Are You an Adapter or Adopter

I read an article just recently about adapting training to the downturn in the economy. What actually surprised me was that some companies were actually adapting their training programs instead of cutting them out all together and "adopting" the mantra that the sky is falling, we are in a recession and the world is coming to an end!!! What a relief to find that there are actually people who are still thinking on their feet and realizing that training IS important and that there ARE options available, like technology, that can substantially reduce cost and still have the same desired outcome. What a breath of fresh air to see that organizations are thinking of more creative and engaging training that goes (jeez I hate to say this) "out of the box". A deep sigh of relief that there is still hope for my fellow colleagues and one day we may actually prevail in leading this nation into a well educated future!

Have You Looked in the Mirror Lately?

I woke up this morning, the same as every morning, and looked in the mirror. The face that stared back at me was not the prettiest thing on the planet, but it held a certain reverence, a regard for all that I stand for. What did YOU see this morning? Ok, so you may ask where I'm going with this? My point is this. When you look in the mirror do you take yourself seriously? I mean really seriously! Here is my rant. I regularly attend HR Networking events and too many times come across my peers that are spineless jelly fish! These are brilliant, well-educated, well-read individuals that don't reflect on the outside the vast amount of knowledge on the inside. Our "kind" is perceived as passive, somewhat nerdy, un-exciting and BORING! There is nothing BORING about what we do! We inspire greatness! We inspire evolution and change through learning! What could be more exciting! Without learning in an organization, there would be no organization. There would be no small businesses, no corporations, no country! Life would not exist as we know it. So, I ask, when are you going to wake up and start taking yourself seriously!!!!!

Why Buy the Cow?

I know you've heard the old adage, "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free"? So goes in our world of training. Why buy technology when we can get it for free? Let me clue you in on something folks, because I know how brilliant you are! Nothing in life is free. You get what you pay for. Absolutely nothing. No support, no development, no best-practices, no direction, no road-map, no updates; in short, there is a reason it's free. Look at some of the "tools" out there. Open source this, open source that. What this means is, if new versions of the tool are offered, you are stuck. With open source, multiple hands touch the tool so migrations or replication of your data is difficult, or impossible at best. Just as we learned when we entered the world of business, there is no such thing as a free lunch, just as there is no such thing as free technology. Everything has a cost. What are you willing to pay?