The options we had to collaborate in the past are just not available anymore, but as human beings we need the social interactions. As social beings, if the relationships are not easily accessible, we will recreate them. In years gone by, teams were large and diverse. It was not unusual in the 80s & 90s to have offices and functions of 100s of people. Today teams and groups are much leaner than they have ever been. Often with just one or two people doing individual tasks. This change has … [Read more...] about The value of #collaboration in networks – #sobiz #socialbiz
LinkedIn groups and your reputation or goto jail!
This week I came across this post, which neatly summarises some of the difficulties you can get into using LinkedIn. Did you know for example that making a "mistake" in one LinkedIn group can cost you your ability to post in ANY group? Interestingly there are some site wide implications for actions, and its worth a read for anyone using LinkedIn groups. You are in the hands of group owners and moderators! Pay particular attention to this part: SWAM’ed: You posted something somewhere in some … [Read more...] about LinkedIn groups and your reputation or goto jail!
New Year Resolutions, into 2014 and beyond
New years resolutions, many of us make them, but do we keep to them? Are they realistic? Recently i case across this cartoon on mashable, from DogHousediaries, and it reminded\ me that often we set New Year Resolutions based on "The Plan", and not on the considered reality According to Forbes 40% of us will make a New Years Resolution, and of that only 8% of people that make a resolution, keep it. Looking forwards, according to research by University of Scranton. Journal of … [Read more...] about New Year Resolutions, into 2014 and beyond
Credibility of a facilitator or trainer #leadership #trainingtip
One often cited phrase in train the trainer materials is the phrase “Establish credibility of facilitator”. What does this mean? At one level it asks the facilitator or trainer to “showcase” why they should be there, their credentials, experience etc. At another it is a justification or excuse as to “why you should listen to me”. Sure we need to trust and believe the person at the front, but is that for us to establish credibility, or is that for the participants to do? This reminds me of the … [Read more...] about Credibility of a facilitator or trainer #leadership #trainingtip
Bell Curve for Performance Management – effective tool or poor #leadership let out?
What is a “Bell Curve”? A bell curve is the shape of a statistical set of data that results in the shape resembling a “bell”, sometimes known as a “normal distribution” curve. It is a way of displaying data to understand strengths & weaknesses in terms of frequency. It is used in many situations, not just performance management. How does Bell Curve performance management work? If you have 10 people in a team, you rank people compared to others in the team on a set of common objectives or … [Read more...] about Bell Curve for Performance Management – effective tool or poor #leadership let out?
Blogging for Leaders
Recently I have been involved in a number of discussions about blogging in the context of leaders and managers, and what it is and is not. This got me thinking on how many people should be blogging (internally or externally) but are not. I will start by saying that there are as many forms of blogs are there are bloggers (people that write blogs)… so there is no right or wrong. What is important is for each writer to be authentic and honest to themselves and their readers. Write from the … [Read more...] about Blogging for Leaders
Tip for Trainers – a recent compendium #trainingtip
Over the last few months I have been putting short tips for trainers up on twitter, I thought it was about time I collated them here. Not in any particular order, there I hope will provide some reflection in your training practice: #trainingtip Tips to be a more effective trainer http://sfy.co/tJPn #storify #trainingtip #greatlearning #trainingtip when covering technical material:regularly stop, ask specific questions to named participants to confirm understanding #trainingtip … [Read more...] about Tip for Trainers – a recent compendium #trainingtip
Leadership – reality or smoke and mirrors?
Leadership does it exist in the way HR and business aspires, or is it just smoke and mirrors? Let me start by saying that I do believe that leadership is different from management. That there are many Leaders in the world, and they make a big difference to people around them. That in almost every business and organization there are undoubtedly leaders... jut not where business owners, shareholders, HR and others expect them. What do I mean? In politics and public life there are leaders, … [Read more...] about Leadership – reality or smoke and mirrors?
Starting your own business
Recently one of my daughters asked if a friend of hers could meet me to talk about setting up her own business. Of course I said yes, but it got me thinking. I'm sure many people are thinking about doing this, but don't know where to start. There is a lot of information out there. But is it accessible? Does it make sense? This article is based on the initial questions I was asked. The real question when thinking about starting a business is “what don’t I know” or the “don’t know what you don’t … [Read more...] about Starting your own business
Online meetings – a Cinderella to real meetings? #WebEx #GoToMeeting
Recently I have attended a number of online meetings, when travel was not appropriate. The results of these were mixed, and demotivating at best. Online meetings need not be a Cinderella service. It's all in the design, and respect for the people involved. If you have part of a meeting as "real" and others as online, you cannot run the event as though it were mainly for those in the room. It just wont work. Over the last 2 years I have run a number of online events, and focussed on helping … [Read more...] about Online meetings – a Cinderella to real meetings? #WebEx #GoToMeeting
Lessons in delegation for leaders from using twitter, a form of collaboration
Can we really learn leadership lessons from twitter? I believe so, and have spent the last 5 years learning a lot from twitter, but today it hit home that one of the hidden skills that can be learnt is the black art of delegation. Yes you read that correctly... delegation. How? Let me start with my short journey to this conclusion today. As many of you will know, in June I ceased being an active consultant with RapidBI and have taken a full time project role with a major global logistics … [Read more...] about Lessons in delegation for leaders from using twitter, a form of collaboration
Harnessing the web to drive membership growth & value – #HTW2013 Conference
Welcome to our Live blog from HTW2013 Our members’ online needs are changing. Our online offerings need to evolve in order to more effectively drive up membership value and growth. - Memberwise Please note the content below is written live and may contain errors. Please refresh regularly to get the full comments from the day Event programme: Embracing online opportunities’ for delivering membership excellence - George Land, Chairman, APT Solutions (09:40) RCOG - Harnessing the … [Read more...] about Harnessing the web to drive membership growth & value – #HTW2013 Conference
Size matters…..is bigger better, or is smaller more intimate?
Training tip for group sizes and dynamics It is often said that bigger is better, an in many things in life it may well be true, but when it come to training it is often said that small group size is best. That is sort of true, but not universally. Pros of big groups:economies of scale more ideas, thoughts & contributionsCons of big groupspeople can hide we don't know if people are learningPros of small groupsone to one attention meet individual … [Read more...] about Size matters…..is bigger better, or is smaller more intimate?
Get physical for best practice training #trainingtip
Whilst the human being is supposed to be a smart, intelligent animal, the reality that we cannot escape from is that we are also physical beings. Sitting still or remaining stationary for long periods of time might be aspirational for some, but from a learning point of view, we learn best when we move. There is conflicting research about the exact nature of what physical activity is best for learning, however there are some general principles that Neuroscientists agree on:People need to … [Read more...] about Get physical for best practice training #trainingtip
Less is not more when it comes to training #tna
Our employees are not machines, they are emotional beings, we need to look beyond systematic approaches to training needs analysis How do we know what training to give? Traditionally in the world of training there has been a movement to do what is called "gap analysis" or training needs analysis to help identify the needs that training must deliver. From a systematic point of view, it was thought that the "best practice" would be to do as little training as necessary to plug the gap. Good for … [Read more...] about Less is not more when it comes to training #tna
Who are you phishing with? #staysafeonline
According to wikipedia phishing is defined as:Phishing (/ˈfiSHiNG/) is the act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communicationToday I had an interesting email, it purported to be a comment waiting to be approved on this blog. I was about to click and approve when I saw the link. The content at first glance looks ok, but spend … [Read more...] about Who are you phishing with? #staysafeonline
Plain English communications?
Today I received a great email, its text without the advert is below:Dear Mike, I’m going for the plain English approach here because I want to keep things simple, in the hope you’ll find time to get back to me. We (xxxx) are a full service integrated demand generation agency with specialties in working with technology, ecommerce and people services businesses. Our goal has always been to deliver high impact and measurable campaigns that really do deliver outstanding results. This … [Read more...] about Plain English communications?
Leadership & Innovation do we really learn?
Growth and development are critical for all parts of the world. Developing infrastructure is a key solution for long term sustainability and growth. Hot in the world news at the moment is the need for India to have a more structured financial system, for more of its population to have bank accounts, and yet only a small percentage of the population does. To meet this goal the Indian government is currently offering licenses to open new banks, and the requirement of being granted the license is … [Read more...] about Leadership & Innovation do we really learn?
Messaging a person requesting to connect on LinkedIn
On LinkedIn many users say that they cannot message people that request to connect, so generally accept the request. What many people do not realise is that you can message them. Here is a piece that many help you communicate with people requesting to connect without you actually accepting the connection first. I would also always advocate looking at their profile to see if you could have met etc in the past How to communicate without connecting Just go … [Read more...] about Messaging a person requesting to connect on LinkedIn
Gamification in business
Gamification is a word we are starting to hear a lot about.What is Gamification? In essence gamification is turning something, a process or experience into a game. A game where the 'player' can earn points or status.The desire to play games is inherent in many people, and the growth of social media is testimony to this. For it is a rare discussion about social media when comparisons between the number of friends, followers or likes a person has is not central to the intended … [Read more...] about Gamification in business
