Category: Entrepreneuring
Getting Unstuck: Generate Velocity to Achieve your Goals
By Kris Normandin, guest blogger Have you ever felt stuck? At some point in our lives, we all have. The larger question is, how do you get “unstuck?” This is what we set out to answer at Velocity Quest for Women. We provide a series of virtual, real-time programs for women who want to increase [...]Adopting Improv to Ace Instructional Design
Last month, Sheree Galpert, an Applied Improv practitioner and trainer, shared fundamentals of improvisation in EnVision’s blog. Sheree introduced three principles of improvisation: Be in the moment Use “Yes, and” Make your partner look good Sheree illustrated how instructional designers can leverage these techniques to be more effective in their work. After reading Sheree’s post, [...]“Begin with the end in mind”?
By Sheree Galpert, guest blogger “Begin with the end in mind.” That’s one of the key habits laid out by Stephen R. Covey in his best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. For instructional designers and trainers, that’s kind of a no-brainer: You have to know what you want your learners to get [...]Networking in 2022: Making the Most of the Experience
I scan the room, looking for people I know and for people I can meet for the first time. I walk up to the coffee urn, where someone I don’t know just filled her cup. After extending a hand, I introduce myself and ask her what brought her here today. Soon, I excuse myself to [...]Building a Path to Bravery
I was honored recently to have been interviewed by Ed Evarts about bravery in the workplace. Ed is a leadership coach, podcast coach, and author who helps successful leaders raise their visibility and value at their organizations. The topic hit home for me. Bravery, including professional courage, has resonated over the past year for us [...]How is your virtual network evolving?
My 2011 gorgeneering experience has guided me in recent weeks. In my need to find adventures a few years back, I thought I found the perfect one: it was advertised as “gorgeneering” and I pictured myself wading through the low and slow waters of a rocky gorge. I didn’t know I would first need to [...]A Bird’s Eye View from the Belfry
We recently took an amazing vacation, which included a couple of days in Bruges. Bruges is a UNESCO world heritage site because of its original medieval architecture throughout the city. During our first day in the center of Bruges, we were a bit overwhelmed. There was so much activity — horses with their carriages and [...]The Client/Vendor Relationship: Getting the Best Out of It!
4. What do you want out of the relationship? In our previous posts we shared client and vendor insights about scoping out a project, defining success, and choosing a vendor. Today, we examine what we each want out of the relationship – being aligned on this is an important factor in a fruitful project and [...]The Client/Vendor Relationship: Selecting the Right Vendor for Your Project
3. How do you identify and select the best vendor for your project? In our last two posts we shared client and vendor insights about scoping out a project. In this month’s installment, we offer suggestions for selecting the best vendor for a project. Veronica Clements, Client perspective I begin my search for a vendor [...]The Client/Vendor Relationship: Defining Success
2. Define success: How do you define what success will look like? In our last post we discussed problem definition. As part of that we delve into defining success. Veronica Clements, Client perspective As the client, an important part of preparing a request for proposal or discussing my needs with a prospective vendor is to [...]The Client/Vendor Relationship: Getting Off to a Great Start!
What happens when you are asked to take on more work than you can handle– either due to capacity or capability? Let’s say your manager just laid a huge project on you – to develop a new training curriculum for a group that has been having some challenges. Because you don’t have the resources you’ll [...]2019, Here We Come!
After a wonderful few days spent with family and friends, I feel reenergized and ready to meet 2019 head on! How about you? For many of us, the new year brings challenges, like reprioritizing our time so we’re focused on the right things or learning the next great tool or process or figuring out how [...]Warm nights, flip-flops, and networking? Yes!
Five Ways to Improve Your Networking Summer is an important season to focus on building your network. People feel relaxed and want to get out and mingle, so it’s easy to make new contacts. This does not, however, mean that networking itself is easy. While I enjoy networking, it’s definitely a skill — like any [...]A Trust Relationship: It Doesn’t Have to Be “Exhaust”ing
I have a 10-year-old car. It’s a great car – a silver Honda CRV with over 125,000 miles that’s whisked our family on many vacations, transported the kids to and from school, and conveyed me to many a work meeting. I take good care of my car, having it serviced (at the dealer!) whenever it [...]From Ambiguity to Clarity in Three Easy Steps
As instructional designers, we often confront ambiguity when we take on a new project, especially when working with a stakeholder who has already created, the process, tool, or content. It can be overwhelming to achieve clarity – to get our arms around the purpose of the proposed change, impact on performers and the organization, which [...]Team Learning Opens Minds — and Office Doors
Too often, we go through our workdays head down, nose to the grindstone, and office door shut (or cubicle door metaphorically so). A coworker may need help with something, but we get lost in a deadline, meeting prep, client appointment and are oblivious. Perhaps once in a while, we stop to touch base with our [...]Ride the Wave of Change – and Navigate Successfully
Change is hard and causes unease, anxiety, and at times, frustration. Every parent who has dropped a child off at kindergarten (or college) knows this! While change can be overwhelming or even scary, it is often necessary. Professional change brings its own set of challenges. How can you best navigate change at work? EnVision needed [...]Re-envisioning the Meeting, Part 2 – Meet, Close, and Follow-up
In part 1 of Re-envisioning the Meeting, we looked at how to prepare for and open a meeting. Now let’s look at facilitation, meeting conclusion, and post-meeting activities. Facilitate Actively The facilitator must consciously strive to keep participants on task to achieve the meeting’s goals. If you’re talking about an upcoming training launch, for example, [...]Re-envisioning the Meeting, Part 1
“Wow...what a GREAT, productive meeting!” When was the last time you heard someone say that? Hopefully the other day .... or has it been a while? Meetings have, sometimes fairly, earned the reputation of being timewasters at best, scheduled snooze-fests at worst. Too often, employees suffer through meetings until they are released from captivity, free [...]Can the Myers-Briggs Help You Achieve a Happy Medium?
Colleen and Stella both work at a medical device company and develop a catalog to market the products. Though they often complement each other well, recently they have reached a stalemate on this year’s catalog drop. Colleen, a product manager, wants to make sure the catalog hits the printer well in advance of her conservative […]