Is Your Training Program a Jackson Pollock or a Piet Mondrian?
Two 20th century artists create a stark contrast to one another and provide a good analogy for how organizations address their training challenges.
Jackson Pollack was the inventor of abstract expressionism. …Read More
Are You Talking to Me?
When I travel for business, I often encounter people that want to chat with me. Normally I don’t mind, but sometimes, I’m just not in the mood to make small …Read More
Coffee? Tea? Hot Chocolate?
The next time you go to your favorite coffee joint to meet a friend or client over a cup of “hot something,” recognize how good you have it now. In …Read More
Good Reads
It seems like new books are published every day that promise better ideas for “how to” improve the way we work: how to consult, lead teams, manage businesses, design better …Read More
The Power of Questions
“The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.”
–Claude Levi-Strauss
One of the biggest mistakes that consultants and managers make is to assume that they must have …Read More
Resuscitating PowerPoint
When Microsoft launched PowerPoint in 1990, they knew they had a hot new tool. It is not clear whether they realized the extent to which this software program would reshape …Read More
The Search for the Perfect Hiring Indicator
Several years ago, while working for another company, I was charged with hiring 40 contract trainers and instructional designers in a 3-month period. As part of this hiring process, I …Read More
Say What You Mean
A few months ago a friend posted on Facebook that his company merged with a bigger one. Half-jokingly, I commented that he should watch out for the impending flood of …Read More
Writing for Change
Many organizations that implement new policies, processes, or systems follow the mantra: “Build it and they will come.” They invest their time and resources building the new system, then, on …Read More
Lessons in Video Production
These days, it seems like everyone knows how to make videos. Yet, when it comes to making high quality, affordable training videos, the number of people who know what they’re …Read More
Finding the Big Idea
A few years ago I watched the 2008 movie Defiance about Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski: three brothers who successfully led a group of Jewish survivors through the Belorussian forest …Read More
Training People with Low Literacy Levels
In May 2014, Bayer Crop Sciences announced that it is collaborating with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on a new initiative to train Filipino rice farmers on better farm practices, …Read More