Paradigm Learning Blog: Paradigm Learning Community

Educating Employees: Right-Brain Skills, Right-Brain Approaches

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:27:12 GMT

Just before the holidays, I had the pleasure of working with Daniel Pink on a Training Magazine-hosted webinar entitled "A Whole New Workforce: Educating and Engaging Employees in a Right-Brain World." For those of you who don't know ...

The Right Questions Unlock Critical Conversations

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:53:29 GMT

I was attracted to a short article the other day titled "The Role of Curiosity in Learning." In a nutshell, the author defines a learning organization as one that encourages a culture where employees can – and do ask questions. Unfortunately, ...

Engaging Employees When Change Is “Transformational”

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:50:59 GMT

A recognized leader in the area of change management, Daryl Connor of Connor Partners, recently posted a blog in which he lists the characteristics of two types of organizational change ... incremental and transformational. (Exploring a ...

Employee Retention Initiatives -- If you've been ignoring them, you might want to think again!

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:36:43 GMT

Have you seen the latest employee morale and commitment survey conducted by Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork ? If not, you can view it at WorldatWork. Here are some highlights, according to a Chief Learning Officer "Industry News" ...

The Most Important Leadership Principle

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:34:05 GMT

A colleague told me that she would send me something I needed for a time-sensitive project as soon as she got back to her office. I watched her take down a note and star* it several times. Six weeks later I’m still waiting. A 12th ...

It's Halloween...Let's Have Some Fun at the Office

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:01:08 GMT

The day before Halloween, we're going to have some fun at Paradigm Learning's offices in St. Petersburg, Fla. There will be a costume contest, prizes, Halloween games, a trivia contest, pumpkins and pizza. In short, we're going ...

Great Teachers Don't Teach

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:22:53 GMT

I was reminded the other day about how big a difference there can be between "teaching" and "facilitating". A friend decided to go back to school after many years away from a university environment. Just two weeks ...

Are YOUR employees thinking about jumping ship? Two things that need to be on your radar screen.

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:53:52 GMT

In USA Today (August 31, 2009), an article in the Money section should make all of us in executive positions at our companies pay close attention. It was called "Economic Recovery Gives Frustrated Workers Job Options". Here's an ...

Educate employees about the "big picture" of the business -- directly

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:33:21 GMT

An article in CLO Magazine entitled Fostering a Passionate Workforce caught my eye today. In the article, Dan Bobinsky, author of Creating Passion Driven Teams, defines passion as when an employee has a thorough understanding of the big picture and ...

Evaluate Training Results: Some Thoughts from the Supplier Side of the Issue

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:09:16 GMT

Two things happened to me on the same day last week. First, I interviewed one of our clients about her company’s implementation of a Paradigm Learning program for an article I am writing. And second, I read an article in July’s ...

Face to face communication… I remember it fondly!

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:39:16 GMT

Yesterday, I started to send an email to an employee whose office is four doors from mine. I stopped after about five sentences and thought: Why am I sending an email instead of getting up and walking down to her office? I realized that it ...

Aligned definitions of “talent management”

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:01:28 GMT

In the May edition of T&D Magazine, there is an article entitled “Talent Management Defined”. This article references a study conducted by ASTD (The American Society of Training & Development) in collaboration with the Institute for ...

Making sure that customers are heard and employees are recognized

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:57:13 GMT

I received an unsolicited letter from a new client this week about one of our consultants. In a nutshell, the letter thanked our company for assigning such a professional and client-focused person to work with them. Apparently, in addition to ...

Keep your company's stories alive - especially during times of change

Thu, 28 May 2009 06:09:21 GMT

Our company is going through a physical move from our Tampa location to a new one in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, FL. The move is a happy one -- but is also tinged with sadness because we can't take everything with us that we've ...

Where to spend training dollars -- what's left of them -- during the economic downturn

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:29:08 GMT

ASTD and the Institute for Corporate Productivity have just published the results of a study about "Organizational Learning in Tough Economic Times". There's no surprise in the first finding: learning budgets are being reduced. When asked how ...

Alert: The Grapevine is Probably More Negative Than the Reality

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:25:00 GMT

Think your company is having a tough time during this recession? So are your employees. And they're talking about it. Around the water cooler. In the hallways. At home. If things in your organization are changing, if you're cutting back, ...

How HR Can Impact Today’s Cost Management Focus

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:35:53 GMT

An article in Chief Learning Officer's online newsletter caught my eye. It was titled "Cease Fire in the War for Talent". The overall gist of the article was that companies are shifting priority from talent management to more immediate needs like ...

Effectively Communicating Organizational Change

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:50:58 GMT

My eye caught a short article in the January edition of Workforce Management magazine about social networking. A communications consultant in the article, Jennifer Benz, is quoted as saying: "As a recent downsizing at Yahoo ...

Let's Not Get Complacent About Talent Leadership

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:32:55 GMT

Yes, times are tough and unemployment is high. However, it would be a big mistake for companies -- and the managers in them -- to stop being proactive in their efforts to retain talent. Training Magazine's online newsletter captured some ...

Different Learning Styles

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:39:36 GMT

Recently I was working with a Paradigm Learning team and a client’s team to design a Discovery Map® that will be used to orient new employees to the client’s business. When we began to discuss learning styles, I was reminded why these Maps are such ...

Workplace Planning Pitfalls:Talent Leadership Accountability

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:46:08 GMT

A recent issue of Talent Management magazine contained an interesting article called "Stay Out Of Workforce Planning Pitfalls". It addresses workforce planning as one of the most important talent management issues in today's triple threat talent ...

How Can HR Professionals Develop Higher Levels of Business Savvy?

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:45:48 GMT

The November issue of Human Resource Executive magazine asked several company executives and HR practionersfor answers to the question, What is the most significant change you see coming to the HR profession in the next few years? Many of ...

The Courage to Be a Leader When Times Are Tough

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:56:05 GMT

As the senior leaders of auto manufacturers plead for money while financial institutions implode from poor leadership decisions, and layoffs and cutbacks mount, I can’t help thinking about managers in these and other companies that are suffering in ...

5 Ways Business Acumen Training Helps Organizations in Tough Economic Times

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:06:20 GMT

I was browsing the website About.com last week and came across a blog post titled Knowing How to Read an Income Statement. The author’s point of view is that managers owe it to themselves and to their employees to be able to read, interpret and ...

Eureka Power: "Ah-ha" Moments in Training

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:50:31 GMT

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a colleague about discovery learning – specifically, the effectiveness of learning during participation in one of Paradigm Learning’s Discovery Maps programs. Dr. Scott DeRon is a ...

Organizational Change - Opportunity or Fear? Part 2

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:01:22 GMT

In my last post about organizational change, I focused on the first phase of a successful change strategy – the Planning phase. Today, I’d like to talk about the critical second phase – Proceeding efficiently and effectively toward change ...

Organizational Change – Opportunity or Fear?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:04:09 GMT

Organizational Change – Opportunity or Fear? Organizational change is a given in corporate life, but today’s doomsday headlines have accelerated change for many organizations. As the media continues to feed the dialogue, how can leaders help ...

Good Business, Bad Business

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:14:22 GMT

Who dreamed up the job of sales manager? As a front-line sales manager, you are part coach, part super-salesperson, part counselor, part administrator, part strategist, part parent, part mediator, part teacher, and-above all -the go-to person ...

The Three Most Important Things a Salesperson Can Do in a Down Market!

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:59:06 GMT

The Three Most Important Things a Salesperson Can Do in a Down Market The United States government defines tough times as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. On a personal level, you know when things are tough – the market ...

Leading In Tough Economic Times: 10 Steps For Managers

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:53:31 GMT

Listening to the media dissection of the most recent Wall Street meltdown, we hear a lot about poor leadership – bad decisions, greedy CEOs, “head in the sand” mentality and the list goes on. No doubt, these “leaders” should be held accountable ...

Educating Senior Management About Business Games

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:05:27 GMT

In the early 90’s, when we first started our business, it happened a lot. I would hear “We don’t play games here at XYZ Company…we’re serious about our business”. Now, fast forward to 2008. Although the use of games and other discovery ...

What Talent Management Is … and Isn't

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:01:54 GMT

In the July issue of T&D Magazine, I read about an interesting online survey. Recently, more than 1,000 managers and senior leaders were surveyed by Right Management, a well-respected HR consulting firm. The findings indicated that 30 ...

Where Does Business Acumen Fit Into The Leadership Skill Set of Today’s Managers?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:46:02 GMT

In an article titled “Is Business Acumen a Substitute for Leadership?” on www.bestmanagementarticles.com, Bob Selden writes about how organizations are assessing which are more important leadership skills—management or business skills. He states ...

HR Professionals Often Lack a Deep Understanding of Business and Financial Issues

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:30:03 GMT

I just read a blog post called "Maximize Possibility" on the Rainmaker Group’s blog. It's about the importance of HR professionals acquiring higher levels of business acumen if they want to be successful at leading human resource functions in ...

A New Kind of Work Environment for a New Kind of Generation

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:51:14 GMT

In the latest online version of CLO magazine, I read an article entitled, A New Kind of Work Environment for a New Kind of Generation. It deals with training Generation Y'ers and I found one of the quotes very interesting. Their level of ...

Spice Up Your Training Session Introductions with Discovery Learning

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:53:32 GMT

You have the right content for the right audience, but do you have the right approach? Your learners’ experience during your training sessions is just as important as the content, since learners won’t learn unless they are fully engaged and ...

Winning Sales Through Business Acumen, Volume I of III

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:16:32 GMT

I recently attended a conference in Las Vegas and had the opportunity to speak with the publisher of Selling Power magazine, Gerhard Gschwandter, who interviewed me for three video segments for his magazine's subscribers. We discussed the critical ...

Winning Sales Through Business Acumen, Volume II of III

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:18:27 GMT

In this second installment of video interviews, Gerhard Gschwandter, publisher of Selling Power magazine, and I discuss how important it is to engage employees when educating them in typically dry subjects, such as financial literacy or business ...

Winning Sales Through Business Acumen, Volume III of III

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:07:14 GMT

Join me for the final video interview recorded at the recent Selling Power conference in Las Vegas. Gerhard Gschwandter, publisher of Selling Power magazine, and I discuss the importance of business acumen for sales professionals. Salespeople are ...

Paradigm Learning Cofounders Win Top Honors as ISA Thought Leaders

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:32:49 GMT

I recently attended the ISA (The Association of Learning Providers) conference, where I was overwhelmed with pride during the awards ceremony when Paradigm Learning’s co-founders were honored as innovative thought leaders in the learning community. ...

Quality of Sales VS Quantity of Sales

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:24:15 GMT

I recently read a blog post called Measuring Quality of Sales, Not Just Quantity, by Jessica Stillman on http://www.bnet.com/ with some very insightful observations about Bed Bath & Beyond’s second quarter earnings report. In her ...

Congratulations on Your New Job! Now What?

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:28:42 GMT

Over the years, I've hired many people at many different organizational levels -- for other companies and my own --and have watched these people suceed or fail -- usually fairly quickly. One conclusion I've reached is that during the first 60-90 ...

Training 135,000 Starbuck Employees in Three Hours

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:51:41 GMT

If you haven't been tracking what Starbucks did on February 26, 2008 to train 135,000 employees in U.S. company-operated stores during a three-hour shutdown, here's Elliott Masie's eight-minute video. In it, he interviews a Starbucks' manager in ...

When the economy is in turmoil ... employees need to "get it."

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:55:27 GMT

A recent post on the T&D magazine blog raises the topic of The Value of Learning. It states that the U.S. economy has become the chief concern of Americans, overtaking the Iraq war. It also says that the strategic value of learning is ...

Green To Gold

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:04:08 GMT

Green to Gold, by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston. It covers how smart companies use environmental strategies to innovate, create value, and try to build a competitive advantage. International Paper has a very strong ...

When Classroom Training Is the Best Option

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:24:12 GMT

When Classroom Training Is the Best Option I was interviewed today by a reporter from one of our industry publications and was asked about classroom training in today's e-world. Will it always be important? How has it changed? How will it change ...

The Importance of Business Acumen Training for Managers and Employees - White Paper

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:49:25 GMT

The Importance of Business Acumen Training for Managers and Employees Organizations today need managers and employees who can contribute to financial success. That’s why many of them are offering financial literacy training. ...

Classroom 2.0: The Classroom of the Future

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:39:25 GMT

I was reading Elliott Masie's blog yesterday and came across a post about the classroom of the future. Classroom learning issues, Elliot says, might be getting less attention than deserved these days amid all of the talk about e-Learning, Web 2.0, ...

The Big Question - 2008 Learning Trends

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:25:13 GMT

The Learning Circuits Blog Asked: The Big Question for January is: What are your Predictions for Learning in 2008? I see two important learning trends as we head into 2008. First, there is a growing need for financial literacy ...

Improving Corporate Training Results with Discovery Learning Methodology - White Paper

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:53:07 GMT

Improving Corporate Training Results with Discovery Learning Methodology. Corporate learning professionals can’t afford to waste time or money on training programs that don’t produce results. Discovery learning is a ...

Beyond Talent Development:Managers as Talent Leaders - White Paper

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:12:15 GMT

Beyond Talent Development: Managers as Talent Leaders Organizations must make talent management a top priority to remain competitive in today's marketplace. It makes all the difference in attracting, retaining and transitioning ...