Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - September 19, 2011.#685 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,464 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,265 Colleagues Registered! 1. Questions for John Lithgow on Storytelling?2. 9-Second Pause - - - Learner Engagement Soars!3. Godspell Cast as Learners. 1. Questions for John Lithgow on Storytelling? On November 8th, I will be conducting an in-depth interview on the power of Storytelling with the actor John Lithgow during Learning 2011. He is a Tony®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award Winner, with dozens of films, plays, television shows, books and more under his belt, including Footloose, Dexter, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Shrek and The World According to Garp. Lithgow is a passionate believer in the Power of the Story and Storytelling. So, help me construct my "Actor’s Workshop" interview with John Lithgow. Send me one or more questions or lines of conversation that I can pursue with him. Even if you can’t attend this event, we will post an in-depth summary of his remarks. Send me a note to emasie@masie.com  Thanks! 2. 9-Second Pause - - - Learner Engagement Soars! The other day, I was asked by a journalist for the one tip that I would give to people who want to improve learning and training. They probably thought that I would give a very "Learning 4.0" type answer. Instead, I focused on the number of seconds between the time an instructor asks a question and the next sound that they make! Unfortunately, most teachers ask, "Any questions?" and, in less than 3 seconds, start to speak again, often saying, "OK, let’s go on!" It takes a learner many seconds to recognize that you have stopped teaching and asked for a question, review what you said, evaluate what they would like to ask, formulate the question, raise their hand and then ask it! Not possible in 3 seconds!!!! So, extend your wait time to at least 9 seconds and the levels of learning engagement will soar! 3. Godspell Cast as Learners: As many Learning TRENDS readers know, we are investors in the revival of Godspell that is coming to Broadway in just a few weeks. This weekend, we had the opportunity to meet the cast - incredible, young, talented and passionate singers and actors. It is fascinating to see the learning curve that they are on now as they rehearse and shape their roles and this new version of a classical play. Watching them formulate Godspell is fascinating and I realized that they are many of tomorrow’s musical and acting stars. Check out the website at http://www.godspell.com Special Note: We have updated the list of over 220 sessions to be offered at Learning 2011 - check it out at http://www.learning2011.com/sessions Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - September 22, 2011.#686 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,472 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,312 Colleagues Registered! Idea: Nano-Coaching or Nano-Mentoring (Very Short Burst Support) Today, I am starting the DESIGN of my Welcome Keynote for Sunday night at Learning 2011. Each year, I look at an emerging trend or opportunity for learning, made available as an affordance by new technologies or new behavioral patterns.  This year, one of those is: "Nano-Coaching or Nano-Mentoring" Consider the opportunity to provide daily or weekly VERY SHORT coaching or mentoring from a person with expertise to the learner/worker who is attempting to learn or improve a process or behavior. When I say VERY SHORT, I do not mean 15 minute conversations.  In fact, Nano-Coaching may happen via email or Instant Messenger and could be as quick as 3 minutes.  My source for this model is a good friend and colleague Marshall Goldsmith, who was my coach and would call me every evening for 2 minutes to ask me a series of quick questions, including "How often did you finish the sentence of one of your staff?" or "Did you un-delegate a task to your team?"  Nano-Coaching could be delivered from a variety of sources: - Mentoring Call Center (internal or external).- Manager Delivered.- Retirees as Contract Mentors.- Peer within an internal Social Network.- Crowd-Sourced to a Collaborative Process. On a very personal note, I have been using Nano-Coaching for a quest to get healthier in my 61st year.  Since March 1st, I have been working with a doctor in Arizona on a changed diet and increased level of exercise. Every day, I enter the specifics of all that I have consumed and any exercise, along with periodic weigh-ins. I get weekly emails with comments, suggestions and even pushes ("stop eating so many avocados - they look healthy but are pretty fattening"). And, every few weeks, we talk for a few minutes. A number of our Learning CONSORTIUM members have been experimenting with Nano-Coaching as a support or alternative to traditional training approaches.  They are seeing some dramatic increases in effectiveness and even have tracked how Nano-Mentoring can boost average sales per field representative. It is a live version of Performance Support for learning or behavioral change. We have a lot to consider and experiment with Nano-Coaching, like what technology to use, methodologies, frequency and where it is not appropriate or effective, as well as the global implications in other cultures.  I am very excited to explore Nano-Coaching.  It has helped me get much healthier, lose 50 pounds and have even more energy. I believe that we can, as a field, develop some very intriguing designs that leverage Nano-Coaching.  I would love to hear your thoughts, reactions or examples. Please send me an email to emasie@masie.com To access this article on my Design Blog, go to: http://tinyurl.com/nanocoaching Special Note: We have updated the listing of over 220 sessions to be offered at Learning 2011 - check it out at http://www.learning2011.com/sessions Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - September 26, 2011.#687 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,479 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,342 Colleagues Registered! 1. Learning @ Southwest Airlines: Inspiring a Learning Culture for 40 Years!2. Godspell to Broadway Update. 1. Learning at Southwest Airlines - Inspiring a Learning Culture for 40 Years: For the past 40 years, much has been written about the culture at Southwest Airlines.  So, we are honored to have this as one of our sessions at Learning 2011: Learning at Southwest Airlines - Inspiring a Learning Culture for 40 Years: How can a great training organization get even better? Learn how Southwest Airlines training has transformed over the last 40 years and how we plan to transform the company over the next 40 years.  We will discuss our various training structures and which of those might work best for your organization! - Top-down leadership support for learning.- Learning everywhere.- The future of learning at Southwest Airlines. Session Facilitators: Dave Curry, Sr. Director Operational Training; Kristi Owens, Manager e-learning; Leeann Watkins, Project Leader Operational Training. This is just one of over 230 sessions to be offered at Learning 2011. More details about this and other sessions at: http://tinyurl.com/4y2p82t 2. Godspell to Broadway Update: As you may remember from a previous TRENDS, we are investors in the revival of the musical Godspell that starts previews on Broadway on October 13th. It has been fascinating to see the connections between the production process for Godspell and the learning field.  A few of the parallels that I have observed: * Talent is Everything! You have got to hire TALENT. While you can coach, support and stretch new employees, if you are on a tight timeline to "opening", the key is hiring great Talent.* Talent Respects Talent! Watching how the young actors in the Godspell cast are interacting with each other - over Twitter and from rehearsal reports - talent that respects other talent supercharges the team.* Make it Fresh! Godspell first was performed 40 years ago. And, while the story and music are defined, Steve Schwartz, the original composer of Godspell (and Wicked), is adding some elements to keep it fresh! All good lessons for corporations and organizations :) If you want tickets to see the previews or post-opening show, go to http://www.godspell.com   Send me a note if you are coming to New York for the show. Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com 

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - September 27, 2011.#688 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,481 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,342 Colleagues Registered! 1. Early Morning Speech in Blue Jeans!2. No CLO at Intel?3. What Color Is Your Parachute - 40 Years & Still Great! 1. Early Morning Speech in Blue Jeans! At 8:00 AM my speech started. Yet, I had rolled out of bed only 30 minutes before, stopped for a quick bagel and was sitting at my desk in Blue Jeans!  This was a pretty typical day in my life, with usually one or two speeches or coaching sessions, conducted by video, to a group somewhere in the world. This morning’s was to a cool group of learning colleagues assembled by our colleague Karen Freedman from FM Global in Rhode Island. She asked if I would spend about 40 minutes with the local chapter of ASTD, talking about key elements related to Learning Innovation. I said yes and it popped up on my schedule this morning. Here is what was interesting and evolving about the speech: * We used desktop video from the webcam on my office Mac through Adobe Connect to a large meeting room at FM Global. One click and a phone call for higher level audio, and we were connected.* The presentation was highly conversational, as folks from the meeting asked questions ranging from the impact of technology distraction to the decline in Analysis as a step for some learning design.* I was able to get to the meeting without a flight, just in time, wear jeans (the camera only got the top 1/2 of Elliott) and use artifacts on my desk as part of my storytelling.* 2 minutes after the speech was over, I was starting a call with some teammates in DC and New York City. As we get more comfortable with bringing in speakers via video, from high end telepresence to desktop or webinar video, it increases our agility to be part of meetings and classes with less disruption, travel and expense.  Couple of things that a speaker needs to keep in mind during these presentations: * Get comfortable talking to your own picture on the screen.* Move the frame with your video to the top and close to the webcam, so you are looking right at the camera.* Make your presence a bit larger than life - you may be on a very large projection screen on the other side - and fill it up with personality and attitude.* Allow the content to be driven, as much as possible, by the questions from the remote audience.  I had many things I wanted to say, but trusted that I could integrate my points into their questions. In fact, I kept a list of points and checked them off as folks asked questions.* If you are RELAXED, they will be. Show your comfort with the media and don’t focus on your virtual presence - be present! 2. No CLO at Intel? I was intrigued about how a global organization like Intel delivers and innovates in the learning world, in a highly decentralized learning organization without a CLO.  So, we asked them to present a key session at Learning 2011 (Nov 6-9, Orlando): Learning @ Intel: Decentralized, Global & No CLO!Presented by: Allison Anderson, Learning Innovations Program Manager. We are a combination of small and large learning organizations serving a population diverse in culture, age, job role and geography. The learning landscape at Intel is complex, to say the least. Explore the challenges and benefits of serving the brightest, most driven employees in the world, in a wholly decentralized learning function. We’ll look at leading-edge programs and key "wins" from across the company: - A look inside Intel’s leadership development.- Going beyond the community hype cycle.- Creating effective learning experiences: the secret sauce! For more information on this session and the several hundred other learning choices at Learning 2011, go to http://tinyurl.com/3sfpqfn  41 days to go and over 1,340 colleagues registered! 3. What Color Is Your Parachute - 40 Years & Still Great! I was in the bookstore the other day and saw one of my favorite books out in a new edition: "What Color is Your Parachute"A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers By Richard Bolles - 2012 Edition 40 years ago, Bolles wrote this incredibly practical book. In many ways, it changed the model for job search, concentrating on both networking and personal clarification of your strengths, interests and opportunities. I used it early in my life when I found myself "between" jobs and also leveraged this book when I taught several classes on careers.  Forty years later, Bolles has updated it, including the search and networking opportunities available via the internet, honing his own models. I read it this weekend and it is still one of the most practical books ever written. In a time where we all know someone facing a job change situation, this would be great reference to pass along.  Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - September 28, 2011.#689 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,487 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,417 Colleagues Registered! 1. Happy 5,772nd New Year - Rosh Hashanah Wishes!2. Neoprene Laptop/Tablet Bag Selected!3. Amazon Tablet Implications. 1. Happy 5,772nd New Year - Rosh Hashanah Wishes! If I saw you tonight, I would say "L’Shanah Tovah", wishing you and your family a healthy and excellent New Year, which starts in the Jewish calendar today.  As I start year 5,772, thoughts turn to the need for us, across religions, nationalities, cultures, races, economics, identities and generations, to look towards our shared challenges and missed opportunities. The world is clearly a rapidly changing place.  As shared residents of this world, we must develop new models of collaboration, learning, governance and solution finding.  Our economic and media models may not be up to the challenges that we face - but as citizens, we have to look to our communities, ourselves, our faiths and into the eyes and hearts of fellow humans, to find a way to make 5,772, 2012 or whatever your next year’s calendar count is, a successful solution finding year. As a young child, growing up in a Jewish family, I associated our New Year with storytelling, singing, learning and a sense of importance about the coming year.  So, to my TRENDS readers of all faiths, "L’Shanah Tovah". 2. Neoprene Laptop/Tablet Bag Selected! Design sometimes involves things other than modules or objectives. We have just selected a very cool Neoprene Laptop/Tablet BAG for attendees at Learning 2011. The choice involved many elements, from a shift in technology to a decrease in the papers distributed to a desire to avoid extra luggage fees on the way home.  Check out the design process and see a picture of the bag at http://www.learning2011.com/475-bag-blog.htm 3. Amazon Tablet Implications: It is intriguing to follow the announcement this morning by Amazon of their new entry into the tablet marketplace - the Kindle Fire, with a 7-inch touch screen, weighing 14.6 ounces and priced at $199. As a major user of the iPad, I have been hoping for one or two other successful entrants into the tablet marketplace to provide options, competition and also multiple tracks of innovation that can only help move this segment ahead. Amazon, with their role in book distribution, could add some interesting App affordances that would take the eBook from a digital equivalent to more robust form factor. The MASIE Center LAB is slated to get the new tablets in November and we will take it through our User Experience tests.  Stay tuned. Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - September 30, 2011.#690 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,489 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,446 Colleagues Registered! 1. Walmart Lifelong Learning - Support for Associates to College.2. Energy Drinks for Breaks??? 1. Walmart Lifelong Learning - Support for Associates to College: Walmart, as one of the world’s largest employers, has recently made a significant commitment to Lifelong Learning for their associates.  Walmart’s Lifelong Learning Program will make it more convenient and more affordable for their associates to attend college while also working at the company. Through a partnership with American Public University (APU), associates will be eligible for college credit for their formal training and job experience at Walmart. The partnership will put associates on a faster track to earning a college degree, reduce their length of time in school and make the overall cost more affordable. I reached out to Brian Poland, Senior Director Talent Development, Walmart Stores to design a session about their unique program for Learning 2011: Walmart’s Lifelong Learning Program: The Intersection of Corporate Ed & Higher Ed Brian Poland, Director of Walmart Lifelong Learning, Walmart Stores "At Walmart, we know better than anybody that talent and hard work will take you a long way, but education is the single biggest competitive advantage we can give our people in the 21st century. While a degree is not a guarantee of advancement, it has been the path to a better and more fulfilling life for generations of Americans. Over the past year, we’ve been developing a new education partnership that will help our associates learn, not just for Walmart, but for life. We will discuss lessons learned since our "grand opening" of the Lifelong Learning program.  Our session at Learning 2011 will address: * How lifelong learning enhances your talent pipeline; building a competency-aligned model to maximize business impact and enable college credit for job learning.* Impact on internal instructional design and LMS design.* Effectively communicating to 1.4 million associates and leaders." I was part of a national group of learning advisers working with Walmart as they designed this program and it was inspirational to see their commitment to talent development, not just for their organization, but for the life futures of their associates. More information on this session and links to details about the Walmart efforts at http://www.learning2011.com/477-Walmart-Lifelong-Learning.htm 2. Energy Drinks for Breaks??? Perhaps this is a generational reaction, but the other day I was at a Conference Center presenting an Executive Program, and during the afternoon break, there were rows of "5 Hour Energy" drink. These small bottles, containing a load of vitamins and supplements, were pretty strange to me. Yet, several participants reached for one and drank it in a few gulps. Maybe there is no difference than my large cup of caffeine-filled java, but it did stop me in my tracks. Wonder if any TRENDS readers have seen these types of drinks included in seminar refreshment offerings.  Send me an email to emasie@masie.com Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

TO: Learning, Training & Performance ColleaguesFROM: Elliott Masie RE: Learning Challenges & Trends in 2012 - Webinar Next Tuesday Please join me for a 60 minute webinar next Tuesday, looking at our learning field as we head into 2012: Seven Learning Challenges & Trends for 2012! - Interactive WebinarFeaturing: Elliott Masie.Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 1 PM (EDT).Reserve a Space: http://tinyurl.com/masiewebinar   . Hear our view of how Learning is being impacted by Seven Challenges: * The Demise of Instructional Design - As We Knew It!* Memorization Changes in the Age of Google!* Inadequate LMS/LCMS & Learning Systems!* Consumerization of IT!* Storytelling & Short Video Segments!* Leadership Development Redesigned!* Workplace GPS Needed! To reserve a space in this free, global webinar (limited to 1,000 participants), go to http://tinyurl.com/masiewebinar Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - October 5, 2011.#691 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,495 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,503 Colleagues Registered! 1. Morgan Freeman Video on FIRST® & Science Learning.2. Moneyball & Learning?3. Webinar Invite: 7 Learning Challenges & Trends. 1. Morgan Freeman Video on FIRST® & Science Learning: Take 3 minutes to watch a video from actor Morgan Freeman on our website, detailing FIRST®, an amazing program that we will honor at Learning 2011. FIRST®, founded by Dean Kamen, is changing the culture in schools, increasing students’ engagement in Science and Technology through deep projects on robotics, with great mentoring from engineers in their communities. We will be making a $25,000 donation to FIRST® from the Learning Gives Back project and I want our field to better understand the excitement and changes that happen when students engage in project-based learning for technology. The future scientist that will one day discover the cure for Alzheimer’s may be in one of these teams. Watch Morgan Freeman at http://www.learning2011.com/firstvideo 2. Moneyball & Learning? Have any of our Learning TRENDS readers watched the movie "Moneyball" that is now in theaters, focused on baseball and understanding the numbers and metrics behind true performance? Bob Baker, our CLO, and I are starting to write an article on the concept of Moneyball for Learning: what are numbers/metrics/measures that would dramatically improve the performance of our learning, rather than just "prove" the impact or maybe ROI? If you have some thoughts or ideas, send them along to bob@masie.com   We’ll publish a piece on this in a few weeks. 3. Webinar Invite: 7 Learning Challenges & Trends!  Please join me for a 60 minute webinar next Tuesday, looking at our learning field as we head into 2012: "Seven Learning Challenges & Trends for 2012!" - Interactive WebinarFeaturing: Elliott Masie.Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 1 PM (EDT).Reserve a Space: http://tinyurl.com/masiewebinar   . Hear our view of how Learning is being impacted by Seven Challenges: * The Demise of Instructional Design - As We Knew It!* Memorization Changes in the Age of Google!* Inadequate LMS/LCMS & Learning Systems!* Consumerization of IT!* Storytelling & Short Video Segments!* Leadership Development Redesigned!* Workplace GPS Needed! To reserve a space in this free, global webinar (limited to 1,000 participants), go to http://tinyurl.com/masiewebinar Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - October 9. 2011.#692 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,499 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,592 Colleagues Registered! 1. Download Learning 2011 Program Guide.2. Host Elliott Masie on Global Tour. 1. Download Learning 2011 Program Guide:  The complete 104 page Program Guide for Learning 2011 can now be downloaded or viewed in an online 3D reader.  Go to http://www.learning2011.com/guide 2. Host Elliott Masie on Global Tour: I will be taking a five week global trip at the end of this year, visiting colleagues in many of these countries: * New Zealand.* Philippines.* Vietnam.* Tanzania.* Kenya.* Bali.* Thailand.* China.* Hong Kong.* United Arab Emirates.* Qatar. If you are located in one of these countries and would be interested in either connecting for a conversation about  learning or gathering some local colleagues for a session focused on "The Connected Learner", please send me an email to emasie@masie.com   The trip will occur from November 22 to December 31, 2011. I may not be able to visit every city where we have learning colleagues on this trip, but I would love to hear from you soon - and start to make plans to get together. Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - October 11. 2011.#693 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.55,511 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.Host of Learning 2011 - Over 1,603 Colleagues Registered! 1. Great by Choice - Jim Collins’ Latest Book.2. America the Vulnerable - New Book on Cyber Security Threat.3. How Planning a Wedding and a Conference Are Similar - Seats & Uncle Mort! 1. "Great by Choice" - Jim Collins’ Latest Book: Today, we start with 2 books that I would like to recommend to TRENDS readers. The first is "Great by Choice" by Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great".  He and Morten Hansen take a look at the type of unstable environments faced by leaders today. Some of their findings were surprising and intriguing: "The best leaders were not more risk taking, more visionary, and more creative than the comparisons; they were more disciplined, more empirical and more paranoid." They also look at the challenge and opportunity to "scale" innovation and to blend creativity with discipline. Check it out - a good read! 2. "America the Vulnerable" - New Book on Cyber Security Threat: The next book may get you depressed or scared, but it is key for learning professionals to have a sense of the growing cyber security threats, particularly as we leverage more technology to create, share and access knowledge in our organizations.  "America the Vulnerable: Inside the New Threat Matrix of Digital Espionage, Crime, and Warfare" is by Joel Brenner, who was the Inspector General of NSA and national counterintelligence executive in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Once again, this is a sobering perspective that is needed in our corporate executive suites. 3. How Planning a Wedding and a Conference Are Similar - Seats & Uncle Mort! On a much lighter note, read my recent blog entry about how planning a wedding is quite similar to producing a conference. I detail very specific numbers that are part of the complex handicapping for how many people will be at Learning 2011. How do we plan for last minute registrations, walk-ins, cancellations and other realities of any event? And, how to deal with ordering food, bags and furniture for 2,000 people, give or take a few hundred?  http://www.learning2011.com/489-Like-a-Wedding-28-Days.htm Complete 104 page Program Guide downloadable at http://www.learning2011.com/guide Yours in Learning, Elliott Masie.email: emasie@masie.com MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:* Learning 2011 - Nov 6 to 9, 2011 - Orlando, Florida.* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUMInfo and Registration: http://www.masie.com