There is so much to do as an online teacher. This includes the teaching, planning, admin, responding to emails, creating content, website setup etc. And with all this comes a lot of distractions. In this video, I talk about how batching tasks will help you become more productive and focused. Useful ... The post Batching Tasks when Teaching Online appeared first on Teaching ESL Online.

Recent news that Accenture was doing away with the traditional "rank-and-rate" approach to performance management made headlines in the Financial Times with the article "Common sense frees staff from appraisals." In The Washington Post article "In big move, Accenture will get rid of annual performance reviews and rankings," Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme describes the change as a "massive revolution." It will be a "big move"—changing a process that involves 330,000 people is bold and intimidating. And there is no question that changing your approach to performance management means reevaluating the culture you aspire to build. But it’s hardly unique. Many large organizations are embarking on this journey, and the path Accenture is going to tread is already well beaten. Microsoft, Medtronic, Gap, Juniper Networks, and Kelly Services have all abandoned the old-school approach in favor of a more collaborative focus on coaching. A seminal moment in this trend was a slight foot-in-mouth moment in 2012 when Adobe’s SVP Donna Morris, jet lagged after a long flight to India, told the HR press that the software firm was going to abolish the practice—forcing the hand of the company to move on the plan. With over 12,000 employees, this was also a big move. We are working with dozens of organizations to answer a key question: If we do away with performance evaluations, what do we replace them with? We have captured best practices in a recent research report published by our BlessingWhite division. We have also shared the specific story of Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Pasadena, CA, where tremendous improvements resulted from this change. Borrowing insights from Geoffrey A. Moore, the innovators have already shown the way. We are now experiencing a wave of "early adopters" who are seeing the real value of scrapping forms and ratings in favor of coaching and effective leadership. No doubt this will lead to an "early majority" of companies, large and small, who are finally letting go of this industrial-era management approach. Will you be there with them or part of the laggards?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability, Influencer, and Change Anything. READ MORE   Dear Crucial Skills, I recently visited my brother who has suffered from severe anxiety for about a year. He’s getting better but things are still tough for him. I noticed that his wife is very impatient with him and at times, I feel, belligerent. It’s very upsetting for me to see this. I understand that the situation is very difficult for her, but I wonder if I can say or do something to help her be more compassionate. I’m trying not to judge her, but I’m not always successful. What can I do to deal with my own feelings and to help her? Sincerely, Trying Not to Judge Dear Trying, If there ever was a question that many people could identify with, it would be yours. Life comes at us fast. In the midst of these changes or crises, loved ones may do things that seem less than effective, even downright wrong. When situations arise we may wonder, "how can I deal with my own emotions and help at the same time?" It is tempting to rely on the company message here. Over the years, we’ve given lots of advice regarding the basic crucial conversations steps. Essentially, that message is to first, get your emotions and motives right; second, find or create a safe time and place to discuss your concerns; and then use all of your best skills to work things out. Ideally, you’d follow all of that with increased sunshine and good feelings. I don’t want to dismiss that as an option because every day, many people step up and help improve sticky situations like the one you have described. However, what I want to share are a few strategies for people who don’t believe they are ready to speak up. I hope to give you some ways for increasing safety and for influencing your sister-in-law’s and brother’s best behaviors. Step 1: Master your stories to manage your emotions. You hinted at this step and I agree with you. The two most common ineffective strategies that people use in situations like this are silence (with gossip) and starting a difficult conversation with emotion and accusation. You don’t want to do either, so I’d ask you to ask yourself a few questions. Why would a reasonable, rational, decent person do this? Could she be stressed? Could she not have skills that would help her with patience or with managing her own frustration? If this were your sister dealing with your brother-in-law, might you see it differently and feel differently? How would you approach it then? Why is your brother doing what he’s doing? How could you help him? It’s been my experience that when I ask myself similar questions, I often find that the situation is more complicated than I had originally thought. Through this process, I become more patient and increase my options for dealing with the situation. We have often taught that we need to work on ourselves first. Asking yourself these questions can help you get your heart and head right before you act or speak. Step 2: Model the behaviors you’d like to see your sister-in-law and brother do and then share the reasons. I have a friend who shared a story that is very much like yours. On a recent family visit, she decided that she would help her brother with a few things and that she would do the same with her sister-in-law. During the weeklong visit, she was an example of listening patiently, of asking questions to get clarity, and of doing the little things that helped her brother. On a few occasions, she explained what she was doing. With her sister-in-law, it might have sounded like this, "It’s harder than it used to be to determine what my brother wants. I have to encourage him more than I used to. That takes some patience." With her brother, she might have noted, "I had to ask three times, before you responded. Can you help me understand why? I want to help, but it’s difficult when I don’t know what to do." She didn’t make a big deal of it. She just did it and said a few words about her reasons. We know the power of a good example. But a good example with a bit of an explanation is even more powerful. Step 3: Praise the positives you see. My friend also used praise to help her sister-in-law and brother see what was effective. When her sister-in-law demonstrated encouragement to her husband or when she showed increased patience, she commented. I imagine it sounded something like: "At noon, when my brother left that mess, I noticed that you smiled during the whole conversation. I know it’s hard to be patient in situations like that. It’s not like it used to be. I’m sure my brother appreciated that. I know I sure admired it. Thanks." Or to her brother, "I enjoyed the story you shared at dinner. It was very positive and helped create a pleasant atmosphere for all of us." Now these are scripts I have imagined. What she said was no doubt more elegant and effective. But the principle is this: if you praise good behaviors and the efforts to improve, and then explain the consequences of those actions, people are more likely to repeat them. Step 4: Be ready to share your intentions. I’m sure as people have read some of these steps they’ve asked, "Yeah, but what if the other person gets upset and says, ‘Hey, what are you trying to do to me—you have an agenda, right?’" That’s when I’d share exactly what I was trying to do. "I do have a purpose. I want to help improve the relationship between you and your husband (or wife). I didn’t want to talk about what I didn’t understand, so I’m trying to be a good example and to praise good listening, patience, and service. I also want to improve our relationship so we talk about issues that really matter. It seems like you’ve had a year of stress and unhappiness, and I’m trying to help." We know that safety is at the heart of healthy dialogue. The foundational components of safety are Mutual Purpose and Mutual Respect. Sometimes, we need to work on safety first. We need to clarify what we are trying to do. Often, we need to build trust and respect before we have enough safety to speak up. The steps I’ve suggested are designed to help accomplish that objective and if you act in ways that are building safety, you can share what you are doing and why if someone questions you. That should help you move forward in solving some of these situations that appear when life comes at you fast. At some point, we have all wished for a silver bullet or a magic wand. There is none. What we have are our best efforts supported by our best intentions. I wish you well, Al Related posts: Dealing with Sour Grapes Dealing with Workplace Harassment Dealing with the Unreasonable and Irrational

The following article was first published on September 17, 2008. The doorbell rang and Becca, my then seven-year-old daughter, skidded up to the door, opened it, and found her best friend Crystal standing there. "Can you come out and play?" Crystal asked. "No!" Becca abruptly responded. And then our sweet, sensitive, and normally thoughtful daughter slammed the door in Crystal’s face. I was mortified. How could this have happened? When had Becca become so rude? I asked her what was going on. "I’d like to play with Crystal," Becca explained, "But Mom says I have to clean my room first." "Do you have any idea how Crystal felt when you slammed the door in her face?" I asked. "No," Becca said as she blinked her eyes in confusion. "Well, let’s go take a look." I walked Becca upstairs and looked out the window where the two of us spotted Crystal walking back to her house with a gate and demeanor that said, "My best friend just rejected me." "It looks like she feels bad," Becca commented. "Why do you think that is?" I asked. "I don’t know," she answered. "You just implied that you didn’t want to play with her and then you slammed the door in her face. That can hurt." "Oh," Becca responded with a frown. "What could you have done instead?" I inquired. "I don’t know," Becca offered with a weak smile. At first I thought Becca was trying to avoid a scolding by claiming ignorance, but I quickly realized that she wasn’t playing a game. She really didn’t have a clue. And why is that? Because as a member of the human species, Becca was born with a tabula rasa—or "blank slate." Her brain didn’t come hard-wired with all sorts of knowledge. She certainly wasn’t born with the knowledge of how to handle a peer’s request to play with her when she already had conflicting orders from her mother. Contrast my daughter’s blank slate with, say, your typical guppy. When baby guppies, or "fry," are first born, they immediately swim to a piece of plant-life. Then they undulate next to the plant in perfect synchronization as the plant moves in the current. They disguise themselves in this manner because they are born to parents who don’t nurture and protect them, but rather hunt them down and eat them. The bad news: tough parenting. The good news: guppy parents imbue their offspring with knowledge before birth that serves them the rest of their lives. The second they are born, guppy fry know how to hide themselves, swim to perfection, feed themselves, etc. Humans aren’t born with such instincts. This gives them the invaluable ability to make choices. However, this ability comes at a heavy cost. Humans’ tabula rasa makes them both ignorant and vulnerable. Humans aren’t born street-wise like the leery guppy. In order to survive, human parents have to protect their young for a long time. In fact, humans are given what has been labeled an "extended" childhood. They are treated as tots for much longer than any other living creature. (And with the advent of the in-home theater, big-screen TV, and video games, human childhood now often extends into the 30s. But that’s another issue.) I mention this whole tabula rasa deal because as a parent, I often expect my own children to know things that they have no way of knowing. Becca didn’t know the polite and effective way of saying "I can’t play right now." She wasn’t born with this knowledge and she hadn’t learned that particular script from people she had observed. But for some reason, I expected her to know it. Fortunately, I caught myself before I chastised Becca and decided to teach her how to better handle the situation. "Let’s role-play," I suggested to Becca who looked back at me with suspicion. "I’ll go outside, ring the doorbell, and ask you to come out and play. What could you say to me that wouldn’t hurt my feelings?" Once again Becca peered up and shyly admitted, "I don’t know." I kept forgetting. Becca didn’t have this script in hand yet. I’d have to help her out a bit. "How about this?" I suggest. "You say: ‘I’d like to play with you, but Mom says I have to clean my room first. Afterward I’ll come over and get you.’ This lets Crystal know that you’re excited to see her but have to do something first." I step outside and ring our doorbell. Becca opens the door and I cheerfully inquire, "Can you come out and play?" Becca repeats back to me the exact words I told her. She’s on the right track. Unfortunately, she says the right words in a rather abrupt tone. "Try it again," I suggest. "This time, smile when you say it." So she tries it again. "Now, this time, emphasize the word ‘like.’" She tries the interaction one more time and nails it. I took a moment to teach my daughter a social-interaction script. I didn’t wait for her to pick it up from the street or awkwardly fashion one of her own. I didn’t talk about it in the abstract. Instead, I used what is known as deliberate practice. I suggested a specific set of actions and words. I live-modeled the actions. Becca then tried the actions on her own and I gave her immediate feedback. She tried again and I gave her more feedback. Only after she mastered the script—both words and delivery—did I stop. Right now, tens of thousands of people are attending workshops and seminars that teach leadership, parenting, and other human-interaction skills. Participants frequently attend these courses with the expectation that they’ll learn how to better perform as a leader or parent. But most training participants will only be taught how to think like a leader or parent. There will be no scripts or practice. There will be no feedback. People attending traditional classes will learn theories, not master new behaviors. Exclusively cognitive (as opposed to cognitive and behavioral) instructional methods continue to remain popular despite the fact that much of what should be taught is behavioral in nature. Leaders and parents do a lot of behaving, and just like my daughter who needed deliberate practice in order to master the door script, they require instructional methods to master the leadership and parental scripts they’ll need to survive. Imagine if people took this attitude when learning how to figure skate. Suppose that you’re a gifted skater and a potential student asks you to coach her, but with the following request. "I want to learn how to be a master figure skater, but please don’t demonstrate what I need to do. If you do demonstrate, don’t ask me to watch. If you do ask me to watch you do something, don’t ask me to do it. If you do ask me to do it, don’t give me feedback. And finally, if you do give me feedback, wait a long time—and then make it vague." If you want to learn how to do something, you must observe prototypes, practice what you observed, receive detailed and clear feedback, practice again, and receive more feedback. Anything short of this and you’re tinkering, not learning. So I got it right that morning with Becca. I recognized that she didn’t know how to handle the door script. She hadn’t been born with the idea firmly wired into her brain and after watching others in action, her tabula was still pretty rasa. I didn’t lecture Becca about what to do. Instead, we engaged in deliberate practice. I wish I had done more of that—not that Becca didn’t grow into a sensitive and caring adult. She did. It’s just, I wonder what the world would be like if adults, parent, leaders, and training designers alike didn’t merely offer up heaps of generic advice or clever lectures on changing behaviors, but instead actually taught and coached effective behaviors? One can only imagine.

If anyone needed any evidence of the rapidly changing digital landscape, they need only look at the recent fate of tech giant Hewlett-Packard. Faced with dwindling PC sales, while failing to make a dent in the Apple-dominated smartphone and tablet markets, HP took drastic action; On August 18, HP announced not only that they were shutting down their tablet and smartphone divisions, but were also considering spinning off their PC business. The fall from grace suffered by a former giant like HP is only another case of a company failing to tap into the potential of emerging technologies. It also shows how clinging to outmoded ideas about the role of technology can be a company’s death sentence. So, what does all of this have to do with eLearning? If anything, HP’s recent woes should serve as a rallying cry for those who strive to redefine the eLearning space. The personal computer revolution is over. In its place is a new kind of computing revolution in which people can access information wherever and whenever they please. eLearning can’t be left behind in this new era of information. The opportunities presented by the tablet and smartphone markets are very exciting, and offer countless opportunities for innovation. As it gets easier to access information, people will only expect more from the training they receive at work. Why sit through an antiquated slide show when a world of possibilities for learning lies in their pocket? In this new digital era, all it takes is one creative idea to completely redefine learning. Now imagine what an entire team of creative individuals could do. If information wishes to be free, then it’s up for the eLearning industry to open the gates.

Organizations may need to re-think their method of "check the box" compliance training if new government stats are any indication. The numbers are in and according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency received a record number of private sector charges of employment discrimination in 2011 - the highest in its 46-year history. The year’s total topped 2010 results by 25 complaints with a total of 99,947. The EEOC reported the most common complaints to be alleged retaliation by the employer against the employee with 37,334 charges filed. The EEOC staff obtained more than $455.6 million in monetary benefits for victims of workplace discrimination. This is the highest level recorded in the Commission’s history. In addition to retaliation charges, other complaints included discrimination based on religion, race, sex and age as well as disability bias. The agency achieved the highest payout in history despite a 30 percent reduction in the agency workforce. A related article by Cultural IQ quoted EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien. "I am proud of the work of our employees and believe this demonstrates what can be achieved when we are given resources to enforce the nation’s laws prohibiting employment discrimination," said Berrien. "The EEOC was able to strategically manage existing resources and take full advantage of increased resources in the past two fiscal years to make significant progress towards effective enforcement of the nation’s civil rights laws." So where do private sector companies fit into the equation? Some speculate the sagging job market spurred employees to increase the number of complaints as reported by http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10225036-discrimination-complaints-reach-all-time-high,  Another cause may be employers failing to provide adequate compliance training for all mployees based on discrimination laws enforced by the EEOC, http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/index.cfm. Cine Learning Production CEO, Diane Senffner explains the key to accomplishing compliance training is providing concise, interesting content where the employee feels invested in the outcome. In a recent Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) eLearning course designed for the Arizona Department of Health Services, Senffner says ASHS reported 98 percent of employees voluntarily completed the course prior to the deadline without having to send reminders to employees. She explains such completion rates can be acheived with all types of complicance training including those required by the EEOC. "I am very proud of the compliance courses we create," she said. "Checking a box is fine but learners really need to understand the relevance of the material presented to them to comply. Our courses do that in a very engaging, learner-centric way."

Here’s one scenario we hear often. Let’s see if it applies to you: You have - potentially - an amazing group of new hires. They’re eager to start work. They grab their cups of coffee, report to you and you take them to their office, their cube, their new cozy little home for 8 hours a day. After they’re seated, per instruction from your corporate office, you log them into your company’s online "New Hire Orientation"…..all….three hours of it…. Your new staff clicks through slide after slide of content that would put the most fervent insomniac to sleep. They fidget, they yawn, they daydream, they think of a time when it will be over so they can start their ‘real work.’ But in the meantime, these new hires are silently de-motivating. They wonder if your workplace is an exciting one after all. I mean, it was your company that produced this death by PowerPoint they’re watching. They’re not catching on to important concepts they really need to know because it has been presented in such a non-engaging, rote fashion. They might as well be listening to Ben Stein deliver the information to them. After it’s finished, your new hires resemble the walking dead. Your once eager new hires are now reduced to blank stares and limp bodies. Yes, they’ll awake soon enough, but the damage has been done. First impressions are powerful in any instance you choose. As adults, we make value judgments on just about everything. Our initial impressions often dictate how much we value something. If their first impression is bad eLearning, you could tune them out before you turn them on. What kind of impression are you setting for your new hires? Our company, Cine Learning Productions has produced a number of New Hire Orientations that ‘wow’ new hires. We hear comments like, "Our employees love this!" Love?  New Hire Orientation?  Really?  Yes. Frankly, you have to know how to do it. We do. We can help.  

Superbowl XLVI is history. Eil Manning and the Giants have returned to New York to celebrate, while Tom Brady will have to endure another year of sporting only three Superbowl rings. Do you remember your favorite play of the game? If you’re a hardcore fan, one probably comes to mind right away. For the rest of us, not so much. We may say the Superbowl’s about celebrating the American pastime and watching two teams face off on the gridiron - and that may have been the case years ago, but let’s face it - today’s Superbowl is all about throwing a party and of course, watching the commercials. So what was your favorite? Was it the Doritos bribing dog, or maybe M&M Mrs. in the buff, or Jerry Seinfield vying for the first new Acura, or even the dog getting fit to keep up with the VW?  So what was your least favorite? Probably a couple come to mind right away - something you found especially irritating.  But here’s a tough question, what were some average commercials you saw? Ones that you thought, why did they spend all those advertising dollars on that?  Hmmm, having trouble remembering?  Why is that, why do we remember the great ones and not the average ones?  It’s pretty obvious. We remember the ones that told a story, that tugged at our heartstrings, ones that made us laugh - we remember when we connect.  Elearning kind of works the same way - a really average commercial has a lot of the same attributes as a really average eLearning program. We tune out, we turn off and we don’t remember. That’s why at Cine Learning we make our eLearning engaging by focusing on storytelling in a familiar and entertaining way - our learners are likely to enjoy and yes, remember. And while we may not have a Sunday devoted to our eLearning with millions of devoted viewers…well not yet. We can always dream.        

"I just don’t get this technology! Everything was so much simpler when I was a kid. All we had to worry about back then was riding our bikes around the neighborhood and playing baseball out in the park. Now these kids just want to talk on their cell phones all day. All of this junk is too complex to even use anyway. Whatever happened to just writing a letter?" To the more mature crowd reading this, that statement probably sounds like something you’ve said aloud to your friends while reminiscing about your personal glory days. Either that or you’ve thought something similar while quietly seething as your teenager sticks his or her nose into the deep void of random minutiae that makes up facebook and twitter. Things would be much simpler if we went back to how things were in the "good old days," right? Well, to put it simply…no. Technology has made everything far simpler than it was back in the so-called "Good Old Days." The trick is pushing past the digital noise and utilizing technology in meaningful ways. Modern technology has finally made the internet omnipresent in our lives. We are connected at all times to the people and events going on around us. Want to know what your old high school buddy who moved to Albuquerque is up to? Connect to facebook on one of the dozen internet-enabled devices in your home. What’s the score of the ball game? Just reach in your pocket and ask the voice assistant on your smartphone. . Who is that actor who starred in that film? It’s a touch screen away. Being attached to an internet-capable device at all times means that you are always able to find something with which to occupy your time. Unfortunately, this means becoming far more susceptible to productivity-sapping activities like facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. It’s distractions like these that cause one of to think of simpler times; however, modern technology, when we push ourselves past the distractions, has made our lives far simpler than they were before. Sometimes, it’s difficult to think of the way we went about certain tasks before we had our modern conveniences. It’s even tough for me to think about how I used to have to go home and sit in front of my lousy behemoth of desktop computer just to connect into the internet. That was only four years ago. Now, I have a phone in my pocket that stays connected to the internet at all times. Not to mention the fact that the aforementioned phone is astronomically more powerful than the hulking monstrosity that was my family’s PC. Modern technology, the internet particularly, has allowed us to become more productive than ever before. We are able to connect with our coworkers with ease, and can complete our work on the go through compact solutions like our phones and tablets. We now possess the tools to be even more productive than we were five years ago, let alone how we were back in the "Glory Days" of old. For all the distractions and noise it presents, modern technology has given us the tools to live simply and productively to a degree that would have been unthinkable only a short time ago, let alone back in our youth.. Spend less time complaining about the so-called "complexities" of technology and more time actually learning how to exploit it to improve your life, and perhaps you’ll be referring to the world we live in today as the "simple times."

How many times in the past few years have you read a corporate job posting for a ‘training specialist’ that insists the candidate possess the world’s most astounding skill set? Let’s see, in addition to being able to effectively size-up and analyze an organization’s training needs, this person needs to have superior interpersonal skills, the ability to work effectively and confidently with management to make recommendations, exceptional instructor-led training abilities both in design and presentation, the savvy to work closely with SME’s to interpret their needs and write curriculum, and an ability to create and manage a large budget.  IN ADDITION, they must have full knowledge of LMS systems and must have experience in all facets of eLearning  - storyboarding, designing, developing and be proficient in the following software: Dreamweaver, HTML, Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, XML, Articulate, Captivate, Presenter, WebEx, Go-to-Meetings, Blackboard, and HTML 5. Wow. I can barely catch my breath! Does such a person exist? In a few cases, yes - but precious, precious few. Eh-hem, nothing personal, but how many coders do you know that possess exceptional interpersonal skills? To lump all these trainer competencies into one position does a huge disservice to any candidate. Even if you find someone who uses both the right and left brain, you are rarely going to find someone who excels in all of these areas. And you probably DO need someone who excels in all of these areas. In addition, I find that organizations rarely understand how long it takes to write and develop eLearning - even if the trainer is doing it full time (I have seen percentages of time attached to the eLearning line item in job descriptions that made me laugh). In 2002, I posed this question to a training networking group I used to hold in the Phoenix area: "What will the training specialist job description look like in ten years?" It was very interesting. ELearning was in its infancy and no one seemed to think that instructor-led training would significantly decrease. I disagreed. I said that I thought we’d all have to become this odd hybrid of ‘training generalist’. That until organizations fully understood what could be taught with eLearning, how to design it, how to budget for it and how to fully implement it, that we would soon be required to change our ILT hats on a regular basis and become a technology practitioner for our companies. Some of my colleagues refused to believe that one day ILT would go the way of the dinosaur. Ten years has past. And the need for ILT is waning, eLearning is popping up everywhere in every type of incarnation possible, and my prophecy has come true. What is a bit astounding is that ten years later organizations are still grappling with the same questions they were posing back then. There is still little consensus among them as to what is best taught with eLearning, the best method of delivery, how much it will or should cost and how to implement it. It’s not as though there has not be vetted research done in this area. It speaks more to the varying quality of eLearning out there and organizations’ lack of trust that poorly produced elearning can get the job done (and throw in a dose of ‘training is never any good unless someone stands in front of you to teach it’ - I clap my erasers at that thought). So, here we are in 2012 with the aforementioned monstrous job description.  Lots of trainers split in two, lots of instructor led trainers creating bad PowerPoints passing for eLearning or lots of great eLearning programs coming out of folks who are not at all the ILT type.  Not enough real learning going on. What is an organzation to do? Let me put on my experienced O.D. hat here for a moment - create your OWN organizational needs analysis!  First - do yourself a favor and find out what eLearning CAN do and what is better suited to another modality.  Have someone find out what good eLearning looks like, feels like and how it can achieve your desired results.  Do some research - because its out there - on what is best taught in various modalities - because there are options today in addition to ILT and eLearning. Then, instead of expecting your trainer to ‘do it all’, why not analyze what you really need a ‘body’ to do in your organization and outsource the rest?  You may be a large company who needs to convert volumes of instructor led training to eLearning. I’m here to tell you, you can’t have the same person writing and designing all of this and determining a strategy for it implementing it, working with SMEs….it will take you eons even if you found the rare bird who can ‘do it all.’ But maybe the best strategy is to have an eLearning practitioner working for you designing and developing while you and an experienced consultant spend a little time creating a strategy. Then again, your analysis may reveal that you truly need to hire a strategic learning partner - someone who can analyze and implement like a pro.  In this case, it’s probably best to have this individual work with an experience elearning company to produce professional modules that best suit the need. From my years in O.D., I’m still of the impression that if you really want to make a difference, attempt to do it right the first time.  Carefully analyze, then avoid a ‘bandaid’ approach at all costs.  Do your homework and hire carefully for your greatest NEED then outsource what you do not have expertise to do in-house.  It will save you time and money overall and you just may have the training organizations you’ve always desired - AND results.  And you may not need the ‘schizophrenic’ training personality after all.