitude is a natural result of different cultures clashing.  But let’s face it, global intelligence is critical to surviving in today’s workplace.  Certainly a great place to start is knowing time variances and local holidays so that you are not trying to book a meeting or conference call at a disrespectful time.  Recently, I received a request for a conference call at 11 p.m. my time!  Of course I wanted to demonstrate flexibility but the person in Asia should have consulted a world clock so that they knew what they were requesting from me.

Goodman recommends knowing business customs and practices, too.  He relates an example of PUMA trying to sell a shoe with UAE’s flag colors on one of their shoes.  PUMA did not realize that culturally the foot is looked at negatively so putting the flag colors on a shoe must have seemed incredibly disrespectful!  On the flip side, Hilton Hotels created a program to make Chinese guests feel welcome by greeting them in Mandarin (by Mandarin-speaking staff), offering Chinese tv stations and Chinese breakfast items.  How smart and forward thinking!

It is naive to believe that what companies do domestically can easily be replicated globally.  Instead, Goodman suggests some ideas to help your company build cultural intelligence such as:

  • Offer a course on cultural intelligence to your entire workforce
  • Develop global leaders through training and immersion
  • Build global teams
  • Create a database on cultural intelligence.

Finally, Goodman suggests that  “a heightened awareness of cultural differences will allow employees to build bridges of understanding that promote trust, efficiency and effectiveness and increase an organization’s competitive advantage in the global arena.”

Check out the complete article at Chief Learning Officer.  I always read articles with great insight and tips from this publication!

So tell me:

What examples have you seen where companies have been thoughtful about being more culturally aware and responsive? 

What missteps have you seen?

Favorite Pic

Posted on by Seniye Groff

I took this picture in June 2011 and just love it.  As a matter of fact, I won a photo contest in September with this picture.  My friend “A” has lots of pictures on her blog, so I thought I should step it up with more graphics on mine!