Creative Exercise for Meetings, Webinars and Seminars Do you keep falling asleep in meetings, webinars and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls? Here's a way to change that: Before (or during) your next meeting, webinar, or conference call, prepare your "Been Listening Bingo" card by drawing a square 5"x5" dividing it into columns - five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks. Write one of the words/phrases/concepts you plan to talk about in each block.

Ken Blanchard, best-selling co-author of The One Minute Manager and The One Minute Apology, will be kicking off the 15th Annual Training and Performance Solutions Conference to be held in Minneapolis in 2008. His participation was announced during the closing ceremonies of this year’s conference. “It's exciting to have Ken and the Ken Blanchard Companies be a part of our 2008 conference on many levels,” said Bob Pike, chairman and founder of The Bob Pike Group. ”First, Ken and I have been friends for more than 20 years. Because of that, I have seen his commitment to the same values that we have at The Bob Pike Group— especially adding value and making a difference. Second, his unique storytelling ability makes...

Before training evaluation begins, program objectives must be developed. Program objectives are linked to the needs assessment. Let¡¦s look at how objectives can be developed within the context of the five-level ROI framework. Setting clear objectives at each level is important because success with training objectives helps answer basic questions regarding program effectiveness. Level 1 Objectives (Reaction, Satisfaction, and Planned Action) These describe issues that are important to the success of the program, including facilitation, relevance and importance of content, logistics, and intended use of knowledge and skills. The best Level 1 objectives should: „X Identify issues that are important and measurable „X Be attitude-based, clearly worded, and specific „X Specify how participants have changed their thinking or perceptions as a result of the program

Average Trainer Salaries Go Up Nationwide Training magazine printed the results of their annual training salary survey and trainers nationwide are making a tad more than in 2006. California Wildfires Claim Blanchard Home Ken and Margie Blanchard’s Rancho Bernardo home of 30 years was reduced to ashes by the wildfires in southern California. The couple were in Florida during the blaze."The first news I had was when I got a voicemail... Looking at expanding into Europe? Wondering what to charge? Skillfair, a virtual meeting place in the United Kingdom, conducted a survey of consultants in the UK regarding their fees. With 250 responding, following are some of the results. E-learning Spending E-xploding In just 30 months, Global Industry Analysts predict spending on e-learning in enterprise and education will surpass $52 billion. The report (which you can buy for just under $4K) said this year alone has seen $17.5 billion in purchases in e-learning, according to...

Betsy Allen, The Bob Pike Group senior vice president, and Becky Pluth, BPG Consultant, closed the 14th Annual Training and Performance Solutions Conference with an ACT—Action planning, Celebrating and a sense of Tying things together.

Ken Blanchard, best-selling co-author of The One Minute Manager and The One Minute Apology, will be kicking off the 15th Annual Training and Performance Solutions Conference to be held in Minneapolis in 2008. His participation was announced during the closing ceremonies of this year’s conference.

Admittedly, Bob Pike is a “collector” of things, having thrown very little away in his lifetime. In reference to that, Bob found the original data he used for a 1976 article surveying trainers on various aspects of the industry for the opening session of the 14th Annual Training and Performance Solutions Conference in Bloomington, Minn. In a session entitled “The World is Changing—or is it?” Bob compared the data from then to data he received in an informal survey of 500 colleagues that ended September 25.

Several years ago, The Bob Pike Group began giving Pike’s Peak Awards to trainers and companies who had truly and creatively implemented participant-centered learning. The individuals receiving awards this year were announced Wednesday, September 26 at a luncheon during the 14th Annual Training and Performance Consulting Conference in Bloomington, Minn., and were truly international.

Bob Pike became an Eagle Scout in the early 1960s, the highest rank a boy scout can achieve. To earn the rank, a scout has to earn 21 merit badges, show responsibility in a position of leadership, and perform service projects. The scout motto is “Be prepared.” We asked Bob, “In regard to training, what does being prepared mean?”

We are all looking for ways to train more cost-effectively and time-efficiently. We’re using every tool at our disposal to that end: the Internet, Intranets, computer-based training computer-assisted instruction, video-based training, just in time training, and possibly hundreds of other delivery methods. As we get caught up in all the cost-cutting and timesaving strategies, let’s not forget that it’s results that count. What does it matter if we reduce the time it takes to deliver information or teach skills if it not delivered in a way that works for the learner?