5 Steps to Business Impact

By Sean P. Murray

May 13, 2011

2 Min read

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  I will be speaking at the 2011 ASTD International Conference in Orlando (May 22nd – 25th) on how to achieve business results from training. The following is a description of the presentation and learning outcomes for the event. Those of us who have been in and around the learning  industry a long time know that the quality of instructional design, materials, delivery, and facilitation of training has steadily increased through the years and continues to improve.  In addition, technology...

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The 8 Most Important Qualities of Leadership at Google

By Sean P. Murray

March 15, 2011

3 Min read

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For most of Google’s history, and especially in the early years, it took a laissez-faire policy toward leadership. The company hired smart engineers, promoted the most brilliant into leadership positions and then pretty much left them alone. The assumption was that they were smart and would figure it out or ask questions if they needed help. As Google evolved, it became apparent that some managers thrived in this environment more than others.  In a recent article, Laszlo Bock, Google’s...

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How Effective Leaders Deal with Information Overload

By Sean P. Murray

February 22, 2011

4 Min read

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Information overload is not only a productivity killer; it can also lead to low morale, anxiety and mistakes.  The U.S. Military has identified “information overload” as the underlying cause of several major mistakes in the war in Afghanistan, and is taking steps to address the issue.  A recent article in the New York Times explains that modern warfare generates unprecedented amounts of data to help soldiers make better decisions, but: Research shows that the kind of intense multitasking...

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How Technology is Impacting Leadership

By Sean P. Murray

January 26, 2011

4 Min read

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The wonders of technology are all around us.  Smart phones, ipads, kindles, email, apps, GPS, blogs and twitter to name just a few examples.  But step back for a moment and consider the impact of this technology on leadership. There is a famous essay in the the Atlantic titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid“.  The author, Nicholas Carr, reflects on how his daily Internet use, searching for information and skipping from topic to topic, seemed to change how his brain thinks.  Gone were the days when...

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When Brainstorming, Start with the Bad Ideas

By Sean P. Murray

January 19, 2011

4 Min read

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 At one time or another we’ve all been invited to attend a brainstorming session, where the leader stands up in front of a whiteboard, pen in hand, and says something like, “Innovation is critical. We need to come up with some good ideas to stay innovative.  So who wants to start?” As any survivor of one of these sessions will tell you, what transpires over the next few hours is often generously referred to as “brainstorming,” while others might call it a waste of time.  The reason these...

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Move Over LMS, Here Comes the Learning Portal

By Sean P. Murray

January 14, 2011

3 Min read

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The Learning Management System (LMS) was originally designed for “managing” learning across the enterprise. That is, the true customer or end-user for the LMS is the training department, often charged with keeping track of who has taken what course. To use the analogy of a university, the LMS is the administration office. You remember, the face-less bureaucracy that tracked courses and credits earned.  The administration office is not what inspires college students to achieve higher levels of...

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Build Trust and Be Transparent

By Sean P. Murray

August 27, 2010

2 Min read

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The Fourth annual Ethics and Workplace Survey published by Deloitte found that over one third of Americans will be looking for a new job in the coming year. And of this disgruntled group, the key issues that are driving turnover are a lack of trust and lack of transparency.   These results reinforce the value of building trust with your employees through transparent and open communication.  What employees are looking for, especially in times of change and turmoil, is senior leadership that they...

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Urgency for Leadership Development is Growing

By Sean P. Murray

August 9, 2010

2 Min read

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Leadership development has long been considered a discretionary expense.  During economic downturns it is often one of the first budget line-items to be cut.  However, there was a different feeling this time around.  As we entered the recession in 2008 and 2009  there was hope, and some evidence, that  companies had learned from past downturns.  Eliminating leadership development only left them further behind when the economy did start picking up again, as it inevitably does. In the Wall Street...

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Alignment of Learning to Business Goals

By Sean P. Murray

August 4, 2010

2 Min read

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Has the recession forced organizations to more closely align learning objectives to business goals? A new study by CLO Magazine surveying over 1,500 senior learning and development executives found: “90 percent of CLOs believe their learning will be more aligned with organizational business objectives this year. That’s music to some executives’ ears.” Jim Gillece, AlliedBarton’s senior vice president and chief people officer, talks in the article about the importance of well-defined leadership...

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Feedback is a Gift

By Sean P. Murray

February 3, 2010

3 Min read

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“Get a feedback loop and listen to it. … When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.” – Randy Pausch (1960 – 2008) was a Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and a best-selling author, who achieved worldwide fame for his speech The Last Lecture, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and having only a few months to live. Most people, by now, know the story of Randy Pausch and his Last Lecture.    The book was a best-seller and the video of the lecture...

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