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.  

Is there such a thing as "instant learning"?Experts in mobile and social learning say that there is increased prevalence that learners retain and learn by increments of knowledge and use them as frequently and quickly as they can. The method is "recursive learning" - small building blocks of learning with close proximity to work applications. In most situations however, the difficulty for trainers, eLearning and mLearning designers is that courses and lessons they develop are more driven towards the "completeness" of knowledge transfer rather than the "immediate application" of knowledge.

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.

Brain research is pointing to fresh insights about how to make learning stick. A number of the findings are counter-intuitive, pointing to new approaches and tools for learning that can significantly increase engagement and retention of learning, using a wide range of training mediums.

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.

With so many learning experiences, techniques and devices to choose from, the course designer can be like a gourmet cook, carefully choosing just the right combination to achieve the desired results. There is no excuse for the overuse of lecture as the primary and often only technique.

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

earning organizations are facing a technology wake-up call as they realize that most of their content doesn't translate well, if at all, to mobile devices. The typical reaction is to initiate one-off projects for converting desktop courses, applications, and their Flash based components, per the specs of every major device platform.

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.

When you ask an SME, "What should learners learn from the content?", the response is usually "all" or "everything". This is the OLD RELIGION where the data is "compressed and dumped" for learners to learn. This is costly and detrimental to the performance of workers.

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?

We all use a variety of thinking styles in our daily lives, but we tend to favor some and rarely use others-and that hurts our ability to make good decisions. Taking a thinking assessment can help you find the right balance, so you can make the best choices, in life and at work.

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.

One advantage of the virtual classroom is the potential for global reach. Participants no longer need to fly long distances to attend a class; instead, we can bring the classroom to them! However, when incorporating international participants into your virtual training classes, it’s important to design sessions with global audiences in mind.

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.

On one hand, we say we honor evaluation, that we are eager for evidence and data. On the other hand, most reported practice is far from enthusiastic about metrics. Today’s economic climate has increased accountability in organizations and required training and performance professionals to look in a data-driven way at their influence. At the same time, technology-delivered training, learning management systems and a host of tools has increased possibilities for data collection. Are organizations using these tools? And if so, to what ends?

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.

As enterprise organizations expand to support a globally dispersed employee base, developing effective learning environments that can be delivered anywhere, anytime becomes a significant challenge. Implementing learning management systems and basic online learning tools has fallen short in providing an engaging learning experience that ensures the effectiveness of enterprise training programs.

Coaching is a unique development solution because it allows the individual, to customize the solution to best suit their individual needs; and, a customized solution may be more likely to facilitate success. In the past, we could provide nearly any coaching solution, and measure the success of that solution based upon participant’s self-reports of satisfaction.

The metaphor of "The Lazy Trainer" reminds us that the less we teach, the more learners have the chance to learn for themselves. Unfortunately, a significant number of trainers and designers are paranoid. They lack faith or trust that the learners can provide or discover the "right answers and content." This limits the possibilities for effective learning, driven by learners. Companies are also deprived of the opportunity to reduce costs while increasing the speed of training.

Do your firm’s employees need to work together across internal boundaries, regions, functions and businesses? This question has taken on added urgency in today’s increasingly matrixed organizations where employees of all levels must now rely more heavily on their ability to influence others to achieve their own business objectives.

Research has shown the powerful impact stories have on learning. Current trends also demonstrate that learners want to learn at their own pace and at the most convenient time possible.

Jolts are quick and powerful learning activities designed to jump-start your sessions in less than 5 minutes and provide an emotional impact resulting in surprise and discovery. Your participants will sit-up, listen, learn, and gain instant insights into your training topics. In this session, Thiagi and Tracy will share their favorite jolts and debriefing activities that are especially designed and adapted for the use in webinars.