It's Adult Learning Week this week, so here are some things I'd like all adult learners to know, especialy if they have negative experiences or expectations about training. It's certainly how I position our own bite-size workshops...

1. It's an old cliche, but please remember that the more you put in, the more you will get out. We learn far more when we are actively involved rather than passive observers. We defintely don't want silence in the 'classroom'!
2. Training is for you, not the trainer. Yes, we have a framework but we will be driven by YOUR needs as much as possible...as long as you tell us what they are!
3. Training is NOT assessment. You are here to learn, and try out new things. Some will work, some won't. That's fine, and isn't it better to do these experiments when there are no negative consequences?
4. To grow and develop you must be prepared to come out of your comfort zone and try something new. However, we will never force you to come out of your comfort zone so far that it's scary. Feeling a little nervous can be a good thing, feeling terrified is not, and we would never put you in that position.
5. The event is only PART of the story. If you come along and get involved that's great, but unless you DO something as a result back at work we could have all been doing something more useful with our time.
6. It's OK to reject some aspects of the training. We are all different. we have different abilities, gaps, personalities and challenges. Choose the bits of the training that are meaningful to you, and forget the rest. You can choose what you do with it.
7. I am a facilitator, not an oracle. I stand at the front of the room to draw out all the amazing knowledge and experience that ALL of us have. I may not have the answer, but someone in the room probably does. We learn more when we share.
8. Start with the end in mind. Decide what it is that you want to get out of the event - this will start the process of tuning in to the parts of the workshop that are more relevant to you.
9. Relax, enjoy, challenge and have fun. Not only will you have a better time, but you will learn more too!
10. Reflect, talk it over and take action. Be realistic about the changes you will make and what help you will need to make them. I would rather people make a genuine commitment to do ONE thing differently, than write down 10 action points which amount to nothing more than a wish list. Talking to your manager or a colleague about what you will do also makes you more likely to do it!

Today I've had a bit of an epiphany. Conscious that our training materials for bite-size workshops may seem a bit old fashioned in todays world of instant access, wi-fi, learn on the move and 'apps', I was wondering if I should look at converting all of our materials into more tech-based modules.

However, today I've participated on a workshop. You know, one of those 'old fashioned' things with coffee and flipcharts, chairs, music, a buffet and people. Being a participant of this workshop has made me realise that actually, our workshops are at the cutting edge of social learning. 

Social media is wonderful, and I am a fan. You can find me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and I love them all. Many trainers have decided to harness the influence of this new media. However, too many people are focussing on the MEDIA and less on the SOCIAL... and that's what a traditional workshop gives you. On a traditional workshop (even a bite size one) you:

• chat and discuss
• listen
• share ideas
• hear different view points
• get to build on ideas
• can be creative
• laugh
• make friends and/or useful contacts
• learn AROUND the subject that is being covered
• are chalenged thoughfully and as an individual
• can tackle very specific issues that are relevant to you

So, rather than trying to make our training the same as everyone elses, I think that (for the moment at least) we'll stick with our format, because learning doesn't just happen by formal methods, or by trainer-to-learner. Everyone attending a workshop has the potential to learn something from everyone else in that room...and that's the REAL power of social learning!

Yesterday I had a birthday present to wrap. A large cube shape. I had the wrapping paper...or so I thought. When I placed the present in the centre of the wrapping paper, it was clear that is wasn't big enough. There was a 2" gap, and no matter how much I pulled the paper, it was too big a gap to close.

What makes a great meal?

• Is it the meat? 
• the seasonal vegetables? 
• the sauces? 
• the wine that accompanies it? 

What makes a great party?

• Is it the venue?
• the music?
• the food?
• the drink? 
• the company?

Or in both these cases, is it in fact the right combination?

What makes great training? And when I say 'great' I mean training that delivers real business results. Not 'just' a great trainer. Not 'just' a great workshop. Not 'just' great on-line resources. Not 'just' action planning. Not 'just' coaching.

Great (impactful, useful) training is a combination of many things. I was recently speaking to an independent trainer who uses Power Hour materials as PART of his service to one of his clients.

• He introduces a topic using a live Power Hour bite-size training session.
• He directs the group towards on-line and self-study resources that are available to them.
• He then meets the group again to reflect, and draw up some meaningful action plans.
• Then, he provides personal coaching to individuals to help them to apply their learning and make a difference.

This is having noticeable personal and measurable business results. Of course, everyone is delighted with the impact, including me who is providing just ONE of the elements that is bringing success.

So, what's you're combination for successful training?

Prior to stting up Power Hour, most of my experience as a trainer was in manufacturing, supply chain, construction and retail. Good, honest industries that have tight profit margins and rely on things happening in a predicatable manner. through this work I've been exposed to LEAN, TQM and JIT...tried and tested methods that deliver results in demanding environments where the difference between success and failure can be very small.

As I've moved into other arenas such as financial services, other service providers, telecommunications etc, I've noticed that for training at least, some of these principles still add value. 

Take Just-In-Time - the basic principle is that you don't hold stock, which reduces waste and the amount of storage space needed, thus reducing costs. It is about having “the right material, at the right time, at the right place, and in the exact amount” (Ryan Grabosky).

If we train people in the same way i.e. by providing them with the skills they need, at the time that they need them (not 3 months in advance), in a location that is realistic (such as their own working environment), and by the right amount (just enough for what they need to implement), then training has a very real and practical impact. It's all about transfer of learning - Give people what they need, when they need it and make sure that they can apply that learning quickly and hey presto - you see a difference.

Training for performance management is a great example of this - 3 months before the formal appraisals are due, train  people how to prepare for them. Two weeks before, train them how to run appraisals. It's fresh in the mind, the training is seen as relevant (so fewer people are likley to opt out) and it is immediately applicable to the business. 

OK, for some areas, this philosophy won't work.... with senior managers who need to develop 'ethical' leadership or learn political influencing for example, as it is almost impossible to identify when the next opportunity to apply the learning will occur. But for many people lower down the organisation, training can be planned in a 'just-in-time' way, and short training sessions, like Power Hour sessions, can really help to make the training manageable.

Why not check out our 22 topics to see which ones would add value 'just-in-time'?

By now, you are probably aware that Power Hour training has been designed first and foremost to give people basic skills in personal effectiveness, management and sales/service. So many people take on, or are promoted into a job without real training. This is a sad reflection on a businesses induction training - and if you need help with that then our friends at Keystone Development are highly recommended.

But the purpose of this blog is to highlight some of the mistakes that new managers make in the hope that forewarned is forearmed. So what are the typical problems?

And if you want further inspiration, we like these two blogs: The first is by Wesley Woods who addresses the problem of the unmotivated leader. The second is by Geoffrey Webb who offers some suggestions about why leaders aren't followed. 

A few weeks ago I got my son's school report. I was very pleased with it and with all the effort he had put in throughout the year. However, I must especially commend his teacher who managed to come up with at least 30 different ways of telling us that our son talks a lot.

From 16 months old, he's been talking in sentences and he only stops when he's asleep. But although this can be wearing, it is how he learns. He genuinely is spongelike and takes in everything that he hears. He learns by asking questions, by providing a commentary on what he's doing, and by listening to other children. Of course an auditory learning style is not that uncommon, and I'm delighted that he hasn't been told to shut up in the classroom. To do so would be limiting his learning.

This is one of the key reasons Power Hour is a live training format. So far we have resisted the temptation to put our learning online. That's not to say that e-learning isn’t useful: Of course it can be incredibly useful for certain people and with certain topics.

However when people talk about flexible learning, all thoughts tend to be about online methods. But with most online learning you have a solitary experience. For those with a visual learning style it may work very well, but for those who are more auditory and like to talk, or those who are kinaesthetic and like to touch, feel and do, the impact is going to be limited.

So when planning development for an organisation, make sure that live training remains part of the mix. It may feel a bit old hat, it may not be trendy, but there's a reason that it has been around for as long as it has – and that is because unlike any other medium, live training allows you to engage with all of the learning styles not just one.

Recently I had coffee with someone I met through networking. We soon discovered a small group of mutual acquaintances and naturally we discussed our opinions of them. In most cases we had similar views but in one we had very different perceptions.

I had always found this particular person likeable, easy-going, and friendly. My friend however found them aloof, rude, and slightly offensive. I couldn't believe that we were talking about the same person! I began to re-evaluate all the contact I've had with them, whilst at the same time defending this person to my friend.

The fact is no one sees us exactly the same way as someone else does. We all have different personalities, likes, dislikes, values, beliefs, expectations, and feelings. we react to things in different ways, and we express ourselves differently. The thing is, we make judgements about other people based on our own values or 'moral compass', and this is why we often see people (and in particular their behaviour) quite differently.

it also explains why friendship groups develop – we naturally gravitate towards people who are 'like us'. People 'like us' are easy to understand, communicate with, and work alongside. It takes more effort to get the same results when working with someone who is quite different to us. In fact we often interpret different as difficult, simply because we don't instinctively understand them. It takes more effort to work with that person.

In our latest Power Hour - Handle Difficult People, we aim to help people understand those differences, and provide practical advice for getting around them, and having more productive relationships. The key as always, is understanding. If you understand what is driving someone's behaviour, you are more likely to be able to react to it appropriately, and get the best out of that person and that relationship.

if you want to find out more, why not download our free key points sheet for a little taster? And next time you find someone difficult, try to pinpoint exactly what it is about them that is particularly different from you, and make an effort to acknowledge and respond to those differences.

I recently met with someone who asked my what inspired me to start Power Hour, and why I charge such a small fee for (in his words) high-end materials. My response was instant: I don't see why people should be denied training due to lack of funds.

In the current climate, training and marketing budgets are still being squeezed. Marketers have quickly realised that social media offers many of the benefits of traditional marketing for a fraction of the cost. How come training hasn't adapted the same way? Informal learning is taking off with some groups (notably those driven individuals who have a clear career goal), but for the vast majority of people who want 'to do a fair days work for a fair days pay', what is there?

Much training is still 'ego-led' by those trainers (who I refer to as the shiny-shoe brigade), who can talk for hours about how wonderful they are, and are gracious enough to share a few morsels of their experience for a substantial fee. Other training requires a significant commitment of time (by the employee), money AND time (for qualification-based courses) or technology (by the firm), which even large firms simply can't afford these days.

The problem is, that you can't just stop training either. Ok, you can put it on hold for a short while, but if you stop, your best people will start looking around for jobs in companies that will invest in them. And we all know that it costs more to recruit than to retain. If your people don't leave, standards will start to slip and your company will begin to look very second-rate compared to your competitors, and soon those 'savings' made on training are translating into loss of business.

So, Power Hour was designed to fill a need, and provide a choice to companies who thought there might not be one. Think where we would be if the only clothes we could buy were individually designed and tailored clothes from a top fashion designer? Many people whould only have one outfit, and half of us would be going around naked! Thank goodness for Matalan, Primark and George. We can all be clothed, at a reasonable cost, and still 'treat' ourselves to the odd designer outfit when we can justify it.

Thank goodness for Power Hour, that allows us to keep training in the tough times until we can get that eutopia of bespoke, accredditted, fully-funding training.

This story about the rocks and the jar has been around for many years, and the chances are you have heard it. But it's worth reminding people of it from time to time because the message is powerful. Our lives are being run at an increasingly fast pace, and at work we are all expected to keep doing more with less. To be successful it's more important than ever to plan our time, be clear about priorities and manage the 'monkeys' that land on our backs.

So, read the story and reflect. If you want more help with planning your time, check out our training session and key points sheet. We even have something to help you to manage your monkeys and retake control of your life!