As told by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, these 5 things are essential to all presentations: a headline, a bad guy, a simple visual, a demonstration, and a memorable moment. And don't forget to sell dreams,  not products. http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2009/sb2009106_706829.htm

Tags: presentation, public speaking, speech

Categories: Books | TechKnowledge

ASTD President and CEO Tony Bingham, and long-time workplace educator and business writer Marcia Conner, are collaborating on a new book to be released in Spring 2010 that examines the use of social media for learning. The book will present stories and case studies of companies using social media effectively. Bingham is inviting members to collaborate on this project by sending their stories and ideas for case studies.

YOU CAN HELP! Is your organization using social software for learning? Are they thinking about it? What questions would you like answered in this book? Email your ideas or background about your organization’s use of social media in learning to press@astd.org and help Tony and Marcia make this a book as powerful as possible. Be sure to include your contact information so the writers can get in touch with you for more details.

Tags: international, book, social media

Categories: International

(From The Wall Street Journal) Because so many people in their teens and early 20s are in this constant whir of socializing—accessible to each other every minute of the day via cellphone, instant messaging and social-networking Web sites—there are a host of new questions that need to be addressed in schools, in the workplace and at home. Chief among them: How much work can "hyper-socializing" students or employees really accomplish if they are holding multiple conversations with friends via text-messaging, or are obsessively checking Facebook?

Some argue they can accomplish a great deal: This generation has a gift for multitasking, and because they've integrated technology into their lives, their ability to remain connected to each other will serve them and their employers well. Others contend that these hyper-socializers are serial time-wasters, that the bonds between them are shallow, and that their face-to-face interpersonal skills are poor.

Read the entire article.

Tags: generational issues, workplace, gen y, web 2.0, social networking

Categories: News

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) -- With the economy cautiously turning the corner, senior leaders are focused on hiring and developing talent, according to a survey of more than 450 senior executives on LinkedIn® by Right Management. 94 percent of executives said talent management is a top priority for 2010. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

The findings present good news for employees and job seekers. Employers are preparing themselves for growth opportunities as the economy rebounds and are looking for ways to enhance performance and productivity. One-third of the senior executive respondents will be hiring new talent in 2010, while 36 percent will focus on developing current talent. Twenty percent reported that increasing employee engagement is a top priority. Career development opportunities and efforts to increase engagement typically improve retention, which may explain why only 4 percent of senior leaders indicated they would be focusing efforts on retention.

Read the full release.

Tags: talent management, employee retention, career development, executives, new economy

Categories: News | Research

Women have come a long way in the workplace, helped by legislation and the recognition by many companies that diversity and gender is something they should "get." But diversity's move into the mainstream corporate world has its disadvantages. It can make more subtle discrimination harder to spot and tougher to deal with.

And news about gender often tells a different story to the happy corporate spin about progress for women at work.

News outlets reported on Monday for example that two guardians of Britain's historic Tower of London have been suspended after the first woman warden or "Beefeater" in the Tower's 524-year history accused them of harassment. "If you talk today to people in the workplace they construct the workplace as gender neutral," said Elisabeth Kelan, author of a new book, "Performing Gender at Work."

"They assume that gender no longer matters in 2009 because the issue has long been solved."

Kelan calls this phenomenon "gender fatigue," which she says will make it more challenging to tackle the discrimination that still happens in the workplace but in more subtle ways.

"Gender fatigue actually refers to the phenomenon that people lack the energy to construct the workplace again and again as gender neutral despite the fact that discrimination continues to exist."

Read the full article.

Tags: london, gender issues, workplace, diversity

Categories: International | News

As National Work and Family Month and Mental Health Awareness Month draw to a close, it's a good time to reflect on the impact of flexible work arrangements on the health and well-being of employees and their families.

Years of psychological research provide a strong foundation for flexible work arrangements, demonstrating the benefit to employees' physical and mental health, as well as their family life. To promote this knowledge, the American Psychological Association created an Office on Work, Stress and Health that promotes research, training, practice and policy addressing these matters, including:

a) Promoting understanding of work stress and its impact on the well-being and productivity of workers;

b) Exploring organizational and behavioral interventions to reduce stress, illness and injury in the workplace;

c) Studying the impact of changing work force demographics (e.g., aging workers, increasing proportions of ethnic and racial minorities and women) on health and safety in the workplace; and

d) Building collaborative partnerships among psychology, industry, labor and federal agencies to reduce stress and health and safety risks in the workplace.

Read the full article.

Tags: workplace, stress, health, collaboration, flexibility

Categories: News

U.S. President Barack Obama says innovation will be the key to creating the jobs of the future.  Mr. Obama says he is looking for new ways to recoup the jobs lost during the economic recession.

With a new round of dismal job loss figures expected later the week, President Obama says he is searching for ways to create new employment opportunities.

"This is my administration's overriding focus," said President Obama. "Having brought the economy back from the brink, the question is how are we going to make sure that people are getting back to work and able to support their families."

Read the full article.

Tags: innovation, jobs, new economy, federal government

Categories: News

The last post addressed how to develop a handbook’s table of contents and alluded to the idea that The Handbook will ensure that the content from our distinguished authors will be practical and helpful. How will The ASTD Leadership Handbook be useful and practical for you? Those of you familiar with my work know that I am all about practical. How can I help you take any content and easily use it in your day-to-day work? 

What Constitutes Practical?

We could turn to any number of definitions: adapted for actual use; results of action; engaged in judicious and sensible practice or work; adopt a means to an end; or others from many sources. The bottom line is that practical means you will be able to implement the content to accomplish something of use. 

To ensure that The ASTD Leadership Handbook is practical, we have asked the authors to contribute a tool that the readers can use to better understand the content, to implement the content with others (after all, you are trainers), or to adapt the content for actual use. 

What’s a Tool?

What’s a tool? Well that’s what our authors asked too. We suggested that a tool could be a template, worksheet, checklist, model, quiz, survey, or any job aid that helps the reader implement the content of the chapter. To make it as easy for our authors as possible, I provided few parameters. The tool could be:

• Previously published or not.
• Validated or not.
• Relative to the entire chapter or focus on just one area.

The chapters and their accompanying tools are arriving every day. Here are a few of the tools you will have access to. These tools will help you implement leadership concepts you will read about in The Handbook.

• John Kotters Eight Step Change Model.
• Bill Gentry’s Checklist for Avoiding Leader Derailment.
• Marshall Goldsmith’s mini Coaching Survey.
• Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood’s Personal Leadership Proficiency Leadership DNA model, they call the Leadership Code.
• Patrick Lencioni’s Team Assessment to help you evaluate your team’s susceptibility to the five dysfunctions of a team.
• Bev Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evan’s “Jerk Checklist.”
• Len Goodstein’s Applied Strategic Planning Model.
• Ed Betof’s Checklist for Mentoring Leaders.

This list constitutes less than 1/3 of the tools that will accompany The Handbook. So what do you think? Do these sound practical to you? 

How Can You Use the Tools?

Here’s the best part. The tools will be found on a companion website. You will be able to download them. As long as you maintain the copyright and the “used with permission” state,emt on the tool, you will be able to use it for your daily work. Free tools! Now that’s exciting! 

Next Up: How to Ensure Quality

Respected authors are good. Realistic topics are good. Practical content is good. But what about quality? In my next post I will provide you with several ideas for how The ASTD Leadership Handbook will guarantee the highest quality possible.

Tags:

Categories: e-Laine

London, UK (PRWeb UK) 2 November 2009 -- Figures from the Ashdown Group Jobs Index show it is one of the best performing sectors of the month.

Demand has been driven by a number of factors, including a recent upsurge in online and search engine optimisation (SEO) positions. Figures from data analyst firm IT Jobs Watch show the number of SEO vacancies rose by a massive 50% year on year.

John Lynes, director of marketing recruitment agency the Ashdown Group, said, "There has been a scramble for marketers with a strong understanding of online marketing, as businesses of all sizes wake up to the need to be found online."

Online jobs are booming as individuals spend increasing amounts of time on the Internet. Shopping online has become the norm for many people over the last five years as Internet retailers continue to attract more consumers away from the high street. This trend is set to continue, with experts predicting a strong Christmas performance for online retailers. Online retail sales have grown by 14% year to date according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

Read more.

Tags: economy, jobs, careers, business news

Categories: The Economy

(From investmentnews.com) Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management last week unveiled a training program to help its 15,000 financial advisers develop a retirement income program for their clients.

As part of the program, the firm has announced a service that will allow its wealth management clients with at least $250,000 in assets to transfer funds from their Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. cash management account into a Bank of America Corp. deposit account on a periodic basis to facilitate their retirement income stream.

Using the service, clients can access their retirement income at a BofA ATM or office. Merrill Lynch advisers will also be able to track their retiree clients' spending habits.

Read more.

Tags: business news, training, financial sector

Categories: The Economy