The formula for Success!

"Success is not guess work, or luck or the breaks! Success is a matter of choice, of sticking to it and never giving up. No matter what's written, or what's said, "if you do not take advantage and take action NOW," it will not work. !!

What is "It?"

By "it" - I mean, "anything that is a goal or dream" that you wish to achieve someday."

Success is a matter of FACT. That's right! Success has a definite formula and not by whim or fancy.

Do the thing that you know that you ought to do and Success is YOURS. I GUARANTEE IT!

Have great and wonderful experiences."

The bottom line is that YOU are in charge of your destiny. Summon abundance into your life!

Thanks to Ian for sending me this.

Dealing With Difficult Delegates

Occasionally you end up having a confrontation with a delegate. There are a variety of forms of the "Difficult or Challengimg Delegates"

The Heckler: The Know All: The Whinger/Griper: The Whisperers: The Sphynx/Silent One:

When all conventional methods have failed, then why not try "Psychological Judo?"

1. The Heckler - Appoint them as the class "Devil's Advocate". Insist that he/she criticises whenever he/she feels that you are leading the class astray. Encourage negative remarks.
2. The Know-All - Agree with and amplify "know-all" contributions. Ask the "know-all" for expert judgement when none is forthcoming. Invite him/her up front to teach a short module. Refer constantly to their expertise in the subject.
3. The Whinger - Ask for a written list of whinges/gripes to help the class keep a sense of reality. Get him/her to read the list at the end of the day. Add to the list whenever possible!
4. The Whisperers - Tell them that time is short and ask those who don't understand not to interrupt, but to ask their neighbour!
5. The Sphynx/Silent One - Make the point that some people are shy and dare not participate. This doesn't mean that they haven't understood. Encourage shy ones not to participate.

By changing the "push" into "pull" you use the energy of the participant by giving them more of the spotlight than they wanted and they will use this energy to "pull back" to avoid ridicule or overkill.

Thanks to Trainers Pocketbook.

The Reality Of Role-Play

Having conducted hundreds of workshops throughout the length and breadth of Britain, I have usually found that there is always some form of resistance to the dreaded "role-play!"

"It's not real world!" "I wouldn't do it like that in real life!" "I hate role-plays!" These are just a few of the responses I have come across.

Let us just examine what role-play is.

Role-play is a form of a case study which is dramatised so participants can enact a human relations scenario under guidance of the trainer who will then elicit an evaluation of the performance in relation to previously taught principles and techniques.

Some guidelines for a succesful role-playing exercise:

- The scenario should be as realistic as possible

- It should be one that the participants can identify with; characters should be similar to those that exist in the organisation or represent typical customers (if it is a sales based role-play)

- Participants should live their parts

- The role-play should not be a threat for "timid" participants

- Trainer should play the "challenger" role

I prefer to refer to role-play as "real-play" or "simulation" as it is in fact, reality practice.

How would you feel if you had to have some major surgery and the surgeon told you that he / she had never done this before, but had "read the book?"

How confident would you feel in their ability?

I am sure that you would at least have wanted them to have had a practise or two, or may be more, wouldn't you?

Preparing to train

Questions you should ask yourself:

WHY? Why am I doing this training in the first place? What are the participants objectives? What should they be able to think or do differently as a result of the training?

WHAT? What can I communicate in the time available? What is the level of competence and commitment of my audience? What methods will I use? What audio/visual aids do I need?

WHO? Who am I training? Age? Nationality? Level? Language abilities? Prior experience? Expectations? Mind set?

WHEN? Is the timing of the event good for them and for me? Period of the year? Weekday/weekend? Morning? Afternoon? Evening? Business requirements?

WHERE? What will the environment be like? Location? Building? Room? Layout? Seating patterns? Interruptions? Temperature? Noise? Travel requirements for participants? Facilities for special needs?


A lot to think about!

Task & Time Management Matrix

Six Paradigms of Human Interaction

I have just been having a look at Dr Stephen R Covey's book - The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People (again) and in particular the above section, which I thought was worth sharing with you.

• Win/Win - and I quote - "Is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interaction. Win/Win means that agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and mutually satisfying."
• Win/Lose - "In leadership style, Win/Lose is the authoritarian approach: " I get my way, you don't get yours." Win/Lose people tend to use their position, power, credentitals or personality to get their way.
• Lose/Win - "Maybe worse than Win/Lose because it has no standards, no demands or expectations or vision." Lose/Win is usually used by people who are eager to please or appease. They seek strength from popularity or acceptance (probably Lose/Win will be evidenced more in Amiables and possibly Expressives rather than Drivers and Analyticals - see previous postings). Lose/Win people bury a lot of feelings, and unexpressed feelings never die. They may manifest themselves later in ugly ways. People who are constantly repressing, rather than transcending feelings towards a higher meaning find that it affects the quality of their self esteem and subsequently the quality of their relationships with others."
• Lose/Lose - "When two Win/Lose people interact, the usual result will be Lose/Lose Both will lose." Dr Covey quotes an example of a particualrly acrimonious divorce case where the husband was directed to sell his assets and turn over 50% of the proceeds to his ex-wife. So he sold his $10,000 car for $50 and gave $25 to his wife! When his ex-wife protested the judge discovered that he was doing the same with all his other assets!
• Win - People with the Win mentality don't necessarily want others to lose, they just want their own way and will leave it up to others to get theirs.

Which of these five is best? Well it does rather depend doesn't it?

You can't play a football match with a Win/Win mentality can you?

Often companies have incentives and prizes which means someone wins and someone loses.

If you value a relationship and the issue is not that important you may go for Lose/Win in some circumstances to genuinely affirm the other person.

Sometimes you would just want to Win. If, for example, there was a natural disater and your child's life was in danger, you would be concerned about the other people who may be at risk, but saving your child would be your sole aim.

"The best choice." says Covey "depends on reality. "The challenge is to read that reality correctly and not to translate Win/Lose or other scripting into every situation."

"Most situations are part of an interdependent reality and then Win/Win is really the only viable alternative of the five."

The sixth option is:

• Win/Win or No Deal - "which basically means that if we cannot find a solution that would benefit us both, we agree to disagree, agreeably."

Extract from The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Dr Stephen R Covey

Measuring Impact Of Your Training

Assessment or Evaluation?

Training has 2 key parts:

1. The quality of the training that has taken place. Have the participants enjoyed it? What excercises were used? What was the quality of the venue like? The quality of these can be assessed by completing questionnaires and talking and listening to the participants feedback.

2. And more importantly, the quality and value of what people have learnt as a result of the intervention. What learning has taken place? Have the people changed as a result and what will they will do differently that will be of personal benefit to them in terms of their own behaviour and performance and what does it mean to the bottom line of the organisation. The value of these can be evaluated.