I just love when all the flowers start popping out everywhere!
Spring Flowers
Begin with the Business in Mind
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
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!
Daphne
I absolutely love the smell of my Daphne plants. The smell signals that spring is definitely on the way!
Family Glue
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.
No One is Here Except All of Us
I read a lot of books. At any given month, I lumber through at least seven books. With my book reviews for Portland Book Review and Elle, and books that I have read reviews about, I always have a long list of books to read. Often friends tell me I should blog about all the books I read. It is a great suggestion, but not one that I find I am able to do consistently. But today, I found the discipline to write about a book I am currently reading called “No One is Here Except All of Us” by Ramona Ausubel. She is an accomplished writer, as far as I can tell from the book jacket, but it appears this is her first novel.
I have a particular interest in books centered around WWII, especially the Holocaust. I think my interest centers around how such a horrific event could happen…how could perfectly normal people become such vicious monsters to their neighbors? It really is mind-boggling. Ausubel writes with such beauty. Some of her passages are just incredible. Of course, now that I want to share them, I cannot find them in the book. I need to start marking my books when I find an especially tantalizing group of words!
Ausubel’s story surrounds a Garden of Eden of sorts. There is a community of about 100 people tucked away by a river. They are virtually untouched. They have not been affected by the war at all. One day a stranger arrives and although she integrates into the community, as the reader, you know this entry will be the catalyst for change in the peaceful, tranquil community. The stranger and narrator (a twelve year old girl) reason to the group, that they can start the world over again…and so this book is a bit mystical, too. Alas, the “real” world does not stop or allow the imagined world to reign, and so the story progresses into the depths of reality during war-driven times. Read on to find out what happens.
Diversity Training
Last week I delivered diversity training to Dress for Success. I have been a volunteer at DFS for 12 years (and that is longer than I have stayed at any paying job). My interest in diversity training began when I was working on my thesis for my masters. I realized I had a wealth of experiences that shaped my view of the world. For example, when I lived in St. Croix I quickly learned what it was like to be a minority. At the time, out of 60,000 island residents, only 5,000 were Caucasian. It was a great lesson for me. This experience coupled with moving about every 11 months including Central America, the Middle East and throughout the U.S. gives me a broad frame of reference, as well as, lots of stories and experiences to share throughout my training session.
And the session really went great. The group of new volunteers were engaged, interactive and really interested in the content, activities and stories. They shared their experiences and overall realized how their lens “cloud” their views of how they perceive others. The volunteers walked away with a new awareness and a new perspective. It will go a long way to aid in their interactions with each other, as well as, the clients that DFS serves.
15 Years
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.
The Paris Wife
Just started reading The Paris Wife last night. I can usually tell immediately if I am going to like a book and this book appears to be a winner! It reminds me of Loving Frank, which was an excellent book. McLain’s writing is beautiful…simple yet expressive. I feel like I am sitting at the table with Ernest and Hadley, his first wife. I don’t know much about Hemingway so I look forward to being entertained and learning a little, too!
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