ATD 2015: Recap and Survey Results

New! Exercising Influence: Third Edition

We’re pleased to announce the release of the 3rd edition of Kim Barnes’ best-selling book, Exercising Influence. Inspired by our most popular workshop, this vital resource offers a useful framework for making positive change and creating relationships that matter. It’s written for anyone who wants to achieve better outcomes at work, at home, or in the world at large.

Revised and expanded, this latest edition includes a wealth of updated examples and fresh resources. Kim also added new chapters on influencing through social media, managing a team, and understanding influence in light of the latest research in neuroscience and behavioral economics.

No matter your job, role, rank, or function, if you want to get things done you need to know how to influence up, down, across, and outside the organization.

Pre-order the book on Amazon

Tips From Facilitators For Facilitators
by Terri Dorsey, Director of Executive Development at Boys and Girls Clubs of America

While the trainer may have a great deal of knowledge about a particular topic, a great facilitator will carefully design learning experiences to take the focus off the trainer and allow for the content to flow naturally from the participants.

A simple design for a learning experience is not always simple to create. A lazy facilitator will throw content on the screen and rely on the progression of slides to lead him/her through content, allowing the participant to be a passive—and often sleepy—learner. A more elegant format draws on a cadre of facilitation tools to pull the knowledge from the room. Flipcharts, markers, and sticky notes are the best friends of an effective facilitator. Meeting and planning tools such as affinity diagrams, silent meetings, nominal group technique, brainstorming, and multi-voting are incorporated to keep participants active and engaged. Various processes for grouping participants for practice, feedback, and on-the-spot peer coaching are key parts of an agenda. In fact, an expertly designed program does not feel like “training” at all when participants walk away with real work accomplishments.

What skills are required for this type of trainer/facilitator? Successful facilitators of learning must be great listeners. They must be able to pull the salient points on any topic from the room. They must also be able to synthesize the comments into a bigger body of knowledge. These facilitators have high self-esteem, but low egos. They’re willing to give credit to participants for sharing their expertise and thank them for their contributions to the learning of the group. They take a back seat and allow the participants’ knowledge to shine. They also need to be skillful with a variety of meeting and planning tools, both in the design of the program and in the delivery—recognizing when an appropriate tool or process may need to be figuratively pulled from their back pockets.

With few exceptions, slides are a distraction, a crutch and not an aid to learning. And an effective facilitator relies not on jokes, scripts and platitudes but functions at a much higher level of cognitive ability—helping learners synthesize all that is occurring in the learning environment and apply it to their own organizations and situations.

New Opportunities, New Business, and Growth

We’re happy to report that 2015 is going strong! We’ve seen lots of opportunities with new and existing clients. We continue to have strong presence with pharmaceutical, biotech, and manufacturing companies globally, and we’re working on some very interesting projects in healthcare.

Higher education has become a significant market for us. For example, Exercising Influence is being offered state-wide in one of the largest university systems in the country. We’ve certified over 20 internal trainers, and we’re developing an e-learning module to support their needs.

We’re working in the government sector and we continue to deliver value to clients in financial services, insurance, technology, utilities, non-profit, and telecommunications. Most in demand are Exercising Influence, Intelligent Risk-Taking, Strategic Thinking and Managing Innovation.

Thank you for trusting us to partner with you and we hope that 2015 continues to be productive for all of us.

Barnes & Conti World News

We’re very excited to continue to work globally supporting the needs of multi-national clients. Just recently, we implemented Exercising Influence at a leading international fragrance and flavor company. We’re delivering 2-day workshops in the US and throughout Latin America using our talented worldwide network of local language trainers and translated materials aligning our content with the local culture.

We’re delighted to support our international partner, Equoranda, and help their pharmaceutical client extend innovation throughout the enterprise. With each global implementation, we learn how to continually adapt our programs to more fully meet client needs.

Nelson Soken Joins Board of Directors

Nelson Soken, one of our Executive Associates, recently joined Barnes & Conti’s Board of Directors. He has extensive corporate experience having held leadership positions at the Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, Baxter Healthcare, and Honeywell and has consulted to many client companies. Nelson inspires others to think differently and make a difference. We’re excited to add his tremendous insight and expertise to our Board.

Nelson is also a recognized thought leader on innovation and will be speaking at the 40th Anniversary Design Leadership Conference. Mark your calendars for September 27-29.

Introducing Our Newest Facilitators

Peter Small

Pete is a man of many talents. For two decades, he has coached emerging leaders and delivered workshops for top companies around the world—from Microsoft to PayPal to eBay—and has led groups as small as five and spoken to crowds as large as two thousand. Part coach, part therapist, part professional speaker, it’s no wonder clients describe him as a “rock star combination.”

Tawfiq Algargoush

With nearly three decades of experience in training, Tawfiq is a master of his craft. A skilled and dynamic professional, Tawfiq earned his MBA at the University of Liverpool and has delivered training workshops in countries as diverse as Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, and the United States.

Josephine Bellaccomo

Jo is a five-star trainer—authentic, full of verve and a pro at holding the room. Throughout the many years she has spent in the field, Jo has led professional development and technical training at Microsoft Advertising, taught at Long Island University, and published a book, Move the Message: Your Guide to Making a Difference and Changing the World, which was used in Columbia University’s Graduate School course, “Human Rights Advocacy.”

Marian Spector

Marian has extensive consulting experience and brings to the table the impressive if unlikely combination of both hard and soft skills. Educated in biology and computer science, certified in coaching and assessing emotional IQ, she has proven an invaluable resource in many different consulting projects. Marian is also active in the Agile, Project Management, and Technology Incubator communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ana Olivos, MSc.

Ana is a personable and professional organizational psychologist with a talent for building relationships. She divides her time between Santiago, Chile, where she works as expert consultant to large copper mining companies, and the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, where she conducts research on training and consulting and co-teaches on organizational dynamics.

Margaret Groh, PhD

With a PhD in the life sciences and an MBA in business, Meg is well equipped to help clients in the medical field. Meg is also the CEO of ReQuisite Biomedical, which means she’s a busy woman with an exceptional pedigree.

Christina Sloop, PhD

(Bio coming soon.)

Jennifer Webster

(Bio coming soon.)

 

Upcoming Public Programs

Consulting on the Inside

• September 29, Berkeley, CA

Exercising Influence

• September 30, 2015, Berkeley, CA

See the full schedule on our website and register online

News Flash:

Congratulations and kudos to Genentech and Kaiser Permanente—two clients who made Chief Learning Officer’s 2015 Learning Elite!

 

 

From Our Summer Recipe Extravaganza:

Curried Coconut Mussels a la Ami Jayne

from Lauren Powers, SVP of Business Development

This recipe was created and prepared by special request from my niece Ami Jayne, when she visited the beach over the summer. And, we always think of Jim, my brother-in-law and his late wife, Rita, who introduced us to the best and freshest mussels at their summer place in Prince Edward Island.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 chopped shallots or one onion, chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 14-ounce can unsweetened light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 pounds fresh mussels
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot.
2. Add shallots or onion and sauté.
3. Add fennel and sauté.
4. Add curry powder
5. Add coconut milk, wine, lemon juice and bay leaves and simmer 10 minutes.
6. Add mussels and boil until mussels open, about 6 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with cilantro

Can be served as a main dish over rice or as an appetizer.

Other recipes in our Summer Extravaganza:

• Summer Ceviche
• Trio of Summer Salads
• Beef or Chicken Kabobs (or Grilled Flank Steak or Salmon)
• Two Marinades for Grilling
• Beach Potato Salad
• Chocolate Ice Box Cake

 

 

 

 

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