Clients often ask us to recommend training resources to help them achieve their goals. When it comes to improving individual and team performance, a good place to start is with productivity. In other words, getting things done. How can we prepare individuals to implement time-bound work goals rapidly, effectively, and efficiently, with a successful and measurable finish?   Here are two important first steps in improving the productivity that leads to greater individual and team performance:

Thinking It Through
 
Create a strategy that is compelling enough for individuals and teams to follow. Ensure that the direction is set, priorities are established, and there has been sufficient planning. The vision should be so clear that, if asked, you could sketch it on a piece of paper.

Signs that your organization isn't "thinking it through" include:

• People seem "fuzzy" about the future, with only a vague sense of where to go or what to do
• Management's expectations come across as "I'll know it when I see it"
• A complacent attitude toward change or an "everything seems ok" attitude
• Lack of data on budgets, resources, and analysis

Taking Action
 
Ensure that your organization is already performing the actions necessary to execute the strategy, such as engagement, execution, and accountability. Without these, no amount of vision, planning, or influence will bring success. It is critical for everyone involved to be personally engaged, be able to execute plans effectively, and have clear accountability for their actions.

Indications that your organization isn't "taking action" include:

• Lack of sincerity about the changes individuals and the organization need to make
• Hedging bets against success
• Confusion over accountability and how to "keep score"
• Not including key stakeholders in the decision-making process
• Leaving it up to individuals to figure things out

Setting the stage for improved productivity will help to encourage greater individual and team performance.

Click here for more information about Getting Things Done

The statistics are staggering. A whopping 40% of all new supervisors fail within the first eighteen months. Why? They either get fired, quit, or receive a poor performance review (Manchester, Inc. 2005). And many aspiring supervisors never even attempt the position, turning down promotions simply because they fear failure and feel unprepared for the change in responsibility.

In today's business environment, organizations can't afford to become statistics. Now is the time to be doing more with less, and the role of the front-line supervisor is growing in importance. Yet many organizations continue to promote top-performing or senior employees with little thought, assuming their performance will continue to blossom as supervisors. This assumption is rarely successful. Rather, it typically ends in stress, poor performance, and lack of results.

The key to success is preparation. Before promoting the next employee, it is important to recognize that being a supervisor requires more than just technical skill. While the idea may sound simple, so many organizations fail to prepare supervisors properly for their new role.

As a trainer, you can help to ensure their success with training that starts by addressing these basic but vital issues:

• What does it really mean to be a supervisor?
• What is the scope of the supervisory role, and how does it differ from being an employee?
• What specific knowledge and skill sets are required of supervisors?
• What is the new supervisor’s current skill set, and how does it need to improve or change?

Before new supervisors embark on their missions, it is also important to arm them with a "road map" - a practical framework and action plan that will help them to build necessary skills and guide them along the way. Simple things to do, but a little preparation goes a long way toward success.

Click here for more information about Stepping Up: A Road Map for New Supervisors

A MODEL OF TEAMWORK: CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

Jungle Escape became an instant hit with trainers and their audiences when it was originally introduced in the late 1970s. Three decades later, we celebrate its 30th anniversary as a classic training game and team-building tool used by thousands around the globe.
 
"The game was originally created for one of our training programs," says Dr. Rollin Glaser, founder of HRDQ and author of Jungle Escape. "The purpose of the activity was to help groups focus on some of the major issues blocking teamwork. It was an instant success. Even after all of these years, people still to refer to HRDQ as 'the helicopter company'."
 
Over the years, HRDQ clients have used Jungle Escape in many creative ways. From decorating the training room to look like a jungle to making the helicopter construction difficult by withholding parts, our clients have embellished the basic activity to further the excitement.
 
"Jungle Escape is a great way to make an immediate difference with a team. It captured our imaginations and now we plan to create a larger training experience to build on the learning benefits," said Steve Schofield, Regional Sales Training Manager for Comcast University.
 
Today, Jungle Escape is in its Fourth Edition, and continues to be HRDQ's most popular training game.

Click here for more information about Jungle Escape 

AUTHOR Q & A
INNOVATION: IT’S NOT JUST FOR GENIUSES

Junkyard Games: The Outrageously Fun Innovation Simulation is an exciting new training game from HRDQ. We recently interviewed co-author Ron Roberts about his new release and the importance of innovation in today’s organizations.
 
Q: How do you define innovation, and why is it important to organizations today?
 
A: Creativity is the act of coming up with something new - a product, service, concept, material, device, application, or process. Innovation is the act of integrating that creation into the day-to-day operation and activities of society so that there is a high, constant, and sustainable demand for it.
 
Innovation is the lifeblood of organizations because it generates the new products, services, and processes needed to meet the ever-changing needs of clients and consumers in a world driven by rapid and often unforeseen change.
 
Q: Who needs to be innovative?
 
A: Everyone. Whether you are a scientist in a lab or a maintenance person helping to keep the offices healthy and free from bacteria, everyone at all levels - in every organization - has firsthand knowledge that can be beneficial to improving performance and success.
 
Q: Is it possible to learn how to be innovative?
 
A: Yes! Anyone can learn how to be innovative simply by practicing on a regular basis. It also takes courage - courage to overcome the natural fear that is associated with innovation. Courage to think outside of the box. And courage to take a risk and tell others about your ideas. But if you can overcome this trepidation, you may be the lucky one who comes up with the brilliant idea that changes the way your company does business, saves the organization significant amounts of time and money, or dramatically increases performance.
 
It’s entirely possible that your first idea - or your 25th or 100th - won’t be a smashing success right out of the box. But it is important to remember that one new idea can trigger a whole host of new ideas amongst you, your team, or the organization. So while your idea may not be accepted as it was originally conceived, it may spark an innovative idea in someone else.
 
Q: Junkyard Games introduces a 7-step innovation process. How does this model work?
 
A: To put it very simply, the 7-step innovation process is a way of moving from a gut feeling or raw concept to a well-oiled, valuable product or service - and all of the necessary steps in between.
 
Q: How would you use Junkyard Games to solve a problem?
 
A: Junkyard Games allows participants to practice the 7-step innovation process and apply it to problem solving in a logical, simple, and easy-to-use way. Participants are able to achieve their goals and objectives through innovation to solve any problem, simply by following the steps outlined by the model.
 
Q: What are the primary benefits of using Junkyard Games in the training classroom?
  
A: One of the primary benefits of using Junkyard Games in the training classroom is the hands-on, tactile, and visceral experience it gives the audience. Participants get to feel the excitement of innovating, and they are able to see the many different ways they can be creative and innovative. As a facilitator, it is amazing to watch learning in action. Even though each team starts the simulation with similar materials, the results are always creative and varied. It is exciting to watch innovation come from within each person, and to see the different results it yields each time.
 
Q: What makes Junkyard Games an effective learning tool?
 
A: A few high-level adult thinkers learn through insight, but the majority of people tend to learn from repetition, and from trial and error. Junkyard Games enhances both components of learning. It incorporates both insight and brainstorming, and there are repeated opportunities for the group members to practice their ideas through trial and error until they get it just right. Through constant repeated effort, previously unseen ideas can surface and become more conscious. And as consciousness changes, so does the process of innovation and of learning from both mistakes and successes.
 
Q: Do you have a specific experience using the product that you can share?
  
A: Yes, I recently worked with a group of pharmaceutical strategic planners. They were charged with the challenge of discovering new and innovative ways to introduce environmentally friendly methods to improve their organization’s manufacturing processes, both in the short term and as far out as 20 years from now.
 
I used Junkyard Games as a way to encourage innovative thinking and introduce the 7-step model. The audience had a great time playing the game, and afterwards we applied the principles of process improvement and innovation to their specific green manufacturing challenge. The level of brainstorming within the group was off the charts! They were very pleased with the results, and we ended the session with ideas and a process they could put into immediate motion.

Ron Roberts - Co-Author of Junkyard Games Ron Roberts is a recognized consultant, trainer, and author. An expert in the field of accelerated experiential learning, he has created more than 70 games, tools, and digital applications, and holds six patents on learning technology. Ron has a master’s degree in counseling psychology, serves as the president of two companies, Action Centered Training, Inc. and ACT Games, and is a professor in both the management and communications departments at Penn State University.

Click here for more information about Junkyard Games