Lost in Translation

Editor's Notes

1. How can you ensure that the organization sees you as a valued contributor? The best way is for you to understand and support it in reaching its goals. Performance support is one of the few organizational processes with an opportunity to align individual performance with the strategic goals of the business. How do you align with and successfully translate these goals into the actions necessary to meet them?Session participants will learn how to become proficient at translating performance support language like ”on-demand” and “moment of need” into the language of your business, such as “productivity gains,” “increased customer satisfaction,” and “reduction in costs.” You must help the business understand when PS is appropriate, and, perhaps even more importantly, when it is not the answer. You’ll learn how to ensure that you and your stakeholders are speaking the same language and supporting the same goals.
2. Throughout the session we’re going to engage in some audience polling to find out what you’re thinking, what you’re up to and what you know. Now I’m going to ask for your opinion. We’re going to use your phones to do some audience voting just like on American Idol. So please take out your cell phones, but remember to leave them on silent. You can participate by sending a text message or tweeting.
3. So if you don’t already have them handy and would like to participate let’s do a quick one to make sure we don’t have any struggles once we get going?
4. Let’s also check to see where we all sit within the context of our organizations.
5. Performance support is one of the few organizational processes with an opportunity to align individual performance with the strategic goals of the business. How do you align with and successfully translate these goals into the actions necessary to meet them?How can you ensure that the organization sees you as a valued contributor? The best way is for you to understand and support it in reaching its goals.
6. It is the rare business manager who cares about any of the stuff we do…except for how it translates into results towards their business goals. - get out of your box. If you look at what the company needs only from the perspective of your own function (HR, IT, marketing – whatever it is), you will be seen as tactical at best, and an impediment to the business’ success at worst. Step back and think about what would best serve the business overall. Speak from that vantage point.
7. The world’s greatest Performance Support solution in and of itself is worthless. To paraphrase an old adage “We don’t want a drill…we want the holes it creates.” It is all about THEM – WIIFTIf you’re in a shared, support organization supporting multiple businesses this is obviously a much bigger challenge. understand the business. Know what makes your company work and what gets in the way of its working.  Get clear about how all the different parts operate together, and – again – what gets in the way of their smooth operation. Become knowledgeable about the competition, and understand how your company is better and worse than they are.  Be able to articulate your understanding.HOW DO/CAN you do this?
8. The world’s greatest Performance Support solution in and of itself is worthless. To paraphrase an old adage “We don’t want a drill…we want the holes it creates.” It is all about THEM – WIIFTlearn about my needs and how you can support me rather than asking me to learn about your services and how I can use them.”- be useful in a big way. Help the line business people in your organization meet their goals. Either do stuff that makes it easier for them to achieve those goals, or come up with and share ideas that support their achievement of them.  If good things happen for the business as a result of you being involved in projects, you’ll be invited back.
9. Solutions NOT services
10. What are they talking about in their strategic planning meetings?
11. When it’s annual review time, what are the things that you get measured against?
12. How are they different from the business goals? Should they be the same? Related in some way?
13. Aiming for being a strategic partner. Everyone wants “a seat at the table” right? Business impact by using Consulting skills Holistic approach-Aligned to work contextGary Wise has some fantastic posts about this at http://livinginlearning.com
14. We are not in the training business nor the PS business…were in business.Many support orgs tend to measure there own activity (i.e. # of classes, students attended, etc) Why is it that many HR/Training Depts are not seen as valuable by operations?
15. One of the da
16. One of our challenges is that we often get requests for a particular solution already assumed. We don’t want to be seen as non-cooperative but being in order-taker mode is not the best place to be.
17. So if you don’t already have them handy and would like to participate let’s do a quick one to make sure we don’t have any struggles once we get going?
18. http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTE1Mjk4NzQ1NjI
19. So if you don’t already have them handy and would like to participate let’s do a quick one to make sure we don’t have any struggles once we get going?
20. They want the result but may not be asking the right question to get it. They NEVER want a job aid, course etc…they want the results. Don’t want the drill, we want the holes.
21. Do you ever get requests for which you question the value?
22. http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/LTEyNDk2MjQwMTA
23. Asking the right questions is more important than
24. This is the most simple thing yet not a trivial matter of semantics…nor an easy habit to break. Yes and is positive and moves things forward. It‘s open and explores possibilities. BUT is negative, shuts down others and cuts off progress, etc. My wife has told me that “but” negates everything that comes before it…and she is right. Try it..it feels different and it will make a difference.
25. By working from a consultative mindset instead of being an order taker, our responsibility is to ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS & partner to get the right answers.
26. Does anyone like to be told what they should do? Without any input etc?
27. Obviously answering these questions requires some degree of analysis. Often times it has to be ‘ninja style’ !In addition to analysis for finding the best alternatives to implement, another important role of analysis, especially when we have more projects than we can do is to prioritize which projects to do first, which ones later and which ones maybe never. Analysis, is an entire subject unto itself that we won’t attempt to cover here today. Here are a few great places to get you started with information on this topic. First Things Fast: A Handbook for Performance Analysis (Essential Knowledge Resource) Allison RossettFiguring Things Out: A Trainer's Guide To Needs And Task Analysis [Hardcover]Ron Zemke & T. KramlingerGary Wise has a great post about “Covert Consulting”Additionally, I think it critical to know what success will look like. In other words, how will we…more importantly…how will you…know we’ve been successful?”
28. http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/LTEyNDk2MjQwMTA
29. Don’t want the drill, we want the holes.
30. And so these menDisputed loud and long,Each in his own opinionExceeding stiff and strong,Though each was partly in the rightAnd all were in the wrong!
31. So if you don’t already have them handy and would like to participate let’s do a quick one to make sure we don’t have any struggles once we get going?
32. Six ‘Tactics of Figuring Things Out’Always work from a model of human performanceStart as high in the organization as possible and work your way down.Always know from whom you are studyingNever use just one information gathering techniqueLet line managers make the critical decisionsRemember the K.I.S.S. principle
33. Performance support is one of the few organizational processes with an opportunity to align individual performance with the strategic goals of the business. How do you align with and successfully translate these goals into the actions necessary to meet them?How can you ensure that the organization sees you as a valued contributor? The best way is for you to understand and support it in reaching its goals.
34. What is the most common cause of performance problems?