Creative Thinking, 2011-style

Here's a great comment by Michigan Govenor Rick Snyder, a former Gateway Computer executive and venture capitalist, made during his visit to the Detroit Auto Show.

“It is companies, it is innovators, it is entrepreneurs that are going to create a better future for Michigan,” Snyder said. “We are committed …to creating the very best environment in the world to create that environment for success.”

During the opening for the new Dali Museum, I had the good fortune to speak with an artist who rips apart old guitars to make new, better sounding and better crafted electric guitars. His goal: "I want to make guitars that kick ass."

Keep in mind, the former American icon, Fender guitar, is now made in China. That's as bad as saying Harley Davidson is now made in Taiwan. Good grief.

The only way to bring business–and jobs–back is to place your bets on young, brash artistic entrepreneurs like the one I met last night. And by the way, the very cool museum kicks ass, too.

Buy from a local artist. Visit the new Dali. Both decisions are a good bet on our economy and a great experience as well.

This Thanksgiving: thankful to be learning.

Last month, I decided to enroll in a creative writing class at the professor’s invitation. My instructor, Anda Peterson, is also a member of my writing group. Our small team, affectionately known as the Prose Posse, consisted of accomplished academics and journalists. I was the only technical writer in the bunch–the odd man out.

Writing mostly for corporations, I have learned tasks I will never perform directly. Technical writers will tell you that some subjects stay in their heads long after the project ends. Like a YouTube kitten or snippet of music that loops mercilessly, pulling the memory through one ear with a wire hanger eventually seems like a good plan. I wish I could forget how to perform Upper Extremity Sonography so I could make room for the name of the craft beer I sampled yesterday and quickly forgot. It’s most likely hanging out with my lost wallet and my third grade teacher, whose name I cannot recall.


Technical writing and instructional design is also a highly structured and deliberate process. My inner editor is a style guide that screams line-by-line revisions and keeps me on a strict budget. Deliver key objectives in line one. Select images that reinforce performance. Use quizzes to verify comprehension.

In truth, that box we love to hate and long to think outside actually gives us something to work with - a canvas on which to express ourselves. As a friend once told me, "creativity is our ultimate expression within defined parameters." I love trying to be as creative as possible, even when working with corporate or regulated material. However, open-sky, unlimited vistas are another matter. That blank sheet of paper can be a daunting partner.

So, I was immediately humbled by the burgeoning talent in Anda's classroom. Students in pencil thin jeans cranked out prize-worthy prose mere hours before class. A volunteer would recite lyrical lines, revealing yet another captivating story. Earnest and callow hearts searching the evening stars for answers or diving into the abyss for dinner. I panicked. My first submission was due in two weeks. My creative vocabulary felt limited by comparison, reduced to words like “happy," and “really." Pulling dead weasels through a rusty pipe would have been easier and more entertaining.

Despite my trepidation, the class seemed to respect every submission. I discovered creative writing courses are possibly the most life affirming event beyond kindergarten. Everyone brought something to share and then applauded. I don’t remember ever clapping in accounting or project management classes. Charitably, my classmates withheld the withering criticism my work fully deserves, an act of kindness typically reserved for the disabled or elderly. Based on the stories they submitted, I wondered if one or two of them were receiving community service hours for listening to mine.

Last night, I shared my experiences with a neighbor and how I hoped to live long enough to read something published by my fellow students. In return, I owe them the favor of purchasing their first published work, as payment in kind for helping me learn.

Thanks Anda. And to my classmates - a very special thank you!

First Impressions Matter

One day, the banquet manager at a resort hotel at a very big theme park in Orlando took his crew of dishwashers to the banquet hall. Spread before them was an immense sea of tables, flowers and decorations for a lavish wedding dinner.

The manager asked his dishwashers to imagine the same scene, but only with dirty dishes. "It wouldn't matter if we spent all week on the decorations," he said. "If the bride's glass is dirty it will ruin her impression of this day forever. Imagine if this was your own daughter's wedding...?"

His point is simple: contact = impression = experience.

Sometimes almost everything can go right, and yet the most essential task taken for granted can ruin someone's impression of your service or product. (If my glass is dirty, then how clean is the kitchen...?)

Burn the Old Manual

Still using paper manuals to teach your leaders?

If traditional leadership and career tracks are anachronistic, then the traditional leadership curriculum is also dead. Hold a funeral. The only thing sustaining those traditional approaches to leadership development is... traditional thinking.

Consider this: public school systems are starting to compensate teachers for student test results and performance. It's pay for play in academia!

I'm not trying to fry my own bacon, but if public schools are trying this, shouldn't (capitalist) businesses treat their corporate education similarly? That's a scary thought for some corporate educators, but it may become commonplace.

I wholeheartedly support the idea that corporate educators should be paid based upon student outcomes, as long as executive leadership does likewise. If 3rd grade teachers can do it, why not the rest of us?

My thoughts: Shake up your leadership development program. Explore new approaches to learning that reward autonomous assessment and development. Throw out old manuals and start with a clean sheet of paper, or no paper at all!

Design something with impact, a program that excites, challenges, and motivates through meaningful engagement.

Does Online Instruction Work?
from an article in HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE ONLINE
by Peter Capelli

Studies that look at the effectiveness of online training, compared to classroom-based learning, offer some conflicting results. Online training seems to be more effective for older, motivated students, while the classroom works best for younger low-achievers. There are some lessons HR leaders can take away from the findings.

Experience Guru Takeaways:

Gov't research indicates:

• The most important difference (between ILT and WBT) is that online learners have near continuous access to the material.
• Online learners who spend more time on their learning tasks perform better (there's a qualifier in there...)
• "Blended" learning, using techniques in addition to online, improves outcomes even more

New research suggests:

• Inexperienced, low-achieving and younger students did better with traditional delivery
• Why? classroom instruction is good at forcing students to pay attention

Summary:
The best outcomes can be derived from a combination of ILT and WBT approaches, tailored to meet the needs of the learner

4 Common LMS Implementation Challenges:
(I've learned a few lessons - the hard way - from implementing multiple LMS solutions...)

Issue #1: Failing to visualize, plan and document for leadership the expected ROI, Operations Impact Success Metrics with all constituent groups.

• Recommendation: Collaborate with business units to define requirements and desired outcomes, first. Map the implementation process as well as a plan that includes agreed metrics and milestones for measuring success (Day One, Month One, Year One, etc) for each business unit. Communicate this plan to the LMS vendor as well.
  

Issue #2: Most internal team members have other duties to perform, and organizations usually underestimate the amount of resources and time required for a successful IT launch, including people dedicated to: Project Management, LMS Management, IT Support, Communication, Visual Design and User Support before, during and after enrollment.

• Recommendation: Make sure the project has an executive champion, a person that has communicated a vision for learning within each unit. Identify additional resources beyond the internal team that can handle the planned - as well as any unplanned - duties and activities that may arise during implementation.

Issue #3: The LMS will require changes in behavior, tasks, and job requirements.

• Recommendation: Budget time to work closely with all traditional instructors, instructional designers and support team members so they are comfortable with all aspects of the system and how they can best use it. Make sure the plan anticipates and includes organizational responses to push-back and a plan for change management, including updated job descriptions for everyone who will rely on the system for information or work.

Issue #4: There is often a desire to deliver the system everywhere to every employee, at once. The resulting support load becomes exponential and is often unmanageable with limited resources.

• Recommendation: Use a department-by-department implementation starting where the system will most most welcome and successful. Let successful users spread the word and invite them to act as mentors. Share successes through internal communications and allow space to address any concerns or misunderstanding.

Engage your Customers Through Learning Moments

Very few customers walk into a grocery store prepared for class when they shop for cheese. Not many people look up “pest control” companies online expecting to learn about mice, when they need an exterminator. (Get it: mice, cheese?). But both of those scenarios is an opportunity for your team to engage customers in learning moments.

Delivered the right way, customer education won’t feel like education. It will feel more like a great interaction with a concerned, compassionate and committed team member. Learning can happen anytime–as part of an online information search or an in-store personal visit. Let’s see how you can add learning moments as part of your customer service philosophy. These opportunities motivate team members (they can make work feel a lot less like…work) and provide a great experience for customers.

1. Define Your Audience Needs

Cover the “how, when where, what and why” of learning. What do they want to know or need to know? (not: what do you want to tell!). Our best advice? Observe them, ask them.

Design your learning through questions like: “How much information do your customers already have?” “Is what they know usually correct or “urban myth?” Next, determine if they want an informal experience (your team just happens to engage them at the store…) or something more instructional, like a illustration explaining the habits of field mice and how to keep them out of the house? Answering these questions will determine whether you design team member prompts, a very basic class, or technical or in-depth instruction for budding experts.

2. Define Some Learning Objectives

What do customers need to know? What will customers be able to do (differently) after they engage in the learning moment? Example: buying cheese. A good learning objective might be: We want guests to be able to recognize, through sight and smell, the differences between hand-crafted cheese and factory-produced cheeses. This helps you create a more informed consumer, and allows your team to offer their expertise on a topic.

Two very important objectives for every customer learning moment: 1) Keep it light. You want these moments to be engaging and fun, not a return to calculus class. 2) Keep it real. You want customers to see how your team, and the value they offer through this interaction, is far superior to the competitor's.

3. Tell A Great Story

This is a great way to check your research and any assumptions. Jot down images or thoughts as to how the learning might occur. Invite your team members to design the story with you. You can envision this story being told: 1) by an associate in your store, 2) through an illustration on your website, 3) via an online learning module, 4) as part of an in-store video... there are many, many options. Worry about the story now, the delivery method in Step 4.

Draw the process on a napkin or tablet. Keep those learning objectives in mind as you or your team sketch the story. If the story you create doesn't address the learning objectives, that’s an indicator that you included some “nice to have” information versus the “need to know” content. You should probably leave any unrelated content on the napkin, or create a second course that focuses on another topic.

4. Engage Your Customer

Different people learn in different ways, so include actions and prompts that target the visual, auditory and kinesthetic (activity) learners. In an aisle or showroom, your team members can explain the differences between two cheeses (auditory), provide a handout (visual) and quickly let the customer compare the two by tasting (kinesthetic).

Need to squelch an urban myth by providing consistent, clear communication? You may find that an online interaction is the best way to get the right information out to customers quickly. Want more ways to engage customers in your store? You can help employees by providing them some quick coaching and prompts that help them tell the story, as they engage their customers through conversation.

5. Establish a Relationship

Don’t hit them over the head with a sale–that feels too much like a setup. Most customers don't respect that kind of entrapment. Remember, this type of learning moment–where your associate is positioning themselves as a trusted advisor–is a customer's first step toward a long-term relationship with your organization, not a quick-close sale.

In this situation, allow your customers some autonomy to call the next shot. Is this something they are passionate about, or are they just curious? Are there other topics they can explore? Are there additional opportunities (like a class or demonstration offered by your team) available to them? Would they like to bring in something they discovered online or recommend a similar product you should carry? Engage your customers - don't pressure them. And, if they really, really enjoy the topic, perhaps they might have a future working for your team...

The more you think about customer service as an education process, the more likely your team will begin to find meaning in their interactions, while uncovering previously hidden opportunities for additional sales and service. And don't forget, those materials you develop to educate customers can be repurposed as training tools for new staff, and vice versa.

The Learning Moment

Who hasn't taken a few hundred of classes, workshops, or training courses throughout their life? Comeon... make sure you include kindergarten!

Besides knowing that the wheels on the bus do indeed go 'round and 'round, you probably remember a thimble full of what your teachers actually taught in class. I feel lucky if I get through a day remembering the basics (the alphabet, up versus down, addition & subtraction…).

What do you remember from your four years in high school? Tick tock, tick tock… Hurts, doesn't it? Now try it again, this time thinking about the things you learned outside the curriculum… Meetings in the parking lots, dances, sports...the soul-bending sport of navigating teen angst. Makes a difference, right?

Unfortunately, many of us don't retain much more in the industry workshops or corporate courses we attend as adults. Sometimes, attendees don’t even remember what the course was about! So there is a big gap between what we learn in our seats and what we practice on the streets.

Think about your last corporate workshop or class. How much do you remember? Did you even want to take it? Would you take it again, just for fun? Did it change your life?

Life's short. Training is boring, learning is fun. With a creative approach we can make learning part of every job - removing the boredom and inserting opportunities for challenging, yet engaging learning moments. Let's take this whole education thing up a notch. I'd like to start by recommending three basic ideas:

The Voice of the Customer in every course.
Why not? Social media has opened the door. Learning that includes the customer allows employees to measure their success at innovation and delivery. And, by visibly including the customer you create an open space that encourages more effective dialog and actions...

Experiential Learning over Firehose Learning
I bet flying a space shuttle is a heck of a lot more exciting than reading about it. Ditto healthcare, pest control, auto sales... Make sure your courses include student application–opportunities to practice, fail and succeed–even if learning is delivered over the web.

Moment-based Learning Design should include emotional content
Users make major purchase decisions based on their gut instinct. Your learning needs to generate a range of emotional responses like: nervous, anxious, concerned, happy, delighted, ecstatic and more. "Real" learning means allowing employees to feel the same emotional reactions a customer might experience during the very same interaction.

I think these are three good steps to make sure you content is memorable, meaningful and measurable when it comes to improving individual performance.