By Bob Pike
As trainers, we naturally believe we have large stores of empathy for the people we train. After all, we want our trainees to learn. We also want them to master the skills and knowledge that will help them to perform better. And we want to help create a workplace that will support them in applying new skills and knowledge after the training has ended.

By Tony O’Driscoll, Executive Director, Center for Technology, Entertainment, and Media (CTEM), Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
On February 16, 2011, a computer named Watson beat Ken Jennings, the all-time money winner and record holder for the longest winning streak on game show Jeopardy!
On February 1, 2012, Facebook, having crossed a threshold of more than 800 million users, filed for an IPO that has been projected to put a $75 billion to $100 billion valuation on the company that was founded less than 10 years ago.

By Roy Saunderson, President, Recognition Management Institute
Can we really produce leaders the way we’ve always done?
Perhaps therein lies the answer to our emerging shortage of talent and the void of succession planning, especially as many senior leaders begin to depart the workforce. We can’t keep doing the same leadership development if we want real leaders for tomorrow.

By Jeff Kortes, President, Human Asset Management LLC

According to Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link, authors of “Smart Trust: Creating Prosperity, Energy, and Joy in a Low-Trust World,” there are three primary reasons extending Smart Trust is smart:

By Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA
I’m curious: How do you judge a “productive” day as such? Is it defined by the number of e-mails you sent and received? Perhaps how many meetings you attended? It could even be how “early” you arrived home for dinner with your family.
Before you leave work, for just the next five work days, stop and handwrite on a 3x5 notecard basic things about the day, such as:

Even with limited resources, you can provide effective leadership training for your team, says Mike Noble, managing partner at Camden Consulting Group. Here’s how:

>> Cornerstone OnDemand, a provider of cloud-based talent management software solutions, forged a strategic relationship with Visier Inc., under which Visier’s cloud-based workforce analytics and planning solutions now are available to Cornerstone clients.
>> To find and acquire the people uniquely qualified to lead its global hospitality operation, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts now is combining the direct engagement of social networks with the insights enabled by Taleo Corporation solutions such as Taleo Recruiting.

>> Qumu, a business video platform provider, released the Qumu Video Control Center Professional Edition, a targeted solution for AV broadcast departments. The Qumu VCC Professional Edition is a central management system that allows editors to easily contribute, share, and track videos during the post-production process.

>>Meridian Knowledge Solutions’ new version of its learning management system (LMS) now includes Meridian Social, an array of online tools for extending informal learning across an organization. The Meridian Global LMS, which delivers and analyzes the impact of online learning, is part of Meridian’s human capital software platform.

Talent remains a toppriority for CEOs, according to PwC’s 15th Annual Global CEO Survey. Some 53 percent of global CEOs and 46 percent of U.S. CEOs see the availability of key skills as a threat to their growth prospects. Indeed, 29 percent of CEOs said they were unable to pursue a market opportunity or have had to cancel or delay a strategic initiative because of talent in the last 12 months.

By Amy Wu
Like many people, Prudential LLC Manager Nicolo Carpaneda has a few blind spots. Prior to 2011, his No. 1 blind spot, he reveals, was he often talked a lot—perhaps too much—during meetings.
“At work, I am a social person, so I used to go to meetings and frequently fill empty space with chatter,” says Carpaneda, who is based in London and a member of Prudential’s Momentum Leadership Program, a select in-house talent training and development program. “I wanted to be liked by others.”

Succession Planning
By Kevin W. Bruny, SPHR, Chief Learning Officer, Chesterfield County, VA

My grandfather, George Halas, was one of the original founders of what is now the National Football League. He played professional football himself for 10 years and coached for 40. My mother had 11 children, enough to field our own team. Today, she is 89, yet very much involved in the management of one of the greatest sports enterprises, the Chicago Bears. My father’s family included educators, musicians, and military men. Growing up in the

By Margery Weinstein
Any organization with a comprehensive training program has a leadership development curriculum. These programs include everything from conventional classroom learning with guest speakers to high-tech simulations and lavish retreats. There also may be mentorship thrown in, as well as multiple job rotations. Despite the well-rounded curricula, many companies don’t do enough to determine whether any of it is working. With budgets still tight in an uncertain economy, companies need to ramp up their efforts to better assess their leadership coursework.

By Margery Weinstein
Your future leaders’ creativity and problem-solving skills have been honed in leadership courses, but that doesn’t mean they are ready to use those skills to further your company’s place in the world. With emerging markets in Asia, South America, and other areas of the world, your workforce needs to have an understanding of and interest in cultures beyond the city or town they are based in.

Sometimes the absence of change can herald change on the horizon—and that just may be the case when it comes to creation of global leadership development programs. The percentage of companies that have implemented global leadership development programs has remained the same since 2010, according to the third annual Developing Successful Global Leaders Studyconducted by Trainingmagazine, the American Management Association (AMA), and The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). But the key here is that the figure (31 percent) did not decline.