Where are you as you read this - home, office, taxicab? What kind of device are you using - mobile, laptop, printed version? The fact that there are so many possible answers to those questions is an indication of how our work lives - and indeed our private lives as well - have become increasingly mobile, global, networked and virtual. Download this white paper for the latest numbers, trends and insights into how they can be used to leverage virtual learning environments to meet today's critical talent needs.

Educational evolution over the last ten years has resulted in a dramatic shift in the way we learn, a trend that will surely gain momentum in the next ten years. As technology continues to evolve, the traditional higher education model—one centered around brick-and-mortar schools—will find it challenging to keep up with, and address, today’s business needs.  

This paper is a case study based on a highly successful virtual team: ours! The team here at InSync Training grew organically and created its own best practices as we grew because it was the right thing to do for our customers. Our team is proud of the way we work - and that we have the most functional working relationships most of us have ever experienced. I am proud to share this story with you.  

Successful sales organizations weather tough times with thoughtful initiatives, skilled salespeople, and healthy client relationships. Are We There Yet? If not, it sure feels like it. Housing is so bad that your mortgage is upside down. Credit is so tight that you can't borrow a garden hoe. The dollar is so weak that a pint in London sets you back a day's pay. So, is it a "technical recession"? Who cares, really, because for reasons of their own, customers and prospects are sitting on their checkbooks. And what's the impact on you of this excruciating state of suspended compensation?   Sales cycles longer than the River Nile. Client conversations that move smoothly from price, to price, and finally on to price. Formerly friendly clients who won't give you an Altoid. And, of course, the invasion of the tirekickers.   You say you've done everything obvious and nothing works? Maybe it's time to narrow your focus.

Sales Enablement: How do we do it? The phrase sales enablement has become a standard term in the language of those who support sales performance. There are currently 37 LinkedIn groups with this phrase in their titles. There are software companies, products, consultancies, and all kinds of online resources that include sales enablement in their names, descriptions, or value propositions. It's a great descriptive phrase for marketing products and services, but, like many such catch phrases, means different things to different people. This free white paper from Dr. Carl Binder, originator of The Six Boxes®, will help your sales leadership team understand and implement these concepts and - yes - enable your sales team to perform at its highest potential.

A Letter from the Author Dear friends and colleagues: The gamification of corporate learning has become a hot topic of discussion over the past year in industry publications and blogs, and certainly among talent development professionals. Why is there so much interest? Of course, everyone will have their own point of view on that question. Mine is this: despite the allure of traditional elearning from a cost and ease-of-deployment perspective, numerous organizations’ workforces have not consumed that training with much gusto. There seems to be a lot of consensus in the industry that most traditional elearning provides only modest learner engagement. That’s a big problem for talent development professionals and the workforces we serve. We know engagement is a critical success factor in skill development, and without it very little performance improvement is likely to result from the training. Most of you who are currently thinking about game-based elearning are doing so to address the engagement issue. But what about the learning results? What about the comparative performance impact of game-based elearning versus the traditional elearning most organizations deploy today? In this white paper, we will explore those questions, and provide a rationale that I believe many of you can use to benchmark the impact of game-based learning in your organization. Bryan L. Austin Chief Game Changer

All of the assumptions in our "Common-Sense" article are based upon a well-tested psychological principle, such as Maslow's heirarchy of needs, the Yerkes-Dodson law, psychology's law of effect, the Hawthorne effect, Herzbergs's two-factor theory, and even a few well-tested hypotheses of our own. But don't let the names intimidate you. These are simple, verifiable, ideas—the kind of assumptions you make everyday about the people you supervise. Each of the concepts we discuss is an example of what we call tested common sense assumptions made about human nature that have been empirically verified through psychological research or through actual application in the "real world" of the workplace.

While most organizations have articulated some form of a sales strategy, research has determined that 35 - 40% of organizations do a poor job communicating the strategy and goals in a way that makes them meaningful and understandable to others in the organization. In fact, for many organizations, the link between sales strategy goals and salesforce execution is often missing. Logical steps can be taken to ensure that execution actually supports the sales strategy. "When all is said and done, too often, much is said and little is done." — Anonymous Sales executives must coordinate a myriad of important factors to successfully reach their desired market. To name a few, they must have a product or service that meets customer needs and quality standards, is competitively priced, and has adequate distribution. Unfortunately, the sales executive has little direct control over most of these. The sales executive does, however, control how effectively the organization’s salesforce "touches" and influences the customer. The sales executive can ensure that the field salesforce has all the capabilities and resources to sell to potential buyers. How can this be done? This article addresses areas in which disconnects may occur. It gives an overview of our sales leadership model and addresses seven questions that reflect the model, which can result in a profound strengthening of sales leadership by linking sales strategy to sales results. 1.) How do you create a clear link between the overall organizational strategy and the sales organization’s specific sales strategy? 2.) How do you make sure the sales strategy is known and understood throughout the salesforce? 3.) How do you ensure the salesforce has the capabilities required to execute the sales strategy? 4.) How do you make sure the sales strategy forms the foundation for planning and focusing sales resources at thefield level? 5.) How do you make sure the sales organization’s leadership policies and practices support the effective execution of mission-critical sales behaviors? 6.) How do you ensure your salespeople understand how their sales practices and behaviors make possible the achievement of the organization’s sales strategy? 7.) What mechanism can you put in place to track progress towards sales goals that will ensure accountability for, and adherence to, sales practices and behaviors?

A recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development found that evaluation was a top priority among learning and development (L&D) professionals (Personnel Today staff, 2012). Despite this fact, calculating return on investment (ROI) on development programs is still rarely done; a McKinsey Quarterly report found that only 8 percent of organizations actually evaluate the value of L&D initiatives (Palmer, 2010). And too often, those who do track ROI rarely go beyond asking for feedback from participants immediately after the event.

For the first time ever, Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) are faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of four generations in the workplace. As more professionals from Generation Y join the work force, it is now more important for trainers, human resources personnel and C-level management to continually understand generational differences and adapt strategies for retention. Understanding generational differences in the workplace and in training styles is the key to great leadership, higher retention rates, happier employees, and an efficient workforce.

Looking to implement a cloud-based LMS, but not sure how to start?   Here are some great sample questions to ask every vendor.   They will help you choose the product that meets your requirements for mobile and blended learning, reporting, analytics, and more, so that it is implemented quickly and cost-effectively, and integrates with the technology that you already use.

Complex ideas can be learned quickly using the Story-Based Approach.  How do you avoid glorified memorization methods following this model? By Ray Jimenez, Ph.D.

Drawing learners into the story, letting them participate and experience the story and having them engage in experience sharing boost their learning ability. By Ray Jimenez, Ph.D.

The design concept is based on an understanding of learners' concerns first and foremost -  - by bits and pieces or by small bites along the way. By Ray Jimenez, Ph.D.

Instantaneous learning is achieved by focusing on a singular idea in a lesson re-enforced through a real-life circumstances showing possible consequences or outcomes. By Ray Jimenez, Ph.D.

Emotions evoked by stories as they unfold, draws learners’ attention and keep them focused.  This is why interactive stories deeply impact learning. By Ray Jimenez, Ph.D.

Is it possible to blend tried and true theories of instructional design while meeting the needs of your learner population and stakeholders who are begging for games? Does gamification of eLearning even make sense for your organization or the needs of your learners? In the webinar "Aligning eLearning Game Designs to Bloom’s Taxonomy", Angel Green will provide a sneak peek to Allen Interactions’ Taxonomy Alignment for Gaming (TAG) —based on Bloom’s Taxonomy— to help instructional designers in their quest to incorporate gaming into their learning designs. You're welcome to download this complimentary infographic, but please also join us for the webinar.  See below.