The Performance Improvement Blog

MAY 15, 2018

Following is a selection from our new book, Minds at Work: Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy (Chapter Two). The future of how we learn in our organizations is a popular topic. But unless you are responsible for developing, delivering, managing, and measuring training and learning, keeping up with the latest learning technologies can be overwhelming.

Companies 100

Companies Management Portfolio Learning 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

MAY 3, 2018

Following is a selection from our new book, Minds at Work: Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy (Chapter One). . As the economic paradigms change, a corporate Darwinism takes over and the companies that fail to change and evolve disappear. In 2012, Richard Foster’s research at Yale University indicated that the average life span of a company listed in the S&P 500 index of leading U.S. companies fell by more than 50 years in the last century, from 67 years in the 1920s to just 15 ye

Change 138

Change Management Stock Photography 138

The Performance Improvement Blog

APRIL 25, 2018

. Most companies (and governments) today are managed in a command-and-control style of leadership that prevents them from becoming high performing, sustainable organizations. Although command-and-control is our natural tendency as leaders, we must resist this temptation for the sake of our companies and their employees. . The command-and-control style of leadership is defined as: …a style of leadership that uses standards, procedures, and output statistics to regulate the organization.

Leadership 100

Leadership Companies Write Blog Organization 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

MARCH 21, 2018

Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan, like all state governors, is grappling with closing the gap between thousands of high-paying job openings and a shortage of workers to fill those jobs. To solve this problem, the Michigan Governor has initiated what he calls the “ Marshall Plan for Talent”, with a focus on education and employment (I assume the Governor is referring to the urgency for large scale change and not the U.S.’s conditional infusion of billions of dollars into post World War II economi

Job 100

Job Skills Diversity Training Culture 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

MARCH 9, 2018

BRUSSELS — For the first time, a Belgian criminal court has convicted a man of “sexism in the public space,” for verbally abusing a female police officer who tried to question him after he was seen jaywalking. The New York Times article goes on to explain Belgium’s definition of “sexism” : Sexism, according to the law, is defined as “every gesture or deed” that is “clearly meant to express contempt of a person based on sex,” or considers a person inferior based on sex, or reduces a person solely

Poll 100

Poll Reputation Behavior Survey 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

The most important role of L&D professionals is to coach managers in facilitating learning in organizations. This is their future. The days of instructor-centered employee learning are over. The rapid pace of change, technology (automation, robots, AI, AR, etc.), globalization, workforce diversity, hyper-competition, and demands of a new generation of workers make continuous learning the core activity of organizations today.

Coaching 100

Coaching Diversity Training Performance Support Learning 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

JANUARY 17, 2018

Modern organizations need agile learners. Given the pace of change due to technology, globalization, workforce diversity, and hyper-competition, people need to continually acquire and apply new knowledge, skills, and values at a rate unheard of in previous eras. As we explain in our new book, Minds at Work: Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy , simple and routine jobs are being replaced by automation and robots.

Agile 113

Agile Search Learner Webcast 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

JANUARY 8, 2018

LAD Global , in partnership with the Singapore Training and Development Association , has made my short course on evaluation of training and learning available for free online. I hope people involved in talent development will find this course to be a helpful introduction to measuring the impact of all types of learning interventions, not only formal training. .

Evalution 113

Evalution Knowledge Phillips Course 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

JANUARY 5, 2018

The hiring industry is continually evolving. If we compare the scenarios of the past to the present, we can find an increase in competition in the overall industry. Nearly 250 resumes are attracted on an average by any job opening. In these resumes, more than half are rejected by the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Just as you might know, these systems are automatic, and they only select people with the right keywords.

Templates 133

Templates Website Job vendor 133

The Performance Improvement Blog

DECEMBER 22, 2017

Every day, it seems, another high profile case of sexual harassment comes to light. And then there are the many workplace complaints of sexual harassment that are no less harmful to women but, perpetrated by mid-level managers, don’t get the same attention as the one’s involving celebrities and CEOs. The experience of women working in Ford Motor factories, as reported by Susan Chira and Catrin Einhorn in The New York Times , makes us aware that a hostile workplace is not unusual and can be creat

Sexual Harassment Training 113

Sexual Harassment Training Harassment Training Diversity Training Liability 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

JANUARY 3, 2018

As I usually do at this time of year, I’ve selected five blog posts from the past year that seem to have had the most interest from readers. With the publication of my new book, Minds at Work: Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy , I have continued to focus my blog posts on a manager’s role in supporting continuous learning for all employees in the workplace.

Sexual Harassment Training 113

Sexual Harassment Training Harassment Training Diversity Training Culture 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2017

In the Knowledge Economy, people must take responsibility for their own learning. They need to learn how to learn independently and how to learn what they need to know when they need to know it. The world of work is changing too fast for any worker to remain a passive learner. John Hagel III and John Seely Brown, leading thinkers in technology and learning, write in an article for HBR titled Help Employees Create Knowledge – Not Just Share It : …when we recognize that the environment around us i

Knowledge 113

Knowledge Learner Performance Support Social Media 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

DECEMBER 5, 2017

Harness the power of employees’ minds! Although many companies pay lip service to the idea that employees are their most valuable asset, they remain stuck in a 20th century mindset in which employees are a liability. In our new book, MINDS AT WORK: Managing for Success in The Knowledge Economy , David Grebow and I lay the foundation for companies to compete in the 21st century knowledge economy by focusing on the incredible potential of empowering and enabling people’s minds.

Management 127

Management Knowledge Liability Learning 127

The Performance Improvement Blog

OCTOBER 27, 2017

The explosion in sexual harassment charges against company executives is a symptom of the dramatic change that is going on in the workplace. This is about much more than a few courageous women standing up to a few misogynist men. We are witnessing a sea change in the way employees relate to their leaders and to each other. The command-and-control, hierarchical, do-as-I-say work environment of the 20 th Century industrial economy is giving way to the communication and collaboration workplace of

Sexual Harassment Training 124

Sexual Harassment Training Harassment Training Knowledge Diversity Training 124

The Performance Improvement Blog

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

Given the current economy, the role of L&D departments and learning professionals must change dramatically. Elliott Masie, one of the great thinkers about learning and workplace productivity, writes in a recent issue of Chief Learning Officer : It is time for the learning field to have a deep and open conversation about how we re-engineer our craft, our skills and our careers.

Masie 113

Masie Agile Learning Engineering 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

The safest prediction is that reality will outstrip our imaginations. So let us craft our policies not just for what we expect but for what will surely surprise us. – Sendhil Mullainathan , professor of economics, Harvard University. Professor Mullainathan argues that, in this age of disruption when constant innovation results in creative destruction of businesses, we need to think differently about the education of people throughout their careers.

Change 113

Change Learning Agile Education 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

AUGUST 25, 2017

We are now in the "Knowledge Economy" which means that we must learn differently than we have in the past. As I wrote in a previous blog post titled, The Manager's Abridged History of Work and Learning : . Today, work is more about having a keen mind than it is about having a strong back or skilled hands. This has profound implications for how we manage workers and how we facilitate learning in the workplace.

Management 113

Management Diversity Training Agile Global 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

JULY 20, 2017

Missing from the conversation about gaps in the labor market is an analysis of how supply, retention, and productivity of workers is affected by their workplace experience. U.S. Politicians and economists talk about jobs, jobs, and jobs. They say they want to close the skills gap , better prepare young people for employment, and retrain workers for new, high tech careers.

Sexual Harassment Training 113

Sexual Harassment Training Culture Skills Harassment Training 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

JULY 6, 2017

Companies today need learners. In the Agricultural Economy, a strong back was enough. In the Industrial Economy, a set of good hands was enough. But in the Knowledge Economy , companies need people who can develop their minds. The Knowledge Economy needs people who are self-directed learners, who know how to get the information and skills they need when and where they need them, who can think critically in terms of evaluating the accuracy and usefulness of this information, and who can learn fro

Knowledge 114

Knowledge Learner Cognitive Culture 114

The Performance Improvement Blog

MAY 30, 2017

(This post is co-authored with David Grebow.). Gearing Up for the Cloud, AT&T Tells Its Workers: Adapt, or Else ( New York Times ). To cut costs and boost collaboration, IBM forces some remote workers back into the office ( TechRepublic ). Ford signals willingness to change to boost stock price ( USA Today ). According to these news stories, three venerable companies are making major changes that they believe will help them move into the future and implement a winning business strategy.

Culture 113

Culture Strategy IBM Stock 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

APRIL 19, 2017

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. -George Bernard Shaw . Early in my career, as a university professor, I was responsible for training and developing counselors for work in schools, colleges, and community agencies. An essential competency that we helped counselors develop was communicating empathy to a client.

Management 100

Management Digital Diversity Training Communication 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

APRIL 4, 2017

This is an infographic by Arun Pradhan that explains why and how we need to stop separating learning from work. That might not have been a significant issue in the Industrial Economy, but it is a serious issue in our current Knowledge Economy. .

Issue 100

Issue Learning Knowledge Industry 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

MARCH 27, 2017

The ability to collaborate, communicate, and work effectively in teams are some of the competencies most in demand by employers today. However, companies are not preparing people adequately for these mutually cooperative functions. Susan Adams writes this in Forbes : Can you work well on a team, make decisions and solve problems? Those are the skills employers most want when they are deciding which new college graduates to hire.

Communication 100

Communication Collaboration Agile Adoption 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

MARCH 9, 2017

Agility, adaptiveness, flexibility, creativity, innovation, critical thinking, collaboration, cooperation, communication, teamwork, risk-taking, networking, compassion, empathy, inclusiveness, knowing how to learn…these are the abilities needed by people in the automated workplace. The operational abilities sought after in the previous economy are no longer high on the list.

Cognitive 113

Cognitive Agile Innovation Global 113

The Performance Improvement Blog

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

“We’re no longer asking everybody to do the next thing right; but to do the next right thing.” - Dov Seidman. Ethical behavior in the workplace has never been more important, yet companies continue to act as if a workshop or elearning program during onboarding is all an employee needs in order to behave ethically. That might meet the requirements of a regulatory agency, but don’t expect your employees to learn “…to do the next right thing.

Behavior 100

Behavior Compliance Training Diversity Training Culture 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

JANUARY 25, 2017

(This post was co-authored with David Grebow.). Instead of jumping off the January 1 st starting line, we decided to wait and see what other people are predicting for corporate training and learning in 2017. Here’s a partial list from our 2017 Crystal Ball Scorecard: The New Year will bring a wider adoption of mLearning. All companies will be dong more microlearning.

RWD 100

RWD Predictions Training Train 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

DECEMBER 19, 2016

Most companies today have a “training culture”. ATD’s 2016 State of the Industry report concludes: …the traditional, instructor-led, face-to-face classroom continues to play a crucial role, and it was still the delivery mechanism for 51 percent of learning hours used in 2015. The percentage would be considerably higher if the ATD study had included all push training , such as elearning programs and attendance at conferences.

Culture 100

Culture Organization Organizational Learning Podcasts 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

DECEMBER 6, 2016

We are now in the "Knowledge Economy" which means that we must learn differently than we have in the past. As I wrote in a previous blog post titled, The Manager's Abridged History of Work and Learning : . Today, work is more about having a keen mind than it is about having a strong back or skilled hands. This has profound implications for how we manage workers and how we facilitate learning in the workplace.

Management 100

Management Webcast Diversity Training Agile 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

We want smart phones, smart cars, and smart refrigerators, but we do not want smart employees. Or, to say it more accurately, our organizations are designed to ensure that smart employees act stupidly. This is what Andre Spicer and Mats Alvesson have concluded from their research on organizations. They write: For the past two decades, management theorists have been convinced that organisations succeed or fail on the basis of their specialised knowledge.

Cognitive 100

Cognitive Culture Organizational Learning Apple 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Every worker learns differently given the task, content, and circumstances. Yet, we continue to try to educate, train, and develop everyone in the same way. Maybe it’s time to turn our workplaces into learning labs. By experimenting with different methods of learning and evaluating the process and outcomes of these methods in the workplace, we might discover what methods are best for which workers under what circumstances.

Kaplan 0

Kaplan Innovation Consulting Methods 0

The Performance Improvement Blog

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

In a post that David Grebow and I wrote for the Association for Talent Development Management Blog, we present an abridged history of work and learning and how work and learning are, necessarily, much different in the 21rst century than they were in the past two centuries. Today, work is more about having a keen mind than it is about having a strong back or skilled hands.

Write Blog 140

Write Blog Agile Association Knowledge 140

The Performance Improvement Blog

OCTOBER 5, 2016

I’m always looking for examples of companies that put learning ahead of training. TorranceLearning is one of those companies. They design custom learning experiences for client organizations by starting with the intended results and related performance problems and then, and only then, do they provide employees with the tools, structures, and processes to learn what they need to know and do to be successful. .

Organization 235

Organization Culture Lesson Performance Support 235

The Performance Improvement Blog

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast," a quote famously attributed to Peter Drucker , is being played out dramatically in the crisis at Wells Fargo Bank. Apparently, the culture in the Wells Fargo workplace is not aligned with the espoused values of the company. This misalignment has tarnished the brand built on an image of trust and customer care, resulted in the dismissal of over 5,000 employees, poses a threat to the tenure of top executives, and resulted in a precipitous decline in the marke

Culture 100

Culture Strategy Behavior Trust 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Do you know what you what you really need to know to be successful in your job? You won’t find it in company training programs, or in an MBA program, or your professional association’s certification workshops. But this learning is more important for survival and success in the workplace over the long term. . Jesse Sostrin calls this the “hidden curriculum”.

Performance Support 100

Performance Support Job Quality Trust 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Microsoft and PopTech have created an eight part video series that describes how the world of work is changing, in both the company workplace and the global workplace. . The videos present these eight core themes: Digital technology and an abundance of information are causing profound changes in the way people work. To be competitive, companies are shifting from a focus on “efficiency of process” to a focus on “effectiveness of outcomes.”.

Change 124

Change Microsoft Internationalization Global 124

The Performance Improvement Blog

AUGUST 3, 2016

When I ask the training and development leaders who participate in my ATD Essentials of Developing an Organizational Learning Culture workshop to say what percentage of employees who attend training programs actually apply what they’ve learned on the job, the answers range from about 10% to about 50%, with most at the lower end of that range. This indicates a dismal state of affairs.

Training 100

Training Train Write Blog Leadership 100

The Performance Improvement Blog

JULY 22, 2016

Beliefs shape work behavior and influence the culture of an organization. If you want a culture in which employees are learning, developing, and contributing to the organization’s success, you need to address the beliefs that they carry in their heads, and whether, according to Chris Argyris , their espoused theory (what they say they believe) and their theory-in-use (beliefs that direct actual behavior) are congruent.

Theory 100

Theory Brain Behavior Culture 100