One Development

Not so much a post, more an announcement

2009-08-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

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.

Is training the answer to the recession?

2009-07-28T03:06:00.000-07:00

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.

Beware politicians bearing training

2009-03-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Once again, belatedly, national Government has seen that training can provide a few answers to some of the issues facing us in the current economic climate... and as a trainer I welcome these, but with some reservations and more than a touch of deja vu. As so often it is too late and unplanned: a knee jerk reaction with with a distinct whiff of panic.

Ill thought out initiatives encourage trainers to rush into preparing courses to answer these 'needs'. And there is the key point... who identifies these needs and by what mechanisms? I still deal with clients in the private sectors who identify real skill shortages and I ask them if they have ever been approached by representatives of Government with respect to these needs? I assume (charitably) that consultation is constantly taking place with the main industry bodies. Of course it makes sense to look at where the big numbers are. But I still can't avoid an eerie feeling that behind locked doors someone is deciding what is right for business... for employees... for trainers... for us!

On past evidence, the resulting initiatives are often driven by political expediency, opportunism and self-interest.

Can creativity be taught?

2008-08-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

What do we mean by creativity? Often it is confused with the obviously 'creative' professions, such as media, arts and music etc. But this is only the application of creative thinking to a particular set of disciplines. I worked for a long time in advertising and we had the so-called 'creatives' including the writers and art directors (yes, I was one for a while) but it was the way people moved from discipline to discipline that flagged up the fact that it was a way of thinking not a label that matters.

I have met many scientists and engineers who are amazing creative thinkers. Look at some of our leading businessmen and women: it requires a high level of creative thought to come up with an original business idea or model and build a whole structure to carry that forward.

Accepting that it is a way of thinking, an approach to problem solving, means that it can be taught. Of course people's aptitude varies, but creative thinking is a skill all can learn... and yes, it can be taught.

Don't forget to write

2008-08-12T03:42:00.000-07:00

Back in February I wrote on digital media training and in particular writing for the web. This has become quite an issue recently with clients increasingly opting for websites with content management systems (CMS). Web copy not only dictates how well you communicate your offer, but how well your site performs in organic listings on search engines. So extracted from my writing for the web training package, here are 10 key points to bear in mind.

Remember how you read websites - look and learn from sites you think do it well. Don't expect your visitor to read what you won't read yourself.
Customers only listen to one radio station WIIFM - 'what's in it for me'. Talk about benefits to them... don't talk about yourself.
Vary descriptions: people use different terms to describe most things, so consider the terms they may search your site on. For example, I was working for a vehicle hire company, but visitors might search on truck rental, truck hire, contract hire, vehicle leasing etc. Be sure to work all those terms in.
Be concise, reading on screen is not easy - keep the paragraphs short and the word count down.
Use lists - bulleted or numbered lists (like this) are quick and efficient.
Visualise in our mind a typical person you want to address on your site (maybe a friend, relative, customer, ex boss). Then write as though you were talking directly to that person.
Use English as you would speak it - for some reasons people who would normally say; 'I need to find the facts.' when they write suddenly start saying 'I must access the data'.
Read your text out loud. If it sounds stupid saying it - it will probably read stupid on the page.
Learn to edit. Writing is a two stage process. The creative stage - just let is flow get down what you want to say; don't worry about spelling or English. Then the editing stage, write and re-write. Refine, check spelling, word usage, insert headings, break paragraphs, move things about.
Read - you learn about writing by reading.

Real training in virtual worlds?

2008-07-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

Part of the reason I got into training in the first place is because I love the interaction with people. And I think there is no better way of developing quality training and coaching than face to face. However, with transport costs, fuel costs and the environmental costs, alternatives have to be found.

I have been working on and developing online training modules for parts of courses - these work very well to add another dimension to face to face sessions. And they are useful for academic, quantifiable lessons, especially where assessment is needed. But there seemed little substitute for the interactive, participatory dimension: however over past months I have bee exploring the options provided by social networking sites, particularly Second Life.

It was about a year ago that I got interested in the psychological aspects of virtual worlds as research suggests that in general people behave the same in virtual worlds as the would in the real world. This does not mean that they will play a Troll or Space Cadet, but generally if say someone is, say, introverted or well-socialised in real life they will be in virtual life also.

This means we can set up training spaces in virtual worlds, bring in product, movies and demonstrations, and virtual worlds are ideal for role playing situations where the environment can be manipulated to a far greater degree than it ever can in a training room.

I would urge all trainers to explore the possibilities and let your imagination free - and please let me know what ideas you have, and what results.

What people want and what people think they want

2008-07-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a colleague the other day who develops in-house training. She had a new, specialist function to train a small group to operate. Out of interest, in her pre-training questionnaire she asked what type of training would they like and in what format. Universally they came back with 'classroom style, chalk and talk', rather than any form of participatory workshop or interactive training.

Fundamentally what the participants were saying was they didn't want to put in any work or effort but be magically trained sitting in a room doing nothing.

But, what we know from feedback, evaluations, de-briefing and ultimately performance, is that delegates in general prefer participatory training. Evaluations usually show higher levels of boredom and dissatisfaction from classroom style training. So people don't always know what's best for them in advance... but know what was best for them, after the event.

Credit crunch, oil prices, recession and implications for training

2008-05-23T04:43:00.000-07:00

With a predicted recession we can expect the usual impact on trainin budgets - just when training becomes more important then ever, budgets are likely to be cut. However, on top of this we now have the problem of massive and unprecidented increases in fuel costs and the implications these bring to training.

Travel cost now represent a massive proportion of training course costs and may be a major disincentive to companies to send delegates any distance.

Maybe the watchword is; 'don't commute - communicate'. Online training, both self administrated and facilitated over live links while no substitute for face to face delivery, can be a an important component of any programme. Trainers need to consider carefully how programmes can be restructured to make use of technology in coordination with personal delivery to provide quality, effective training in tight economic environments.

So what does Martin Johnson know about coaching?

2008-04-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

This is a serious question, because we don't know. The new England rugby coach has undoubted game skills and experience, tremendous leadership skills and presence and an inspirational record. But as he admitted himself, he has no coaching experience.

This is an extreme example, I know, but it does illustrate a point that we tend to think (a) that coaching skills are unimportant and can be learned on the job and (b) that training seems to be seen as less important the higher you climb the management ladder. An employee may need an NVQ before they will be considered for a job in their local leisure centre but it's okay to choose a top coach with no previous coaching training or qualification and keep our fingers crossed that he is a 'natural'.

Skills v Qualfications

2008-04-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

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 relationship building, communications, incisive thinking and problem solving are innate talents, and wishful thinking that will be individuals in the organisation posesss those skills. But such skills can be learned - indeed they MUST be learned if we are not to leave our skills base totally to chance.

Presentations - 20% content, 80% theatre

2008-02-26T02:14:00.001-08:00

Memorable presentations.

Okay, maybe the proportions are a little exaggerated, but I'm trying to make an important point: a great deal of what makes a presentation memorable is the 'theatre' of it. The staging of the presentation is often the part that receives the least attention. You spend hours working on the content, sweating over PowerPoint, checking figures, loading up the laptop. But what about the staging? How will you begin the presentation - how will you enter - and as important, how will you end it, and how will you get 'off stage'? When and how will you present your visual aids? What is the killer element of your presentation, and how will you reveal it and when?

Try to remember a really great presentation you saw, and what made it special? A good presenter is a performer - and it is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learned. Consider the anatomy of a good standup - he or she starts with a great entrance, captures you straight away. The act is paced: some slow bits some high energy bits. Never bore the audience with a single speed presentation. The good stand up builds to their best material - ends with the killer item and leaves the stage professionally with the audience begging for more.

Why is theatre important? Not just for it's own sake - to make a professional presentation - but to make it memorable! If you leave your audience and the quickly forget you, chances are you've wasted your time - but like good theatre you want your audience talking about you for days after.

A quick rant

2008-02-22T01:23:00.000-08:00

I've just got back from delivering a two day residential course at Holiday Inn. They do a lot right especially with their Academy which works really well for us trainers... but yet again I find myself stomping around my room ranting and kicking the furniture, and bending the ear of anybody who is unfortunate enough to come within earshot of me in the bar. Why? The extortionate rate of broadband connection in my hotel room! Let me hasten to add this is not just Holiday Inn; hotel chains from Best Western to Marriott all hit you with around £15.00 for 24 hrs. When hotels have rack rates of from £100 - £200 per night... surely they could throw in free Wifi? What can it cost to put wireless broadband into a hotel? When I can leave the hotel, cross the road for a coffee and get free broadband?
Okay it's not just the money... but don't the hotels realise how this is damaging my brand experience? They invest millions in customer service to enhance that experience - then ruin it by their apparent greed on a small matter of internet connection, which is a must have for most business travellers.
Okay... rant over.

Face to face training v online training

2008-02-11T07:16:00.001-08:00

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

What does training say about an organisation?

2008-02-07T01:44:00.000-08:00

I was talking yesterday to a friend who has just moved jobs to a different division in her organisation. She was telling me how 'brilliant' the organisation was in providing a number of training opportunities and courses to upgrade her knowledge and skill sets.

It set me thinking back to how other friends and colleagues have talked about their employers with regard to training they provide - almost all who had active training programmes were thought well of by their staff. Contrast that with; 'Huh, never get our bosses to pay for me to go on a course'.

When I was involved in front line advertising there was regional newspaper network that was renowned for the quality of training it gave its staff, particularly sales staff. This did wonders for the company's reputation - of course many of these well trained staff moved on in time to take topline jobs elsewhere, but the company's reputation for training meant it had little problem recruiting quality replacements.

Being an organisation with a sound training policy does far more than just enhance your skills base - it enhances your standing, reputation and values, and says much about your company.

Digital media training and writing for the web

2008-02-06T02:21:00.000-08:00

Training in digital media and marketing comes high on the list of client 'wants', but what is requested varies widely with company size. Smaller companies generally, have already grasped the web and its opportunities. They have realised this is a very cost effective promotional medium and are already 'hands on' in many aspects. Bigger organisations tend to use their specialist suppliers to get hands on, so their needs tend to be more strategic - planning and understanding digital campaigns.

One area however is a common requirement from both - writing for the web. Good web copy and content has never been more important, and with the growth in the use of content management systems (CMS), more and more of the copywriting now falls on the shoulders of the client.

Good, concise, pursuasive copy has always been of tremendous importance in making a site work, but there is another dimension. Content and copy must be optimised to get good organic listings on search engines.

In the Google - age training in writing for the web, whether it be for websites or blogs has never been more important.

Learn to blog – get people talking about your business.

2008-02-03T02:51:00.000-08:00

Social internet, web 2.0, a lot of kids chatting on MSN and Facebook – what has that got to do with business?

The answer is - ‘a lot!’ Estimates vary, but it’s generally accepted that over 70% of content on the web is now user generated. What we are talking about here is not communications, but conversations – people talking to each other. And if people are talking to each other, they could (and maybe already are) talking about you and your business.

Stimulating and getting involved in those conversations is a powerful ability, and many major companies are recognising the benefits it can deliver. Listening to what customers think about your business is at the root of customer service. Forget the expensive and contrived research, focus groups and interviews – all you need to do is get involved and listen. One leading mobile phone manufacturer based its next generation of mobile phones on the discussions of its users – who knows better about what the customers want?

If words like blogging, Wikipedia, Facebook, Web 2.0 and Twitter are foreign to you, you may be missing an important trick. Learning to use blogs and the social internet is a powerful business skill. It’s reckoned there are over 112m blogs, with over 400m people visiting them.

Get involved, learn to use social internet, start to blog – it’s a great way to talk to customers, get them to talk to each other, and talk back to you!

Early Developments

2008-01-29T01:26:00.001-08:00

This is the beginning of the One Development blog providing thoughts, ideas, scraps of information and support for training, courses and more.