Growth During COVID-19 Pandemic Helps Create a Better Future for Learning & Development

Nelson Soken, Ph.D., Chief Innovation Strategist

2020…what a strange year! During these unprecedented times, we wanted to share some of our experiences and observations that encourage us to see a brighter future in 2021 and beyond, and what it means for the important work we collectively do. Each of us has had our humanity, creativity, and stamina tested this past year and we are encouraged by the ways in which the learning community has managed ambiguity, quickly adjusted to the remote world and re-invented the way in which we serve our organizations through talent development and upskilling. The tremendous progress we have made in a relatively short period of time and how we have all risen to the occasion gives us hope for the future, post-pandemic.

I recently watched an episode of “Chef’s Table” where a family restaurant with three Michelin stars talked about the power of contrary thought, going against the tide, and thinking differently to achieve new heights and grow stronger. This reminded me of Carol Dweck’s research on a fixed versus a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe their intelligence, skills, or talents are set traits inherent in whom they are. People with a growth mindset believe they can develop their basic abilities through effort and a continuous love of learning and developing. During these times, a growth mindset also requires us to be willing to experiment and fail so we can learn and move forward. If there was ever a time to embrace a growth mindset over a fixed mindset, it is now!

What’s been amazing to us over the last year since the pandemic took hold of our lives is to experience the spirit of a growth mindset with our clients. Our clients and we at Barnes & Conti have been pushed in ways that have forced us to embrace a growth mindset that values continuous learning and improvement. We list these observations in no order of priority and hope you are encouraged as much as we are:

• Making the Switch Early Rather than Waiting and Hoping for the Best
  We have seen clients respond to the pandemic in a variety of ways in terms of urgency to shift training from in-person to virtual. Organizations that made the shift quickly have found value in addressing current business challenges and increased employee engagement and networking. For example, a Fortune 500 client made the switch to virtual training in March and has had employees around the world wrestle with and make progress on strategic imperatives that they are currently facing which they would otherwise not have been able to work on.
• Piloting and Trying Things Out
  We have observed clients’ willingness to experiment, pivot, and adapt with an understanding that the goal is to make progress rather than achieve perfection. Collaborating with clients as partners to convert live face-to-face programs into engaging live virtual learning journeys has been a wonderful growth experience. From selecting the virtual platform, to working out the right tempo and customized designs for unique participant groups, to carefully piloting programs and then upgrading the content based on immediate participant feedback, clients have been terrific design partners and collaborators. It has been an iterative process and we have all learned a lot from one another along the way.
• Recognizing that Pre-conceived Assumptions May Not Be Correct after Trying Things Out
  We are all learning that assumptions we have held may or may not be totally correct. For example, the notion that in-person learning experiences are richer and always better has been challenged by feedback we have received. Feedback has been comparable to what we see with in-person learning experiences and the virtual nature of our converted programs has the advantage of providing global access to a broader range of participants. This has enriched networking and given more people the opportunity to participate. Another client shared that rather than reducing productivity and employee engagement during the pandemic (which was their assumption), they have found that employees are as satisfied, engaged, and productive as they were in the office. And there is a need to connect and experience something more than fighting fires in the daily grind. We were surprised by how much our clients craved learning and engagement and welcomed the opportunity to learn something new in a new way as they were managing their remote lives.
• Looking to the Future and Recognizing that There Will Be a New Normal
  It has been professionally satisfying to work with clients who have adapted so quickly in providing their employees with learning opportunities. In addition, clients are already recognizing that we will never go back to the pre-pandemic world. Many of the shifts we have made, such as the acceleration of digital and hybrid learning and a variety of work arrangements will stay around for good and only serve to enhance the organization’s success. We celebrate the variety of learning opportunities in diverse formats, mediums/media, and platforms to maximize organizational learning and business results.

As we reflect on the unprecedented year we have all experienced, we are encouraged by the resilience, creativity, perseverance, and enthusiasm of our clients. It is a testament to their commitment to organizational development and learning. The future of talent development will require innovation, reimagining, and a growth mindset that demands continual learning, experimentation, and a desire to create a new future. Based on our experiences over the last year, we see a bright, albeit challenging and different, future!

Thanks for your great partnership and collaboration. We have learned and continue to learn so much from all of you!

In this Newsletter:

• Growth During COVID-19 Pandemic Helps Create a Better Future for Learning & Development, Nelson Soken, Ph.D., Barnes & Conti Chief Innovation Strategist
• Holiday Memories and Hopes: Connections and Thoughtfulness, A conversation with Kim Barnes, Eric Beckman, Joel Kleinbaum, Lauren Powers, Heller Rathbone, Nelson Soken, and Nermin Soyalp
• The Barnes & Conti Catalog of Programs for 2021
• Our 20th Annual Virtual Feast and Featured Recipe
• Featured Art (above): “Wood Scene with Birch Trees and Ducks” by Edward Mitchell Bannister (African American/Canadian artist, 1828-1901)

Holiday Memories and Hopes: Connections and Thoughtfulness

A conversation with Kim Barnes (CEO), Eric Beckman (COO), Joel Kleinbaum (Web & IT), Lauren Powers (SVP Business Development), Heller Rathbone (Finance Mgr.), Nelson Soken, and Nermin Soyalp (Curriculum Design)

In our Thanksgiving newsletter, we shared suggestions on how to make our safer, smaller gatherings meaningful. For this newsletter, Nelson suggested a conversation about favorite holiday memories, along with a hope for post-Covid times. As people began sharing, a theme emerged. Many of the best memories were about connections, small things, and thoughtfulness.

Lauren: My fondest memory of Christmas was getting to celebrate the holiday for the first time. I grew up Jewish so Christmas was a bit of a lonely day. When I started dating my husband, Bob, who was raised Catholic, I got to experience a purely magical “Christmas in Connecticut”. We gathered with three generations of his large, boisterous family on Christmas Eve sharing Polish, Italian, and Irish specialties. We awoke Christmas morning and gathered around a tree adorned with “clothespin” figures made by my husband and his siblings in their early years. Scrumptious smells filled the house as my mother-in-law hosted another gathering. Although this will be the first year we will not travel to Connecticut, we will find a way to keep that extended family connection intact.

Nermin: I immigrated to the U.S. around 15 years ago. For me, the holidays meant, “Oh, I need to mark my calendar, so I know when the grocery stores are closed.” As a Muslim from Turkey, the holidays did not have the same meaning as they do for many Americans who celebrate.

One Christmas, I lost track of the date. My sister (who was visiting) and I were hopelessly looking for an open restaurant for dinner. We finally found a Pakistani restaurant, and I was so grateful that they chose to work that day. On a not-so-crowded night, my sister and I happily enjoyed a big meal and a cozy shelter as the rest of the city closed down. I felt the warmth of family, sisterhood, community, and delicious food.

Joel: I grew up Jewish in the Midwest. Although we did what we could to make Hanukkah meaningful, it still felt lonely. As a young adult, I found myself in Los Angeles with a number of Jewish friends and co-workers. Almost all of my Jewish friends had a Christmas tradition of going out for Chinese food, as many Chinese restaurants were actually open on Christmas! I began a tradition of making Americanized Chinese stir-fry on Christmas Eve for a large gathering of friends and their families. Although the preparation was daunting, we created a cherished and memorable family-style celebration.

Kim: When I was first married, my then-husband (a graduate student at Penn State) and I wanted to have a Christmas tree. I also grew up in a Jewish family, so I didn’t have any preconceived notions about how one should look. We had just enough money to buy and cut down a scraggly little pine at the local cut-your-own lot. That left almost no money for decorations, but I did have a roll of red ribbon, some popcorn, and a bag of cranberries, so our tree decorations were homemade but surprisingly cheerful and attractive. In later years we added small white lights, our children made the popcorn and cranberry chains, and we created some awesome ornaments from gold-sprayed sweet gum tree seed balls and parts of egg cartons. I don’t think we had any store-bought ornaments for decades. These days I seldom have a tree – except perhaps a rosemary bush formed in the shape of one – but even with that, a string of small white lights and red ribbons tied in bows at the end of branches are the primary decorations. The smell of rosemary and that of bayberry candles brings back happy holiday memories.

Eric: When I was 12, my mother gifted me with an omelet pan for Christmas. I wanted nothing else. On TV, Julia Child demonstrated how to make a proper French omelet, and the only thing I didn't have was the correct pan. It was an expensive gift considering my single mom's limited income, and she wasn't sure it would actually get used. She needn't have worried, as once I had that treasured tool, I began making omelets of every kind.

That special omelet pan lasted me well into my 20s when I lost most of my stored possessions to a flood while away traveling. By that time, the pan provided omelets to dozens of impressed friends and roommates, and it taught me the great joy of feeding others.

In this year of isolation and lock-down, I most miss the shared experience of enjoying culinary delights among friends and making new friends in the process. My wish for the new year is that everyone in need of a meal will have one, and that we are all able to “break bread” with family, friends, and acquaintances alike as soon as possible.

Heller: My holiday memory is also about food. My mother was Chinese from Hawaii and my dad was a Caucasian guy from SoCal. Our holidays were a mish-mash of cultures – nowhere more apparent than in our Christmas breakfast. My father always cooked us his version of fried rice, a tradition that all the kids follow to this day. The ingredients were what you might expect for fried rice: rice, egg, onion, celery, and soy sauce, with the strange addition of bacon. This is enjoyed with either soy sauce or ketchup, depending on one’s preference.

Though we continue to make it to this day, I’m afraid none of us has been able to capture the essence of the dish. I wish I hadn’t been so focused on opening presents and had paid more attention to the master’s preparation.

Nelson: Like Eric, my memory also has to do with a gift, from when I was a very young kid growing up on a sugar plantation on the Big Island of Hawaii. One Christmas, I got my first new bike. Looking back now, I realize the sacrifice my mom and dad made for me. It was one of many sacrifices they made that has endured ‘til this day.

My wish for the New Year is that we get through the pandemic more unified and that we can all remember a few things we learned and new habits we formed that we take forward into the future.

Lauren: My wish for 2021 and beyond is that we find relief from the anxiety of a pandemic, and carry on many of the silver linings we have discovered during this difficult year. May we all be healthy and at peace!

Joel: I have a very specific hope for post Covid, and it has to do with people realizing how much we need the arts, especially music (which is what I do as a bassoonist when I’m not working for Barnes & Conti!) and that the performing arts will come roaring back. I particularly miss our post-Christmas “Bachxing Day” concert every December 26 (all-Bach extravaganza) and the joy it would bring to the audience.

Kim: My hope for after Covid is that the experience teaches us something about community – that we realize how connected we are; how dependent on the thoughtfulness and protectiveness of family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. We are an individualistic society, but that doesn’t mean we have to be a selfish one if we understand that our own health and well-being is deeply tied to that of the larger world.

So whatever you celebrate, and whomever you are able to celebrate with, look for the little things and try to make and preserve the connections and the thoughtfulness that makes the holidays so memorable. All of us at Barnes & Conti wish you a healthy and happy holiday season and beyond.

Barnes & Conti Catalog of Programs

Barnes & Conti has many offerings in six areas of competency:

• Influence and Collaboration
• Innovation and Risk-Taking
• Decision-Making and Problem-Solving, 
• Leadership
• Internal Consulting
• Change Management

Most of them are available as online, virtual learning journeys, and several more will be available soon!

If any of these areas strike a chord with you or your organization, check out our updated catalog; you might find some topics that resonate with your 2021 training needs.

View latest catalog of offerings.

Contact us for more information about any of these programs or areas of competency.

Our 20th Annual Virtual Feast

Barnes & Conti continues our tradition of sharing some favorite recipes with you.

• Appetizer or Main Dish: Duck Confit with Brussels Sprouts
  Kim Barnes contributed this holiday favorite of hers, which is perfect for a smaller holiday dinner.
• Main Dish: Stuffed Cabbage as Good as My (Grand) Mother’s (see below)
• Main Dish: Soy Braised Chicken with Dried Mushrooms
  Joel Kleinbaum contributed this recipe for those like him who may have a tradition of Chinese food on Christmas.
• Side Dish: Sweet Potato and Gruyère Gratin
  Martha Legare, a long-time facilitator and consultant for Barnes & Conti, contributed this rich and elegant recipe.
• Banana Blueberry Loaf (or Muffins)
  Nermin Soyalp, Barnes & Conti Curriculum Design and Development Consultant, contributed this sweet recipe to go with tea or coffee.

• Dessert: Baked Pears
  Lauren Powers shares another family favorite recipe.
• In case you missed our Thanksgiving recipe collection, the Virtual Feast also reiterates Kim Barnes' recipe for Mixed Green Salad with Figs, Gorgonzola, and Pecans, Eric Beckman's rendition of Roasted Butternut Squash with Shallots and Pomegranate, and Elaine Turcotte's classic Hot Spiced Apple Cider.
  

Featured Recipe: Stuffed Cabbage as Good as My (Grand) Mother's, Lauren Powers, SVP Business Dev

My father loved his mother’s cooking. Her stuffed cabbage was revered and legendary. My poor mother only wanted to please him by preparing a dish that would meet his exceptionally high standards. She obtained her mother-in-law, Rose’s, recipe, and on several occasions early in their marriage, she labored away in the kitchen and made him stuffed cabbage. With each attempt, he would remark, “It’s good, but not as good as my mother’s”.

After often hearing that hers didn’t quite measure up, my mother decided she had enough and she would trick him. She asked my Grandma Rose to prepare her stuffed cabbage but she planned to pass it off as her own that night at dinner with my father.

When my dad arrived home from work, dinner was waiting and Mom was armed with “her” stuffed cabbage. He took one bite and declared, “Now, this stuffed cabbage is as good as my mother’s!” I guess he knew what he was talking about!

Ingredients:

• One large head of cabbage
• One large pot of salt water w/ 2 tbsp salt (if using boiling cabbage method: see method, below)

For the filling:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 - 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 onion grated or diced finely
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp sour salt (you can buy it in a Jewish market)
• 1 cup sugar
• ˝ -1 tsp. powdered ginger
• 1 tbsp. salt
• Paprika to taste
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 2-3 small cans of tomato sauce, 8 oz each

Method:

1. There are two methods for preparing the cabbage leaves according to my aunts (who gave me the recipe) I go with the boil method, but you be the judge! The other method is to freeze the cabbage overnight, defrost, cut out core as it defrosts and the leaves fall away
2. Make stuffing by mixing together stuffing ingredients.
3. Make sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients except the tomato sauce and boiling it for 5 minutes.
4. Roll stuffing in cabbage leaves. If stem of leaf is too tough, cut off the stem core part so it will be more flexible. Put meat in center of leaf. Fold over the sides and roll from the bottom.
5. Keep rolling leaves.
6. After using all meat, if there is any cabbage left, shred it and place in large ovenproof pot with sauce mixture. Add the 2-3 cans of tomato sauce. Taste the sauce to make sure there is enough sugar and sour salt; it is a delicate balance. Make adjustments if needed.
7. Place cabbage rolls seam side down and bring to a boil.
8. Cook over low flame 2 hours or until sauce thickens and it tastes right.
9. As Grandma Rose says, “You’ve got to keep tasting!”

Serves 6

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