Comments on: Tools vs. Research, Think, Write, Design

By: Rani H. Gill

Rani H. Gill — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:13:36 +0000

Lane – thanks for your comments and feedback. I actually have a couple Robert Mager books sitting on my bookshelf. I should pull them out again and have another look. On measurement and SMART goals – I agree, if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there. cheers.

By: Lane Parker

Lane Parker — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:16:45 +0000

Rani, Robert Mager would be proud to read your post. I learned a lot about instructional systems design way back in the 70s following his methodology. When I got out of the pure training business I applied what I learned from him in the management of my organizations. Thanks to the book “Make Success Measurable” I was able to connect Mager’s teachings to people & teams I managed using SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound) goals. SMART is a great acronym but my focus has always been on the M and T where M supports your “outcome” analysis above and in a job situation, time is always critical to success.

I’m looking forward to reading more of your true storytelling.

By: Rani H. Gill

Rani H. Gill — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:19:53 +0000

Sam – great to hear from you! And what an interesting dilemma you point out. An overwhelmed internal L&D IT group, not fully prepared to engage with this new way of learning, maybe even resistant to the change. It might be worth bypassing the internal IT and consulting with an external vendor familiar with the LMS and suggest some solutions to your client. Not within the contract, but perhaps the external vendor might be willing to accept barter vs. pay. Or, if you’re able to frame the problem in a detailed enough fashion, there are many communities of practice out there who might have the answer. Let me know if I can help. cheers.

By: Sam Bruce

Sam Bruce — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:12:12 +0000

Hey Rani, thanks for your post. As you might imagine, I agree with your thoughts. To pick up on one of your points, very recently I have started working with a very large global firm with HQ in the USA. We are developing some learning modules for their LMS. Problem is that the LMS is new and is being rolled out to the organization so the internal L&D IT people managing the LMS say they have no time to help us with how to integrate our content into their LMS and learning portal. So here we sit, ready to move forward, but making some bets about how we think things are going to turn out since we need to get moving but are having problems getting the help we need from the client. It will be a call with our primary client contact that makes things happen, but I think it illustrates the fact that enterprises can talk about learning and all the different ways that it can be delivered, but once you get past the old model of participants and a facilitator/educator together in a room much of what are deemed “new” ways of learning require considerable effort from the L&D arm of the company who have heard about different modalities but who have not wrestled with them yet.

By: Rani H. Gill

Rani H. Gill — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:44:26 +0000

Tim, thank you for your thoughtful response. I love that you brought in this Einstein quote – how perfect. Currently I think one of the challenges is the notion of a “course” that we hold so dear in learning circles. Perhaps this is one of the mental adjustments we have to let go of? Still exploring. cheers.

By: Tim Flood

Tim Flood — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:01:14 +0000

Rani, a great and inspiring post! Your last line, “This is low-hanging fruit — but a big mental adjustment,” really hits the mark. It makes me think of Einstein’s statement about the atom, which comes to mind so frequently: “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.”

Hmm … “changed everything save our modes of thinking …” that’s the part I think of the most. Of course, this was uttered in an entirely different context. But it seems broadly applicable to the many surging and sometimes contentious tides of change we experience. Often times though, the change that is at hand is not difficult — is “low-hanging fruit,” as you say. And yet, it is so difficult to adjust the way of thinking to break out of the convenience and security of something we’re already familiar with.

As I get older (I’m now 65) I find that life is more interesting to challenge myself and others around me to question the paradigm and try something new. Often what we have to lose is not very much really at all.

Thanks for the inspiration!
Tim

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Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:06:43 +0000

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