... be more productive

If you are usually burnt out by Friday, or sometimes feel you can’t do any more despite the ever-growing demands on your time, then you’re not alone.

Most of us would like to be more productive, but the usual route of putting in longer and longer hours is backfiring, with people ending up exhausted, disengaged and sick.

 

Key points

·         It is possible for you and your staff to be more productive

·         Energy is the key, and can be tackled on three different levels – physical, emotional and mental

·         Managing energy should not be a short-term fix – position it as a long-term investment in your people and the organisation

 

Almost active learning

Face-to-face action learning is well documented, but virtual action learning (VAL) appears under-used, despite its ability to bring together geographically dispersed individuals. Social networking, free software and mobile devices have also never made it more available.  With generation Y & Z if you don’t do it they make judge your organisation accordingly.

 

Points to note

 

·         Virtual action learning seems underused

·         A six-form model illustrates the technologies and their use

·         Each form tends to be used alongside another form (face to face is still vital)

·         As the technologies become more sophisticated, so the opportunities for learning increase

 

 

Basic instinct

Intuition is something that’s difficult to put your finger on…

 

But, pinning it down will allow you to reap tangible rewards.

 

What is intuition?

 

·         Uninvited and instant: it’s an automatic, involuntary response to complex problems and decisions

·         Affective:  it’s accompanied by gut feelings of varying level of intensity

·         Holistic: it allows us to “parallel process” information quickly and efficiently, and to see the bigger picture

·         Non-conscious: we’re aware only of the outcomes of intuition.

 

“Intuitive experts aren’t born; they’re made – and there are few, if any, shortcuts to becoming one”

 

Potentially powerful and perilous: in the right hands, intuition can be a powerful way to handle complex problems under time pressure; in the wrong hands, it can be ineffective and even dangerous.

 

When is intuition very useful?

 

·         Sensing when a problem might exist – for example, when someone’s story doesn’t stack up or there’s an ethical dilemma

·         Performing well-learned behavior patterns rapidly.  We can often simply go ahead and do something is a situation that’s familiar, rather than think too much about it

·         If expectations are violated.  When we expect a situation to go a certain way but it doesn’t, this can set off our intuitive alarm bell

·         Synthesising the big picture.  When faced with several isolated pieces of information, intuition lets us stand back, avoid “analysis paralysis” and sense how the pieces might fit together

·         Checking out the results of rational analysis. Sensing when hard data doesn’t feel quite right, intuition can sound the alarm for us to seek more information or look at what data we do have from a different angle

Finding your next CEO

·         Judgment, strategic thinking and learning agility are more important than visible strengths such as energy and confidence

·         CEOs are made not born, with appropriate exposure to wide-ranging challenges and experiences being critical to the development of those with potential

·         Improvements must be made to succession planning to achieve these

Bright ideas in dark times

In these troubled times it appears to be more difficult than ever before to foster innovation in organisations when they are struggling to keep their heads above water. But get it right and we would all agree with the logic that suggest creativity could have many of the answers.

Key points

Make innovation central to everything - not an add on

Create a climate where individuals feel free to raise new ideas

Encourage your leaders to create a supportive and open culture

1. Make innovation a priority

2. Take an outside-in perspective

3. Create a process for innovation

4. Define the big levers and pull them

5. Drive out fear

6. Create trust

7. Recognise both successful and unsuccessful innovators

You can create both a culture and a climate of innovation. Climates of innovation can be created by leaders in each part of your organisation.

 

Reducing your training budget

Stop and think.  Who needs this training and why?  Ditch the sheep-dip approach in favour of tailored programmes.

 

Online training, properly executed, can save you a fortune and allows people to carry out their learning at home.  But don’t automatically axe all your classroom-based activities – take a blended learning approach.

 

Get employees to share knowledge informally, don’t forget the free resources (youtube, iTunes U)

 

1.       Prioritise training needs

2.       Don’t sheep dip

3.       Outsource expediently

4.       Encourage informal knowledge sharing

5.       Consider pre-induction training

6.       Maximise different training channels

7.       Don’t ditch all your classroom training

8.       Get employees learning at homes

Bright ideas in dark times

In these troubled times it appears to be more difficult than ever before to foster innovation in organisations when they are struggling to keep their heads above water. But get it right and we would all agree with the logic that suggest creativity could have many of the answers.

Key points

Make innovation central to everything - not an add on

Create a climate where individuals feel free to raise new ideas

Encourage your leaders to create a supportive and open culture

1. Make innovation a priority

2. Take an outside-in perspective

3. Create a process for innovation

4. Define the big levers and pull them

5. Drive out fear

6. Create trust

7. Recognise both successful and unsuccessful innovators

You can create both a culture and a climate of innovation. Climates of innovation can be created by leaders in each part of your organisation.

 

Experiential Learning Centre - Press Coverage

Lane End Training and Conference Centre in Buckinghamshire is one of the most active specialist venues, with a growing customer base that reflects its efforts to provide new options for organisers. We look at its latest innovation, and talk to its sales and marketing manager Heni Fourie about the centre’s progressive approach.

Lane End recently announced the development of a new experiential learning centre, believed to be one of the first of its kind in the London area. Set to open in April, it will offer more than 20 different physical, mental and challenge based activities, all specifically designed to enhance workplace performance. Experts at Lane End have teamed up with Hi5 Events to create the new learning centre for client Challenging HR.

Productive assessment

All the experiential learning activities will vary in duration from 30 minutes to three hours. They are designed to draw out learning around the behaviours, processes, skills and natural abilities normally used in the workplace. Delegates will be able to assess their effectiveness and personal behaviours – allowing them to consider the alternatives and to increase their skills.

video interview

Although the new experiential learning centre will be situated conveniently close to the capital, it has been designed to serve the entire UK and also international clients as a major centre of excellence. 'This is a very exciting development and certainly one that will add value to the overall experience for many of our clients,'says Heni Fourie: 'In the current economic climate, event organisers need to be absolutely certain that the experiential learning and leadership coaching in which they invest delivers proven benefits to the bottom line. That is why a dedicated experiential learning centre run by experts at an internationally renowned residential conference centre is the logical choice.'

Outstanding access

Lane End is the perfect setting for the innovative new development because it is just 30 miles from London and Heathrow – making it ideal for the capital’s major corporates. The venue is set in 26 acres of Chilterns countryside with easy access to the M4, M40 and M25. Its facilities include 7 conference rooms, 24 break-out rooms and 104 bedrooms. Hi5 Events Director Andrew Lewis said: 'We were asked to suggest a quality venue with sufficient outdoor space within the Home Counties with the aim of developing fixed challenges for training events.'

The new experiential learning centre will build on Lane End’s success over the past three years as one of the UK ’s leading team building venues . During that time Lane End has hosted more than 150 team building events on-site. More than 40 different team building activities are already available.

Challenging HR Managing Director Simon Bound said: 'We are delighted to be working with Lane End to create such a unique training venue. The Lane End team has an enviable reputation for customer service and the location is perfect for our clients based in and around London.' Lane End Conference Centre attracts delegates from all over the world because it is a dedicated campus of business-orientated conference and meetings facilities, close to London but free of the hassle of city-based events. Companies can ensure complete privacy because the venue is divided into five distinct and separate conference centres. Firms can book an entire building with its own bedrooms, dining and conference facilities.

 

Experiential Learning Centre - Press Coverage

Lane End Training and Conference Centre in Buckinghamshire is one of the most active specialist venues, with a growing customer base that reflects its efforts to provide new options for organisers. We look at its latest innovation, and talk to its sales and marketing manager Heni Fourie about the centre’s progressive approach.

Lane End recently announced the development of a new experiential learning centre, believed to be one of the first of its kind in the London area. Set to open in April, it will offer more than 20 different physical, mental and challenge based activities, all specifically designed to enhance workplace performance. Experts at Lane End have teamed up with Hi5 Events to create the new learning centre for client Challenging HR.

Productive assessment

All the experiential learning activities will vary in duration from 30 minutes to three hours. They are designed to draw out learning around the behaviours, processes, skills and natural abilities normally used in the workplace. Delegates will be able to assess their effectiveness and personal behaviours – allowing them to consider the alternatives and to increase their skills.

video interview

Although the new experiential learning centre will be situated conveniently close to the capital, it has been designed to serve the entire UK and also international clients as a major centre of excellence. 'This is a very exciting development and certainly one that will add value to the overall experience for many of our clients,'says Heni Fourie: 'In the current economic climate, event organisers need to be absolutely certain that the experiential learning and leadership coaching in which they invest delivers proven benefits to the bottom line. That is why a dedicated experiential learning centre run by experts at an internationally renowned residential conference centre is the logical choice.'

Outstanding access

Lane End is the perfect setting for the innovative new development because it is just 30 miles from London and Heathrow – making it ideal for the capital’s major corporates. The venue is set in 26 acres of Chilterns countryside with easy access to the M4, M40 and M25. Its facilities include 7 conference rooms, 24 break-out rooms and 104 bedrooms. Hi5 Events Director Andrew Lewis said: 'We were asked to suggest a quality venue with sufficient outdoor space within the Home Counties with the aim of developing fixed challenges for training events.'

The new experiential learning centre will build on Lane End’s success over the past three years as one of the UK ’s leading team building venues . During that time Lane End has hosted more than 150 team building events on-site. More than 40 different team building activities are already available.

Challenging HR Managing Director Simon Bound said: 'We are delighted to be working with Lane End to create such a unique training venue. The Lane End team has an enviable reputation for customer service and the location is perfect for our clients based in and around London.' Lane End Conference Centre attracts delegates from all over the world because it is a dedicated campus of business-orientated conference and meetings facilities, close to London but free of the hassle of city-based events. Companies can ensure complete privacy because the venue is divided into five distinct and separate conference centres. Firms can book an entire building with its own bedrooms, dining and conference facilities.

 

I Was Absorbed

"I was absorbed by their enthusiasim and commitment and willingness to reach our objectives." Sam Kazmanli, London Fire Brigade