Firstly Happy 2010 !
I hope this year will be a positive and exciting one for you. Over the past few weeks I have been on a break and have been very lucky to have time off travelling in the US and catching up with many old friends. During this time I have been thinking back about what are the things that can make 2010 a truly a great year and the two key factors I kept coming back with are :
Enthusiasm and Connection.
1. Enthusiasm for what ever you do is so important. In late 2009 I was lucky enough to attend the Australian Export Awards in Canberra in almost ever case the winners had started their companies with passion to achieve their goal, they started small and wanted to grow. Many started from their back yard shed, garage or office with and idea and great plans and single focus to make their passion a reality. Have a look at the attached link, and read the great stories of success that every day people have achieved http://www.exportawards.gov.au/
2. Connection
No matter what you want to achieve, you need to have a network to support and to give context to what you want to achieve. Connection can come in so many ways via both professional and social networks, and of course family networks. It is something that needs to be worked upon, it is something that also needs to be valued and measured. It can not be just one way - your way. It involves genuine efforts from both sides. Today there are just so many ways in which connections can be made, but in reality it takes time and effort to be turn these into genuine ones - ones that will make a difference.
SABA Learning Management systems actually see that the need for connection will be this years Number # 1 learning need in 2010 http://www.rttnews.com/ViewPR.aspx?PrID=533051&SMap=1
Today many people define themselves by the work they do, yet in so many ways it is not the work you do but the enthusiasm you show and the connection you have with people along the way, as you do your work that really should define you !
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Learning 2009 : So What Have I Learnt ?
The last few weeks have been very busy, where I was fortunate enough to attend Learning 2009 (www.learning2009.com) in Orlando, Florida. Over 1,300 learning professionals from all around the world attended.
Three major take away for me were :
1. The discussion around the use of video for learning purposes was very insightful. Yes we already use this media but with internet band width every increasing, the very low cost of equipment and software to conduct interactive sessions, the high cost of travel, then we really need to re-look at this medium. The examples presented, especially one from the UK where piano is taught via video, were just outstanding. My feeling is that with 3D imagining not far away, world experts will be able to teach right in your own work place or home but with a true feeling of a face to face interaction.
2. I was gave a presentation around what CPA Australia was doing with social media, there was very good discussion that broke into 3 themes. One around social media being about network learning and connection – a true open connection, very useful for following an event or a topic amongst your friends or colleagues, another around the perceived high reputation risk of using any type of social media and the last around the now very limited commercial gains that social media can bring.
For me, in the end social media is all about being social!
3. The USA is very depressed. I lived there for almost five years from 2002 and the news reports of increasing unemployment and housing foreclosure were very depressing, especially for a country that only wants to promote “good news”. On a global scale the world needs for the US to rebound, I feel around the world the first quarter of 2010 is going to be very slow for many business.
More information about the event as well as follow up activities can be found on the website www.learning2009.com .
Three major take away for me were :
1. The discussion around the use of video for learning purposes was very insightful. Yes we already use this media but with internet band width every increasing, the very low cost of equipment and software to conduct interactive sessions, the high cost of travel, then we really need to re-look at this medium. The examples presented, especially one from the UK where piano is taught via video, were just outstanding. My feeling is that with 3D imagining not far away, world experts will be able to teach right in your own work place or home but with a true feeling of a face to face interaction.
2. I was gave a presentation around what CPA Australia was doing with social media, there was very good discussion that broke into 3 themes. One around social media being about network learning and connection – a true open connection, very useful for following an event or a topic amongst your friends or colleagues, another around the perceived high reputation risk of using any type of social media and the last around the now very limited commercial gains that social media can bring.
For me, in the end social media is all about being social!
3. The USA is very depressed. I lived there for almost five years from 2002 and the news reports of increasing unemployment and housing foreclosure were very depressing, especially for a country that only wants to promote “good news”. On a global scale the world needs for the US to rebound, I feel around the world the first quarter of 2010 is going to be very slow for many business.
More information about the event as well as follow up activities can be found on the website www.learning2009.com .
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Workforce Trends : 4 Organisational Themes
Last week I meet with Colin Beams from the Workforce Relationship Development Institute (WRDI) which has been doing work for the Australian Government to help identify organizational employment trends in the workforce to help planning for future labor engagement over the next 10-15 years.
Four key trends are beginning to emerge :
1. There will be a more fluid organizational structure, where networks and alliances will be formed between various groups in order to bid for and win work. There will be a rapid increase in the use of virtual organizations to meet the demand.
2. There will be a need for a higher skills and deeper knowledge which will result in
3. A polarization of between skilled and unskilled roles – as the focus will be on what you can bring to the table and being paid to deliver on this.
4. As a result there will be a transfer of risk to the employees, in that more and more workers will be on short term contracts, with a need for these people to be flexible in the hours they work.
The bottom line is those who can continue to be flexible and continue to learning and continually re-skill themselves will be in high demand.
Next week I will be in Orlando Florida, attending the Learning 2009 (www.learning2009.com) where there will be a big focus on re-skilling and flexibility in the work force.
You can follow the conference on twitter by subscribing to Learning2009 and contribute to the feed by using the #L2009. More on all of this next post.
Four key trends are beginning to emerge :
1. There will be a more fluid organizational structure, where networks and alliances will be formed between various groups in order to bid for and win work. There will be a rapid increase in the use of virtual organizations to meet the demand.
2. There will be a need for a higher skills and deeper knowledge which will result in
3. A polarization of between skilled and unskilled roles – as the focus will be on what you can bring to the table and being paid to deliver on this.
4. As a result there will be a transfer of risk to the employees, in that more and more workers will be on short term contracts, with a need for these people to be flexible in the hours they work.
The bottom line is those who can continue to be flexible and continue to learning and continually re-skill themselves will be in high demand.
Next week I will be in Orlando Florida, attending the Learning 2009 (www.learning2009.com) where there will be a big focus on re-skilling and flexibility in the work force.
You can follow the conference on twitter by subscribing to Learning2009 and contribute to the feed by using the #L2009. More on all of this next post.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Leadership .........Keep It True and Simple
This past week I have been very lucky to chair a number of sessions at CPA Australia’s congress (www.cpacongress.com.au) and two particular sessions brought home the idea that to deliver good leadership for your staff and your organization, you need to keep things simple.
Amanda Gore led a very fun and interactive on the need to connect your "head to your heart" when you are making decisions, and to make sure you keep them connected. Not having these linked, lead to a poor decisions, often a disgruntled staff (and family) and stress for everyone. She also advocated the need to have fun at work and to celebrate success, as she said "they don’t teach that in today’s MBA programs!"
The second session was with Michael Choudhury who presented "Effective Communicating Financial Data" sound very dry but it wasn’t. He gave a number of great examples of how to do this in a very simple and easy manner. The key is to strip away the noise and give people the information they can understand and make decisions on – keep it simple, use colour and diagrams rather than a mass of numbers. One outstanding example (and very funny) he used was on Professor Hans Rosling worth taking a look. (http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html#)
Amanda Gore led a very fun and interactive on the need to connect your "head to your heart" when you are making decisions, and to make sure you keep them connected. Not having these linked, lead to a poor decisions, often a disgruntled staff (and family) and stress for everyone. She also advocated the need to have fun at work and to celebrate success, as she said "they don’t teach that in today’s MBA programs!"
The second session was with Michael Choudhury who presented "Effective Communicating Financial Data" sound very dry but it wasn’t. He gave a number of great examples of how to do this in a very simple and easy manner. The key is to strip away the noise and give people the information they can understand and make decisions on – keep it simple, use colour and diagrams rather than a mass of numbers. One outstanding example (and very funny) he used was on Professor Hans Rosling worth taking a look. (http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html#)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
mLearning - The Future Is Getting Closer
One key theme that is becoming evident in organisations learning strategy is the concept of mLearning - bringing the right content, to the right person at the right moment and in the right size (eg anywhere, anyplace and anytime).
Although this concept has been desired for many years technology especially with such devices such as Blackberry, a variety of smart phones, the iPhone and the rise of cheap, reliable and truly portable PC's have all become feature rich, faster and more available and now making the possibility of learning in the palm of your hands an increasing possibility.
In Australia the Federal Government has just commissioned several million dollars of grants to begin delivery of mLearning products to schools and education institutions by 2011.
Accenture has recently completed a year long investigation into making mLearning a reality. Some of their key findings were of interest to note :
1. A Business Case - that showed the clear business need for mLearning, a receptive audience to understood the important of the learning in this way and sufficient technology that allowed all of this to work efficiently. Get the right people involved upfront !
2. A Clear Vision - a one page document that describes the target audience, defines the learning problem, and explains how a mobile learning solution addresses the problem. This will allow effective conversations of the value of the learning amongst stakeholders.
3. Create a Prototype - No more than 10 minutes to complete, make it available to be downloaded rather than rely on a live connection so it can be done when travelling, topics that helped on the job performance support rated highly amongst users.
4. Make It Part of The Organisation - Make sure it is integrated into your LMS , appropriately branded product and ensure it will be a good organisational and cultural fit.
The future is getting closer !
How does this effect you and your organisation - let me know ?
Although this concept has been desired for many years technology especially with such devices such as Blackberry, a variety of smart phones, the iPhone and the rise of cheap, reliable and truly portable PC's have all become feature rich, faster and more available and now making the possibility of learning in the palm of your hands an increasing possibility.
In Australia the Federal Government has just commissioned several million dollars of grants to begin delivery of mLearning products to schools and education institutions by 2011.
Accenture has recently completed a year long investigation into making mLearning a reality. Some of their key findings were of interest to note :
1. A Business Case - that showed the clear business need for mLearning, a receptive audience to understood the important of the learning in this way and sufficient technology that allowed all of this to work efficiently. Get the right people involved upfront !
2. A Clear Vision - a one page document that describes the target audience, defines the learning problem, and explains how a mobile learning solution addresses the problem. This will allow effective conversations of the value of the learning amongst stakeholders.
3. Create a Prototype - No more than 10 minutes to complete, make it available to be downloaded rather than rely on a live connection so it can be done when travelling, topics that helped on the job performance support rated highly amongst users.
4. Make It Part of The Organisation - Make sure it is integrated into your LMS , appropriately branded product and ensure it will be a good organisational and cultural fit.
The future is getting closer !
How does this effect you and your organisation - let me know ?
Monday, September 1, 2008
Creating A Community
"The age of mass production is fading fast. The emerging economy is based on knowledge, imagination, curiosity, and talent. What if we could learn to tap the wonderful, rich differences among people" Tom Peters, 2008.
At this year CPA Congress, we launching the first of many "Connecting and Exchange" initiatives to all CPA members to connect and exchange ideas and information, no matter where they are in the world!
You do not need to be a CPA Member to contribute
This is part of CPA Australia's knowledge blueprint, which has a major focus on enhancing the ability of our members to be able to connect and exchange with each other in both traditional and non-traditional environments.
For CPA Congress, this includes extending the experience past the traditional face-to-face sessions by enabling online community and exchange around CPA Congress themes and hot topics.
At this year CPA Congress, we launching the first of many "Connecting and Exchange" initiatives to all CPA members to connect and exchange ideas and information, no matter where they are in the world!
You do not need to be a CPA Member to contribute
This is part of CPA Australia's knowledge blueprint, which has a major focus on enhancing the ability of our members to be able to connect and exchange with each other in both traditional and non-traditional environments.
For CPA Congress, this includes extending the experience past the traditional face-to-face sessions by enabling online community and exchange around CPA Congress themes and hot topics.
Along with the CPA Congress blog <http://cpacongress.wordpress.com/>, here is a snapshot of what you can expect from your online experience at this year event:
- CPA Congress online community
- virtual Q&A sessions through the online community
- video, audio and multimedia highlights of CPA Congress presenters and activities
- the opportunity to attend a conference session in the virtual world of Second Life
Please take some time to contribute, review and open your minds to the possibilities as the future is in your hands.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
A New Door Opens
Welcome
I hope you all had a great break over the Christmas / New Year period and are refreshed for 2008. For me it was a time of reflection about the year gone and the year to come. What ever does actually eventuate in 2008, change will certainly be a key factor through out the next 12 months.
One example of change which caught my eye over the Christmas period was the Queen's Christmas Broadcast being delivered for the first time on The Royal Channel on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=TheRoyalChannel
Could this have ever been considered a realistic option 2 years ago ?
Many futurologists see 2008 as the rise of Youtube as a means of true educational value, where there will be a greater use of this approach to provide education in the terms of short video segments covering a whole range of topics from cooking to calculus.
Other trends that are being predicted to influence the world of learning are :
I hope you all had a great break over the Christmas / New Year period and are refreshed for 2008. For me it was a time of reflection about the year gone and the year to come. What ever does actually eventuate in 2008, change will certainly be a key factor through out the next 12 months.
One example of change which caught my eye over the Christmas period was the Queen's Christmas Broadcast being delivered for the first time on The Royal Channel on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=TheRoyalChannel
Could this have ever been considered a realistic option 2 years ago ?
Many futurologists see 2008 as the rise of Youtube as a means of true educational value, where there will be a greater use of this approach to provide education in the terms of short video segments covering a whole range of topics from cooking to calculus.
Other trends that are being predicted to influence the world of learning are :
- Economic "Jitters" - How will the industry cope with this uncertainty? Learning is usually the first causality of any type of down turn.
- Generational Differences - How do we prepare the next generation for the workforce?
- How do we pursue learning that engages a younger workforce and still makes business sense?
- Organizational Development - As companies change how do we ensure we meet their needs with our efforts?
- Technology - Do we have enough capacity? How do we deliver at the moment of need? What technology can we leverage given fewer resources?
This is all food for though, but what ever happens enjoy what ever the next 12 months brings to you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
