learning re-imagined

Be The Market Surprise

Much of the conversations we get engaged in with customers often involve discussion of “How did other companies do it?” - discussions around benchmarking processes.  Yet most of the emerging ideas in leadership and talent development we hear from eminent thinkers, researchers and writers warn of benchmarking to mediocrity.  Stuart Hart, author of Capitalism at the Crossroads, has a dynamite quote buried in the middle of his book:

“A smart strategist gravitates toward ill-defined and ambiguous opportunities.  That is because once everything has been defined and reduced to standard operating procedure, there is no money left to be made.” - Stuart Hart

The point he is making, and the same point Jeffrey Pfeffer, Jonas Ridderstrale, Lynda Gratton and others have made in our interviews, is the same - to be the market surprise, instead of be surprised, you need to create unique and original ways of conducting your business.  Lynda Gratton calls this “signature processes.”  Red Hat is a great example.  We were chatting with a senior executive at Red Hat and I explained part of a presentation we could provide which would showcase companies with leading implementation practices and he stopped me and said, “Look I don’t mean to interrupt but I can’t bring that story in here.  At Red Hat we do it the Red Hat Way.”  He went on to say of course they don’t ignore the market landscape or operate in some creative oasis, but that once they make a bet on a product or service, they execute their way.  By doing it the Red Hat Way, they also build great culture and engagement because everyone feels they are part of true creation.

A lifetime ago around 2001, while leading a small start-up we got together our customer research and stories and dreamed up an online system which could aid the learner and leader to use, apply, track, and campaign on our video learning assets.  Then we built the system and when we took it on the road test, people said, “Oh you’ve built an LMS.”  A what?  “You’ve created a a Learning Management System, although it’s got some stuff we haven’t seen before.”  We had indeed built an LMS before we had ever heard of one.  Instead of benchmarking LMS vendors (whom we didn’t know existed), and listening to our customers instead, we created something unique and did it with passion and energy because we believed in our originality and our ability to create a killer app.  The tip coming from emerging leadership is this: pay attention to the market yes, but be bold and original in what - and importantly how - you execute.

By: Shawn Hunter

 

Dovetails

 

   

The word “dovetail” creates an image of furniture in my mind.  In the land of furniture, dovetail features mean quality.  Drawers that have dovetail joints are far more durable than staples or glue.  In a metaphorical term, dovetailing creates value in conversation as well as in furniture.  In my maiden posting to this blog, I will take the liberty to dovetail on Julie Ogilvie’s recent blog entry about a conversation.  Conversations can dovetail and create quality as much as furniture joints can create quality.

Julie wrote about Café and conversations and work feeling like an extended family.  She points to the customers that are an extension to our work family.  I am fortunate to work with a group of amazing professional Learning Consultants (LC).  The Learning Consultant team extends the SkillSoft family into our customer base, as Julie shared.  The LCs work with our customers on a daily basis collaborating on business objectives, program planning, marketing and communications and value measurement.  Clients benefit from years of combined experience and consistent best practices through partnership with our Learning Consultants.  As I have conversations each day with my team, they truly personify the extended family that Julie refers to. 

 

When it comes to family, I know I can count on my sister to tell me if my hair is a mess or if I have spinach in my teeth.  As a manager of this team, I can always count on the straight-shooting input from these consultants.  The sibling-like relationships we have across the team make it easy to pick up the phone and get the real story about what is happening across various industries.  They know what is important to customers.  As I ponder blog postings, I know I can count on the expertise of the LC team to share their ideas around those things that matter to me, to SkillSoft and to the extended family of customers. 

 

Dovetailing on Julie’s post is a fine start.  Dovetailing on what is happening across our customer base and in the world of our Learning Consultants creates a strong method that we will all find value in.  In future posts, I will expand on some of those strong joints and partnerships, allowing for learning.  Truly, isn’t that what this is all about?

By: Lori Neblung