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Susan In Action

Watch and listen to the Commencement Speech delivered by Susan for the Art Institute of Ohio-Cincinnati.

See Susan in action and read what attendees have said about her training.

Article Summaries

Just a Jolt: Can You Feel the Pulse by Tracy Tagliati

Take a pulse outside of a health-type class as an activity!?!?! Sure. It’s a jolt. A jolt is an engaging learning activity that lasts for a brief period of time and illustrates one or more important learning points.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Fear Kills Creativity and Innovation by Dr. Todd DeWett

Todd looks at how organizations “say” they want creativity and innovation, yet don’t “practice” what they “preach.”

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Staying Focused During Meetings by Susan Otto

Do you feel as if all you do is bounce around from one agenda item to the next, rarely getting closure? You are not alone. Susan provides some ideas on how to stay focused during meeting.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Candidate Motivation by Applied Assessment Inc.

Finding the right candidate to meet your company’s needs can be daunting. Read about what Applied Assessment Inc.’s research showed.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Meeting Agenda Items: Let's Be Thorough by Susan Otto

Do you feel like all you do is bounce around from one agenda item to the next without ever really discussing the topic thoroughly? You are not alone. Susan provides some ideas on how to deal with meeting agenda items.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Delivering the Speech of Your Life by Dan Palotta

Dan gives you thirteen great tips for delivering a speech more effectively.  See if you follow his basic rules. 

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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The 100% Ideal by Leslie Brunker

Consider what 100% accountability really is.  Leslie gives you another opportunity to consider this level of responsibility.

Category: Designing, Training and Presenting

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Establishing Ground Rules for Meetings by Susan Otto

Ground rules are important tools for conducting effective meetings.  Susan shares some important concepts around ground rules.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Vacation or a Vacant Stare? by Marla Riegel

Many of us feel that we just don’t have time to take a vacation.  Marla asks us to consider whether taking time for a vacation would really benefit us.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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A Roadmap to Effective Meetings by Susan Otto

Meetings are prevalent in every organization.  Effective meetings are a “must-have.”  Learn the first step to take when determining a meeting is necessary.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Do You Need A Break? by Deb Thomas

Deborah provides some items to consider about when creating breaks for your training.  Participants love them…so consider Deb’s rule of thumb and other tips.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Meeting Appreciation by Susan Otto

Susan reminds us that we should consider showing appreciation daily by adopting some simple, but effective behaviors during our next meeting.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Games by Deb Thomas

Deborah provides some basic ideas to consider when using games in training.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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What Are the Ingredients of Piloting a New or Revised Program? by Susan Otto

Susan shares the elements needed to pilot a new or revised class, course, module, or seminar.  Take the steps necessary to ensure that your training programs are effective and worth their cost.

Category: Designing, Training and Presenting

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Starting a Meeting Off Right by Susan Otto

How you begin your meeting can influence its effectiveness.  Consider these simple tips for opening your next meeting.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Hiring Employees – You Must Take a Few Chances by Dr. Todd DeWett

Todd reminds us that when hiring we should be honest with applicants as well as be open to hire the three types of applicants:  the Safe One, the Superstar and the Rabble-Rouser.

Category: Organizations

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Meeting Preparations: The Final Checks by Susan Otto

So, you think your meeting agenda is complete.  Well, think again.  Consider these elements before finalizing your meeting agenda.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Simulation by Deborah Thomas

Deborah provides easy to follow instructions on how to do a simulation in a safe environment. 

Category: Training Games and Activities

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What Are Training Materials? by Susan Otto

Susan shares some training materials you might consider using when designing your training.  Depending on your participants’ needs, choose the ones that will be most effective in helping them apply the ideas and skills back on the job.

Category: Designing, Training and Presenting

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Teach Backs by Deborah Thomas

Don’t do all the teaching.  Follow Deb’s suggestion and have the participants “teach back.”

Category: Training Games and Activities

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During a Pilot Program by Susan Otto

Susan walks you through the elements needed to conduct a pilot program for your new or revised training initiatives.  Find out what you should say to participants in a pilot training program.  Discover what follow up steps you should take to ensure that valuable feedback of the pilot is collected.

Category: Designing, Training and Presenting

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Leadership Is About the Outcomes Not the Process by Dr. Todd DeWett

Todd takes a look at how micro-managing a process can have an effect on outcomes.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Lecturette by Deborah Thomas

Break up a boring lecture by doing a lecturette.  Check out Deb’s article to encourage listening and participation.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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The Meeting Agenda Details by Susan Otto

You’ve created your agenda for your meeting…but have you considered everything you may need?  Look over the details that are often overlooked.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Getting a Raise Is Easy…If You Know How to Ask For One by Dr. Todd DeWett

Todd reminds us that asking your boss about a raise is the last thing you do, not the first.  Find out what you should do first.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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One Way Designing Training Works by Susan Otto

Susan is often asked about how she designs training.  Here is one example of how she worked with a client to create a first draft of a training program.

Category: Designing, Training and Presenting

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Agenda Additions by Susan Otto

Creating and distributing an agenda is important in making your meetings more effective. Get some hints on what you should consider in formulating your next meeting agenda.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Quiz Review by Deborah Thomas

Deborah provides simple instructions on how to conduct a quiz review. Make it as elaborate as you want and get your participants thinking.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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My First Client by Susan Otto

Susan is often asked about how she designs training. Here is her first client experience when asked to document…and redesign a training seminar.

Category: Designing, Training and Presenting

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Six Sigma: Achieving Near Perfection by Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR

Debbie defines perfection and makes the correlation to Six Sigma. She then encourages HR departments to not only be Yellow Belt members on other teams, but to create their own teams for moving their HR function to "perfection."

Category: Organizations

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Social Media: Risk or Reward – What Can HR Do? by Robin Throckmorton

Robin tells us that we must manage social media to fit our culture rather than letting it manage us. Consider the implications she shares in this thought-provoking article.

Category: Organizations

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The Dos and Don'ts of Creating Training Materials by Susan Otto

Susan shares the dos and don’ts of creating training materials. These quick tips are sure to help you to begin documenting your ideas, knowledge, and skills so that others can be taught these critical components which are necessary for your organization’s success. (Cincinnati Women Biz Magazine printed this article in 2007.)

Category: Designing, Training and Presenting

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What Has Happened to Face-to-Face Dialog? Getting Back to the Personal Basics by Stacey Hanke

Stacey gives you some advantages and disadvantages to consider when deciding if e-mail is the best way to communicate your message and influence your recipient. If e-mail is the answer, she gives you 10 best practices to follow.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Case Study by Deborah Thomas

Deborah provides easy instructions on how to conduct a case study activity, which allow the participants to apply the training concepts to a real world situation.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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What? A Meeting Agenda? by Susan Otto

Most meetings are poorly planned. Creating an agenda is a great first step in making your meetings more effective.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Being Aware by Susan Otto

Susan encourages you to choose one moment in your day to be aware.  She asks you to snap out of your routine and really consider your next step.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Performance Feedback: As Easy As Stop, Drop, and Roll by Randi Sandlin

Randi provides us with a simple model for the performance feedback process.  Find out what the acronyms STOP, DROP, and ROLL can mean for you and your managers when giving feedback on performance.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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It’s Job Hunting, Not Job Wishing by Dr. Todd DeWett

Todd provides job hunting best practices for getting closer to realizing your new job.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Six Sigma 101 by Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR

Debbie explains in simple terms what Six Sigma is, what the different belts signify, and how they come into play within the Project Team.

Category: Organizations

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How to Deliver Customer Service Like an Athlete by Drew Stevens PhD

Drew explains that to have good customer service, we need to practice it.  Discover his seven-step protocol to enhance your service delivery.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Why Performance Evaluations Are So Painful by Dr. Todd DeWett

Consider a few of Dr. DeWett’s common sense moves to ensure that your evaluation system actually does what evaluation systems are supposed to do – help people.

Category: Organizations

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Communication: What's the Best Way by Robin Throckmorton

Robin discusses the type of, and steps to resolve, communication challenges that our workforce is experiencing everyday given the different communication styles of each of the generations in the workplace. 

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Hallmarks of Effective Leadership Coaches by Dan Averbeck

Identifying an appropriate coach can be challenging.  Dan provides the distinguishing characteristics for coaches who deliver sustained behavioral change in leaders at all levels.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Use It or Lose It!  Creating Support Materials That Impact Your Message by Stacey Hanke

Stacey reminds us of the purpose, advantage, and disadvantage of various visual aids that support our message.  She also gives us nine strategies that assist us when developing our visual aids.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Motivation Means More Than a Ham by Dr. Todd DeWett

Find out what ham has to do with motivation. You won’t be disappointed!

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Brainingstorming by Deborah Thomas

Deborah gives you a quick and easy way to conduct a brainstorming session.  Does hitchhiking and free wheeling sound like fun?  If so, check it out.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Does your Communication Style Make or Break You? by Stacey Hanke

When we’re presenting, facilitating a meeting, having a face-to-face conversation, or talking over the telephone, Stacey cautions us that we might fall into various categories.  See if you fall into any of these categories and discover what you can do to “climb out.”

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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How to Increase Your Selling Effectiveness to Generation Y by Drew Stevens PhD

According to Drew, to achieve greater selling effectiveness, professionals must realize that they operate in a multi-generational workforce.  Read about the different generations and how to sell to Generation Y.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Easy Ways to Keep Participants Engaged by Deborah Thomas

Stop “spoon feeding” participants or doing an "information dump."  Allow participants to think, reflect, and apply the information to their current situation by using Deb’s techniques.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Enhancing Your Emotional Intelligence for Success in Business by Linda Gravett, Ph.D., SPHR, CEQC

Dr. Gravett recommends concrete steps that individuals can take to develop their innate verbal, visual-spatial, intrapersonal, and interpersonal elements of Emotional Intelligence for success in the workplace.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Want to Know More? by Deborah Thomas

Deborah provides references for more ideas on training games and activities.  Be sure to check out the resources.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Excellent Time Management Is Vital For Success by Dr. Todd DeWett

Todd looks at three main issues people must contend with if they want to control time instead of allowing time to control them: what it means to prioritize and focus, when to work on what, and how to guard your time.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Are You Worrying about Retention During the Recession? You Better Be! by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Robin reminds us of the cost of losing employees and the cost of hiring new ones. She provides a list of ideas on how some companies are choosing to retain their existing employees.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Building Winning Business Teams: Using the Power of a Vision by Sandy Gluckman

Sandy reminds us that teams must have spirit and to have spirit, teams must have a vision. Learn the five steps for successful vision implementation.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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How to Resolve the Morale Issue Work by Drew Stevens PhD

Drew gives us the causes of poor morale and then provides the cure. Read on…

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Visual Aid Madness: How to Effectively Interact with a Visual and Stay on Track by Stacey Hanke

Whether we are using PowerPoint, flipchart, notes, or marketing and sales aids, we have allowed these elements to become our message rather than support our message. Stacey gives us ideas on how to interact rather than distract.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Leadership Is the Future, Management Is the Past by Dr. Todd DeWett

One of the longest running myths in the business world is that leaders and managers are somehow different. It is not true. Find out why Dr. DeWett thinks so.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Table Top Activity by Deborah Thomas

Deborah provides simple instructions on how to do a table top activity. See how easy it can be.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Being Aware by Susan Otto

Susan invites you to choose a moment and being – being aware.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Lessin' Your Stressin' by Sharmen Lane

Adrian reminds us that training is an essential part of a successful enterprise and gives us the four most important factors in a successful training experience.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Why Your Employees Fear Training by Adrian Miller

Adrian reminds us that training is an essential part of a successful enterprise and gives us the four most important factors in a successful training experience.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Training Roadies Secrets: Tips for Newbies by Doris Loretta

Doris provides you with back up tips or reminders for your presentations and training sessions.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presentations

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Secrets of Leadership Success by Drew Stevens PhD

Drew discusses five factors that lead to leadership success. Check them out.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Group Discussion by Deborah Thomas

Deborah provides an easy formula to follow when conducting group discussions.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Leadership in Three Simple Steps by Dr. Todd DeWett

All of the thousands of leadership ideas, tricks, and tactics really boil down to three simple ideas. To maintain and build high performance organizations you must focus on three core ideas: reduce ambiguity, be fair and stay positive.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presentations

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Game Day by Jon Gordon

Jon reminds us that 10 percent of our life is made up of significant “Game Day” moments, while 90 percent is made up of the time we are preparing, practicing, and waiting for those moments.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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The Eyes Have It! Is it Eye Contact or Connection? by Stacey Hanke

See why Stacy says that eye connection, not eye contact, allows you to conduct a one-to-one conversation with your listeners that’s professional and purposeful, no matter what distractions may be taking place at the time. When you’re focused in your eyes, you’ll be focused in your thoughts.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Documentation as a Training Tool by Doris Loretta

Doris provides guidelines or tips for documenting software packages or business procedures that can be used as a training tool.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presentations

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Training is Not an Option - Adrian Miller

Adrian points out that training can no longer be viewed as a support system.  It is important…essential.  Find out why.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Creating a Best Practice L&D Organization by Ruth Kustoff

Learn how Learning and Development (L&D) supports the business and how regularly planned organizational assessments provide for continuous improvement.

Category: Organizations

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Quick and Easy Ice Breakers by Deb Thomas

Deborah gives three ideas for getting participants engaged. These quick and easy ice breakers can easily be adapted in any class.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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How to Build a Successful Lead Generating System by Drew Stevens PhD

Drew lists several methods to assist sales professionals on how to build successful leads. Be sure to check out his ideas.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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How to Find Content When You Need It by Susan Otto

Trade magazines, journals, and publications are great source of content, but you have to be able to find it. Read Susan’s organizing tip.

Category: Designing, Training, Presentations

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What Cultures Are at Work in Your Workplace? by Jana Kemp

Examine your workplace cultures. Can you really work there? Do you need to "tweak" it?

Category: Organizations

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Employee Morale: 5 Quick and Easy, Low-Cost Ways to Increase Employee Motivation by Harriet Meyerson

Here are five quick and easy tips for raising morale – on a shoestring budget.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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The Worst and Best Electronic Communication by Lisa Hughes

Lisa’s 10 worst practices for communicating in email and voice mail will make you laugh as you think of co-workers who actually follow these practices; lucky for us, far more use the best practices of electronic communication.

Category: Personal/People Competencies

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Most Training Fails: A QBQ (The Question Behind the Question) QuickNote by John G. Miller

Examine the “Do” and “Don’t” recommendations of ensuring that training is worthwhile. 

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Enhance Training with Analogies by Doris Loretta

Doris provides analogies for software training that can be used with adult learners to aid in their learning and retention. 

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Multi-Generations at Work – Where the Sum is Greater than its Parts by Ruth Kustoff

Doris explores the workplace phenomenon of three generations working side-by-side – identifying differences in how we work and learn, and our motivations and ambitions for career advancement.  

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Prejudice by Alison Junker

Consider whether you are prejudice and what you can do about it by looking at Alison’s perspective as a teenager.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Leadership: A Call for Acknowledgement and Uniqueness by Susan Otto

Acknowledge, recognize, and support – find out why these three components are necessary in being a successful leader.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Lessons Learned from the Inside by Bob Riess

As leaders, we must help individuals execute to the best of their abilities and exceed the measurable goals established by the organization.  Learn some activities to “keep your head above water” and stop "treading water."

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Attracting Perfect Customers by Susan Otto

Attract your perfect customer by standing firm in who you are and what you do. Read about the lighthouse as a metaphor to this idea.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Procedure Is Not Punishment by Jana Kemp

Jana suggests that you look at meeting procedures as a way to protect your people and their productivity.

Category: Organizations

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Define the Non-Negotiable by Jana Kemp

Jana asks you to consider what the non-negotiables are in your life. What are they?

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Where Do I Sit? by Susan Otto

Susan provides you with options for moving participants around in seminars and workshops so that participants have opportunities to work with, and get to know, other participants.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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A Two-Step Process for Accelerating Your Success by Kevin Eikenberry

Kevin says we should reflect and project.  Find out what he means, why you should do it, and how to do it.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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New Year Change-Up by Jana Kemp

Jana challenges you to do things differently this year.  Look at your ruts and routines, ideas for doing things differently, and workplace traditions.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Seven Steps to Getting Started with Goal Setting by Kevin Eikenberry

Kevin gives seven steps to get your goal setting started – the first two are making a decision to set goals and then making a list.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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HR versus Vendors:  Why This Needs to Change by Steve Browne

Steve led HR folks and vendors through a discussion about their relationship with each other. Find what he discovered.

Category: Organizations

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Strategically Expand Your Influence… Use Handwritten Notes to Build Connections by Vanessa Lowry

Vanessa gives you several ways to expand your influence to build connections.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Agreeing to Disagree Still Works by Jana Kemp

Do you often say, “Let’s agree to disagree?”  If you do, you are showing signs of respect.  See what else Jana suggests about that phrase.

Category:  Personal / People Competencies

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PowerPoint: Learning Help or Hindrance by Gary Trotta

Gary provides suggestions on how to turn ordinary PowerPoint instruction into engaging learning. Be sure to check out his valuable resources on how to design PowerPoint games.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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It’s About Trust by Jana Kemp

Jana has you consider the various elements of trust. Do you have to earn it or do you have it to “lose?”

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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The Power of Appreciation…Handwritten Notes Can Increase Influence and Trust by Vanessa Lowry

Vanessa cites examples of how handwritten notes have increased influence and trust to help with sales and success.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Meeting Minutes as Living Documents by Jana Kemp

Jana suggests that meeting minutes should be living documents and not static, historic documents that sit on a shelf to collect dust. Discover the elements that make documents living.

Category: Organizations

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Well, I’m No Einstein But… by Gary Trotta

Gary provides suggestion how to effectively engage learners through awareness of right-brain and left-brain tendencies. Get some ideas on how to be a more effective facilitator.

Category: Designing Training Presenting

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Team Activity – Spirited Role Clarification by Susan Otto

Susan shares one of her favorite activities to use with teams – especially those who need to clarify the team members’ roles and responsibilities.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Why Your Organization’s Culture Matters by Kate Nelson

Kate reminds us that an organization with a culture that won’t allow a great strategy to happen is doomed at the onset.

Category: Organizations

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Quotes To Take Action Upon by Jana Kemp

Jana inspires us to be inspired by quotes. See the great quotes she’s been inspired by in the past.

Category: Design, Training, and Presenting

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Coping with the Resident Witch by Marta Brockmeyer, Ph.D.

Marta gives us guidelines on how to deal with aggressive behavior.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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The Holy Grail of Full Team Engagement by Kevin Eikenberry

Kevin provides guidelines on how to fully engage your teams. Read about his four tips.

Category: Organizations

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Training Myths by Gary Trotta

Gary provides suggestions for looking at myths about training from a different perspective. Check out the three myths he busts!

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Law of Attraction in Action by Kevin Eikenberry

Learn the three parts of the Law of Attractions and prepare to receive what you have created. Kevin also gives you tips on how to start applying the law.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Recognize this Woman? by Marta Brockmeyer, Ph.D.

Marta reminds us of who we should be – assertive, appropriate, and anchored. Check out her tips for adopting a more appropriate style.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Build Productivity and Profitability with Effective Workplace Design by Jackie Messersmith

By designing a better workflow, organizations can become more productive and effective. Read about a simple case study and its results.

Category: Organizations

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Enthusiasm! @ Work by Antoinette SO. Webster

Enthusiasm! is Antoinette's rallying cry. By engaging Enthusiasm! people can increase their already positive attributes, which also result in many benefits in the workplace.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Bringing People, Processes, and the Workplace Together to Create High Performance Work Environments by Jackie Messersmith and Anne Schrader

To achieve high performance work environments, three elements must be studied and addressed – workflow, workspace, and workforce. Read a case study and assess your own organization.

Category: Organizations

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The Top Ten Joy and Money Tips for 2007 by Mackey McNeill

Mackey shares the top ten tips for increasing joy and money in our lives.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Understanding Change by Marta Brockmeyer, Ph.D.

Change is all around us – whether it’s our choice or forced upon us. Delve into the various elements of change.

Category: Organizations

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Building Your Own Board of Directors by Susan Smyth

Even as an individual, you may want to create your own Board of Directors to assist you in accelerating your learning and take the fear out of any change process. Be inspired by Susan’s ideas.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Creating a Powerful Project Vision by Kevin Eikenberry

How do visioning and apples go together? Read Kevin’s article and have the mystery solved.

Category: Organizations

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A Guide to Strategic Planning by Marta Brockmeyer, Ph.D.

Marta provides a process to move you towards effective strategic planning, which will reduce stress, conserve resources, and generate excitement from stakeholders.

Category: Organizations

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Enthusiasm! @ Work - Timely Tips by Antoinette SO. Webster

Antoinette is an expert in Enthusiasm! Check out her timely tips for generating “Enthusiasm!” at work.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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The One Thing You Must Do Every Time You Make a Speech by Dorothy Lynn

When speaking in public, don’t forget to SMILE. Check out what the acronym stands for in Dorothy’s article.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Development Time by Susan Otto

Susan is frequently asked about the amount of time it will take to design a class. Here are some thoughts to consider.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Our Love/Hate Relationship with Networking by Sandra Vogel

Ah, networking! Read and reflect on the "shoulds" and "shouldn’ts" of networking…and then, let's network!

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Imagination and Brainstorming Bring Immediate Results by Susan Otto

Do you want to add two new games to your training opportunities? One is on conflict; the other one is on stress. And if they don’t work for your situation, they might spark your imagination!

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Just Because I Can: The Secret by Susan Otto

Susan shares what she knows to be true.

Category: Alphabet Soup

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Outsourcing Success: Getting the Right Start by Debbie Friedman

When outsourcing, exploring four factors can assist you in making a good decision: expertise, timing, cost, and context.

Category: Organizations

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Generosity of Spirit - The Lubricant in Successful Business Relationships by Susan Smyth

Susan discusses the importance of generosity of spirit in building business relationships that last. Generosity of spirit is the lubricant that can solve problems, support relationships, build customer loyalty, and increase workplace satisfaction. Read the suggestions for developing this approach to relationships and life.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Team Teaching – Playing Doubles Tennis by Kevin Eikenberry

Kevin compares the strategies and complexities of team teaching to playing doubles tennis.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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What Does "It" Look Like? by Susan Otto

Want a fun activity to have learners focus on the topic being discussed?  Check this article out!

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Managing Conflict Across Generations by Dr. Linda Gravett

Find out how the generations respond to conflict as well as how you might provide feedback depending on the generation who needs it. Learn some ideas on how to turn conflict into collaboration, which provide positive results.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Can People Really Be Motivated? by Dave Blum

Motivating by reward is common practice. Consider restructuring the workplace to inspire intrinsic motivation, using Alfie Kohn’s 3 Cs.

Category: Personal / People Competencies

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Partnering with a Purpose: Does Your Company Pass the Strategic Readiness Exam? by Dave Koester and Greg Werner

As internal resources within most organizations become increasingly scarce, many companies are attempting to form strategic partnerships or business alliances with other complementary companies in order to expand their overall value proposition and compress the traditional timeline for new business development. However, industry statistics tell us that 9 out of every 10 alliances that are formed do not make it more than one year and are doomed to failure. The reason – they try to take short cuts to accelerate the process or simply do not follow the process at all. So, having said that, companies actually need to be trained in how to build successful partnerships that will succeed in the marketplace and withstand the test of time.

Category: Organizations

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Providing Effective Training by Bob Riess

Are you an IT professional, or a “soft skills” training expert still struggling to make end-user training for technology an interactive, measurable, and rewarding experience for you and the recipients of training? The most important step in providing effective end-user training is to understand what the users must be able to DO as a result of the training, and then design a framework to help the participants produce measured output, which makes it much easier to measure results. Measurements should be realistic, address business results, and provide examples of how training will contribute to those results. Providing customer training can offer you a significant edge in the marketplace and help you generate more sales opportunities while learning more about your existing customers. If the product or service you provide is the least bit complex, you have a tremendous opportunity to provide customer training that will remove many of the barriers between you and your customers.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Facilitator, Trainer, or Presenter? by Susan Otto

Training terms can be so confusing and, unfortunately, I don't have a solution to this issue. However, if you'd like to see all the terms other people use to describe me (Susan Otto), what I do, and what I create, take a look. You will no longer feel like the only confused training practitioner in the world of training vocabulary.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Designing Training Materials by Susan Otto

If you want a summary on how to create training materials, here's a brief article on a complex subject. The article provides you a variety of concepts to consider when designing.

Category: Designing, Training, and Presenting

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Dinner with Thiagi by Susan Otto

Check out a quick, yet interactive, activity that Thiagi had ASTD attendees participate in at a dinner meeting. It's a simple frame game that you can use with a variety of content. Quick, simple, effective…and it's no secret!

Category: Training Games and Activities

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Do You Remember?: The Interviewee’s Comments by Susan Otto

Do you need a game to remind interviewers how important observation, remembering, note taking, and group sharing are to the interview process? Read about this game, which was accepted by ASTD and included in their 2006 ASTD Training and Performance Sourcebook.

Category: Training Games and Activities

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