During our Mind Tools Expert Interview, the U.S. professor, founder and strategist shared with me stories of how her father instilled a problem-solving attitude in her and her brother. This came to fruition when, with his guidance, the youngsters invented a tidying tool for local diners that was quickly adopted and mass produced.

Marchand told me that that experience – at the tender age of 13 – taught her two things. First, that children are boundlessly creative, and as adults, we can all "tap back" into that spirit. And second, that every successful innovation has to solve a problem that’s a genuine pain point for the customer. 

Be Curious to Innovate

In this clip from our conversation, she offers advice on how to home in on the problems that can lead to great innovations. According to Marchand, it’s all about employing your curiosity, developing observation skills, and asking great questions.

Marchand’s innovation process starts with identifying the "right" problem to solve. Sometimes, a problem may look like it’s caused by one thing when, in fact, something quite different is behind it. Other times, we may think there’s no problem at all. We can get used to long wait times and faulty tech.  

Innovation Begins at Home 

My interviewee said, "The best problems to solve are the ones that you have personal involvement with." A case in point that I’ve noticed in my own life is the variety of ways that publicly funded doctors’ offices try to meet the huge demand for their services here in the U.K. 

Some practices offer patients appointments on a "first come, first served" basis. As each slot fills, availability tightens to the point where patients end up being offered dates that are weeks ahead. But they want action now. 

Other offices run a daily appointment book. Call from 8am and hope to grab one of that day’s slots – along with dozens of other patients scrambling for the same thing. You have to prepare yourself for a long wait on the phone, and when you finally get through, you may be told there’s no space that day. Try again tomorrow. 

Some practices operate a nurse triage system, with nurses talking to patients before any appointment is made. This may weed out time wasters and simple admin. But, by definition, nurses don’t have the same diagnostic training or experience as doctors. What if they make a wrong call? 

I’ve always been impressed by the solution offered by my own healthcare center, which is a mixture of the above. If you want a consultation with a doctor, you can call in the morning and leave your name and number, and a brief description of your issue. Then a senior doctor will call you back quickly, bringing all their authority and medical knowledge to bear. They decide if you need to be seen that day or later, and they can give instant medical advice over the phone as well. 

At first glance, the "pain point" in this scenario appears to be the desire to see a doctor. But it’s actually the desire to know if you need to see a doctor. Face time with a doctor when you don’t need it is a nuisance for everyone. So a short call with a senior doctor before an appointment is even made addresses the "right" problem.  

Step by Step Invention

During my conversation with Marchand, I was reminded of an event I covered a few years ago in central London. It was a "design hackathon" attended by around 100 teenage girls, who were invited there on a Saturday for a fun day of learning. 

The point was to teach them a five-step process to innovation, the first two being researching and defining a suitable problem. Sound familiar? The other steps were: to think through solutions, create a prototype of the best one, and test it with potential users. 

The girls were put into groups, each of which had to come up with an innovation by applying those five steps. During the day, they had access to lots of making materials, from cardboard and glue to feathers, straws and balloons. This was for their prototypes. 

The solutions they came up with were inspiring, ranging from a magnetic levitation hospital bed, through a smart fridge to help people cook nutritious meals, to a teaching app that allowed users to select their preferred level of language complexity. 

Women and Innovation 

I think Marchand would have approved of this event for girls. Women innovators still face unique challenges, and she devotes a whole chapter to this in her book, "The Innovation Mindset," exploring what the sticking points are, why they happen, and how to change things for the better. 

"When we look at the companies that are invested in, still only around two or three percent of founders or co-founders are women," she points out.

Her aim is to help "lift women up and get them to think more strategically, creatively, about being innovators and know that this is something that’s available to them."

For a few dozen young women in London, at least, I’m pretty sure that message has landed. 

8 Ways to Innovate

Mind Tools Club members and Mind Tools for Business licensees can listen to my full 30-minute interview with Lorraine Marchand. It comes with a complete transcript so you can easily review all eight practical steps in her innovation model while being inspired by her encouraging and creative attitude.

If you're not already signed up, join the Mind Tools Club now to gain unlimited access to 2,400+ resources, including our back catalog of 200+ audio Expert Interviews. And to find out more about Mind Tools' enterprise solutions, you can book a demo with one of our team.

Meanwhile, you can read more from me, Rachel Salaman, by searching the Expert Interview blog topic.

Your Turn!

Have you seen a problem that no one else has spotted or knows how to fix? What innovative ideas do you have, and how will you test them? Share your innovation successes and failures in the Comments, below!

The post "Become an Observer Every Day!" Lorraine Marchand on Innovation appeared first on Mind Tools.

If you don't set resolutions, congratulations! If you do set them, you'll most likely ditch them at some point in the next 12 months.

According to some studies, nearly half of all Americans regularly make New Year resolutions (incidentally, just over a third never do), but fewer than 10 percent of people are successful and achieve a positive end result.

So, how are we supposed to reach our dreams, and set achievable goals?

Hope Instead of Resolution

Well, here's the alternative I can offer you: a Hope Letter. I've been testing it with my coaching clients for the past 15 years and it works. And here's why.

Drawing upon extensive research, just over two decades ago, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Kansas, C. R. Snyder, wanted to figure out what role hope played in reaching one's goals. He found that having a goal, though very important, was not enough on its own. We need two other ingredients: pathways for achieving our goals and a belief in our ability to reach them.

A Resolution for Any Time of Year

So, the process of constructing a Hope Letter is relatively easy. First, date the letter one year from the day you sit down to write it.

Second, write it as if everything in your life (career, health, relationships, finances) has gone the way you hoped it would. Write about all aspects of your life and what specifically you did to have such a fabulous year.

You can write a letter anytime. You don't have to wait for the start of the New Year or your birthday. You can write your Hope Letter whenever and wherever you want. Just set yourself a reminder to look at it again in exactly one year. Better yet, share it with someone close to you and ask them to mail it back to you.

Surprise Yourself Next Year

We always feel better when we're planning a positive change in our lives. It's a proactive act, something we can control and guide. And, as our lives move on and we get older (and hopefully a little wiser), the desire to take steps to "make things happen" can strengthen.

Always remember that some of what you write in your Hope Letter will not come true. But I think you'll be surprised by just how many things do. So, who has the courage to write a Hope Letter?

... ... ...

Margaret H. Greenberg is an executive coach and international speaker. She is co-author with Gina Greenlee of the 2021 book, "The Business of Race: How to Create and Sustain an Antiracist Workplace" and, with Senia Maymin, of “Profit from the Positive: Proven Leadership Strategies to Boost Productivity and Transform Your Business.”

You can hear Margaret and Gina in a future edition of the Mind Tools Podcast. And Mind Tools Club members can hear our review of Margaret and Senia's book, here.

This blog has been adapted from one originally published elsewhere on February 26, 2015, under the title, "Be a Positive Deviant – Write a Hope Letter."

Another way to look to the future with hope – and to achieve success – is to join the Mind Tools Club and access our thousands of career-boosting resources!

The post Replace Your New Year Resolutions With a Hope Letter appeared first on Mind Tools.

Some of your experiments work, some don't. Some even hurt. But if you learn the right lessons, experimenting is how you grow.

Test the Water, Fight the Fear of Failure

But as adults, experimenting can feel like a much riskier business. Trying out a new approach might make things a bit better. Then again, it might also make them worse. And if something ain't broke… why invite the jeopardy of trying to fix it?

Organizations can't afford to stand still, though – especially in times of crisis and change. So how can we try out new things and ensure that we learn useful lessons, without putting everything on the line?

Ill-Judged Experiments Can Test You

In many of the places I've worked, the approach to innovation has been one of "testing it by doing it."

Like the time I was at a radio station, where the bosses were determined to make big changes. Unfortunately, they decided to do all their experiments at once. So we recorded new jingles, redid our logo, altered show times, and completely revamped the playlist. But the overall feedback was terrible, and audience figures plummeted.

Not all the results were negative, though. It was just that there was no way to unpick the successes and failures from within all the different things we'd done.

And with no means of pulling back on anything, we just kept pushing forward, making even more changes. That was until enough damage had been done. Before long, the whole station had to be dismantled, and the company was back at square one.

More Lessons in How Not to Experiment

There were similar problems when I worked in elementary schools. There, new ideas about assessment systems, support schemes or teaching styles were often based on people's instincts, or the desire to chase trends. Then tested on everyone at once.

We had little hope of understanding the impact. We didn't know how things would have gone if we'd done nothing. And when things didn't work as hoped, we'd usually come so far from our previous ways of operating that it was impossible to find our way back.

But Sometimes Experimentation Works!

So I picked up "Experimentation Works," by Stefan H. Thomke, knowing that workplace experiments, actually, often fail. I found even more examples in Thomke's book of tests that had done more harm than good.

But I also learned about another side to experimenting – and discovered why some of my old teams had been getting it so wrong.

Trying new things will always involve risks. So, plan your experiments carefully – and always with safety in mind. Experiment early, expecting lots of things not to work. Go for small improvements. Keep your tests as contained as possible. And only implement changes for everyone when there's proof that they're right.

In many ways, it's a simpler approach than the hectic, "best guess" one that I'd been used to. But at its heart is a scientific way of thinking that offers rich and reliable results. And it lets you meet complex new challenges with the feeling that you're already a step ahead.

Experimental Proof

In my current job, I've seen successful experiments at first hand. Granted, my industry has advantages when it comes to testing. In online learning, we can trial small changes in controlled conditions – one at a time, and with little or no risk to the business. We can also run our tests on just some of our customers, without damaging their experience.

But I don't think it's just about the industry you're in, or even the processes you use. It's also about your attitude to experimentation.

If you can get away from the idea that only big, leader-led discoveries count, and that everything needs to be tried at once, urgently, on everyone… then I'm convinced that you can make experimenting work. Wherever you work, whatever you want to improve.

Curiosity, Care and Challenge

"Experimentation Works" shows that, instead of throwing every idea into action, successful organizations puzzle out the best way to test each one in turn. They encourage curiosity, but they also help their people to work scientifically. They make big progress through lots of small steps.

And by creating communities of experimenters, they keep challenging what's possible. That lets them roll out enough proven ideas to progress on a grand scale.

An experimental company like Google, for example, can easily run 25,000 tests in a year. That's going to reveal lots of ideas to reject before they do harm. But it will also highlight plenty to adopt with confidence.

Test Right, and You Can't Go Wrong

The more uncertain the world becomes, the more it pays to test things properly before implementing them. "Experimentation Works" warns us that you can't rely on instinct, or on what's worked in the past. And you can't just hope that everything you try will go the way you planned.

It's boosted my confidence that experimentation can work – if you do it right. Your tests may not produce the results you expected. But if you run them properly, they'll always teach you something valuable.

After all, from childhood onward, it's often by learning what doesn't work that we find out what does.

Downloading our "Experimentation Works" Book Insight

We review the best new business books and the tested classics in our monthly Book Insights, available as text or as 15-minute audio downloads.

So, if you're a Mind Tools Premium Club member or corporate user, download or stream the "Experimentation Works" Book Insight review now.

If you haven't already signed up, join the Mind Tools Club and gain access to our 2,400+ resources, including 390+ Book Insights. For corporate licensing, ask for a demo with one of our team.

What's your approach to experimentation at work? Join the discussion below and let us know!

The post In Testing Times, Test Everything! appeared first on Mind Tools.

"We are not born with abilities. This comes from practice, persistence and perseverance."
– Debasish Mridha, American physician and author

About This Week's Chat

We moved into a new house recently, after having lived in an apartment for nine years. Long before the move took place, I told my husband that as soon as the move was complete I would get a dog.

Many years before moving into the apartment I had kept Rottweilers. Although many people don't like them, I think that they're a misunderstood breed. Moreover, they're often not kept in the right conditions, or by the right type of owner.

I planned on getting a purebred Rottweiler puppy, and I even started thinking of names. One name that kept coming to my mind was Kaiser, so Kaiser it was.

A Dog Tale Starts

About a month after we moved into the house, I sat browsing Facebook. A friend of mine – who also owns a Rottweiler – tagged me in a post from Rottie Rescue South Africa. He commented that I should consider adopting the dog that he'd tagged.

When I clicked on the post, my heart almost stopped. It was one of the most beautiful Rottweilers I'd ever seen, and his name was… wait for it… Kaiser!

When I'd gone through the selection, approval and introduction process, it was finally time to go and fetch Kaiser and bring him home.

Resistance From Everywhere

Almost everybody that saw him, or that I spoke to, told me I was mad, that I shouldn't keep him, that they would never do it. He was "trouble on four paws."

Apart from the wonderful folks at Rottie Rescue, I only had three supporters: my husband, my friend who'd suggested the adoption, and my stepfather (a dog lover who was also a military dog handler when he was young).

Despite all the negative opinions, I persisted. Kaiser was my dog.

Hurricane Kaiser

To say that the first few days were disastrous would be an understatement.

I knew that Kaiser had been waiting for a whole year to be adopted – not because there was something wrong with him, but simply because Rottie Rescue had to find the right person. So, I didn't know how the "kennel stress" would make him behave.

Let's be clear, Kaiser is a big pooch. He's three years old, weighs 52 kilograms, and has a set of teeth to match. When he arrived, he had the manners of a six-month-old puppy!

While it's easy to discipline a puppy, it's a bit different to discipline a fully grown, slightly stressed dog. I couldn't leave him alone even for a few minutes because I never knew what he would get up to.

Feeling Overwhelmed

At times I felt totally overwhelmed. More than once I just sat on the stairs and cried, and asked Kaiser, and myself, what I had gotten into. Quite a few times I considered returning him, but something in me refused to give up.

I couldn't allow the situation to get the better of me. And, when he looked at me with his big doggy eyes, I forgave him and decided to try harder.

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks are now almost a month. During this time I gave him interactive playtime and lots of brushing, love and cuddles for at least two hours a day.

We do focused training for another hour, divided into 15-minute segments throughout the day. Patience, praise and treats certainly do the trick.

The Value of Perseverance

As I'm writing this, Kaiser is at my feet snoring away. He's learned to lie down, wait, come, catch, fetch, and search. He still has his moments, but he's mostly well-behaved and follows me like my own shadow.

If I hadn't persevered, Kaiser would have had to repeat the whole process at another home, which would have been traumatic for him. And me? I would have missed out on an amazing dog and a companion who is always ready to give love and just be by my side.

Your Troubles With Perseverance and Persistence

During last Friday's #MTtalk Twitter chat we talked about perseverance and persistence. Here are the questions we asked, and some of the responses:

Q1. How do you differentiate between perseverance and persistence?

@SayItForwardNow I think of "perseverance" as an attitude and "persistence" as a series of actions to achieve a goal.

@goiuby Perseverance is continuing forward despite a hardship. Persistence is continuing forward despite an annoyance. Depending on the situation these two words can very easily be confused, and even intermingled.

Q2. Think of a time when you found it extremely difficult to persevere. What made it so difficult?

@PearlMorbs Mental or emotional exhaustion has been the biggest blocker that I've encountered. It sneaks up on you, too; physically you may be ready to push forward, but discover later that mentally you are not.

@Mphete_Kwetli What makes it so difficult to persevere is the lack of options and choices in the situation.

Q3. Why was it important to you to persevere?

A common theme that emerged was that people wanted to prove to themselves that they were able to persevere and reach their goals. Other reasons included:

@NWarind To be a living role model for my kids.

@DrRossEspinoza For me, it has been a way to be honest with myself on what matters and demonstrate to myself I'm worthy.

Q4. In times when you felt like giving up, what helped you to persevere?

Common themes here were having goals, knowing your "why," and the importance of support from other people. Other interesting reasons were:

@yehiadief Experience from an earlier time would make me wait, and try and try and keep on going.

@Jikster2009 Talking about it to friends/colleagues/partner to help see the wood from the trees and for a bit of grounding. Trying to remain focused on what's important. Sleep also helps.

(Thanks for the reminder about needing to sleep, James! It's something that we easily and often neglect.)

Q5. What events have shaped your ability to persevere?

Sometimes during a chat, you realize that what you've been through is small, compared to what others have endured.

@MicheleDD_MT Being bullied at work, surviving multiple restructures and layoffs, managing through a debilitating illness… all of these events have strengthened my resolve to persevere. Teaches you to be resourceful and find solutions.

@JusChas My childhood. I am the kid of a functioning alcoholic. I needed to become an adult at age 10, and was surrounded by much pain and struggle. It was those situations that made me want more. Plus watching television shows where kids always grew up and went to college.

Q6. What does it feel like – physically, emotionally, and mentally – to be persistent?

While being persistent energizes some of us, others find it draining.

@BernieMixon Fatigue, mental and physical, leads to sleepless nights. Lack of sleep can lead to a lack of perspective, which leads to poor decision-making.

@Midgie_MT Persistence feels, to me, like swimming upstream against the current. My head driving me forward when my body has its brakes on.

Q7. Is there a time, an occasion, when it is wise not to persist?

@JKatzaman If you know you're wrong but persist because you won't admit it, you give yourself and others a bad day.

@sejal_dattani A good example would be a relationship you've been in (or are in) that hasn't gotten better over time. You know the person is not the right one, you have your daily arguments and disagree.

Q8. How has persistence paid off for you?

Terry summarized in one sentence how many of us feel:

@BrainBlenderTec It has made me who I am, and that leads to quiet moments of gratitude.

Q9. How can you help someone else to become more persistent?

@BRAVOMedia1 Give encouragement, kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness. There is nobility in compassion, beauty in empathy, and grace in forgiveness.

@goiuby Mentorship, coaching, friendship, leadership, there are so many "-ships" that can come into play here! Ultimately, be there for them when they need you.

Q10. Based on what you know now, what advice would you give your younger self about perseverance and persistence?

@Yolande_MT Don't give up because it's difficult. It's even more difficult to have to repeat the process. Learn from Nike: just do it.

@MicheleDD_MT Determine your "why." Being clear on your purpose creates a strong motivational force that will sustain your drive and energy to reach your goal.

To read all the tweets, have a look at the Wakelet collection of this chat.

Coming Up

Although perseverance is a great characteristic, you can become exhausted if you don't know how to balance your life and when to say "enough is enough." Next time on #MTtalk, we're going to talk about managing exhausted team members. In our Twitter poll this week, we'd like to know what you think is the most likely cause of constant exhaustion. Please vote in our Twitter poll, here.

Resources

In the meantime, here are some resources relating to perseverance and persistence. (Please note, some of the resources listed below are only available in full to members of the Mind Tools Club.)

Developing Resilience

Visualization

How Can I Stop Procrastinating?

Are You A Procrastinator?

How to Learn From Your Mistakes

Overcoming Fear of Failure

Overcoming Procrastination Video

8 Common Goal-Setting Mistakes

Self-Discipline

Helping People Take Responsibility

Motivating Yourself

Amabile and Kramer's Progress Theory

Breaking Bad Habits

Beating Self-Sabotage

Developing Personal Accountability

How to Develop Long-Term Focus

The post Perseverance and Persistence – #MTtalk Roundup appeared first on Mind Tools.

Easy. I prefer chicken, so chicken it is.

Do I drive to the conference next week, or take the train?

I’d have to get up crazy early to catch the train. On the other hand, I could get stuck in traffic if I drive. But the trains are often delayed, and I like driving.

Still fairly easy: drive.

Should I buy house X or house Y?

Hmmm. Now we’re into big decision territory.

House X is close to work and has an extra bedroom. But house Y has a bigger garden. House X is cheaper, but it needs some work. House Y could make a perfect family home in the future.

The house (or job/partner/town/insert relevant decision here) that I choose could have a massive impact on my future. It’s a big commitment to make and, if I make the wrong decision, I might regret it deeply, and I could lose out financially.

Once you dive into all the possible outcomes of a big decision, it’s easy to “fall down the rabbit hole” and end up in “analysis paralysis.”

When it comes to the big decisions, then, what’s the best approach?

Is it something logical and methodical, like Decision Matrix Analysis? Or should you follow your instincts? You can try to combine the two approaches, but what if they each tell you something different?

We all have our own ways to make a big decision, and you can find many tools to help you do so in the Decision-Making section of the Mind Tools website. But we wanted to hear some of your personal tips and tricks, so we threw the question open to our friends, followers and contacts on social media. You had plenty of answers!

Your Top Tips for Making a Big Decision

Trust Yourself

Yolande (@Dwyka_Consult) suggested using your values as a guide. “Put a process between opportunity and decision by measuring the possible consequences of the decision against your values,” she tweeted.

Commenting on LinkedIn, Angela Williams agreed: “The way forward is the path that aligns with my values!”

Also on LinkedIn, Lisa Goodier shared a tip that she learned from a soccer legend. “I take inspiration from Sir Alex Ferguson. When he explained how he decides whether to accept a player transfer, he says, ‘If there’s doubt, there’s no doubt [that the transfer should not go ahead].'”

Vuyo Halimana on LinkedIn recommended getting to know yourself. "Will this decision move me toward the main outcome? Will it be a good decision in 10 days… weeks… months…? I also often refer to the MBTI zig-zag decision making… consider factors in my blind spots (INTJ) – what are the facts/specifics, and who will this affect?"

Why not check your own decision-making skills, using our quiz?

Use a Decision-Making Strategy

Mohammad Ali Zoubi commented on LinkedIn. “Your decision behavior depends on the experience," he said. "Step 1: take an inventory of your resources. Step 2: weigh the upside against the downside. Step 3: do the work but know when to let go.”

On Facebook, Sam Eccles offered some great strategies that you can use to weigh up a decision: “Intuition – which is all about ‘gut instinct.’ However, it does lack verified evidence and often uses assumptions. Simple evaluation analysis – checklists and evaluation matrices. Financial analysis – loads of financial measurement tools out there which encourage detailed measurement and clarification of assumptions. Multi-dimensional analysis – looks at things from lots of different angles. Portfolio analysis – this is basically running through all your options and trying to dig down into the evidence behind each.”

Get Advice

Sharing some thoughts on Twitter, AtomContentMarketing (@AtomCMarketing) advised talking it through "with trusted aides who are not emotionally involved.”

Jikster (@Jikster2009) agreed, and added an important point about taking some time before you make a decision. “I normally draw up a list of pros and cons," he wrote. "Then speak to someone you trust to verify them. Always try to sleep on an important decision rather than making an impulsive decision. Sometimes, though, I do rely on old-fashioned gut instinct.”

Facebook friend Chuck Robertson also recommended talking with others. “Think of the other's point of view! Be open to suggestion.”

On Twitter, Ruth Prosser (@RuthInBarrow) said, "Does the decision involve others? Discuss with them and then make a decision based on all the facts. You can’t beat a list of pros and cons. And don’t make a snap decision – sleep on it."

That's some really great advice all round! My top takeaway is that these big decisions definitely aren't a one-person deal, so I'm off to make another pros and cons list for my house purchase, and to find someone to chat to!

Thanks to everyone who shared their top tips with us. If you have any more advice to add, please comment below.

The post Your Top Tips for Making a Big Decision appeared first on Mind Tools.

“Knowledge is power, but has little value unless it can be accessed and put into practice.”
– Melany Gallant

Making Lasting Changes

Have you ever tried to make a significant lifestyle change? If you have, you'll know that it's not always easy! You may also know that you have a better chance of succeeding if you stick to a method that works, such as following these five steps:

1. Understand that you can't change everything immediately.
2. Know why you're doing it.
3. Find cheerleaders and people who support you.
4. Evaluate your progress.
5. Convert failures and challenges into learning opportunities.

But why are we talking about lifestyle change when the topic is "creating a learning culture?" Read on to find out!

Five Steps Toward a Learning Culture

Creating a learning culture is like making a lifestyle change, but on a much larger scale. Let's look at the same five steps from the perspective of creating a learning culture.

1. You can't do all of the learning in one day. Learning has to be done consistently, every day, in different ways and in different places. Allow staff members to experiment, to ask questions, to fail, to question existing practices, and to learn from coaches and mentors. Also, allow dedicated learning time during working hours for research and reading.
2. Every person in the organization must know why they're learning. They also need to understand that learning isn't punishment for poor performance, or that it's only for a select few. It's about the organization wanting everybody to become the best version of themselves, and making use of its collective knowledge base. Learning has to be enabled by the company's values and must be intentionally built into processes, practices and job responsibilities.
3. Every executive, manager, supervisor, and team leader must be a "learning cheerleader" so that the learning mindset filters down to every person on every level. Learning must be encouraged, enabled, expected, and respected. Praise people for learning; not just for excelling.
4. You have to measure, evaluate and recognize learning. Using a Learning Management System (LMS) is an efficient way to do that.
5. Learn to recognize failures and challenges as learning opportunities. Analyze such situations and turn them into case studies for collective learning.

Failures and Challenges in a Learning Culture

The following questions will help you look at failures and challenges from a learning perspective:

"How could we have avoided Situation X?"

"What would have mitigated the situation?"

"What did each person learn from the situation?"

"How can we handle this differently in future?"

"What changes do we need to implement?"

Creating a Learning Culture

During our #MTtalk Twitter chat on Friday, we discussed the topic "Creating a Learning Culture." Here are the questions we asked, and some of the responses:

Q1. What is your definition of a learning culture?​

@DrRossEspinoza A culture that encourages, supports and recognizes learning as a vital ingredient, and does something about it.

@Lucygordon83 An environment where you are encouraged and supported to develop and grow as a professional & individual.

Q2. What are the benefits of a learning culture to organizations and individuals?

@Midgie_MT As people learn, grow and develop, so does the organization. Opens up thinking, knowledge, skill and creative problem solving.

@DominicDuffin1 In a culture where people are not shamed for making mistakes, but where mistakes are instead seen as opportunities to learn, it's less likely that mistakes will be repeated.

Q3. ​Why might it be difficult to create a learning culture?

@s_narmadhaa Because consistent learning takes a lot of effort, time, and money both from the individual and the organization. And because the results don't show up overnight, it's easy to lose motivation.

@carriemaslen A learning culture challenges the status quo & invites new ideas… not everyone is comfortable with that based on fear or ego.

Q4. Who is responsible for creating a learning culture?

@TwisterKW Everyone. Senior management need to "walk the talk," model behaviors, promote/encourage development/change; invest in middle management; hire the right people – people who want to grow and learn. But it has to be everyone.

@GThakore It is required on both sides… proactive management and enthusiastic employees.

Q5. What role could C-level executives play in creating a learning culture?

@WonderPix Share their experiences, provide transparency, encourage and support others on their journey.

@PG_pmp C-Suite have a major role in creating a learning culture as down the line people will choose to walk on the path set by them.

Q6. Busy managers might say they have no time or expertise to coach team members. How would you respond?

@harrisonia Short answer to managers who say they don't have time to coach staff or their team: MAKE SOME TIME.

@KrisGiere The response should be to evaluate the manager’s workload, priorities, process, and engagement. Afterward, look to create an environment where they prioritize coaching & mentoring, redistribute workload if necessary, make giving back part of the performance measures, etc.

Q7. What forms and sources of learning do you prefer​ for yourself or your team? Why?

@JKatzaman People who take the initiative to learn, whether in person in classes or online, are a plus. Either way is good if results bear them out.

@Yolande_MT I learn by asking "why." A lot. And I teach by asking others good questions; it gets them thinking, and thinking leads to creativity and creativity solves problems.

Q8. In what ways can you embed learning in the daily flow of work?

@Limha75 Make sure words "learning," "developing," "improving" etc. are part of the team language.

@KobusNeethInst Mingle with people who know more than you. Listen closely and ask questions designed to help you learn more.

Q9. How can you make better use of technology to create a learning culture?

@ShannonRenee Technology can expand our learning opportunities, as well as who we learn from. Folks with PhDs in life are in some ways smarter than those with academic PhDs.

@JKatzaman Investing in technology to have the best learning hardware and software available. Learning dies with obstructed access. Make learning a passion rather than a chore.

Q10. If you were in charge of creating a learning culture in your workplace, what would you do differently tomorrow?

@Mphete_Kwetli Change nothing, but be in the same space as your team. Listen to the team on what winning means to everyone. Tap into their "winning characters" and embrace them.

@MicheleDD_MT Identify key business processes and look for the places where it touches the employee. Are there opportunities to provide learning at these points?

To read all the tweets, have a look at the Storify version of this chat here.

Coming Up

When we create a learning culture, we also start to develop a pool of collective wisdom. So, next time we're going to discuss "Wisdom at Work." There are many things that contribute to a person's wisdom, but we'd like to know which element you think is most important. Click here to cast your vote.

Resources

In the meantime, here are some resources that will help you to learn more about creating a learning culture:

• Gagne's Nine Levels of Learning
• Instructor-Led Training
• Take Your Team's Learning to the Top Level
• Learning Styles Video
• VAK Learning Styles
• Meeting the Challenges of a 24/7 Globalized Learning Culture
• 70:20:10
• Online Training
• Learning Curves
• Engaging People in Learning
• Case Study-Based Learning
• ABCD Learning Objectives Model
• The 5 E Learning Cycle
• How to Run a World Café
• Helping People Flourish at Work
• Flourish - Book Insight

The post Creating a Learning Culture – #MTtalk Roundup appeared first on Mind Tools.

They can even help you overtake that competitor, if they can be spread effectively throughout your organization. But, what if you asked yourself, "Are these really the best practices for my company – or does someone just say they are?"

Is It Best Practice, or Just Bad Habits?

This might be a difficult question, but it could yield surprising and beneficial answers, according to Freek Vermeulen, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School.

His research has revealed that many presumed "best practices" don't deliver on their promises, and he urges us to take another look at our assumptions.

For instance, we may think that if we do what a successful competitor does, we will also flourish. But that may not be the case.

"We look at high-performing companies and imitate their practices," Vermeulen explains. "But, sometimes, inadvertently, we're just copying some company that basically got lucky."

In other words, that practice we’re adopting with such gusto may have nothing to do with our competitor's wins.

Long-Term and Short-Term Effects

Then there's the issue of perspective. Something that works well in the short term may well be risky as a long-term approach. Take cost cutting, for example.

"In the very short term, cost cutting reduces your cost and therefore improves your performance," says Vermeulen. "What we also know from research is that in the long term it can lead to problems: problems with employee morale, problems with innovation, and so on.

"Hence, because of the short-term benefits we may not realize that this is a bad practice. The harmful effects only happen in the long term and are much more intangible."

All this makes sense, yet organizations often resist challenging and changing the way they do business, because their best practices have become habits.

Recognize Your Bad Habits

In his book, Breaking Bad Habits: Defy Industry Norms and Reinvigorate Your Business, Vermeulen presents some well-grounded tips for recognizing and avoiding bad practices. As you might expect from a book that's all about swimming against the tide, his advice is not designed to make you feel comfortable.

For instance, what's your view of "change for change's sake"? For Vermeulen, organizations should be in a perpetual state of transformation, continually assessing the effectiveness of how they do business.

"I'm not advocating that more change is better, and all change is good," he tells me in our Expert Interview podcast. "What I'm really advocating [is] to change before you're in trouble. If you do change proactively, cumulatively, you will probably get away with less change than when you wait for trouble."

Make Your Life Difficult

We should also should try to make our lives difficult, says Vermeulen. "I do not mean 'difficult' in the sense of, 'Go enter the Chinese market in a completely different product category,’" he clarifies.

"That's certainly difficult, but you're unlikely to benefit from it. What I mean with 'make your life difficult' is do difficult variants of your job, or of your product," he adds.

As an example, he tells me about his research into the in-vitro fertilization industry. It makes commercial sense for fertility clinics to focus on patients who are likely to get pregnant through standard procedures – the easy cases, if you will.

But, in clinics that choose to focus on more complex and problematic patients, doctors stretch themselves and become more skilled at treating all patients, not just the difficult cases. "This makes the whole organization better," Vermeulen points out.

Everyone Has a Role to Play

As a Professor of Strategy, Vermeulen's focus tends to be on organizational decision making.

But he believes that everyone has a role to play in identifying and kicking the bad habits that plague organizations, no matter what their position – as he explains in this audio clip from our Expert Interview:

Question: How often do you analyze your "best practices"? Join the discussion below!

The post Best Practice or Just Bad Habits? appeared first on Mind Tools.

McKee mentions those early career experiences in her new book, "How to Be Happy at Work." When I talked to her for our Expert Interview podcast, I asked her how she found happiness when she was doing that low-paid menial work.

Three factors pulled her through, and gave her a measure of happiness despite the insecurity that often accompanies that type of job. These were: purpose, or meaning; hope; and friendship. In McKee’s case, these three factors were intertwined.

Not Feeling Good About Yourself

"I remember one job I had, I was working for a woman named Mary. I was essentially cleaning her house and doing other tasks around her home," she recalls. "And, as anyone who's done that for pay knows, that can be hard.

"You maybe don't feel so good about yourself, especially if you think you could do more. But I needed that job, so I really didn't know what to do," added McKee.

McKee began to observe Mary, who was a successful accountant.

Watching and Learning

"I started watching how she was living her life, and I thought, 'Wow, I really admire what she's doing as a professional woman. Let me just open my eyes and see what in fact she's done,’" says McKee.

Over the next few months, the cleaner and her employer struck up a friendship.

"I think she saw something different in me, based on the questions I was asking her. Over time we developed a relationship that was really mentor-mentee. She really did help me see that I could do something better," she says.

"I was still cleaning her house, but I found a lot more meaning in that work. I had expanded the definition of my job to include these conversations with Mary. My relationship with Mary became part of my job, and the rest didn't feel as awful because of that," she adds.

The Value of Purpose, Hope and Friendship

Purpose, hope and friendship made all the difference. Now, McKee believes that those three elements can lead to happiness in any job, and her academic research backs up what she discovered all those years ago, when she was cleaning for Mary.

In "How to Be Happy at Work," McKee offers advice on finding – or creating – these three factors, if we feel they are lacking in our workplace.

When it comes to purpose or meaning, "we need to look for opportunities to make a difference," she says. For example, whatever our organization, "we can find ways to fix systems and processes that don't work very well. All of us can find ways to create, make and innovate in the workplace. We just need to lift our head up away from that computer and look around and see what we can do."

Where Do We Want to Go?

The second factor is hope. "In the workplace, we need to feel that where we're going is where we want to go, and it's got to be bigger than our job or our career," she says. "Then, of course, we need plans. We've got to actually try to get there, which means setting out some goals, setting out some milestones and some action steps, and then just marching forward."

And finally, there's friendship – a component of happiness that is mentioned less often than the other two, but is no less important.

"We need to feel that we belong," McKee says. "We need to feel that we're with people who are part of a tribe that we're proud to be a part of, too. [So we should] try to understand other people.

"Trust before you are trusted, give before you get – those are the kinds of actions that are going to create strong, positive relationships that will not only infuse us with a sense of meaning and happiness at work, but will help us carry on and get through the challenging times that we all experience in our jobs," added McKee.

Being Happy With a "Resonant Culture"

While she believes that the responsibility for a person's happiness rests firmly with that individual, organizations do have a role to play. If managers can create what she calls a "resonant culture," it will be much easier for team members to feel that all-important sense of purpose, hope and friendship.

In this audio clip, from our Expert Interview podcast, McKee shares her thoughts on creating a resonant culture at work:

Listen to the full 30-minute interview in the Mind Tools Club.

What are your top tips for finding happiness at work? Join the discussion below!

The post How to Be Happy at Work appeared first on Mind Tools.

How Urgent Is the Decision?

Is the boss's unavailability really a problem? Or are you worrying about nothing? How applicable is Admiral Grace Murray Hopper's famous saying: "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission"?

Consider the scale of the problem. If it's a relatively small decision, you're probably OK to go ahead with what you think is right. But if it's a big one, start by assessing the urgency of the situation. As my old boss, Rich Baek, once recommended, "Don't make any difficult decisions until action is required. Who knows, circumstances might change and you won't even need to do what you dreaded." So, if it can wait, prepare yourself to make the decision, but don't cross that line just yet.

Your ability to make the decision will also depend on your experience. Perhaps you've been at your company a long time and are familiar with how your boss thinks. If so, you'll likely feel comfortable and confident making decisions while he or she is away. Alternatively, you might be new to the company and feel completely unequipped to make the right choice. (Although you might find that your "newness" protects you from the consequences of a bad decision.)

Don't forget to take your company's culture into consideration, too. Your organization may have a culture that aims to empower its staff and prizes self-starters. If this is the case, you'll likely feel more positive about making high-level decisions on your own.

Don't "Go It Alone"

Whoever said you have to make the decision on your own? Why not consult your co-workers? After all, "two heads are better than one."

Getting their advice will help you to weigh up the pros and cons of the situation and earn support for your final decision. It could also "soften the blow" of a decision "gone bad," particularly if your judgment is called into question later.

Discussing your thoughts with your colleagues (particularly those with a lot of experience) will also help you to identify where the boundaries lie. And you may even learn something that will have a significant impact on your choice. Jim Bolosic recalls an employee who, while the boss was away, switched the company's phone service to a cheaper provider. "What she didn't know was that we were two months away from the end of the contract and were going to get a credit that would have gotten us a free year of phone services."

Manage Your Boss's Expectations

You may have a boss who trusts your decisions and is happy for you to take on decision-making responsibilities in thier absence.

Alternatively, you may have a boss who finds it hard to give up control, and who refuses to delegate decisions while they're away.

If this is the case, don't be afraid to ask them for more information. Arrange a meeting with your boss, and set up a clear agenda to discuss the problems that you are encountering. Say: "Thank you for your valuable time. My aim is to keep our clients happy and our operation running efficiently. To do this, sometimes decisions need to be made when you are unavailable. Please help me to better understand my boundaries and options for these urgent decisions." Make sure that your tone is constructive and your message is delivered tactfully, without a whiff of complaint.

Have a specific example to hand (or build a realistic hypothetical situation). For instance, you might ask, "What should I do when a client requests a refund and you're not here to sign off on it?" And limit your follow-up questions. Consider: "What might go wrong? Do we agree on solutions?"

Add that you would appreciate feedback from her about the decisions that you make when she's absent.

Michael Kerr has useful advice if the boss is often away. He suggests asking your boss, "What can I do to support you and the team in your absence?" This will show that you are a real team player, and that he can have trust and confidence in your ability.

Above all, don't let indecision hold you back. Stepping up to the plate and showing that you can think through decisions clearly and objectively could bolster your reputation. It will also demonstrate to your boss that you're strategically focused and capable of taking on extra responsibilities.

Take It Easy

There are also times when your boss is away and there are no major decisions to make. Assuming that you are used to working long hours, why not ease your foot off the gas a little?

Brian Moylan offers a handy guide to working when the boss is away. First and foremost, he advises that you avoid calling in sick. If you do this, you'll be seen as unreliable and self-centered. But, you can afford to wind things down just a little bit. Take a leisurely lunch (and not at your desk – instead, go out with your team!). And, just this once, leave on time!

Moylan continues, "Do one thing really well and you are far less likely to have your productivity questioned while the boss [is] away." Take some time to really bond with your co-workers. This will help you to boost team morale, motivation and collaboration.

Have you ever had to make a difficult decision while your boss was away? Did you "step up to the plate," or "cave" under the pressure? Was your boss happy with your decision or was he horrified? Share your story in the Comments section, below.

The post How to Deal With a Big Decision When the Boss Is Away appeared first on Mind Tools.

The BMW 335d's power was phenomenal and its technology was mind-blowing, to such an extent that there were times when I wasn't sure who was driving – me or the car. This was particularly evident when I came to park for the first time.

I live on a narrow street with only a few spaces for cars, so there is a "bit of an art" to leaving them in a safe way that doesn't cause an obstruction. But I arrived home in my shiny new hire car, made full use of its Park Distance Control function, and maneuvered into a tiny space with ease.

I realized that I was the one in control of the vehicle, ultimately, but that the car's on-board computer was assisting me. It had artificial intelligence. Or was it machine learning? Or was it both? I had more questions than answers about my smart BMW.

My Imaginary Robot Friend

Fortunately, my imaginary robot neighbor and friend, Ritchie, had returned from his jazz guitar lesson (he's the teacher) and was on hand to help me out with a few of my queries. Here's a transcript of our conversation.

Hi Ritchie...

Hello Ian, how may I help you today?

I'd like you to tell me something about Artificial Intelligence, please.

Hmnph. It's where computers, like me, get smart, Ian. We make sense of things, we learn as we go along, and we interact with the outside world. All without having to be programmed by humans like you.

Thanks. So what is Machine Learning, then?

Well, if you think of AI as the overall term, then ML sits under it. It is the technique that enables computers to "think" for themselves by utilising mathematical algorithms that are based on collected data.

How do we Create Artificial Intelligence?

OK, I sort of get that, but could you simplify it even further for me, please?

No, Ian, I can't. But my human friend, Nidhi Chappell, can. She's the director of machine learning at Intel and is used to dealing with robots like me, but even better at dealing with humans like you. She explains it like this: "AI is basically the intelligence – how we make machines intelligent, while machine learning is the implementation of the compute methods that support it. The way I think of it is: AI is the science and machine learning is the algorithms that make the machines smarter. So the enabler for AI is machine learning."

Excellent. That's my kind of talk. So my BMW was displaying AI.What other examples of AI are there? My brain's just crashed.

Ha Ha... Is that a computer joke? It's OK, don't answer. That's my job. Well, the fact is, AI is all around us these days: from weather forecasting, to helping you to buy your groceries online. It forms the foundation of "smart cities" with their electricity and transport provision, for instance. Doctors use it to diagnose conditions and gauge the success of treatments. AI recognises voices and images. Fully self-driving vehicles are just around the corner. The list goes on.

AI Investment to Triple

As you know, Ritchie, I work for an organization that provides business skills learning resources. In what ways is artificial intelligence going to shape companies at grassroots level?

Well, according to an article in the Harvard Business Review, investment in AI is predicted to triple in 2017 and reach $100 billion in 2025. You can safely say that it is changing, and will further change, the workplace. Customer service; loyalty and retention; hiring people;  finance automation; brand exposure; fraud detection; automated and predictive maintenance; and supply chain management are all areas where the use of artificial intelligence is in full swing.

Further down the road, career planning; drone/satellite asset management (looking after bridges, highways and things like that); and retail shelf analysis are all earmarked as candidates for AI's focus.

I feel an "Oh my goodness, will computers and robots take all our jobs?" type of question brewing... Well, will they?

Steady, dude. Some important people have voiced their concerns. Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, no less. So it's an issue that must be taken seriously. Although I must point out that human beings have a sketchy record when it comes to predicting the future and technological developments!

With all this change on the horizon, Ritchie, have you got any good advice? 

You tell me, Ian. You're the one who works for Mind Tools.

Fair enough. Well, we have hundreds of excellent learning tools. Here's a relevant one, on coping with change.

Thanks, I'll take a look at that.

Hang on... one last question. Are you guys going to take over the planet? Is the end of the world nigh?

Sorry, Ian, that was two questions.

The post A Survivor's Guide to Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Mind Tools.