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CLO events will host Keith Bridges in a webinar on 10/26/06 @ 2pm EST.

From their site:

Join Keith Bridges, senior HR consultant at EDS, as he chronicles the creation and implementation of 75 IT development paths critical to technical-delivery success. Development paths are blended-learning experiences that feature Thomson NETg Web-based courses, Learnflow programs for Microsoft and Cisco, Toolwire virtual labs, Expert Now online courses, instructor-led courses, mentoring, assessments, online reference libraries and exam voucher management — all delivered through a Saba LMS. In this Chief Learning Officer magazine e-Seminar, sponsored by Thomson NETg, you’ll hear how more than 35,000 people have enrolled in nearly 150,000 courses since EDS launched the first seven development paths in the fall of 2004. Hear firsthand how EDS plans to incorporate podcasts, blogs, wikis and other new emerging technologies into its learning and development programs.

Keith was afacilitator at the inaugural CLO Academy and has a great deal of knowledge in this area so I’m excited to hear what he has to say.  It’s great to see that his agenda will include some informal learning/Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis and podcasts - this will only help increase the exposure and credibility of these tools as the next generation of learning methodology.

It’s free…register here.

Note:  For an at-a-glance view of all types of events related to learning and development, Orbital RPM maintains a Calendar that shows events for many months in the future for planning purposes and allows you to sign-up for reminders to email or cell phone.

TrainingOutsourcing.com and Expertus have released the results of the the second part in their Training Challenges Survey Series.

In it the authors list the following highlights:

• While a vast majority of companies (82%) are now involved in global training, most training dollars are still spent on training delivered within home countries. Almost half of responding companies spend less than 10% of their annual training budgets on training delivered outside of home countries. In 37% of responding companies, employees outside of home countries receive less training than those employees located within home countries.

• 62% of companies managed global training through a centralized learning organization. However, 42% of respondents had training staff located in
U.S. and non-U.S. countries.

• English is by far the most commonly used language for training (95%). Almost 40% of companies use Spanish, 30% use French, 25% use Chinese, and 25% use German.

• In 58% of companies, all employees have access to e-learning.

• The top challenges identified by respondents are budget constraints (48%), content localization and translation (40%), effective learning delivery (39%), and maximization of e-learning (34%).

• Training delivery (36%), content development (35%), and technical services (26%) are the most frequently outsourced services.

The first bullet was a surprise - that 82% of those surveyed are involved in global training  but almost half of those spend less than 10% of their training budget on those outside the home country.  I’ve taken enough statistics in my life to not read too much into numbers - I’m just curious what lay behind that data.

The rest is good baseline data for the learning and development field - I look forward to the rest of the series.

I participate in an on-line forum of learning professionals that exists to answer questions, swap best practices, etc.

Recently one of the other members (Christie) posted something that suggested some changes to the forum.  The response of one of the moderators shocked me - he has since apologized so I decided not to publish the name of the forum or the company that sponsors it (of which the offender is an owner).

In Christie’s post, she suggested that the forum could have some additional features that would add much more value for the participants.  Her tone was constructive and not at all harsh.

The moderator’s response was as follows:

“Thanks once again, Christie, for your predictably negative comments about the Forum.

All—we’re in the process of allowing attachments to be added, which is a feature that should be available in the next day or two. We will notify everyone the moment it is ready to go.”

I receive these message on my BlackBerry and stopped in my tracks in the grocery store when I read this.  I had to re-read it a couple times to be sure of what I was seeing.  This message was just distributed to learning and development professionals at hundreds of well-known companies and the author was an owner of the company that sponsors the forum.  I know the saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity but I can’t see this making a favorable impression in the eyes of any potential clients that are (were) a part of the forum.

In a place that was set up for learning professionals to learn more about learning, one would think the moderators would be open to suggestions from the community - that’s what learning is all about after all.

I recently spent a weekend in Washington D.C. to make a vacation out of the inaugural CLO Academy that was being held in Lansdowne, VA.

It was a quick trip in D.C. so we were rushed to see the major sites. We started at the National Archives building where they have on display the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence along with access to countless other historical documents.

While up close and personal with these very elaborate and elegant documents, I wondered what the process would have been had our country been formed when the Founding Fathers had access to some of today’s Web 2.0 tools that we’re now using for learning and collaboration.

Imagine Benjamin Franklin and John Adams developing their ideas for the Constitution on a wiki, Thomas Paine keeping citizens informed about the American Revolution via his blog rather than the pamphlet ‘Common Sense’ or all of the Founding Fathers forming a community of practice that keeps in touch about their progress via an online portal.

What they would have gained in efficiencies back then is perhaps what we would have lost in enjoyment today. It’s tough to imagine throngs of people gathered around and craning their necks to sneak a peek of the final wiki page of the Constitution. Would John Hancock’s digital signature have the same impact as the pen and ink version does?  Probably not.

Don’t mistake my tone, though.  I’m all for these Web 2.0 tools and enjoy the efficiency they bring to offices and homes each day.  It just seems that the more efficient we get, the less that opportunity for nostalgia exists. 

On the other hand, perhaps these advacements will serve to make the historic documents all the more rare as times go by so that in several decades our societies will just appreciate the fact that they’re on paper - let alone written by hand.  If this serves to create more awareness and interest in our history, I say that’s one more benefit of the progress we’re making.

Is it me or is building a community the big buzz in the field of learning and development today?  It seems that every organization I’ve gotten involved with for my own personal development is offering a membership in their own community to go along with it.

This includes Masie’s Learning 2006, the CLO Institute’s CLOinfo, TrainingOutsourcing.com’s Forums and many, many others.

This is not to sound cynical - I think the idea of having communities that can support each other’s on-going learning in a particular area is a fantastic idea.  I just think that there is a possibility for this approach to be diluted within the field of learning and development to the point that there are just too many.  I know I cannot physically keep up regular involvement with this many different communities. 

A major driver in people’s continuing participation in a community of practice is that they get value from their involvement.  It will be challenging to keep all of these communities thriving to the extent that members get enough value to participate in all of them.  I’m sure that some readers would advise me to pick a manageable number and go with those.  That’s tough because I’m the person that doesn’t want to miss any nuggets - don’t make me choose.  If there are relevant ramblings happening in many dispersed communities - might I not be the only one that finds value in a many of them?

At some point I think that people in the field of learning and development may need to consolidate these communities and perhaps one front-runner will emerge.  I am hoping so - I don’t want to miss a thing.

I just realized that I tend to favor topics around learning in my posts when in my role I focus just as much on development.  For us at Orbital RPM we see learning and development as related but distinct.  Development is about changing mindsets and behaviors while learning is giving people access to the information they need to perform.

Years ago I was a ‘Leadership Development Consultant’ with a national consulting firm.  Our services offered to clients were basically workshops on various topics and our flagship ‘Leadership Institute.’ 

Once a month, the Leadership Institute hosted approximately 35 leaders for a 5-day retreat in the mountains of Colorado.  The participants that attended were usually very high-level and accomplished in their roles.  It was not uncommon for their expressions and body-language on Day 1 to be screaming, “You can’t change me.”

By the end of Day 5 it was often these initial nay-sayers that were crying in the closing circle about how powerful the week was for them.  After conducting countless follow-ups with participants when they returned to their role, though, it was apparent to me that their first reaction was accurate - we didn’t change them.

This is not a reflection on the design of the Leadership Institute.  I really do believe it was a powerful event for participants.  The problem was that it was just an event.  Without a process to sustain the learning, most new concepts will dissipate within a few days or maybe even weeks if the person was really moved.

Enter the concept of action learning.  Developed by Reg Revans back in the 1940’s, Action Learning begins with exposing participants to some fundamental concepts (as the Leadership Institute did) but that is just the beginning of a process.  Small groups of cross-functional participants are then charged with solving issues in their own organization.  As the workgroups go through the process of their assigned issue, a coach is present to ask questions and guide them back to the concepts they learned in the initial workshop or event.  It is through this process of application and reflection that the concepts in the intial workshop are embedded in participants.

General Electric uses action learning extensively at it’s famed Crotonville but why hasn’t it caught on to the masses?  I still see companies that take people on rafts, ropes and racecars in an attempt at leadership development.  I advise clients to see these activities as what they are…fun.  Nothing wrong with that but don’t expect people to come back a better leader. 

Where I believe there is value in these fun activities is as the kick-off to an action learning project.  It congeals participants and lets them get to know each other before embarking on their problem-solving and personal growth journey.

Don’t have the money for this much fun?  No problem.  Any group activity will do.  A conservation expert in Leadville, CO I met over the weekend told me that companies are starting to send groups to him that tackle a restoration project for a couple days.  It’s win-win because CO is that much more beautiful, the participants get the feeling of accomplishment and they’re tighter as a group.  The perfect ingredients to tackle a project back at the office.

If you’re in the market for a development program, do your homework.  The term ‘action learning’ has become diluted in much of the marketing literature that makes its way to my desk.  It seems that if an activity involves physical movement of any kind, someone will label it action learning.  Know what you’re buying - if it’s conducted all in a classroom and is over in a few days, there may be lots of action but expect little learning.

I just signed up for the Corporate Learning Forum - “A worldwide knowledge exchange for corporate training, organizational development and institutional learning professionals.”

It’s too early to tell how much value I’ll get but for $50 dollars/year, it’s worth a shot.  It’s essentially a listserv and your annual dues go to marketing so that other professionals can hear about it and are encouraged to join.  They’re creating a peer-to-peer place where those that tout just-in-time information can receive it themselves.

Hope to see you there…

It’s obvious that our world is undergoing changes that are far beyond advances in organizational learning and development…but some of the similarities are apparent.

Business 2.o’s recent cover read “The Next Disruptors:  Meet 11 Companies Whose Breakthroughs Will Change Everything.”  In it we meet businesses that are tackling everything from software to lending to advertising.

The common thread through all seems to be individualization.  Consumers today are becoming more and more catered to and as a result are receiving products and services that are more refined to meet their needs.  We get what we want instead of taking what we’re given.

• Advertising:  Most people were forced to watch commercials on TV breaks because they didn’t want to miss what was “up next” - TiVO has changed that forever and advertisers are now forced to rely on products placed in the actual shows.  Think there’s a market there?  Hamet Watt does.  His company NextMedium “automates and standardizes the process of product placement in TV shows, movies, and videogames.” 
• The two players mentioned in the technology space are Coghead and NetVibes.  Both are built on the philosophy of end-users creating exactly what is right for them.  With NetVibes, more for the individual, “users can rapidly change the look of their start page, select content, add RSS feeds, and custom-build features from other Netvibes users.”  While with Coghead, more for organizations, users “who can code a simple Excel macro should have little trouble using Coghead to create even sophisticated enterprise apps like logistics trackers, CRM programs, or project management systems.”
• And then there’s lending.  A company by the name of Zopa has created a peer-to-peer model for people to lend and borrow money that cuts out the bank, gives lower rates to borrowers and a return to individuals as lenders.  Brilliant! 

These three examples reflect the progressive trends bubbling up in learning and development.  No longer do participants want to sit in a class when much of the information being presented doesn’t pertain to them.  They want to ‘fast-forward’ to what matters.  They want the option to customize things just they way they need or like them.  And, they get most of what they need from their peers. 

Hence the popularity of podcasting, social networking sites, nano-learning, workflow learning, mobile learning and communities of practice.  Take out the middle-men, edit out the commercials, let us get the information to do our jobs when we need it and how we like it.

In the coming years I’m sure we’ll see this trend of customer customization only grow.  As societies figure out that they control what the market gives them, more and more we will be demanding just what we need.  The field of learning and development is paralleling these changes and what is now considered traditional training will be so 1.o.