Recently I’ve been sharing stories that illustrate one of the five fundamental narratives a leader can tell to move people to action. The who I am story. The who we are story The what we have learned story The how can we change story The how to see things differently to improve your life, work and the world around you story. Today we’ve a great example of how-to-see-things-differently from Isaac Rodriguez, President of The Provident Loan Society. Provident Loan is a not-for-profit that’s been serving New Yorkers since 1893. Isaac understands the importance of seeing things differently because at a young age he fell in love with magic. When I was six I got a magic kit and spent hours learning all these tricks. The first thing you learn is something called the Magician’s Choice. Magician’s Choice works like this. At this point Isaac took a quarter out of his pocket and with a flourish of fingers and a turn of his wrist put the coin in his right hand. He then presented me with two closed fists and said: Okay, pick a hand. I, having seen where he’d put the quarter, picked his right hand. And sure enough, in the palm of his right hand, sat the silvery profile of George Washington. Now, what if you hadn’t seen which hand I put the quarter in? Then which hand would you have picked? He put both of his hands behind his back, made a big show of moving the quarter back and forth a few times between them and brought forward two fists. Okay, now, pick a hand. This time I picked his left hand. At this point he withdrew his left hand and revealed the coin sitting in his right hand. Well, yea me, I thought, I choose the correct hand. Then he said: If you’d picked my right hand I would have just revealed the quarter without removing my left hand. You would have ‘picked’ the correct hand either way. You see. Magician’s choice. People see what they like to see and it’s the magician’s job to make them look in the right place at the right time. It’s all about how you frame the trick. Or in life, the conversation. I’m not saying that being the boss is about playing tricks on people, certainly not. But the idea of how to get people to look at a situation has been important to my development as a leader. I could easily see that Isaac was a dynamic leader with great presence. He made things visual—literally. He didn’t just explain to me how a magic trick works; with his eyes twinkling, he involved me in the experience. He continued with: Years ago I was on the board of the Magician’s Society of American. This was an association started by Harry Houdini in 1902. And I was having a hard time with one particular member. He complained about everything all the time. I could never satisfy him. Finally, a colleague of mine—the President of the Sweetheart Cup Company—told me: "Isaac, don’t ever wrestle with a greased pig. You’ll get dirty. And the pig loves it." It’s funny advice right? But it’s also a form of Magician’s Choice. I’d only been looking at the guy and his problems. I didn’t see that he was taking 90% of my time and energy when there were dozens of other members that were waiting for me to lead them. My friend made me look at the situation differently. And in doing so, made me realize that it’s okay to have one person who complains. I started listening to the guy’s complaints, considered if they were relevant for everyone else and if not, just thanked him for sharing his experience. I’d never led like that before. Before that I was trying to make everyone happy all the time. As a leader sometime you have to make the Magician’s Choice about what’s important and what’s not. That’s my job. As Isaac learned, helping employees see things differently is sometimes as simple as framing the conversation in the right way. What conversation are you having at work that could use some re-framing? Think about a time in your own life when you took on a new perspective. Was it when you got your first pair of glasses? When you moved to a new city or country? When you learned a second language? Tell this story before you propose your next new idea or change initiative. We suspect it will help you connect more quickly with your team and get them to consider your idea with fresh eyes. Let us know how it goes.   The post Stories From The Road: Park Avenue, New York appeared first on Ariel Group.        Related StoriesPresence in the Face of Change ManagementFrom the Director’s Playbook: Endorse, Endorse, EndorseDo Your Employees See You…as Human? 

As you welcome whatever you find alien within yourself, extend that same welcome to whatever you find alien in the outer world. - Parker Palmer The first thing that gets cut when we are under stress is collaborating with others. It's messy and hard and there's no energy for it. Collaboration by its nature takes more time than doing it (poorly) by ourselves. Collaboration is the only way to get the mysteries/dreams to fruition. Multiple passionate brains provide exponential potential which can mitigate interference to drive incredible solutions. Busy-ness has replaced collaboration. Busy-ness has also replaced achievement and purpose. Check out this stat: Change the game. Schedule face to face meetings (virtual or live) and focus on purpose like Dorothy did. Work together to make the meetings effective- it will take time because it is a lost skill. Get the right people in the room. Hold each other accountable. No rambling. AND don't forget to balance that with alone time. Based on your behavioral styles, you'll need different amounts of each. Honor each others differences. If you'd like to build a Team Model so you are always aware of your team members' needs, request one here. Bring lunch and breaks back. One of our local IT companies, Moser Consulting, buys lunch for the entire staff each day. This is probably one of the reasons they were chosen as a "Best Place to Work" in Indy the past three years. When I walked in, the positive sounds of collaboration and friendship at lunch were impressive. And then, people were gone, focusing on their work. This is not a software company where everyone is sitting around a large table with their headphones on completely ignoring each other. Each developer has a cubicle with white glass to write on, and there's lots of collaborative space. Intrapersonal and Interpersonal strengths are equally valued. Collaboration and quiet are both the way to their goals. As you integrate ignorance and failure into your knowledge and success, do the same with all the alien parts of yourself. Take everything that’s bright and beautiful in you and introduce it to the shadow side of yourself. Let your altruism meet your egotism, let your generosity meet your greed, let your joy meet your grief. - Parker Palmer

I have always wanted to doing something substantial with Google Draw.  The icon sits on my waffle drop down looking so forlorn and lonely.  I also don’t want to have to print another Venn Diagram in my life.  I think I found a way to use G-Draw and get that assessment done at the same … Continue reading →

At CES2016, Ginni Remmity, CEO for IBM, delivered her keynote focusing on one trend: Cognitive IoT. It's the overarching term she uses to cover analytics, cloud, mobility, security, wearables, and all the other individual trends in technology today. She refers to digital as the foundation for all of it. But when everything is digital, the new challenge is making meaning of all that digital data. The challenge of understanding data is what IBM does best. "the most disruptive transformative trend is now in front of us. And it's cognitive. This ability to think to learn to understand. The systems the products the processes and everything you do. And it is the dawn of a new era. The cognitive era." - Ginni Remmity, CEO, IBM   Training Teams Can Expose "Dark Data" to the Light An interesting point she makes is that about "80% of data is "dark data". This is the digital content that is stored somewhere, but there is no system that knows what that data is in order to make use of it. And this is where training departments can add value. I believe that the trend in cognitive is in front of us. But for most of us and the companies we work for, it's a trend that's WAY out in front of us. There is at least a decade of transition before the cognitive era of computing begins to seriously effect the work we do. While we wait for the cognitive internet of things to evolve, there is still that massive amount of digital dark data providing no value to the business. This is where training professionals can help. We have the infrastructure and expertise to seek out important dark data and bring it into the light. Part of what we do best is digging up existing content as part of our analysis process. But here's the twist. Instead of holding on to that content while we transform it into a proper eLearning course, just make it available immediately and more easily accessible than it was before. Use your LMS and call it a course if there are no other tools at your disposal. Litmos is great at this. You may end up discovering that a previously urgent need for a training course mysteriously becomes not so urgent. In large companies you may say this is the responsibility of the Knowledge Management or Communications team, or some other similar group. But not many companies have KM groups these days. Besides all of the other training needs you should be addressing, this one is the lowest of low hanging fruit. It quick and easy to implement and will satisfy a significant number of employees. Those adult learners who prefer to guide their own learning will thank you, and the rest will get with it until you have the time and resources to improve it. Remmity's keynote is filled with very interesting insights about cognitive IoT and I would highly recommend taking the time to watch the video of her presentation. Intel's Vision of Future Changes Learning Experiences Another interesting presentation came from the opening keynote by Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. Intel sees three major trends that their technology drives: Smart and Connected Sensification of Computing An Extension of You Together these trends are doing one thing. And that's creating new, or changing existing, experiences. By flying 100 drones simultaneously and synchronizing their lights and movements to an orchestra Intel changes the possibilities for future fireworks displays. And that's an experience that's been relatively unchanged for hundreds of years. If that doesn't get you thinking about creating learning experiences then maybe this will. Intel is also working with the Xgames to collect and display more data than ever before from the athletes and their equipment. Consider how this might effect some of the jobs you may already be creating training for. You may not be a fan of the X Games or a fan of snowboarding, but now that the experience of watching the sport has changed, you might too. These are just a few of the technologies that exist today and are changing how we experience the world around us and how we interact with it. It may take a while, but soon these technologies will also impact the workplace. It's important to prepare your company with flexible systems with accessible APIs and strategic partnerships with the businesses that collect and manage the data you work with like Salesforce and others. Prepare for the future of work now because the technology driving it is here today. The post The Future of Learning Experiences is Here Today appeared first on Litmos.

I’ve never been one for fast food, but I am obsessed with In-n-Out Burger. Perhaps I associate my first time through their infamous drive-through in Ontario, CA with my first trip to Disneyland; regardless, I am obsessed. In twenty years, I think my order has only been screwed up twice, to which I promptly returned it and received a fresh burger the right way. In-n-Out has a process: they are efficient, they listen to your order, repeat it back, take your money, and present you with a culinary fast food work of art. (T-minus 10 days until my next double-double.) What happens when these same efficiencies and communications are not practiced in the healthcare setting? Misdiagnosis, unnecessary procedures, denied claims, even death. "Patient Communication" became such a mind numbing topic that it was rebranded to get our attention. Why does listening matter?? Last year I had a medical doctor present on patient communications, using her own history as a backdrop. Her sister, who was experiencing odd, but chronic side effects from, was constantly ignored by her physician. As it turns out, for one year she was suffering continuous small cardiac events that were warning everyone around her that trouble was on the horizon. Sadly, trouble came in the form of a massive heart attack that killed her. Last April, my own father fell off the last step of a ladder and was diagnosed with a broken ankle. After six months of excruciating pain in his heal, my parents insisted on seeing a different doctor in the health system. Upon further review, the new doctor found that my dad had broken his ankle and his heel, which was initially missed. The displaced heal fracture was pressing into his fibula where it had settled in as a permanent resident. His entire foot, his now healed ankle and fractured heal, had to be surgically broken and repaired with pins and screws. Ten months after the initial fall, his plaster cast was finally removed and he has (another) walking boot. Yes, there are hypochondriacs and Munchausen syndrome by proxy, but when do you stop listening and give someone pickles on their double-double? Or better yet, when do you start listening? Patient engagement is not a sexy new term that educators have coined to pad their bottom lines. It’s an integral part of medicine. First, do no harm. Maybe the "first" means listen then diagnose; only Hippocrates knows for sure. What does listening cost? It could mean the difference between life and death. Healthcare is crazy. There are a record number of patients, not enough clinical staff, and still only 24 hours in a day. Take a breath. Take a knee. Call a time out and listen. It could save a life. And please hold the pickles! The post I Don’t Order Pickles on My Double-Double! appeared first on Litmos.

Cyber security affects everyone. High profile businesses are victims of malicious hacks, but more frequently data security breaches occur due to normal staff making avoidable mistakes.Whatever your strategy for keeping your data safe, training your staff in potential threats and making sure they can deal with data securely is critical to reducing your risk of a breach.For some organisations a generic, off the shelf option might be the most suitable, but others will benefit from a custom-made training approach.We’re going to run through 5 questions you can ask to work out which option would be best for you.When do you need the training?If you’re in a rush to get the training delivered to your staff then off the shelf is going to offer the fastest option.In some cases you aren’t going to be able to offer a comprehensive programme that deals with the nuances of your case and you may decide the minimum requirements are enough.When a short time scale isn’t critical it’s worth considering bespoke cyber security training from a provider who can assess your needs in depth. Once a custom-made elearning course is completed it can be deployed quickly but the creation does take time.Having more time to create the course means a detailed assessment of the needs of all the different roles in your company can be carried out. It’s even possible to create a short course with the core elements, test it, and produce more to fill in knowledge gaps.The biggest benefit of a bespoke approach is its flexibility and changes can be made at each stage to ensure your individual needs are met.How much of your data security is off the shelf?Many consultants warn against using an off the shelf data security strategy for your business. There are concerns that a one-size-fits-all approach to security means many companies overlook risks that are unique to them.Parts of your cyber security procedures will relate to legal requirements for the data you store, and as such a part of the training is going to match those processes.The Data Protection Act for instance controls how a business can use personal information from customers or clients. It’s likely that some of your procedures will deal with the requirements of this act.Training on how to deal with information requests from customers will need to be undertaken by many frontline staff. This type of training could be delivered using a generic course that offers a good grounding in the key points of the law and how it relates to the type of data held by your company.Less easy to handle are the exact processes that go on in your organisation, often as part of meeting legal requirements, that are unique to your situation. This is where a custom made or bespoke cyber security training course comes into its own.Elearning can offer an advantage over traditional training in this case by allowing one course to be built which incorporates the requirements of different roles and enabling the employee to select the relevant route.How many staff need cyber security training?The Verizon 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report identifies 9 categories of breach. Two categories, miscellaneous errors and insider misuse, make up 50% of the incidents they recorded in 2014.Insider misuse is the phrase used to describe data breaches caused by trusted parties within an organisation. Many of these incidents could have been avoided had better training been available to the staff involved.Your instincts might be to offer training to network administrators and other technical staff, but the Verizon report shows that non-technical end users are responsible for 37.6% of breaches caused by insider misuse.The answer for most modern businesses is to provide all staff with cyber security training. They don’t all need the same course but they all need some sort of education on the responsibilities they have to keep information secure.Often off the shelf training is priced per user, if you have a small workforce that requires very similar training this is likely to be the most cost-effective option.The costs quickly escalate when large teams are involved, and the more employees, the more likely you are to need to cover different knowledge areas.A company employing 100 people or more will likely see a better return from a bespoke solution. The training can be tailored to the needs of various roles and as the number of users increases the cost per user goes down.Does your training need to be delivered in different territories?Multinational companies have more challenges when it comes to cyber security training. Not only do laws differ between countries but the infrastructure and hardware systems are often different too.Add the language translation and localisation requirements into the mix and it becomes incredibly hard to offer a consistent, off the shelf solution that meets the needs of all employees.Elearning can be delivered online, translated and localised quickly and is more easily tailored to the different hardware devices it’s likely to be used on.Using responsive design elearning can offer a true multi-device training programme that doesn’t need to be redesigned for all learners.A custom-made course can take into account the different geographical areas it will be needed and make it even easier to localise the relevant content from the outset. If you’re a multinational company bespoke training is usually the best option.Is off the shelf training personal enough?We know that employees react better to personalised scenarios. If you can explain the specific risks and benefits to a member of staff using a situation which they are familiar with they are more likely to retain that knowledge.Custom-made elearning is one way this can be achieved. Using techniques like branching scenarios you can even take into account different staff roles within the same course.If you find your staff lack enthusiasm for training this can be one way to engage and motivate them to increase their performance.As well as making the training personal to the learner you will also want to put your own brand identity on the course. Using generic content makes this impossible beyond the most basic of adding logos and tweaking colours.A custom-made elearning course can incorporate the company’s style and branding to make sure it’s consistent with the culture of the organisation.Where do I start?Alongside answering these five questions, it’s good to also review your current data security strategy. If you don’t already have a formal strategy in place there are resources available to help create one.Many guidelines are available to help identify areas that could be at risk and possible ways to prevent breaches. Symantec’s Security Threat Report has a brief check list which is a great starting point for analysing your information security processes.For a more in depth assessment the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) produce the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity which goes into much more detail.If you want to talk about a bespoke cyber security elearning programme for your organisation get in touch. Discuss a project Subscribe to our newsletter The post Generic versus bespoke cyber security training: What’s the best for you? appeared first on Sponge UK.

A cyber safety online training programme is being offered to teachers to help them play a key role in dealing with cyber threats to schools.The Tech Partnership, the employer body that develops skills for the digital economy, and NAACE, the association for the UK’s education technology community, have teamed up to produce the new elearning.Cyber Security for Teachers has been designed and developed on behalf of the two organisations by Sponge UK, an award-winning elearning provider.The 10 module programme aims to help teachers improve their own cyber safety skills while providing knowledge that can be passed on to colleagues and students.It’s part of an accreditation pathway that can lead to schools gaining the title of Cyber Aware Institution.Sue Nieland, Head of Learning on behalf of the Tech Partnership, said: "This innovative content makes acquiring these vital skills enjoyable and engaging. Importantly, the learning outcomes were specified by employers - a group of over thirty cyber security industry experts - so teachers can be confident the resources are up to date, accurate and realistic. They represent a real contribution to school cyber safety."Each of the 10 elearning modules has a different focus including topics such as understanding threats, information vulnerability, encryption, cyber bullying and recovering from a cyber attack.The highly interactive elearning includes game challenges that help to make the elearning engaging and enjoyable. In one module, learners must turn detective to solve a cyber crime and find the computer malware behind an attack.Louise Pasterfield, Managing Director, Sponge UK said:"The elearning modules are focused on authentic scenarios and relate to real life situations that teachers may face at school. This approach helps to make the learning much more relevant and effective. Video clips of cyber security experts allow learners to go into more detail where necessary and the game challenges help to reinforce and check knowledge in key areas. We’ve really enjoyed developing these modules, particularly given the important role they can play in helping to keep schools cyber safe. We hope teachers will find them informative, useful and fun."Teachers who complete the modules will be offered the option to download a lesson plan containing more information on the subjects, lesson ideas and links to further resources and reading.The elearning modules form the first stage of a new three-level cyber awareness accreditation programme where teachers learn, apply and then lead on cyber awareness.Schools with a sufficient number of accredited teachers that also fulfil other criteria can be awarded Cyber Aware Institution status.The programme was set up following a grant from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to the Tech Partnership and NAACE to create a teacher accreditation in cyber security and awareness.The elearning is available via The Tech Partnership website.The post Elearning makes ‘real contribution’ to school cyber safety appeared first on Sponge UK.

YOU MATTER. Such a simple phrase, but an incredibly powerful message. The first step to helping students reach their true potential is so show them how much they matter—to you, to themselves, and to the […] The post Announcing "Mad About Mattering" appeared first on Angela Maiers.

Simplified Technical English has been in the making since the 1930’s when Basic English was developed and introduced in international trade within the British colonies. Basic English died out quickly, but then in the 1970’s Caterpillar, a manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, introduced Caterpillar Fundamental English, or CFE. It was developed to help reduce translation costs. In the 1980’s the aerospace industry, an industry that is dependent on international communication, created Simplified English. English has always been the aviation standard and it was used for the maintenance and repair documentation. Simplified English helped to reduce miscommunication with people for whom English is not their native language. In 2013, Simplified English was renamed to Simplified Technical English (STE) to separate it from other controlled language approaches. STE started in the aerospace industry, but it has started gaining attention in other industries as well, such as manufacturing, military, software, regulated industries, and any company that does global business. To me, as a technical writer, the biggest benefit of Simplified Technical English is that it helps me clearly communicate information to my intended audience even if English is not their first language. I also like the structure. I do not have to guess at the proper grammar or structure. I do not worry if I am a "good writer." By following the STE Rules and using the STE Dictionary, I know that my goal of communicating information is achieved. My writing is clear and my instructions are easy to follow. Companies benefit from STE by saving in translation cost; having a standardized way of writing; releasing quality documentation and communications; preventing miscommunications which could be costly or dangerous; facilitating in structured authoring like DITA; and improving customer satisfaction. I used to tell a joke when people asked "What is a technical writer?" I said, "Do you know those manuals that tell you how to set your VCR clock? I write those." Yes, I know I’m dating myself and I apologize to those of you that do not fully appreciate the frustration in trying to set a VCR clock. The instructions were impossible to follow resulting in a generation of people that grew up with a VCR flashing 12:00. VCR companies would have had much happier customers if the clock instructions were understandable. They could have been understandable if STE was used. STE helps you get rid of the garbage in your writing. Sentences are shorter, words are controlled, and actions are more direct. STE also gets rid of garbage like: Slang and jargon Ambiguous words Complex grammar Incomplete sentences If you want to check out the STE rules, go to the ASD-STE website and request a copy of the STE manual.

In many of the previous posts, I have suggested that harnessing technology in the service of effective pedagogy is not just a nice add on but is an essential in an age of information and learning. Having stated this, there is a necessary caveat which is:" Not all the emerging technologies are going to be readily useful in creating irresistibly engaging E-Learning and in some cases can be disregarded completely!"This is where we face the triumvirate of forces acting in a  perfect storm on efforts to create effective E-Learning. We need to consider the importance of "change management" in dealing with this storm. That is why we need to exercise a critical discernment when evaluating the potential of a technology to have sustainable and lasting benefits leading to the enrichment of the learning experience for learners now and in the future. For an organization and the learners who make up their learning culture, every piece of new technology that is introduced creates stress if the proper mechanisms are not in place to create a sense of trust among all who are impacted by the technology introduction. This has always been the case but the difference in today's world is the exponential rate that new technologies are evolving and being introduced.In an organization which has taken steps to make learning among employees a core value that is in sync with this digital information and learning age, the danger is creating an environment in which, metaphorically speaking "the tail wags the dog". Simply put:"Technology should not be the driver for change; evolving pedagogy and the needs of the learner should be, in which critically harnessing technology is done in a thoughtful manner"Key Evolving Technologies Requiring Critical and Thoughtful ConsiderationMobile Learning: Mobile Learning has been one of the technologies that has been receiving much press lately but there are some critical questions that need to be asked that deals with time between introduction of the technology and its adoption:Has the pedagogy been put to the test using such a technology? Given that the purpose of such a technology is not only to provide access to learning any time and anywhere but also to present learning in short digital bites, has the divide been defined between learning that is strictly anecdotal and learning that leads to an in depth understanding of the topic?What will be the learning focus in using such a technology, skillset development or factual content?In a world of distraction, does the use of such technology distinguish itself in useful ways from the "white noise" that makes up the environments of many societies?If mobile learning incorporates augmented technology in some form, how will this harmonize with the environment that we are acting within and which is impacting on us?Next..looking at other emerging technologies