iPods for Docs
iPods are becoming a powerful tool in learning and development. And for those of you in HR L&D in the medical business, iPod learning can even help save lives. Yahoo News reports:
Doctors can greatly improve their stethoscope skills and therefore their ability to diagnose heart problems by listening repeatedly to heartbeats on their iPods.
Previous research has shown that the average rate of correct heart sound identification by physicians is 40 percent.
In a new study, 149 general internists listened 400 times to five common heart murmurs during a 90-minute session with iPods. After the session, the average score improved to 80 percent.
In L&D, you can’t always get what you want, but with iPod learning you get what you need.
UPDATE: In a comment, Charlie writes: “I’m wondering if cheap mp3 players could be used in less esoteric fields, such as call center training. Each month, a group of tough calls could be uploaded to the players of hundreds of call center reps - like podcasting for employee development.”
Technorati Tags: iPod, doctors, L&D
What’s Your Mindset? Is Talent Nature or Nurture?
Some people have talent and others just don’t, right? The smart ones don’t really need training and development, they just know what to do, right? You waste your time trying to bring along the slackers, right?
You can probably guess right now that the “right” answer is “no.” I just finished reading an article that was recommended enthusiastically by Guy Kawasaki called The Effort Effect. The article is a review of the research on talent and success by Stanford psychologist Prof. Carol Dweck, who recently wrote Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Quick summary:
Through more than three decades of systematic research, she has been figuring out answers to why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others don’t—why some become Muhammad Ali and others Mike Tyson. The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed.
What’s more, Dweck has shown that people can learn to adopt the latter belief and make dramatic strides in performance. These days, she’s sought out wherever motivation and achievement matter, from education and parenting to business management and personal development.
I put in my order for Mindset this morning. The entire concept has some direct bearing on performance management, which is one of those processes, along with road construction and planning, could use a huge overhaul. Prof. Dweck’s research has business thinkers talking about HR implications:
Business School professor Jeffrey Pfeffer says Dweck’s research has implications for the more workaday problem of performance management. He faults businesses for spending too much time in rank-and-yank mode, grading and evaluating people instead of developing their skills. “It’s like the Santa Claus theory of management: who’s naughty and who’s nice.”
I’ll get Mindset read and write a review within a week. I’m going to bet that my mindset will be reset. Hooray again for “strong opinions, loosely held.”
Power Words for Your Resume
Developed. Negotiated. Revitalized. | Bolstered. Conceptualized. Fortified. | Induced. Launched. Prompted.
Ever need just the right power word for your resume? Here’s a complete list of English power words from eMurse that you can use to “bolster,” “fashion,” and “modernize” your curriculum vitae.
Peddling and Pedagogy: Learning the Connect 18 Way
Here’s an idea for you if you’re in L&D: Combine exercise and learning. Connect 18 combines peddling and pedagogy to arrive at a pretty good destination. Shiny, happy people…who can speak Spanish.
The Connect18 Group Tour program features specialized educational video courses designed to be viewed while riding a stationary cycle. The educational material is integrated with physical exercise instruction and taught in the context of a cycling tour. Riders tour regions of the world that are relevant to the subject matter being taught. For example, on a Beginner’s Spanish Language tour, cyclists may find themselves cycling through rural Mexican villas while they learn language, culture, and history.
What a great idea. You want to encourage healthy living and exercise. Give your employees a payoff; give them a learning experience at the same time. Somehow exercise is so much better when there’s more to it than just exercising. I like riding my bike, but I like riding with Charlie even more. I like walking Snickers the Wonder Dog at 6 am, but I like it even more when one of my neighbors is up and we walk along talking in the quiet of the morning. And I suspect I’d like to learn a little more Spanish while I did some spinning on a stationary bike. Great idea.
Connect 18 say they will offer classes in “current events, foreign languages, health and wellness, history, literature, art history, music, political science, wine, fashion, traffic school, continuing professional education, professional certification preparation, standardized test preparation, and much more.” This is an idea where “spinning your wheels” is a good thing.
Praise, Performance Reviews and Risk-Taking
The Inverse Power of Praise
Praise works…to a point. How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise summarizes a body of praise and performance research in New York public schools. Guess what? Give too much praise — especially vacuous praise — and people respond by limiting their risk-taking and effort.
I know it sounds counter-intuitive. That’s because it is. I know it’s hard to reconcile that too much praise can backfire. We live in a self-esteem movement era. I’ll leave you to read the New Yorker article. You can draw your own conclusions about over-praising children and the negative effects that might have. But the article made me think about performance and performance reviews. (Yep, I’ve been thinking a lot about performance reviews lately.)
Do Performance Reviews Stifle Risk-Taking?
Does the mere fact of giving a performance review kill creativity? Let’s answer a question with a question: How would you rate two different direct reports — one who took no risks but accomplished all her goals and another who took some big, calculated risks but didn’t complete 30% of her goals because she was occupied with big effort?
Yes, there are a lot of extenuating circumstances. And I can hear you saying, “Well, we just can’t have everyone running around freelancing.” Sure, let’s stipulate to that. But what’s the best way to get a great performance rating? Is it to take big risks? Or is it to comply? As Dilbert author Scott Adams wrote:
It’s important to agree with people if you want them to think you are a genius. For most people, the definition of smart is‚ “Thinks exactly like me but even more so.”
We’re still working feverishly on Get Rid of Performance Reviews Once and For All. This Inverse Power of Praise research is just more fuel for the fire.
What’s Your Take on Praise and Performance?
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