Politician analysis: Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, the man that Barack Obama has recently labelled “unfit” to be president of the US could potentially hold that very office on Tuesday November 8th 2016. We ask, how does a man who is widely reported to be brash, rude and more than a little economical with the truth, get to be […]
10 ways to build trust and rapport at work
Trust and rapport between people at work is essential. Here's our top 10 tips to develop productive relationships. What are yours? 1. Respect confidentiality. Nobody wants to deal with a gossip. 2. Ask rather than tell. Be interested in others before putting your views forward. 3. Use people's names in conversations. 4. Complement people's work […]
Is ‘sorry’ really the hardest word? Exploring the big effect of this little word
The word “sorry” means many things to many people. In this article, Anna Shields, co-founder of Consensio, talks about the impact of an apology in the context of workplace mediation and how this can be applied in many types of courageous conversations. Sorry. Even if the word itself doesn’t actually come up, it’s usually there […]
Eight ways women can get more career-savvy
Women are often so focused on proving themselves and doing a good job that they overlook the need to plan and manage their careers. But being more strategic and having a clear plan will give you them better chance of realising their career ambitions and achieving a more satisfying working life. This is the core message […]
Are you banking your knowledge?
How many times did you tell the prospective client that your company has years and years of experience in providing a particular service when in reality you are planning to work with a relatively inexperienced crew? Well, your inexperienced team need not be poor in knowledge if your company has a knowledge bank that stores […]
L&D experts – start the fight back in the wake of Brexit
Robin Hoyle is a writer, trainer and consultant. He is the author of Complete Training: from recruitment to retirement and Informal Learning in Organizations; how to create a continuous learning culture both published by Kogan Page. Robin will be chairing the World of Learning Conference at the NEC on 19th and 20th October, 2016. As we load up the hand cart and […]
The psychology of innovation
Okay, let’s roll our sleeves up, sit down and talk business. This is just between you and me so we can be honest with each other. So tell me, have you ever stopped to wonder about how so much of strategy planning seems to take place on the intellectual (move pegs around the board) level? […]
Switching software suppliers/business systems?
The thought of change can be scary and business software is definitely no exception. When it’s time to switch suppliers, how do you know if you are making the right decision? How can you ensure an easy transition to a new business system? Are there any top tips for ensuring that the switch isn't a difficult […]
4 Ways to Engage Managers in eLearning
Managers play a crucial role in the professional wellbeing of an organisation. Consider this: managers interact with frontline employees on a daily basis and it’s these employees who are last to touch your product before it reaches your customers, or deliver your service. This highlights the importance of regularly training the leaders in your organisation […]
Leadership, bullfighting, the Pope & spectatorism
‘Spectatorism is a modern disease from which many suffer. Symptoms include a stubborn refusal to act, combined with a strong preference for observation and criticism rather than participation…’ ‘Among spectatorism’s victims are those academics and writers who like to theorise rather than take part…’ The above quotes (and the final one below) were from Luke […]
It’s one thing to create a culture of innovation, but how do you sustain it?
And they all lived happily ever after. The trouble is, successfully building a culture of innovation isn’t like a fairy story. Sure there have been triumphs and disasters along the way; moments when the plot seemed to be leading you inexorably towards failure, or twists of fate which led you along unexpected pathways, but innovation […]
Engaging your people in the innovation journey
There are many roads to building a culture of innovation within an organisation and one of the key tasks for the leadership team is to identify and scope the transition matrix which optimises results for their own business. Some may opt for a business wide transition, whilst others may prefer to smooth the way via […]
LIVE: Social Age Safari with Sea Salt Learning
We're living in the social age! It's touching every part of our lives and is changing the very heart of society. The pressures that bear on us have shifted. We face new challenges and new opportunities. And we're living right in the eye of the hurricane, watching the world around us change. How are we […]
Those Conversations We’d Much Rather Not Have
I once hired a colleague's husband to wallpaper and paint our hallway and staircase. The trouble is, he turned out to be an awful decorator. Really, really awful. Which was awkward. I knew I needed to have a conversation with him, which would result in either an improvement, or, more likely, him leaving and never […]
How you and your colleagues become shareholders in knowledge
Keeping knowledge to oneself gradually becomes replaced by a more open information exchange. But a cultural shift from “keeping” to “distributing” knowledge cannot exist without supporting software. Online training software can empower a new ownership in learning. Many managers are still reluctant to share power and knowledge. However, by holding back information from employees, they […]
Optimism as a Skill
Did you know that there are more negative words than positive words in the English language? The capacity to emphasise the negative, rather than the positive, might be an evolutionary phenomenon stemming from the need to be risk aware. Whatever the reasons, a lot of research, including that carried out by Roy F Bauminster, Kathleen […]
Learning Lessons from Leicester City
The underdogs did it. Despite starting the season at 5,000:1 outsiders, Leicester City secured the Premiership title last night amongst much merriment in the Midlands and a sense of benign disbelief in the football world. From Brazil to Bahrain, from Birmingham to Bangkok, everybody’s second favourite team has triumphed against the odds. It’s an old […]
Coffee Briefing: Open plan learning, webcams and the truth behind gamification
Another week has flown by, and we've been devouring as many blogs, articles, newsletters and assorted tidbits to make sure we can bring you some of the more interesting and useful posts out there. Here is this week's pick of L&D news, opinion and research – let us know what you think in the comments […]
Innovation; where are we?
From join the dots to cryptic crosswords via word searches and those pictures which contain one anomalous object, it’s a rare newspaper or magazine that doesn’t contain a puzzle in some form or another. And if they aren’t to your taste then there is always the latest TV detective drama to mull over, or even […]
Should keeping up with online applications & tools constitute ‘lifelong learning?’
Lifelong learning is nothing new, although thanks to rapid technological advancements, many of us are finding ourselves constantly having to learn and evolve in order to maintain our effectiveness as employees. There are three main types of learning: formal, non-formal and informal. Much of our formal learning is done in schools, colleges and universities, before […]
