Posts Tagged ‘education’
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
When I get on Facebook and LinkedIn, time evaporates. When I look up and see hours have disappeared I wonder, did I really spend my time wisely? With this simple and handy guide from HubSpot, I can do better.
Those who are well-versed in social media will probably see this guide as basic. But for those non-techie folks who focus on the conversations and not the tactics (guilty as charged), I found this 34-page ebook easy to read and understand. My new favorite word: twidiot.
Click here for the guide and ask yourself: how many of these ideas am I implementing? Take time to implement just a few ideas and see what happens.
Tags: branding, education, experts, positioning, social media, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
I get a lot of questions about how to implement the game plans I create. What’s the next best step to implement your speaking plan when you already have too much to do? My favorite resource: virtual assistants. You can hire these folks for as few or as many hours as you want. Yet you call the shots on what they do (and don’t do) for you. I love the blend of flexibility and control.
The problem: working (and marketing) speakers is very different than helping out with the consulting or coaching part of the business. Many VAs say they work with speakers but have only learned from limited experience. How can you get your favorite VA up to speed on the speaking end without training them yourself?
I joined forces with Jan King (the brains behind www.AuthorsAssistantTraining.com) to help experts get better help for the speaking part of their business. You can use this program not only for the administration end but also for the marketing function. Don’t have a VA yet? Then check out those who have been certified (and yes, they have to pass a real test to get the certification).
Now is not the time to reinvent the training wheel. Cut your implementation curve with this program for VAs who want to work with speakers. Click here for more information.
Tags: education, speakers, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
Last week, I touched upon action learning as a trend to get ready for. Yes, action learning has been around for a while. Powerful outside forces will push this training approach to the forefront, so let’s drill down. What you need to know now:
- What’s driving the popularity: takes customization to a whole new level. Nuanced insights you only get from experience and additional (and creative) help in solving real challenges.
- What’s becoming obsolete: case studies. Experts teaching in traditional environments.
- What’s needed now: astute questions and reflective listening. Coaching groups through decision-making and acting on their decisions.
Prediction: watch this approach move to concurrent sessions in the association market. Why? So participants can leave with specific learning experiences, justifying the need to attend. Conventions and conferences will also use action learning to attract younger attendees.
Time to board this train before it leaves the station. Your next best step: take your expertise and apply it to specific challenges. Your approach will be seen as a conduit to get to those creative solutions.
Tags: consultants, education, experts, strategy, training, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Why are there so many leadership experts? Because leadership development is one of the biggest areas of growth in the corporate sector. Two reasons why: one, talent management has been tied to execution and is now seen as a strategic advantage; and, two, development is taking the place of raises and bonuses. (Thank you choppy recovery.) Next question: what do these buyers want?
Role playing is in and avatars are gaining fast, according to this recent study on leadership development trends by Chief Learning Officer magazine. Other findings we care about:
- The hemorrhaging has stopped. Only 11% of those surveyed say they will decrease spending in leadership development. Almost half (45%) will stay the course and a little less (44%) are increasing investments here.
- Trend that is gaining momentum fast: action learning. Solving real problems at work is the most popular delivery method, with 70% of respondents saying trainees use current challenges to learn leadership skills. The interesting news for us: this learning is facilitated not by experts (like us) but by certified learning facilitators. What would you like to bet that these folks work for at least half of our rates?
- Simulations are still a mixed bag, running 50/50 for and against. It is poised to grow, especially games and computer-based simulations. Translation: develop this option now but don’t put all your eggs in this online basket.
The bottom line: every silver lining has a dark cloud we need to deal with. Low-cost alternatives can be a real threat even when spending increases. Brand yourselves accordingly…
Tags: economy, education, experts, Marketing, positioning, strategy, technology, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
Many thanks for all the birthday wishes last Tuesday. This time I celebrated quietly (as compared with last year’s four-day blow out at a Scottsdale resort) and reflected on what is precious to me now. One word: grateful. There is so much good in my life. For my second stage, I’m focused on helping others and letting the chips fall where they may. I have enough. I am enough.
Which explains why I’m celebrating being 39 (again) by cutting my product prices by — you guessed it — 39%. It’s time to see what good they can do in the world. And if making less helps more people, then let’s go for it. Click here for details and promo code. And thanks for letting me in your life for another year. With your passion and my systems, we can make the world a better place.
Tags: education, experts, Marketing, opportunity, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, June 9th, 2011
Many of us training experts tout our years in the field, making the claim that our time-tested experience is worth the investment. This study by 2001 Nobel Prize-winning physicist Carl Wieman should give us cause for pause.
The upshot: inexperienced teachers using small-group discussions, “clicker” quizzes and demonstrations trump traditional lecture by a veteran professor any time. Coolest thing: the teachers got real-time graphic feedback on what the students were learning and what they weren’t getting, so they could adjust immediately. How you get the idea across is just as important as the idea (and person) giving it. The transfer of the knowledge is more important than the knowledge in the first place.
Yea, you know this already. Here’s my question: how many of us are using the small-group discussions and calling it good? When is it a good time to introduce more variety in our interaction, such as demonstration or clicker quizzes?
Don’t even think that this only applies in college classrooms. This holds true in any learning environment — even concurrent sessions at trade conferences, and corporate events. We need to go beyond what we are comfortable with (small group discussions). Perhaps the next strategic advantage will be the techniques we use to enhance learning and behavior change.
Here’s more information about the study from the Associated Press.
Tags: education, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in strategy | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Do you send RFPs (requests for programs) to speak at meeting industry events? Many of us do, as this is a target rich environment. Then check out this poll by Meetings and Conventions magazine. The #1 reason why your buyers show up at these events? Educational sessions win by a wide margin, garnering 83% of the respondents’ top pick.
More good news: a vast majority — 90% — will attend more or the same number of events as last year. My recommendation: focus on topics that align meetings to business objectives. Help them craft a new role with content on strategic thinking, rebranding, and how to sell their ideas/role to the C-suite. This is not the place for your canned presentations. If you speak here, bring your “A” game.
Tags: education, experts, Marketing, meetings, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
You’ve heard the conventional wisdom: lists are harder to build, joint ventures aren’t as easy as they used to be. So how did Linda Finkle, author of Finding The Fork in the Road, promote her book launch to almost 1 million — yes million — emails? No, she’s not a rock star (yet). Most of the partners she gathered didn’t know her at all. The answer lies in three words: the personal touch.
The back-story: Linda sent hundreds of personal emails to people she didn’t know and who didn’t know her. It was tedious. It was time-consuming — as in 40-50 hours per week for two months. She was so tired she became giddy (you’ve been there).
The results shocked her: not only did these strangers sign up but — get this — over 100 people agreed to tweet and blog about her book. And offers to distribute her perspective on other blogs — some with 200,000 hits per month — also poured in. People came up with ways to help her that she never even thought of. Bottom line: the opportunities from the book launch has already made the book worth her time and money.
The moral of the story is two-fold: 1) writing a book isn’t enough. You have to be willing to do the tedious, in-the-trenches marketing tactics; and, 2) the bar is set low enough now that the personal touch is now considered premium.
Tags: books, conversations, education, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Thursday, December 9th, 2010
Good news: Training Magazine has continued its annual study on the training industry. Twenty-nine years strong, this survey featured data gathered in the summer, so the findings are relatively current for this depth. The respondents are corporate folks with at least 100 employees, with 20% final decision makers and 67% recommenders. The respondents are also categorized by number of employees: 39% are small (up to 999 employees), 36% are midsize (1,000 to 10,000) and 25% are large companies (more than 10,000).
The view at 30,000 feet:
- Total U.S. training spend is $52.8B, with 76% reporting that budgets stayed the same or decreased this year. Very small increase ($600M) from last year. Shows that training is not rebounding with the economy.
- Spending for outside vendors has decreased by almost half from $13.5B in 2005 to $6.9B in 2010.
The findings we experts care the most about:
- New growth area is management/supervisory training. Biggest increase for 2011 will be in supervisory/management training at 27%; executive development is only 12%.
- Small and midsize companies are focused on instructor-led and blended learning. Large corporations are focused on online and computer-based methods.
- Blinding flash of the obvious: online training is not embraced in executive development.
Priorities for 2011:
- Top choice: almost 40% cite online learning tools and systems; a respectable 27.5% say content development is on their list.
- Consulting 20.8%.
- Talent management tools and systems: only 14.3%.
Bottom line: executive development is super crowded for 2011, so think about how your expertise can apply to the front-line folks. And unless your business model has a lot of technology, go for the smaller to midsize firms. Click here for all the findings.
Tags: education, experts, Marketing, positioning, training, Vickie Sullivan
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