Now is the time to prepare...

This last week I attended the ASTD Chapter Leader Conference in Washington DC. (ALC)  It was a fantastic opportunity to bring knowledge back to my Chapter as well as to network with others and see how they implement successful programs and initiatives in their locales.  Perhaps my favorite part was getting to make new friends and reignite the relationships of legacy friends that I hadn't seen in a while.  We got to share, laugh, giggle, and relate some of our challenges.  Those times helped remind me that I'm not alone in my challenges to move my Chapter forward and work with my Board to help grow and develop the workplace learning and performance professionals in the community.

Las Vegas has been decimated in many of the training arenas.  Because much of what we do is either taken for granted or misunderstood, it was the first to go when funds had to be cut.  So many companies are going to be left with mediocre talent at best when things turn around.  From many of the conversations I had while in DC, things are beginning to get better elsewhere.  It's going to take a while here in LV, yet I don't think that is going to stop people from leaving once they can get what they paid for out of their homes.  I'm really nervous that talent management is not being taken seriously because it's all about financial capital and not about human capital.

I'm certainly not advocating bankruptcy in lieu of making payroll.  It's interesting when you look at the financials of some of the publicly traded companies that have shed so many positions--they have not lost money, it's just their profit margins are not where they should be, so they cut the first thing that is easiest to cut, and that's labor.  So then where does all of that intellectual property go?  Somewhere else, which is detrimental to any organization. 

That's where the Conference comes in.  Many messages talked about the need to recognize the contributions of our volunteer Members to thank them for giving of their spare time and energy to better our organization.  Many of them do not get any recognition at work, so we should not be found guilty of the same offense.  A simple thank you, a card, donuts, anything to say we recognize what they do and the impact that it has.  People will stay, put down roots, grow with us, and stick it out through the hard times if they feel a part of what is going on.  Failure to do so only hurries them out the door.

Revenge is evil for evil; ingratitude is evil for good.  Thank people who have made a contribution and deserve it and see how they give and give and give.

Moving Forward

Wow, what a week.  A tough one at that.  Lots of sadness both personally and professionally.  When your profession is one that requires you to be in front of people a lot, you just have to reach down to your toes and pull it up to pull it off.  There was a big initiative rolled out with a client this week that required just that, and Friday afternoon when it was done, there were smiles and gladness and joy.  Hooray and good news!

Of course, traffic affords the opportunity to reflect on how it all went down and how it applies outside of the current circumstance.  I thought about how I've seen several recent occasions where people have let external forces get the best of them and they didn't reach inside and make it work.  Politically, professionally, personally, meltdowns have been the norm, not the exception.  The world is definitely a tough place right now, and the external forces are probably as strong as they've ever been.  However, that also means that opposing foes, employers, and friends on the fence are as sensitive as they've ever been as well.  We ought not be giving them a reason to "weed their garden" (thanks Judith!) of us because we can't handle our emotional intelligence.

As much as participants of the emotional intelligence classes joke about listing 10 states, flavors of yogurt, or vegetables they hate, they come back to the fact that it gives them enough time to disengage.  Then they have that split second to rethink before the lips part and forever utter that which could be the term, career, or friendship ending words.  This week I've craved a magic wand to wave over the world and give people just enough time for them to fast forward 1 hour and see what it looks like after they've crashed into the iceberg and the lifeboats are hitting the water.

I'm by no means immune to the influence of emotion.  Learning to tame it and use it for good is necessary for anyone in an influential position.  It takes practice, failure, practice, failure...you see where I'm going.  Yet right now doesn't give us enough space for a big fall down.  We really have to think ahead and keep the errors slight.  Once we do, we'll find ourselves strategically placed at the head of the pack of runners when things pick up again and excellent leaders are sought after.

A Radical Idea

Last week while waiting to meet my Dad at an airline baggage claim, I watched two of said airline's employees handle a baggage fiasco that was unfolding. Employee A was using a great deal of patience, restating, active listening, and emotional intelligence to tackle the ever increasing amount of people hurling their complaints at her. Employee B could not be bothered, and it was evident in his tone, body language, and responses to the ever decreasing amount of people leaving his line and going to Employee A.

Both employees worked for the same airline, so they have the same core values, and they should have the same desire for passenger complaint resolution. Should. There was not much of an age difference so it can't be chalked up to generational difference. In fact, there was no explanation for why the difference in approach.

Fast forward to a couple of hours later when in another discussion it came up about the disgraceful high school dropout rate we still have in Las Vegas. It's disgraceful and sad for everyone involved that these folks will go out into the world unprepared on many levels. And then a light bulb flashed light those old Kodak cameras: could part of the difference in approach in work ethic stem from lack of preparation before people graduate from high school?

It's no secret that turnover is expensive--except to some C-suite executives who still refuse to accept it because it's not always a hard cost to nail down. So the radical idea is this--should corporations take some of their profits and invest it in mentoring and succession planning in high schools? It would not replace career counseling but rather augment it. People could learn about some basic business acumen skills that would help the transfer between high school and the business world while they sought higher education or not. Then there might not be such a rough transition from high school to work, or college to work with the sink or swim mentality that is the great majority of philosophies out there.

However, with so many organizations focusing on now, or really close to now, this will require a huge shift in thinking and planning. The long term benefits are huge, especially in loyalty to the organizations that put forth some resources to make this happen. I'll keep posting my ideas and suggestions and welcome everyone to add theirs to the mix.

New Day, New Lesson

I sat in on a DiSC certification with a major client and had a marvelous time watching light bulbs go off left and right as a masterful trainer took them to new leadership heights. The participants understood how their outward behaviors had served them well and how they could learn new and exciting things from those they work with and are around every day.

Perhaps the best part of all was the reinforcement that the desire to improve one's leadership skills is very much alive and well in 2009. Many companies have obliterated their training programs and budgets, while others have realized that to do so will leave them with mediocrity at best when the economy turns around and it becomes an employee market once again. That was not lost on the leaders in the class today. They understood their OD department had found value in sharing with them skills and knowledge that will strengthen their teams, increase communication, and bolster morale.

Workplace learning and performance still has ground to gain until we no longer have to battle and fight to demonstrate our ROI. How refreshing it was to know that my high "i" is valued and appreciated, and respected by my client as a driver behind the program that left their leaders refreshed and renewed to head back to the front lines.

Managing Performance?

In getting back from the ICE conference and getting back into the swing of things, it's become apparent that in order to be effective at helping leaders and employees manage their performance, I need to be on my game at managing my own. I got stuck in DC last Wednesday due to cancelled flights and wicked thunderstorms, and found that I am more reliable on my self than originally thought. I found a hotel, arranged a flight home the next day, and settled in for the night.

On the way home, I finished Renee Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy (which I thoroughly enjoyed and immediately began an evangelical sharing with fellow WLP professionals) and started sketching out how I can get out of a red ocean of consulting and get into a blue ocean where competition is irrelevant. Mind you this was done on the back of a barf bag, however what I planned out is already in action and I'm already seeing results.

The kickoff was a call to action for innovation from Dr. Stephen Lundin's CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation and is being carried forward with the desire to be found in blue ocean. Follow me here and on Twitter and I'll share books, blogs, posts, and all sorts of info that I find as I search high and low for the support to keep moving forward. I feel as if I have one of those jet engines behind me driving me onward. This is only going to get better...

Welcome

I'm at the ASTD ICE conference and one of the themes has been embracing Web 2.0 and social media. So in addition to tweeting like a hummingbird on speed, I've started a blog. I'm heading out to an evening reception, but I'll be updating my session info, people info, etcetera over the next few days to get up to speed and up to date. Welcome aboard!