Storytelling Brings Training to Life!

If you have children, you’ve probably witnessed the power of a good story. Picture a story hour at the local library—children gathered around, quiet, focused, and interested, even if only for a few moments. Whether gathering for coffee or at the water cooler, it seems human nature to be interested in stories. Think of a time when you had to sit through a presentation; didn’t a good story make it more memorable?

Read the rest of the post on the GP Strategies Blog here.

Microsteps to Creative Teambuilding

Last November I conducted a workshop for one of the ASTD Atlanta Special Interest Groups on ideas for creative ways to build teams.

View the Prezi presentation here.

Can You Hear Me Now? Good Listening Skills = Good Instructional Design.

When a recent storm left me without electricity for almost a full day, I was amazed at how quiet the house was without all the usual sounds that accompany modern, electrified life. The quiet also was an opportunity; it made it so much easier for me to focus during a face-to-face conversation.

This incident reminded me how distractions and poorly executed communication skills can take away from effective workplace interactions. I know from my own experiences as an instructional designer that being practiced in the art of listening is crucial for working with subject matter experts as well as when consulting with business leaders. The ability to truly listen and understand the message by employing active listening techniques makes for good working relationships and often keeps mistakes, misunderstandings, or missteps on a project to a minimum.

Read the rest of the post on the GP Strategies blog.

Show Me to Tell Me: Infographics

As an instructional designer, most of my work consists of summarizing, condensing, and rephrasing existing data and materials. I do my best to make training projects more clear, memorable, and understandable for learners, so I am always seeking tools and technologies to assist me in the process. I recently came across infographics. At first glance, infographics seemed to meet many of my instructional design objectives, so my curiosity led me to do some deeper research. I found, surprisingly, what I thought was something new and innovative, was actually quite old and time-tested.

Read the rest of the post on the GP Strategies blog here.

Kicking the (Tin) Can

Every new learning and development technology is frequently hyped as the next big solution. Tin Can API, also known as Experience API or simply xAPI, is a promising addition to this collection. I recently attended a workshop about Tin Can led by Mike Hruska and Neil Lasher, both deeply involved in shaping its development. Despite all the reading I had done about Tin Can to prepare for the workshop, I still wasn’t able to fathom exactly what it did, but I was excited to learn the details from the experts...

Read the rest the post on the GP Strategies Blog.

Let them drive! Learner-centered training gives learners the keys to drive

Personalization is the modern standard. Previous experiences and preferences shape our world, embedding personalization everywhere, including online shopping, smart phone apps, social media sites, and more. Improved technology has provided the means for us to receive what we want, when we want it, avoiding what doesn’t interest us. With this level of personalization widely available, why do we still encounter employee training and development that seems to use a one-size-fits-all approach?

Read the rest of the post on the GP Strategies blog.

Asking Good Questions

A child questions everything, yet as adults, we often accept what is front of us, even if it doesn’t work so well, never asking for more information, clarification or simply, why? Our acceptance of what is rather than what could be can mean the loss of potential for an organization. By encouraging and asking questions,--good questions -- the kind of questions to challenge processes and simply ask why are we doing what we do in the workplace, organizations can move past the status quo and get more creative.

Why? So, why don’t we ask questions? Those of us who have been in the school system too long (high school, college, grad school) often regret asking too many questions; we get singled out, and not in a good way, for asking rather than accepting what we are told.

Maybe we have a question yet don’t ask when given the opportunity because we believe our question isn’t good enough to ask. In the workplace environment, we hesitate to question someone with authority or power over us, whether it’s our boss, a subject-matter expert, or even a colleague.

Many of us are intimidated by silence, the time when someone says “does anyone have any questions”; we may not want to reveal our ignorance. Instead of putting ourselves into a potentially embarrassing situation, we keep silent. Our question goes unasked and unanswered.

Good questioning skills are a talent we should help our employees to embrace.

Communicate and encourage. First and foremost, let employees know there are no stupid questions. Smart, successful people don’t accept what is front of them at face value and they certainly aren’t satisfied until they find an explanation they understand—to do this they ask questions.

Engage. Help people ask better questions. Give them effective examples such as:

·         "Can you explain the details of this situation?"

·         “Why did you choose this particular approach?”

·         “What are the possible consequences of going this route?"

·         “Why do you think this project turned out as it did?”

·         "Can this be accomplished in any other way?"

·         “Why did this work?”

·         "Why didn’t this work?"

·         "Based on your experience, what do you suggest we do here?"

Self-help guru Tony Robbins puts it like this, “Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. “ By encouraging and showing employees how to ask good questions, you can develop their abilities—abilities for solving problems, being resourceful, and becoming more creative in the workplace.

Karen Sieczka is an Instructional Designer with a performance consulting company, Creativity@Work expert, and founder of Growing Great Ideas.com, a training resources website. Karen has designed, facilitated, and managed a variety of training programs including technology, soft skills, customer service, leadership, and business communications. She also trains organizations of all sizes to be more creative and innovative in the workplace using micro-steps from her Kindle eBook Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work.

Low or No Cost Training Resources

The Competitive Edge of Continuing Ed...

If knowledge is power, then training and continuing education are the power source that keeps your business moving ahead. From industry changes to regulation to technology and more, additional training and education is available in virtually every aspect of business, from a wide variety of different sources, says workplace training consultant Karen S. Sieczka, founder of Growing Great Ideas in Douglasville, Georgia.

Read more on the INC. Small Business Solutions blog here.

Spring: A Time for Renewal

Spring is a time when nature refreshes and renews. It is also a great point in the calendar to look at your training resources to if there is an opportunity to refresh or renew your materials or methods.  Most trainers and training departments have a range of resources already created and in place but like the garden that needs some TLC after a long winter, these resources can be revitalized with a little bit of effort and enthusiasm.

Read the rest of this post on the Greenlight Communications blog.

Key Trends in Training for 2012

From HR Matters: Special Feature -As I see it

13 practitioners share what they believe to be key trends in training and development for 2012

Karen Sieczka shares, "Since most training departments will still be running “lean” in 2012, one of the trends I see is that training programs will need to be even more targeted and relevant to the job skills your organization’s workforce needs. "

Read more here.

The classroom vs. elearning

Technology for learning is available at our fingertips, from our desktops and across the Internet. As organizations search for cost-effective alternatives to onsite classroom training, it is natural to wonder if face- to-face classroom training is still worth the time and effort. Is it even relevant?

Read the rest of the post on the Greenlight Communications blog.

Harvesting Creativity through Social Media

Social media can be a creative and collaborative portal for organizations that makes it easier to gather ideas and generate innovations. Proper implementation is necessary to fully develop these tools so the business can reap the rewards. This article illustrates how to successfully integrate social media into the workforce for a creative idea harvest.

Read the rest of the article in Training Industry Quarterly...

Want to get more creative and innovative in the workplace? Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, THE creativity training book, is now available for Kindle. 

Creativity@Work Exercise: Three Wishes

When we face a difficult project or situation, we often wonder what would happen if we could just make a wish? Wouldn't everything work out just fine? Try this exercise under the assumption we could make a wish (or three) to make this project work or to go with a totally different possibility. To work within shorter time frame, you may want to limit the exercise to one wish.

Objective: To find a unique perspective to problem solving given unlimited possibilities and no restrictions.

Instructions: Each team has discovered a magic genie lamp. When you rub it , the genie pops out and grants your team three wishes on things you would like to see happen or change at work. The team must decide what the three things are. It can be to a person, the boss, the job, the people you work with or project specific. Remember each wish can have consequences if not thought out.

Spend 15-30 discussing the possibilities and the ramifications of each and choose the three best alternatives. Each team will then explain to the group why they chose their particular wishes and why some were not chosen.

Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Exercise: What Went Wrong?

What can we learn from the failures, foibles, and follies of other organizations? How can we use a study of mistakes to work toward success?

Fear of failure is one of the barriers to having a more creative and innovative workplace environment. Nobody likes failure—it feels bad, often it’s embarrassing, in its worst form, it can be destructive. People, as well as organizations often have a hard time admitting it when they have failed or made a mistake. So how do we take failures and turn them into successes? Rather than trying to forget them, why don’t we analyze them, debrief, and try to learn to do better next time?

Even the most successful companies including Apple, the Gap, and Coca-Cola, have made larger than life gaffes and managed to thrive and survive. Try this exercise using some examples from competitors or well-known companies. Then try it with your organization’s own mistakes and missteps.

For a look at some very public failures and mistakes, here’s some inspiration:
• The Gap’s new logo comes and goes in a week
• Apple’s IPhone 4 “Antenna gate”
• Nestle insults its customers on Facebook
• Who is Microsoft Bob?
• These potato chips come with unpleasant side effects

Come together in small groups, discuss what happened, and then consider:

• What went wrong?
• What could have been done better? Why?
• What worked? What didn’t?
• How could this be avoided in the future?
• How could this be fixed? What channels could be used?
• Is there a moral to the story? What is it?

Need more inspiration? Try these websites:
Forbes.com Marketing Blog
PR Mistakes and Blunders
Time Magazine's Top 50 Worst Inventions

Coming Wednesday: Creative Books and Authors

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Idea Master William H. Danforth

William H. Danforth (1870 – 1956) founded the Ralston Purina Company, co-founded the American Youth Foundation (AYF) and authored the book, I Dare You! Ralston-Purina's famous checkerboard logo evolved from Danforth’s belief in four key components to a balanced life: physical, mental, social, and religious. To be healthy, he believed, you needed the four squares to stay in balance and one area was not to develop at expense of the other. The concept became intertwined with the company in 1921 when it began selling feed that was pressed in cubes called "checkers”. Danforth was also one of the first to realize the potential of branding with a recognizable logo. His idea was successful because even today, we all are familiar with the famous “checkerboard” design.

In one chapter of his book, Danforth puts out a dare to think creatively. He writes, “Opportunities to create are popping out at you every minute of the day. Some of the greatest creations have come from minds able to interpret the usual in an unusual way.”

Danforth’s book is still in print today, more than 70 years after its original release. Although it is a diminutive book, the ideas contained within are simple, yet larger than life and still remain relevant. Preview the book here.

Coming Monday: Creativity@Work Exercise: What Went Wrong?

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work Exercise- Map Making

We are all familiar with maps. They serve as guides, help us navigate unfamiliar surroundings, and even lead us to find alternate routes. As a creative tool, mapmaking is often used as a way to find, chart, and tell both fictional stories and true life experiences. It can encourage exploratory thinking. So why not apply a simplified version of mapmaking when approaching unfamiliar topics and problems at work? Why not use it to chart the story of the organization or of a product or service? Map making can also help plan milestones, anticipate problems, and identify opportunities for an upcoming or in-process project.

Gather:
Color markers
Post-it flags
Large pieces of blank paper

Put participants in teams of 4-5, giving 1-2 hours to complete the exercise. Each team will create a map to represent a project or goal at work. Draw a small icon to represent the beginning or current point and an icon for the end point. Then start the “trip” and add lines as your team works toward the destination goal. Don’t forget to include detours, hazards, possible short cuts, alternate routes, rest stops/refueling, points of interest, and other stops along the way to the final destination. Teams will then explain how to get there from here, showing the map to illustrate.

Coming Wednesday: Creative links

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work: Identifying Creative Barriers

I recently wrote an article about organizational culture vs. creativity and innovation. One of the key points is many organizations and their members have barriers to ideas. Some of them are obvious and some, not so much—they remain unspoken, hidden within organizational culture. One source of these barriers comes from the attitude of leadership of the organization. Do they support creativity and ideas or shun anything that shakes up the status quo? Are creative efforts communicated? Are idea mavericks ostracized or celebrated? Are failures and mistakes viewed as learning experiences or horror stories?

Some of these organizational roadblocks include:
• Management “non” acceptance of ideas
• Maintenance of status quo
• One focus-long term v. short term or vice versa
• Limited view of value of creativity and innovation
• Preconceived notions about creativity and innovation
• Distrust of the new or unfamiliar
• Lack of experience in innovation
• Inflexible/rigid organization
• Traditions
• Lack of channels or processes for input

Other creative barriers come in the form of personal issues and aversions to anything new or different.

Some of these individual barriers include:
• Close mindedness
• Fear of ridicule or criticism
• Fear of failure
• Past experiences coloring current situations
• View self as a non-creative person
• No experience with creativity

Take some time to consider these barriers. Are there any you could add to this list that are affecting your organization? What are your own attitudes toward innovation and creativity?

Now consider, what can you do to help remove some of these roadblocks?

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page.

I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.

Creativity@Work tool: Screenr

There are an incredible number of free, web-based and downloadable tools to spark the Creativity@Work flow. As part of the Wednesday rotation, I will be sharing tools I have discovered in my work as a trainer and Creativity@Work expert. Feel free to post and share your own discoveries too. After all, the Internet is the ultimate sharing place, isn’t it? If you have used the tool for training or any other creative purposes, by all means, tell us about it. Your story could end up my next book!

Today’s tool is called Screenr. This creative tool is geared toward Twitter users since it takes a Twitter login to use it. However, it’s a free resource provided by Articulate. Articulate is elearning software that easily integrates PowerPoint into e-learning courses. No software download is required to use Screenr and start recording whatever you do on your computer screen and create a screencast with this web-based tool.

By clicking the record button, your screen activity is recorded along with the narrative recorded through your computer microphone. Screenr then publishes the screencast to a high-definition Flash format. Then you can share the screencast on Twitter, YouTube, or anywhere else on the web. IPhone users can view your screencasts too.

To use Screenr, system requirements are Mac--OSX 10.4 and up, or Windows-- XP, Vista or Windows 7. Most common web browsers are supported, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome. Also required are Java 1.5 runtime or later for recording and Flash Player for playing screencasts.

What can you do with Screenr? Since I teach many Excel courses, I decided to try Screenr out to record a short session on how to link information from one worksheet to another.

How did it work? It was pretty easy. I allowed Screenr to access my Twitter account so I could log in. Then I clicked the record button. The recording doesn’t start right away but gives you a screen to adjust the area of your computer showing. Next to the record button is your sound button. Click on it to make sure your microphone is set up correctly. My first couple of recording tries didn’t have any sound. Screenr gives you up to five minutes of recording time so get to the point. View my screencast here.

This would be great for on the fly training sessions. Give it a try and let me know if you like it and what you use it for.

For more information on Screenr, visit the website. There is also a Screenr blog to share ideas and uses from other Screenr users. Follow Screenr on Twitter too.

Coming Friday, Idea Masters: thinkers and innovators from yesterday and today. Warning: their insights could set off a creative spark in you!

Future Creativity@Work Wednesday treats: News, quotes, tools, websites, discussion of creative barriers, creative authors, and learning from failures— a whole host of Creativity@Work resources!

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page.

Creativity@Work Exercise: Write it down

We are surrounded with tools to assist us to be more creative: smart phones, IPads, netbooks, e-readers… yet the start of many an idea still comes from using low tech tools, a pen and paper. Something about the blank paper suggests an endless array of possibilities, compelling us to fill the page with something. Why not use this inclination? We’ve all experienced a time when we had a great idea, overheard something awesome or hilarious, or we came up with a great line. Maybe we had an epiphany of sorts. Then what happened? We swore we would remember but didn’t write down this fleeting bit of wisdom or humor. Later, only vague details remained or nothing at all.

Great ideas seem to come to us in the strangest and most unexpected places, don’t they?

Leonardo Da Vinci had hundreds of notebooks with his observations and sketches on everything from nature to science to jokes he had heard while socializing. Thomas Edison kept notebooks too. Why not carry an idea notebook to jot down something before it’s lost? Just a few keywords or a sketch can preserve the next great idea to revisit later. It is amazing how many details you will remember and incorporate into your thinking processes.

Use a notebook for work too. Have you been tasked with solving a problem? Are you managing a team? Hand out notebooks to everyone and ask them to do two things: first write down a phrase describing the project, challenge, or issue. For example, your department is attempting to come up with ideas to improve customer service. Title a page in the notebook “ideas to improve customer service”. This acts as a placeholder on the page and starts the subconscious mind noticing how things are related and can be applied across different situations. If it helps the process, pretend these observations are for reporting back to aliens with no understanding of this world.

Ask the team to make notes, doodles, scribbles for the next week as they carry the notebook with them, including work and non work-related moments. Encourage them to observe without judging or being critical of the observations—just write freely. At the end of the week, come together and share notes!

Coming on Wednesday, January 5, Creativity@Work tools.

Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website.

The E-Book begins

Starting Monday, January 3rd: and every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I will be blogging and Tweeting about my new Creativity@Work E-book.

Follow along on my Twitter @growinggr8ideas to join in the conversation.

What's in it for you?

• Links to articles on creativity and innovation in the workplace
• Excerpts from the new E-book
• Creative authors to add to your reading list
• Creativity@Work exercises
• The Idea Masters series
• and...
• #creativitychat forum on Twitter

I look forward to sharing! Happy New Year!