Assessment D&D

AlhamdulilLah, glory to Allah SWT for enabling me to gain the Statement of Attainment (SOA) in the design and delivery of assessment module under the ACTA series by Singapore National Employer's Federation (SNEF). This new competencies strengthen my conviction of getting it right at the onset of any undertaking and one has to take the time to research and elicit the root of the issue before proposing a solution.

Afternote: 2 CUs completed last year, 2 CUs this year, 2 more to go next year, insya Allah ameen ya Rabb. Already, I can see the workload piling up, as hinted by my beloved supervisor, alhamdulilLah ala kulli hal :)

Usabiliity Bootcamp

Had a blast this week at the Usability Bootcamp organised by the great guys at Pebbleroad (thanks guys!). Christine Perfetti shared great examples of user-friendly design and I met some great folks during the networking session. The information I gained will come in handy when I get started on the next project - revamping the company's website... and you thought Instructional Designers just design and develop courseware! Don't ask... that was a vent ;P

Afterthought: I stand by my conviction, that great design is truly about empathy :)

365

January came and is about to leave us. Alot has happened this month - some people are departing, some are transferring, some remain true to their conviction, some just gave up trying. Whichever camp you belong to, its your life and you have approximately 344 days to live it so take control.

I shall leave you with an interesting video about how the year, month and day were derived (subhan Allah!):

P/S: Happy birthday to dear SS, SL, YB and Azhar :)

San Jose

I was supposed to be at San Jose last week but due to certain circumstances, I could not be there. Nonetheless, I'm glad to be able to at least read what a good pal has taken away from the sessions there [thanks Maish for sharing] :)

Shelfari, Cool Stuff!

Recently, Maish introduced me to Shelfari. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first... then I spoke to Regy about it and he immediately subscribed to it.

In retrospect, I gave it a try and realised that I could actually gain much insights from other like-minded readers as well about the books they find of value. Some of them provided really smart insights and different perspective of the materials they've read.

So in essence, we have a meaningful network going on here. If you are keen to see what it is all about, check out my profile and the books I've read, reading and planning to read :)

The Design of Everyday Things - Great Stuff!

Met Rye @NLB for this session by Dick Powell and Richard Seymour. Was not expecting a great turnout - the room was packed with design students! Good stuff nonetheless especially some of the examples to illustrate good design.

In retrospect, I can't stress enough the importance of design by empathy, at least from an instructional design standpoint i.e. empathise with the personas of the product you are designing for. And its great to know that Design Singapore is set up to advocate a similar principle.

Let me end this blog by sharing this interesting article, "Bringing Your Personas Life" as well as an interview transcript between Maish and Don Norman. Enjoy!

Gurteen @Knowledge Cafe!

Suddenly KM is abuzz again; Must be due to the Learning Festival and the fact that KM Asia was on between 7 and 9 November. Had the privilege to meet David Gurteen... interesting lad! Unfortunately, was busy with organising the event to really reap the full benefits of his session. Judging from the happy sheet, it was great that everyone enjoyed the informal session and would request for more. Click here for some pictures from the session.

Btw, thanks to Maish, here is an interesting read on Innovation in Networks. Enjoy!

Sbarcea - The KM Lady!

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Thanks to Patrick Lambe, I had the privilege to meet Ms Kim Sbarcea from Thinking Shift yesterday over a KM session entitled "Establishing CoPs".

She is one of Asia Pacific's most experienced KM practitioners and has worked in KM roles in the legal and accounting industry before her current role at ASIC. She is currently best known for her work in building communities of practice and regularly advises organisations on this.

What I took away from the session was:

• How to identify and work with informal networks in the organisation
• The process of implementing CoPs (SOAP - Strategy on a Paper)
• The pitfalls, challenges and benefits of CoPs

An interesting new 'toy' a.k.a. tool I learnt was the Social Network Analysis (SNA) - the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, animals, computers or other information/knowledge processing entities.

These key learning points reinforced my understanding of Peter Senge's Learning Organisation concept as well as Michael Marquardt's 16 Steps into Becoming a Learning Organisation.

And this is essential info, folks, especially in an era where change is a constant. So it all ties nicely with John P. Kotter's philosophy. In his book, "Leading Change", he outlined the critical steps to successfully lead change in your organisation. My recommendation is to read the insightful reviews of the book before rushing to the bookstore or library... good stuff!

ROI - Important Stuff!

Today just proved my point - Only visionary leaders understand the importance of ROI. As highlighted by Jane Massy c/o ROI institute this afternoon, most don't understand it (which is a pity, really, at this age?!), hence label ROI as "too hard to do" (ignorance is bliss, eh?) and/or simply refuse to implement change management (let's not rock the boat mentalilty). I hope I will never work for such leaders... Need I say more?

I was privileged to have familiarized myself with Kirkpatrick's Model (view more details here and here) and Phillips' ROI Models during my earlier HRD days and I could follow Jane's arguments without feeling inadequate.

You could also read more about ROI by Jack Phillips. Jane also recommends Knowledge Advisor, a tool used to quantify impact of learning interventions on job performance (note, good stuff is never cheap)

Below are some interesting articles I found as well:
- Decoding value
- Measuring the ROI of elearning
- Five steps for valuing UXD

PS: Gutsy indeed for some people to think that they could master the art of ROI over a short period of time; HRD consultants have taken years to master this (mind you, people in the know could sniff if you are just 'smoking your way through', so don't put yourself in a precarious position and lose all credibility ... Or what's left of it, ha!)

Art of Voice

Studies show that effective communication is a result of 7% the words you use, 38% tone and pitch of voice and 55% body language but over the phone, the words you use account for only 16% and your voice accounts for 84%! - Experts.

You often hear people spending a huge sum of money on power dressing, personal trainers, face and body spa; The moment they talk on the phone, they are not in control of their voice - they just lost the opportunity of making a positive first impression. A pity, isn't it?

Jess and Vern, thank you for 'bringing the point home' - the need to work on owning our voice. Your genuine sincerity showed in the way you share your knowledge and expertise during the Voice Spa, organized by Art of Voice.

Appreciate your constructive feedback... And I discovered a few things about myself that I was unaware of (talk about 'voice hostages', what a revelation). I had a blast. Hmm, tempted to take up 1-2-3 next :)

For those interested to unlock your hidden voice, you should give it a go as well. You may just pick up broadcasters' tip as well! ;)

In Search of A Vision...

Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again, checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us. - A.J. Cronin

Read: Azzah's personal rambling during her moment of weakness (you've been warned!)

With the departure of great talents before me (I've been warned but no... the optimistic ME simply won't listen and wanted to experience 'it' MYSELF... stupidity/naivety/nobility... depends on how you see thing I guess but to me you won't know if you don't try, right? the opportune time has come to self-reflect on what I truly want in my career (versus just a JOB) while I rejuvenate my soul to a well-deserved break.

To go through the daily routine almost to the point of mindlessness without a broader picture in sight is something that I could not fathom. Its an uncomfortable feeling 'living in stagnation' ("where are we heading to?" keeps playing on my mind and it doesn't help that the company has gone through countless rounds of restructuring a.k.a. symptomatic folks!), wondering if 'the extra hours I put in is worth my while'("hey, if time away from family and loved one is not personal, then I don't know what is!" - Erin Brockovich), if whatever I utter will be used against me (out of context)... yada yada yada :(

As you reach a certain phase in your life, you look up to a visionary leader who could excite and motivate you (not that you are not self-driven) to achieve greatness, someone who believes in equal opportunity (no personal biasness, pls) and mutual respect for domain expertise (encourages you to be the movers and shakers) and takes inputs from the ground up (sanity check is being REAL)...

Someone who believes in human capital management (not juts filling the gaps with who ever is available... talk about optimal utlisation) and staff retention (this no staff is indispensable mindset has to go.... as staff leave, so will IPR), takes the time to plan proper KPIs and appraisal systems (going by gut feel/halo effect/unrealistic statistics is unfavourable); a credible leader who is knowledgeable but at times, is not afraid to say, "I don't know either, let's find the solution together" (well, no human being is PERFECT, right?) ... I miss that...

Its pointless 'fighting fire everyday with no permanent solution in sight'. When organizational symptoms that are pointing to the root cause goes on blind ears (and the fact of the matter is most of the long-serviced staff have been griping about it yet nothing is done; major OSD issue!) *sigh*... don't you think you are fighting a losing battle ALONE? Well, you know when its time to pack up and move on and look for like-minded peers ... R.I.P!

A note to the rest:
It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. - Alan Cohen

Get It?

The biggest obstacle to learning something new is the belief that you already know it.

Thanks, Rye for this loan... Hmm, still prefer the earlier book but hey, you always learn something new, right? Karl Albrecht's "Social Intelligence - The New Science of Success" is an easy read.

In a nutshell, S.I. is the ability to get along with others and to get them to cooperate with you. Being equipped with Nourishing S.I. Type means we are able to reduce conflict, create collaboration, replace bigotry and polarization with understanding and mobilize people towards common goals.

The book provides tips on how to avoid Toxic S.I. Type i.e. people with physiological blindspot such as - Social Halitosis (inconsiderate behaviour with willful disregard for social rights of others), Social Flatulence (lack of respect for accepted norms) and Social Dandruff (a behaviour that imposes one’s interest on others)... Suddenly I am able to attach such labels to some 'toxics' I know, ha!

It also provides helpful tools to develop Nourishing S.I. Type:

1. SPACE Skills - Situational awareness: “Social radar”, Presence: “Social bearing”, Authenticity: “Other’s judgment of us”, Clarity: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt as words are the structure of thought i.e. verbal map” (adopt ‘Route 350’ & ‘E-Prime’), and Empathy: “State of connectedness” (adopt ‘LEAPS’, “Do unto others as others prefer to be done unto” & “4-Minute Relationship Maintenance”)

2. SPICE Leadership - Skills, Procedure, Information, Consensus and Empathy (hot stuff!)

3. Art of Negotiation - Avoid argument as arguing is a self-reinforcing habit pattern, set up crucial conversation (BATNA) & adopt the 5-step value added negotiation

From a corporate angle, I learnt how to identify 17 patterns of corporate disorder or degradation(you may spot one or some in your company? Yikes!):
1. Attention Deficit Discorder
2. Anarchy
3. Anemia
4. Caste System
5. Civil War
6. Despotism
7. Fat, Dumb & Happy
8. General Depression
9. Geriatric Leadership
10. The Looney CEO
11. Malorganization i.e. Structural Arthritis
12. The Monopoly Mentality
13. The One-Man Band
14. The Rat Race
15. Silos
16. Testosterone
17. The Welfare State

From a personal angle, I can use S.I. to develop and maintain a meaningful relationship as it seems that the simplest things, when ignored would accummulate to an unwanted (not to mention, sad) ending. As the saying by Edna St Vincent Millay goes, “Tis not love’s going hurt my days, but that it went in little ways”.

Quotes I love from the book are:
“Any strength when taken to an unreasonable extreme can become a weakness. So deploy one’s strengths with a sense of strategy and understanding of the tradeoffs involved.” (Afterthought: This I found to be true so moral of the story is to keep things in moderation and before you leap forward, assess the situation; can't say enough about Strategy, Strategy & Strategy!)

“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still” – William Blake (Afterthought: I especially agree that there is no point arguing with toxics whose personal agenda is to impose their interests on you; for some its like an endless power play... hmm)

“The best captain does not plunge headlong nor the best soldier a fellow hot to fight. The greatest victor wins without the battle” – Lau Tzu (Afterthought: Its true that before you 'jump to conclusion' investigate FIRST and seek room for negotiation)

There was a special mention on Hofstede's work where cultural background also plays a part in one's S.I. level.

Other interesting read include EQ & MI.