Chapter Updates 

We had a great meeting today on the sales topic of "pain".  I want to say thank you to our participants for sharing their experiences, challenges and ideas related to building client relationships and providing solutions specific to client needs.  A few bullets from our meeting today included:

• Challenge of selling services vs. items
• Sales cycles
• Referral - to ask or not, your vendors as sources and structured programs
• Value-add marketing content, sharing and identifying what clients "hate" vs. "love"
• Challenge of filling your time with clients vs. friends to build business
• No is OK and better than maybe in most cases
• Focus on teaching - what clients should be doing vs. "pain"
• Be yourself, if it is the right customer they will love you for it

Lenel is hiring a Global Security Products North America Training Leader. Follow the link to see the job description and submit your resume.

https://jobs.utc.com/job/pittsford/global-security-products-north-america-training-leader/1566/5074542\

Congrats to Michelle Wescott for completing her CPLP certificate!

Instructional Designer (posted 6/12/2017)

Baldwin Richardson Foods Co. is looking to contract an instructional designer to translate SOPs into simpler training aides.  This position would be on contract but the work is expected to be FT over several months.   Example:  one line has an SOP of 150 pages – multiply that times 15 or so lines…

If you're interested in learning more, contact details are below:

Benjamin “Ben” Vetter

HR Manager

Baldwin Richardson Foods Co

3268 Blue Heron View

Macedon, NY  14502

t.  315-986-2727 x1422

e.  bvetter@brfoods.com

Our Amazing Brains – Adventures in Lifelong Learning

Presentation by Suzanne Choma, SC Performance Consulting

Suzanne described Astro Teller’s Graph about the Rate of Change in Technology over time and the human adaptability.

The thought is that if we put our collective intelligence together, we can change the adaptability curve, and we can achieve dynamic stability at some point.

Some interesting facts about our brains:

• In utero, 250,000 nerve cells are created every minute.

• An 8 month fetus’ brain weighs 1 pound and has two times the neurons of an adult

• In the final stages of fetal development, about half of the neurons die, leaving only the fittest.

• A 6 year old’s brain is about 90% of the volume of an adult brain – that last 10% is a huge part of learning.

• Childhood and adolescence is a prime time for learning, and forgetting.

• Parts of the brain mature at different rates, starting from the back of the brain to the front.

• The adult brain weighs approximately 3 pounds (try picking up a 3 pound bag of rice and you’ll be amazed!)

• Our brains shrink with age – approximately 5-10% in weight and 15-20% in volume between the ages of 20 and 90.

• The good news is that during this time of shrinking, our brains are forming and reforming new neural connections.

Some scientists’ thoughts about the future brain:

• By the year 2030, nanobots will connect our brain cells to the cloud.

• Humans will be a hybrid of biological and non-biological thinking.

• Neural Darwinism – Neural networks compete with each other. Those that get stimulated grow while others atrophy.

• Learning is how you acquire information about the world, and memory is how you store the information over time. `Erik R. Kandel

• Neuroplasticity is the key to lifelong learning.

• Brain Fitness Across a Lifetime – Keys to aging well.

o Eat well

o Exercise your mind and body regularly

o Sleep 7-8 hours a night and take naps

o Spend time in nature

o Play games

o Socialize and make new connections

o Find purpose

o Embrace technology

o Explore new territory

o Develop a magnificent obsession – one that you learn and share with others

Resources

• Brogard, Beritand Marlow, Kristian. The Superhuman Mind: Free the Genius in Your Brain. New York: Hudson Street Press, 2015

• Goleman, Daniel. Focus. New York: Harper Collins, 2013

• Kurzweil, Ray. How to Create a Mind. New York: Viking, 2012

• Medina, John. Brain Rules. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008

• Oakley, Barbara. A Mind for Numbers. New York: Penguin, 2014.

• Restak, Richard. Optimizing Brain Fitness. The Great Courses, 2011

• Friedman, Thomas. Thank You for Being Late. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016

• Sweeney, Michael S. Brain: The Complete Mind. Washington: National Geographic, 2009

Power Member Michelle Westcott of Gillespie Associates recently completed her CPLP. Congratulations Michelle! 

Highland Hospital is hiring a Learning & Development Specialist. Here is the position summary and a link to the site where those interested are able to get more details and apply online.

Position Summary: Collaborates with Department of Education Director to support overall learning and development (L&D) strategy. Identifies development needs, designs, creates and delivers solutions across the organization at every level, both clinical and non-clinical. Responsible for implementing leadership and organizational development programs that support the performance and strategic objectives for all areas of the organization. Acts as a partner in matters related to onboarding, training, management/ leadership effectiveness, organizational design and development, performance management and leadership coaching. This role will also share responsibility for key programs and projects such as succession planning and developing talent pools for hard to fill positions.  

Click here for more details and to apply online.

Hudson-Mohawk ATD is holding its 2017 Talent Development Summit on Friday, May 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy, NY (just outside Albany). They have two keynotes and many sessions planned. Check out the Summit page for more details at http://hmatd.org/workshops-events/annual-conference/.  

Download Article

From left to right, Amy, Jon and Cindi joined Carrrie and Bob for our March 21st Learning and Development SIG meeting.

The morning's discussion was based on the downloaded article by the Ken Blanchard companies.  ROCATD participants discussed the topic of coaching, coaching tools and ideas applicable to their work.  

The Four Essential Coaching Skills (meeting notes)

1.    Listen to Learn - there are natural listeners and not so much - style differences, self-confidence is a foundation for good listening, listening training tips included repeating for clarity, the Yes and..., letting team members set agendas for coaching sessions/meetings, team activities to reinforce adapting styles to improve communication

2.    Inquire for Insight - Questioning Skills are critical to coaching success and not many possess them at an expert level, 2-min What? Questioning activity, question with curiosity not preconceived intention or judgment

3.    Tell Your Truth - feedback comes from a place of support and helpfulness, be fully present during coaching conversations, acknowledge feelings and emotions, fine-tune your noticing skills - recognize signs of disengagement/other negative emotions, use "yellow cards" to empower team members to lead up and hold you accountable for poor behavior/actions in order to drive lasting change

4.    Express Confidence - appreciate their work, focus on positives, celebrated successes, acknowledge positive change and goal achievement

The Coaching Process

1.    Connecting - build trust and rapport, be vulnerable

2.    Focusing

3.    Activating

4.    Reviewing

Key takeaways - coaching drives positive attitudes, trust and better results, training can improve the quality of coaching but very few organization invest in coaching skills training for their managers (5%) and 73% say it is a top leadership need.

Our next ROCATD LDC SIG meeting is April 18^th, join us.

Excellus Summer College Internship positions are now posted.  The following information describes the program and includes a link to get more information about each position and how to apply.  Some of their internship positions include:  Learning and Organizational Development, Human Resources, and Compensation.