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I was having a conversation with someone yesterday afternoon about how the number of software vendors offering wikis, blogs, discussions boards, rapid elearning, etc. was enormous and that there would certainly come a time when things would begin to consolidate and major players would begin to emerge.  This will prevent organizations from having to cobble together these elements and the pain and inefficiencies associated with cobbling.

An ‘ERP of Learning’ is sure to be on the horizon was the synopsis of our talk - then I saw a press release from OutStart today [note - this is not my prediction that this is the 'Learning ERP'...just an indication that it's a comin'] detailing the merger of OutStart and Eedo.

As Chief Learning Officers become more prevalent and powerful and as the trends in learning continue to incorporate elements of informal learning (i.e. communities of practice) and others suitable for knowledge workers it will be an exciting time to watch as the various software offerings in the learning space make moves to secure their future or their fate - there are certainly demands in the market for this functionality and a sole source vendor to provide it doesn’t exist yet.

CLO Media posted a recent executive briefing where they provide four things that CEOs and Chief Learning Officers [CLOs] should be considering when operating their business.  I agree with the categories listed in the article but they are quite high level (it is a ‘briefing’ for a reason I suppose) and allow the reader to determine how each would be executed.

For a CEO or CLO that is planning to ramp up efforts in these areas it provides an opportunity to do things a bit more progressively in implementation - examples provided as they relate to the four CLO suggestions…

1. Develop strategically with purpose: one of the snippets from this section is “have a clear definition of a desired future” - in today’s rapidly changing world it’s difficult to have a static vision of a future that will be the basis for processes and decisions implemented now; utilizing the process of scenario planning is a way to identify multiple futures (scenarios) and then determine the common denominators threaded throughout.  These common elements can then be used by the CLO to begin looking at high-level competencies that would be valuable regardless of which future the organization ends up living.
2. Focus on core competencies first: I would describe core competencies as those that will not be changing in the foreseeable future.  Competency development initiatives are often centered around the current state of the organization, market, product portfolio, etc.  All of those factors (plus many others) can change quickly and having competencies that will prevail through all conditions are what I would truly consider ‘core.’  Referring back to #1, scenario planning is a great way to plan for the competencies that will be crucial in many different settings.
3. Target opportunities intentionally instead of reacting to problems: reacting to problems often results in Band-Aid solutions that may mask symptoms for a few days, weeks or even years before they come back to haunt the original target or manifest themselves in a new way in a different part of the organization.  [A classic example is a company with lagging sales that launches a large price cut promotion and due to the diminished revenue from the price cut is unable to meet the demand generated by the promotion and now faces quality and customer service issues.]  An effective and progressive way of addressing this is by viewing the organization as a system - an interdependent collection of pieces where action in one area will result in consequences [good or bad] in another.  This approach is known as systems thinking and has yielded impressive results for organizations around the world - utilizing it provides a way to identify opportunities to tweak operations and model potential outcomes that would otherwise be left to chance.
4. Embrace change: harnessing incremental change and having a progressive approach to change management are certainly crucial but often challenging.  People are often creatures of habit and start to like that with which they become familiar.  So changing that can be difficult.  Utilizing a social network analysis is a powerful tool that provides an organizational x-ray showing how information is transferred around the network that comprises an organization.  Information from a network analysis can be used to identify people in the organization that are sought out most often - the influencers.  Utilizing these individuals in change management results in a much more targeted effort to managing change than the traditional shotgun approach.

As I mentioned above, the tenets offered in the original briefing by CLO Media are valid ones and their high-level descriptions leave the interpretation of implementation to the reader.  Each of the topics listed offers an opportunity to do something a little more progressive and effective than the norm, to embrace our transition to a knowledge society teeming with fluid, dynamic learning organizations in which tools and tactics from yesteryear will be rendered obsolete.

Check out a real-time Digg Swarm. 

This is a fascinating view of the chaotic rhythm of a crowd seeking the information it wants.  It’s messy, it’s unpredictable and it’s reality.  And it’s precisely the reason that formal training programs account for (at most) only 20% of how people get the information they need to do their job. 

 If you’re not familiar with Digg it’s a website that allows its users to select (digg) things that they find interesting on the net.  Those nuggets are read and rated by other Digg users and this determines how popular an item is.  This results in a community that relies on the recommendations of the greater whole to select content for the individual.  It’s an effective system at weeding through the reams of information the Internet spews daily.

Watch as people ‘hop’ from article to article on a journey to their chosen destination at the speed that’s right for them.  You’re seeing self-directed learning in its purest form.  How effective would training classes be for these folks?  They’re obviously accustomed to getting the info they want when they want it, is a classroom the best venue for them to get info regarding their job?

With the social network craze and the ‘we are smarter than me’ philosophies we’re hearing about quite often, the way in which we gather, share, find and use information has permanently changed.  Most of us are now full-fledged knowledge workers whether we think so or not and the toolboxes of training and development departments need to reflect the shift. 

Communities of Practice, Web 2.0, and the myriad other learning and development terms that are in heavy rotation are evidence that some progressive approaches need to be thrown into the traditional mix.  Classroom training isn’t dead - it will always serve a unique niche in the learning portfolio - I think it will just diminish to the point that it matches it’s impact on participants (<20%).

 Embracing informal learning in organizations will become a necessity in just a few years due to us becoming a knowledge society.  There are tons of articles out there that will tell you so - if you happen to run across one, Digg it!

Here’s an interesting video with some Googlers talking about knowledge and the economic impact: 

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=h8XDceL8jd0[/youtube]

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.

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.

In an e-seminar hosted by CLO Magazine yesterday, presenter Josh Bersin of Bersin and Associates facilitated a talk titled, “Increasing the Strategic Value of Learning Organizations.”  You can find the slides here - the recording should be available here shortly.

Note: If you wish you had known about this e-seminar, we keep an up-to-date calendar on Orbital RPM’s site where you can search for events (big as small) throughout the learning and development field and send reminders directly to your calendar or email.

There are many good nuggets of information contained in Josh’s talk but in the interest of focus I will highlight one.  Bersin and Associates is known for their quantitative research in the field of learning and development and the statistics from one of Josh’s slides was intriguing to me.

The following percentages indicate how much more effective or efficient organizations were (in the areas listed) that have a highly effective Cheif Learning Officer (CLO) in their ranks:

• Partnering with Lines of Business: + 12%
• Measuring the Impact of Learning: + 20%
• Developing Innovative e-Learning: + 14%
• Sharing Best Practices: + 15%
• Making the Most of Resources: +12%
• Developing High Job Satisfaction: +10%

These numbers are compelling.  As the strategic role of learning and development continues its climb up the ranks of organizational credibility, it’s studies like these that will give it a boost.  Everybody loves data and these are numbers that any Executive would like to see.

In a Chief Learning Officer magazine article titled “People, the Neglected Part of Technology”, author David Miller explains his perspective on how learning and knowledge management should be integrated with the implementation of new technologies, such as a new ERP package (i.e. SAP).  He even provides a specific statistic from the Gartner Group that says, “when 17 percent of the total program budget is spent on these initiatives the chances of success go up significantly.”

I found David’s points to be applicable beyond tech implementations and to all of organizational learning.  I like reading articles where I find myself subconsciously nodding my head in agreement as I read and that happened numerous times throughout this article.

David calls on the combination of the usuals for learning such as “telling the learner, showing the learner and letting them try” and adds to that the elements that will support the more informal channels that allow people to build on what was formally designed for them.  He suggests strengthening the network, cultivating communities of practice and providing just-in-time access to information that people can call upon at the moment it is needed. 

Doing the above creates what David calls a “culture of shared experiences” allowing organizations to capture the often elusive tacit knowledge of how work really gets done.  This results in people having access to the information they need as opposed to “sterile, clinical information found in manuals and training courses.”  This concept can be applied to any training, regardless of the topic.

Follow David’s advice and you’ve got the diverse learning and development portfolio that will do more than just allow you to implement technology effectively - it will put you on the fast track to being a true learning organization.  How will you know if you’ve done it correctly?  David advocates the use of a balanced scorecard for establishing and assessing the metrics associated with the learning initiative (nod, nod).

It turns out there are quite a few.  Some organizations are relying on the collective brainpower of participants to deliver value in gatherings rather than a rigid agenda.

I was reminded of this today when I read the Performance Express Newsletter from ISPI (scroll down to the article titled “Sharing is Good”).  Many of the benefits the author experienced in her trip to Zurich are the drivers behind what are being called unconferences, unworkshops, brain jams, or mind camps.

I came from the instructional design world and can remember looking at evaluations of courses where participants consistently rated their time with peers during breaks and at meals as providing the most value for them.  The approaches listed in the paragraph above have taken this feedback and designed sessions that cater to people’s natural tendency to learn from one another.

Organizations can save money and provide greater value by utilizing some tips in designing an unconference instead of relying on the traditional models of talking heads and flimsy action plans.  They also serve as a great seed for cultivating a community of practice.

Dreading desiging the agenda for an upcoming session?  Consider doing away with it all together.

Training Outsourcing recently added forums to its website, allowing visitors to “find solutions…exchange ideas.”  It looks like the first posts were only about two weeks ago so don’t expect much content just yet but they’re definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Their first guest was Tracy Cox, Director of Performance Consulting for Raytheon Professional Services.  He led a webinar titled “Creating Business Value Through Social Network Analysis” for TrainingOutsourcing.com recently.  (A free registration is required to view the webinar or participate in the forums mentioned above.)  Since the webinar, Tracy has been visiting the Training Outsourcing.com forums and discussing social network analysis and how it can help with communities of practice, knowledge transfer, informal learning and the overall corporate learning function.