Not so much a post, more an announcement

I've just got the new One-Development website up and running, so please go take a look and give me your feedback. You can find it on www.one-development.com.

I'm also interested to get peoples views on coaching as opposed to training. As a discipline it seems to get far less coverage yet it is an important tool for the people who are responsible for the running of our companies.

Comments

Face to face training v online training

I'm just off to deliver a two day workshop, and I love it. There is no better way to train, in my view, than working and interacting with real people. But, that said, I am also a big fan of online training. I often include online elements to reinforce training sessions, so delegates can go online and work out problems, download information and podcasts and try techniques long after the session has finished. But as stand alone training, online has many advantages: Cost - no transport or venue costs Timing - people can learn in their own time and own pace Testing - you can make sure lessons have been learned, not just attended Revision - people can easily go back Geography - learners can be in different locations, even timezones Demonstration - using photographs, moving diagrams, audio and video

Is training the answer to the recession?

It is often the trite response that training is a solution to problems brought on by a recession. We can retrain staff to re-engineer our organisation to meet changing dynamics in the world. Individuals can train to up their skills in a changing and shrinking jobs market, or to learn new skills to increase their job options. But I would argue that the often neglected area for training is right up at the top. If big changes are needed we need new, creative and innovative thinking by those with their hands on the levers to really make things happen. New thinking is needed - the drivers that power entrepreneurial flair are need in business and in public sector organisations. Owners, directors and senior managers should consider spending a small amount of the training budget on themselves - a little coaching, some innovation thinking perhaps -a little goes a long way at the top.

Skills v Qualfications

There has been a great deal said by employers and HR professionals about the relative importance of skills and qualifications. Of course qualifications play a vital role in confirming that certain standards have been achieved and can be quantified. However, one of the key shortcoming many employers flag up is the lack of the softer skills... the general management and interpersonal skills. Interestingly, it appears the higher the qualifications... in many cases the lower the other skills. Rarely are this skills 'taught'. In fact it may be true that such skills are more amenable to training and coaching than teaching. I have worked with some very highly qualified people such as lawyers and doctors. They are often are first to recognise the need for the development of those soft skills. Other professionals however, engineers, architects etc. though equally qualified, seem slower to embrace training in more general skills. There seems still to be an assumption that skills like rel

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