Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Things I learned in Dallas, Texas at the ASTD Conference

Smart Phones are not the enemy in the workplace!  Consider utilizing them in your training classes. They all are looking at them anyway. It is part of their life. It is who they are today. Embrace it. Examples: Have Class participants do a simple video telling what they need to get out of the training class they have been scheduled to attend.  The best videos receive extra points towards the class!  Informative and fun as well. Include the best at the start of training to lighten the load. Utilize Google  Hangouts? Going  to have  to google that.  LOL  Have them  search for  things  on their phones!

It's ok to utilize texting in the work place...often the best way and least obvious way to interrupt someone who is needed. Could be a great way to give quick answers to simple questions that do not share customer info of course.  Where can I find the latest update on EE bonds? A quick text back...under managers on the employee intranet. Section such and such. Won and done. 

New thoughts of course for "old school " managers.

Use music to spice up and help you make training memorable.  Create your Opening Act, introduce energy and create engagement with Rock Songs, The Meat of the training similar to the Slow Songs, Sing a Longs, take requests. What do learners need Now? and Finally the Encore...Memorable Take a Ways.  Interesting Ideas which are best for larger groups but can likely be modified to smaller groups as well. The big message AGAIN utilize the smartphone and make it part of the training. Very thought provoking.

Other nuggets of information. Sir Ken Robinson who btw sounds a lot like the Gecko...really...had a great presentation. It highlighted the need to figure out what your passion is and do more of THAT! Oddly exactly the same thing came up today in the class about using music in your training. The fellow teaching indicated his supervisor asked him what his passion was and be first answered from a what I like about my job perspective. He said no not just at work. What do you love doing. Our instructor is a part time musician and so he answered I love music and performing. His boss said then do more of that at work. That blew him away. But he later started doing just that in his training and it made his training better and him better. A interesting thought. What do you Love to do?  Could you incorporate that in some way in your present or future job? Would that make you a better and happier employee. Interesting.

Lots of classes on social media and how it can be leveraged in so many different ways to solve problems faster...more brains on the job on working together at almost the same instant.  Very interesting as well.  Should we get over being afraid of social media and making fun of FB, etc in the business world and start figuring out how it could benefit business and the human side of the equation as well.  The common theme here is the world isn't changing. It already has changed and continues to do so at a rate that we will not be able to keep up with unless we radically change how we train and learn in the future.  Very new thoughts for many people who are resistent to change.






Monday, May 20, 2013

More Dallas Photos











Dallas Downtown

Loving the Omni. Awesome customer service! Taking notes of art and design features I like.

The gas fireplaces are awesome. Walls of glass with a line of flames. Both inside and outside. Beautiful local art and a spa and infinity pool. great linens and comfy beds. Fredrick , Sergio at the pool and Rojim in the gift shop. Just completed a survey noting their excellent service.

Thinking a small gas fireplace would be awesome at Paws and Paddles.













Friday, May 10, 2013

Precious The MerMaid

Precious The Mermaid arrived as a gift from friends. They wanted to cheer us up and thought Precious might do the trick. Well they were right! She is adorable. Love her face, hair and especially her very flippable tail. She traveled here from the Gulf Coast near Sanibel Island. Sanibel Island is one of our favorite places in Florida. Sugar white sand and azure blue water. Very tropical. Lots of beautiful tropical flowers and many different species of birds in the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.  I will shared some pictures of Sanibel Island below Precious.


Precious has latched onto Mike's large body pillow and has taken up residence in our bedroom at our Mountain House. Our bedroom is a nice Tybee Turquoise which is similar to the color of the water around Sanibel Island. We are looking forward to taking Precious with us when we return to Tybee Island. We are set to go back for a few days in August. The Cottage is heavily booked in June with only a day or two left. July and the rest of the summer is booking up fast. So we are hoping she can hold out till August to get back to the ocean. We are looking forward to getting back to Tybee and Savannah soon.






Sunday, May 5, 2013

Back on the Mountain

Truly enjoyed our 10 days in Tybee/Savannah. Arrived back home to cooler than usual spring temperatures and a gray and foggy evening. The cool temps have helped our potted plants to excel. The colors look deeper and brighter than usual. We planted them earlier this year and that may have given them more lead time on getting well established. We have the Mountain House on the market. We hope to try something new to us. Urban Living! When the house sells we are moving to Downtown Roanoke. Walking to work, shops, restaurants, the art museum and we'll be near the greenway for walking and biking. Our Mountain House is being marketed by Wendy H Gilbert of the Remax Toohig Team in Roanoke, Virginia. We are only 8.5 miles to Downtown Roanoke and 20 to 30 minutes to Smith Mountain Lake. We kept a boat in a slip at the Lake for over 12 years. It was awesome to come home and change and be at the boat dock in 30 minutes. We had an out of water slip. All we had to do was hit a button to gently drop the boat in the water. Away we motored. Find a nice cove and dock for swimming and dinner on board on go by water to a nice restaurant. Or take our kayaks ten minutes to the Hardy Ford boat landing and go up river away from the lake for almost total solitude! A great place for entertaining guests on the weekend as well. This was all before Paws & Paddles! Now we enjoy most of our free time traveling to Tybee/Savannah and elsewhere. A New York trip is our next joint trip during May. I also have a business trip for a few days to Dallas in May. Too many toys and not enough time to play!  So taking care of a three level house and acre lot is now less appealing. The thought is we will have more free time to travel and utilize Paws & Paddles for kayaking, biking, and enjoying the beach and most of all...Savannah! Wish us luck on finding the perfect buyer for our much loved Mountain Home. A few pictures of the Mountain House follow. One from the winter with snow and several spots of this green spring...cool but Green! Feel free to forward if you know someone looking for a sweet deal on a secluded and private property that is only 8.5 miles from Downtown Roanoke.