Go Ahead - Try It!

I like to learn. No, maybe that's not entirely true.  I like to have knowledge but I'm not always amenable to the process of leaning.  I tend to want the knowledge to somehow download into my brain like Neo learning kung fu (yes, that was a complete nerdy Matrix reference I am proud to say). What I also know, though, is that the best way for me to learn is to process the knowledge in smaller pieces. This way I reduce my chances for frustration and increase the chances that I will retain what I have learned as it is easier to apply a bit of knowledge at a time rather than large volumes of data.  It's just how most of our brains work. 

Reducing the learning process to a shorter period of time is also a great way to introduce yourself to something new.  Matt Cutts, an engineer at Google, would agree.  In this short TED talk he mentions the various 30-day "experiments" he completed where he committed to trying new things for 30 days.  It is surprising how little time you need to practice something before it becomes ingrained as habit.

Check out the talk below and go out there and try it!

Grooming Your Unicorn

I am going to begin this post by restating something I have said in the past: happy employees = more productive employees = increased sales, etc.. Shawn Achor, Harvard-trained psychologist and happiness researcher, understands this.  Archor says that we should be looking to design programs around the outliers, the star performers (sometimes so rare they are akin to mythical beings) instead of utilizing "one size fits all" programs implemented with the average employee in mind. Think about that. Most programs are developed using the mean rather than those "odd" employees who offer unique and innovative solutions, who continuously take initiative, and who may not fit the prototypical employee in your organization. As you will see in Archor's TED presentation below, that employee is more apt to turn stresses into challenges that beg for solutions they are happy to work toward.

So go out there and benchmark your stars rather than the average and "groom your unicorns".

A PDP By Any Other Name

Just because (just because I'm so into human resources - yes, it's true and yes, you can giggle) I "Googled" the term "performance development plan" and came up with (drum roll).....37,400,000 hits. Of course, mine was a simple search, no Boolean methodology used, but still I thought that there is a tremendous amount of information to be had on all things performance. There are also myriad terms used in connection with career planning among them: individual development plan, personal development plan, professional development plan, and performance development plan though for purposes of this post I will use the term performance development plan (pdp). I also noticed a rather high number of universities from the University of Idaho to MIT using pdp's. This seemed to make perfect sense to me as a pdp is intended to focus an individual on their career path, the skills they need to develop to help them reach their career goals, and a timeline to guide them.

A pdp can be very useful and enlightening if constructed and utilized in the right manner. Unfortunately, I have heard feedback from managers that they did not feel they had the time, effort, and support developing a pdp warrants. Or - the focus may be on employees who are high-performers and those employees who are not the current shining stars may miss the opportunity a pdp affords. So, quick moral of the story: developing a well-thought out pdp is important to both the organization and the individual. A great pdp:

empowers employees

assist with career succession planning

fosters loyalty

boosts productivity

increases retention