Taking Stock…Stop! Look! Go!

In the world of today, things change fast! In fact, they spin out of control if you leave them unattended even for a short while.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that Instructional Design was a stranger who was gaped at and giggled upon, in the training and even the content development circles? Of course, I am not exaggerating – I know what some of us still happen to hear from some very senior people in the content industry: “ID? That’s all theory! Good to know, great to cast impressions! But the practical realities are different! Come down to Earth…Sweetie!” If that grated your ear – wait till you hear more…”ID? Oh, that’s plain common sense! Any programmer can do ID!” Are you screaming with aural pain yet? If not, I’ve got some more gems stashed away!

However, the point that I was hoping to make (and now hope to have successfully made) is that Instructional Design has arrived. The arrival of instructional design was a necessity – I mean, how long can one continue to mess up content…especially when it can be turned into gold by using some “common sense” and some “design principles.” Those very organizations, whose representatives once wrinkled up their noses and said, “ID, Bah! Who needs it?” are today recruiting instructional designers!

In fact they are going beyond recruiting instructional designers, they want the trainers to be good at ID (perfectly valid requirement, if you ask me!) they want the managers to know ID (good idea – especially if these managers would work in the training/content development function) they want the technical writers to know ID (it would help…right?)!

So the good news is that ID is in! That’s one side of the story. The other side is that many organizations are realizing the benefits of eLearning. Again, the story is quite similar to that of Instructional Design. Some years ago, only a handful of bravehearts would swear by the learning potential of eLearning! Organizations wouldn’t bother with online content in application-oriented areas – they’d rather organize on-ground training sessions while reserving online content consumption for non-essential trainings!

Things are changing on that front too. This change could be attributed to two reasons. Organizations are usually risk-averse (unlike individuals,) and they prefer to follow precedence. Another reason could be the overall recession in the global economy – it’s made companies review the available cost-reduction measures. Recently, The Economic Times spoke of the a(cute) cost-cutting measures by the retail chain of a large Indian Conglomerate! And when it comes to training, the best and the most modern method of bringing the costs down is – implement eLearning.

The point is – what are you doing? How are you keeping pace with this change that may revolutionize the entire training industry? Did you just jump out of the daze that my ramblings had put you in? Yes my friend, I am speaking to you… and I am speaking about you…you the corporate trainer of today! Tell me…how do you intend to stay in the lead?

Oh…so you want to know what I’d do if I were in your tidy shoes? I’d hang my shoes and run off to the Himalayas. I am serious…it’s quite a situation you’ve got there! But on second thoughts, I wouldn’t. I’d rather do the following:

• Take stock of my skills
• Take stock of my goal
• Analyze my goal to determine what new skills I need
• Do some arithmetic and find the gap
• Close the gap by acquiring the required skills

...and I’d do this exercise on a continual basis…say once every six months.

Did I hear you grumble?
No...? Oh I did, I am sure of it!
I think I even caught the words. You said, “But that doesn’t help…that list is too vague!”

Okay, so here’s the filling!

Take stock of my skills:
My skills…of course not! We are talking about your skills…right?
You are trainer – I’d bet one of my six hats that you are a great communicator, an excellent researcher, and an absolutely fantastic corporate firefighter. You probably have an excellent accent and fantastic presence of mind. This list of course comes nowhere near to the tenth of the list that you could create…so go ahead create one. It will keep you busy and motivated.

Take stock of my goal:
So what’s your goal? If I were standing with you, looking at the far horizon, following your line of sight…what should I see? I would see you as a successful and yet happy person…and you could be that if your growth kept pace with your ambitions. Write your goal down. You don’t have to show it to anyone (and if someone tries to peep over your shoulder to see it…growl and snarl!)

Analyze my goal to determine what new skills I need:
To be successful, what is it that you’d need? Well, it depends a lot on, what you define as success and growth. I would try to answer this question by analyzing what makes me happy. I’d probably be the happiest writing to help others. I enjoy writing and if others could gain from what I write, I’d be happy and consider myself successful. What’s your answer?

Think about it – and then list the skills that you need…they shall be the roadmap for your success. Those skills will become the milestones that will help you ensure that you put your efforts in the right direction.

So, you may need to:

• Have a great vocabulary.
• Design excellent trainings.
• Enchant the audience.
• Specialize in a particular kind of training.
• Blend classroom lectures with online training.
• Design online training content.
• Facilitate online training programs.
• Take my trainings beyond the four walls of the training hall.

I am not you so I can’t make your list, but I saw that you’ve got the general picture. Do I see a pencil and a piece of paper in your hands? That’s the way to go!

Do some arithmetic and find the gap:
Oh, it’s so simple. You don’t need help with subtraction…do you? You simply need to check what you need against what you have.

Close the gap by acquiring the required skills:
The moment you discover the gap, you’ll see a halo around your head (keep a mirror handy,) because you’d have been enlightened! So now you systematically go about building the skills that you lack. Don’t worry about what others may say. A. You don’t need to broadcast or telecast your learning adventures, and B. In race of growth and prosperity, those who run, win; and those who watch from the sidings, continue to sit and watch. They watch race after race after race, munching popcorn, wondering who’d win…laughing, goading, but never leaving their precious seat!

So you rein-in your high-velocity life and figure it all out…discover the secret of your success!

Author: Shafali R. Anand