Measuring the impact of training is tricky: How do you measure awareness? How do you measure customer service? How do you measure employee engagement? How do you measure the ability of the executive team to think strategically? And how do you measure all these things in a way that the business cares about? (hint: they do not care that 83% of our learners completed the eLearning module). But let's be clear... this is not just an L&D problem — it's a business problem. "Business" people are...
10 months ago • 1 min read
Not because I'm a particularly slow reader. But because it spent a decade gathering dust on my bookshelf. But that was the book that changed everything. The straw that broke the camel's back. That book that lighted a fire under my ass and prompted me to question what the hell I was doing. And what was I doing? Pumping out hours of aesthetically pleasing, functionally robust, woefully ineffective eLearning - that's what! The moment I finished that book, the trajectory of my career swerved in a...
10 months ago • 1 min read
Since being forced into early retirement from my burgeoning football career and taking up the more age-appropriate hobby of checking public restrooms for effective performance support, I stumbled upon this beauty today: “A trillion germs could live in your poo, wash your hands after using the loo!” Far more effective than the sixteen-step hand-washing process I shared last week, don’t you think? Challenge: Spend this weekend on the look out for performance support in your immediate...
10 months ago • 1 min read
If a checklist is forced upon you, you may resist using it (email titled "Please wash your hands"). But if you're underperforming at work and are motivated to improve things, and there are tools available (which include checklists), might you be more motivated to use them because you had "opted in"? I'm wondering if this is the same situation as when I'm forced to undertake mandatory training. Which I always feel resistance towards because it's mandatory. But when I pay to go on a course, I'm...
10 months ago • 1 min read
We’ve all seen those posters, especially since the pandemic — step-by-step instructions showing us how to perform something we’ve been doing since we were kids… Wet hands with water... turn off the tap... apply soap... lather hands by rubbing thetogether... repeat steps for backs of hands and wrists… etc etc etc... And I get it. Of course, it’s important to wash one's hands after visiting the bathroom (especially when you see the state of the public toilets in Britain). But a sixteen-step...
10 months ago • 1 min read
I just stumbled across an email I sent back in 2015: Hi Oliver, I hope you don't mind me dropping you a quick email. Earlier this year I started an elearning consultancy - one of the main things I'm doing is building very creative and very engaging, custom elearning courses (the link below shows off some recent examples). I just wanted to drop you an email to see if you could put me in touch with the right person at your company who might be looking for this type of service? Or if you are in...
11 months ago • 1 min read
...received my emails last week, in which I asked whether you'd be interested to learn about "super-checklists" (emails titled "The Trojan Horse Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3"). That email had an open rate of 46.5%, giving us 608 email opens. Guess how many clicked "yes". Fourteen. Four-bloody-teen!!!! Could there be more explicit proof this is not a particularly appealing topic? (FWIW the fifteen of us will be starting a "super-checklists" gang in which we'll while away the hours comparing...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Yesterday, I continued my waffle on “super-checklists” (emails titled “The Trojan Horse Part 1 and Part 2”). Taken from that email: “The checklists that feature within a cutting-edge performance ecosystem are no ordinary checklists. They’re super-checklists. They laugh in the face of regular checklists.” So, what is a “super-checklist”? A super-checklist has some unique features that make it stand head and shoulders above regular checklists, including: 1. Links to external tools and resources...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Earlier this week, I shared some ideas about engaging with more L&D peers to support our mission to revolutionise the industry (email titled “The Trojan Horse Part 1”). Taken from the last email: Maybe it’s no wonder my progress has been slow. I’m not selling instant transformation — I’m selling slow, sustainable improvement. I.e., I’m selling strategy, not tactics. And whilst I know that’s what the world needs, can you think of anything less sexy?! “Sign up to my emails where I can guarantee...
11 months ago • 1 min read