LearnNugget – One Girl Scout Cookie box at a time

As many know, Girl Scout cookies are the bomb!  Their unique flavor and distinct little boxes are bar none to any cookie on the market.  My favorite are the Samoas, but the Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties are a very close second.

The one thing even better than having your favorite Girl Scout cookie is having your favorite Girl Scout Cookie in the off season.  That’s right, if you don’t stock up when they come knocking at your door you have to wait a year for another chance.  You can’t ask your co-worker if they still have an order sheet lying around, and you don’t see any makeshift concession stands out front of your local grocery anymore.  Not for another year!

The strategy here is to buy a year’s supply of these tasty little morsels.   Cookie sales vary throughout the year in different parts of the county and in my neck of the woods that’s late ‘winterish’ time.  I buy a few extra boxes and tuck away one in my drawer at work for mid summer.  At home, we stash a few boxes in the pantry for late summer and Fall.  There’s something about munching on a Peanut Butter Patty in front of co-workers knowing I may be the only one in the office with a Girl Scout cookie!

We’re still working through the first batch and I was taught a very important lesson recently.  Our normal routine in the morning is gathering in the kitchen preparing the day’s lunches.  I make coffee, my wife sorts through the available ingredients, and my step-daughter, Lauren is busy organizing her morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack.

One morning Lauren says to me, “Would you like a Samoa?”  My response to her was, “Um..Duh! Of course I would. Thanks for asking.”  She asked if I would like two or three and I said I would just like two.  As she put two in a little baggy for me she asked in a very persuasive voice, “Wouldn’t you like three?”  At first I was catching on to her game because if I chose three cookies, she would assume it would be OK for her to have three also.  I said, “No thanks. Two is fine.”  What happened next made me laugh the rest of the day…

After that last response, she formed a rather pitiful sad look on her face and then all of a sudden got stern with me.  “You NEED three cookies today.  See, there are 12 left.  If you have three today and I have three today, that leaves six left.  That means we can both have three more tomorrow.”  I was impressed that she was planning so far ahead in assisting me in my lunchtime desert, but I had to challenge her.  “Yes, but if you and I both only have two today, there will be eight cookies left and we’ll have enough for two more days in our lunches.  She would have nothing to do with that math because what she said next made everything clear…

“We need to hurry up and finish this box! We can’t open another box until this one is finsihed and I want a Thin Mint!” (must be a rule my wife imposed)

Well then.  Appealing to her quest to get a Thin Mint, I agreed and had no choice but to accept three Samoa’s that day.

5 Things I Learned About Being Married

Today was my second wedding anniversary. This is both our second marriages and the day we started dating we knew it would be a lifetime.  It just felt better.  Our honeymoon was supposed to be a week in Italy, but due to circumstances we had to stay local.   Our wedding weekend was spent at the ritzy Peabody Hotel in Memphis one night and a fancy Bed & Breakfast our second night with a half day chocolate making class at the Viking Cooking School in between.   Our gift to each other were bracelets.  I gave her a diamond bracelet and she gave me polished stainless one.  I lost mine.

Last year we had talked about going to Italy again but her daughter (my step-daughter) has a hard time with a babysitter for a few hours let alone her mommy being away for a week.  Instead, we stayed in an Antabellum Home B&B in historic Columbus, MS complete with the staff and hosts in period dress and an antique breakfast china layout.  Nice.  I gave her jewelry.  It was the year of paper and she gave me a post card and a map.

I’ve been fooled!

I’ve been had, gagged, and fooled by an 11 yr. old!

April fools day comes around every year, and every year leading up to the big joke day is finding that one unique gag you can play on family or friends.

I love a good prank just like the next guy, and I am guilty of inflicting many frustrated looks in the past. I thought I knew them all.

My step-daughter Lauren was all excited yesterday knowing today was the big Joke day.  She’s almost 11 yrs. old and her idea of a good prank is innocent, harmless, and at best, mischievous.  She acted like she couldn’t wait for today to arrive more than Christmas morning or the night before traveling to Disney World!

The best part of her scheming was asking advice on which gags would be the best and permission to follow through.  She has a list of some really good ones. too.  I guess knowing she had my approval there was no way she’d get into any trouble.

Little did I know, she was saving a good one for me.  I’m actually a bit bummed that I hadn’t thought of this brilliant gag before.

I don’t have an actual set routine in the mornings, but at some point I will eat a bowl of cereal.  I love cereal!  At any given time there is at least half dozen assorted boxes in the pantry ranging from the healthy bran and fiber types, to the more fun like Fruity Pebbles and Crunch Berries.  I had a flavor for Raisin Bran this morning.

I snatched my favorite cereal bowl and fetched the predetermined box of choice from the pantry.  Like any habitual ritual, I went through the motions of filling the bowl to its absolute maximum…to learn what came out of the Raisin Bran box was in fact Choco Crunch!  Ever try to put cereal back in the box?!

Ms. Lauren had gotten into the kitchen early and switched ALL the bags inside each box of cereal so every box hand the wrong flavor. She was secretly watching from the other room and at the moment of climax, she burst into a hysterical laughter rolling on the floor.  Yeah, yeah…you got me.  Drats!  I’ve been fooled!

The day is not over yet! [expressed with deep seeded eyebrows, curled lip, squinty eyes, and rubbing hands together feverishly]

LearnNugget: Always look inside your cereal box before you pour!

AG|09 Winding down…

Wow! What a great couple days! There’s something about coming to Florida in early March that makes it even more betterest! I’m a big kid and I love Disney…to be in a Hotel just minutes from the Lego Store was way too cool.

I digress…

As with any conference like this, it goes without saying that is a jam-packed event with a lot of information to decipher. As of this writing we still have half a day tomorrow, but I think I’m safe in saying there’s not a single person I’ve met that hasn’t gotten a full plate of great material, tips, takeaways, and advice thus far. Big kudos for all the vendors at the Expo, too. I hope their experience was as productive as the conference-goers.

I sat down tonight after having dinner and a leisurely stroll through downtown Disney with new friends to write about my last two days here. Like many, I’m toast and it’s a long day tomorrow along with traveling home. So, I’ve changed my mind and am updating my blog with this short post by shouting out to everyone who made this event successful.

I have to admit that I’ve secretly held an enormous amount of nervousness about presenting my thoughts and theories about communicating graphically and am glad everyone like it. What I learned is it seems to be a true “need.” Not only for practical applications in eLearning, but in general having the basic understanding of how we as humans interact and already communicate with graphic images.

I’m more inspired now that before and have a new level of energy to organize my ideas and work toward publishing something within the next year or two.

Not sure about how to go about that as I can draw better than I can write, let alone publishing anything I write. Anyone know how a “Toon Geek” can start this new journey?

A|G 09 approaching fast!

I am very stoked about this year’s Elearning Guild’s Annual Gathering! This will be my first time attending this conference, but I’m even more excited because I’m also conducting one of the concurrent sessions as well as facilitating a talk at the ID Zone.

I’ve had my blinders on putting all the pieces and parts together in the last few weeks. From one who attends various other conferences with concurrent sessions, I’ve found myself in the middle of the room in one of the most boring presentations ever and not knowing if I should just get up and leave. I’ve put a lot of time into this presentation and I often question whether or not I’ll end up over doing it or worse, missing something.

My goal is not so much to share my theory, but to entertain and for folks to really “get” something to take away. Seriously, with all the other sessions going on at the same time, what prompts someone to attend one over the other? My guess is the same as the way I would choose. In some cases it’s the speaker because I’ve heard him/her before or I’ve read their work and want to “hear” them. Other times the title of the session and its description catches my attention. Sadly, sometimes none of the available sessions interest me and I blindly point at my program and let fate choose for me…that’s worked out well at times and not so well at other times.

Well, I’m not a well-known speaker nor am I authored, so I’m banking on the title here…

If you’re not too tired and burnout, come check out my session on Thursday afternoon, March 12 at 4:00 PM. Session #809 – “Graphic Symbols – The 5th Language”

Hopefully, by 8:45 AM on Friday, you’re still in town and may still be interested to attend the ID Zone – “Great ID, but No Graphic Designer: What Are My Options?”

Looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting new faces! One thing I can promise…you will NOT be bored!

What’s in the box?

Man 1: Whatcha got?
Man 2: A box

Man 1: Where’d ya get it?
Man 2: I don’t know

Man 1: You don’t know?
Man 2: No. Just always had it.

Man 1: What’s in it?
Man 2: I don’t know.

Man 1: You don’t know?
Man 2: Nope.

Man 1: You have a box you don’t know where you got and you don’t know what’s in it.
Man 2: Yep.

Man 1: Don’t you think that’s odd?
Man 2: Yeah, kinda wierd, huh?

Man 1: Always had it?
Man 2: Yep.

Man 1: Ever wonder where it came from?
Man 2: Not really.

Man 1: Ever curious what’s in it?
Man 2: No. Not really.

Man 1: Then why do you have it?
Man 2: I’m supposed to have it.

Man 1: What do you mean you’re supposed to have it?
Man 2: Long as I can remember.

Man 1: Remember what?
Man 2: That I’m supposed to have it.

Man 1: Might be valuable.
Man 2: Might be.

Man 1: Wanna sell it?
Man 2: I dunno.

Man 1: I’ll give you a $100.
Man 2: I dunno.

Man 1: Ok, $200.
Man 2: Ok

——-

Man 3: Whatcha got?
Man 1: A box
…

What’s in a job title?

Janet Clarey wrote a piece about “Learning Professionals” in her blog recently, and as coincidental as it may seem I have had this post title saved in a draft for some time as the same question has been lurking around my noggin for some time.

I’ve been called a lot of things in my life and some of which I cannot share here. My jobs began as Busboy, Dishwasher, Shoe Salesman, Gas Station Attendant, Pizza Delivery Driver, and Lifeguard. Fairly straight forward titles and it doesn’t take a whole lot of thought to have an idea what those job actually do. The problem now lies in what we call career titles, especially in the world of Training & Development.

I started in this industry as a Training Analyst. I really dislike spreadsheets and after 10 minutes I go to sleep if I have to crunch numbers. My friend and then boss said it was simply an opening in the department, but the vision was to develop a new strategy to move us to the next level…that was 5 years ago and three job titles later. Each new title was a promotion, but because the “new” title didn’t exist, we had to write its job description and develop new competencies.

My titles:

• Training Analyst
• Training Specialist II
• Training Technology Specialist
• LMS Administrator

Wanna know what my title is in the big HRIS system in the sky? It is still Training Specialist II.

Janet talks about how she was mocked for writing a paper with the title “Learning Professionals.” When I read her blog about how often she has used that term, it donned on me that I am guilty of the exact same thing. I am guilty of picking up the latest ‘zinger’, ‘tag line’, or ‘phrase’ so I can sound all professional and such.

Not sure if it is a problem in this industry or just a challenge we are all working to overcome. For instance, what’s the difference between an Instructional Designer vs. an Instructional Technologist? Does one spend a larger percentage of time on the “look and feel” of instruction where as the other spends more time on code? My bet is they do a balance of both.

Who in this industry is (if at all) responsible for giving “Learning Professionals” proper titles to choose from? I’ve searched the ASTD database, eLearning Guild’s database, and several others, and there or very few titles out there that are actually titled “LMS Administrator.” Each company puts their own spin on their internal titles yet in the end it’s all the same competencies. It is real hard to keep one’s finger on the pulse in the job market.

When I began working in this role, there was a team of Instructional Designers. I have always liked that title the best – a ‘designer’ of ‘instruction’ – not much confusion there. I am an illustrator/artist by youth and every time I see or hear the term ‘designer,’ I assume anyone with that name in their title should have some fundamental ‘design’ principles. I learned very quickly that design is much more than eye candy. But again, I was looking through a silo perspective that design involved color, layout, imagery, etc. Not the case at all.

As time went on we realized our ID’s were in fact managing entire projects. From the ID’s initial consulting with customers all the way through developing a course, workshop, or eLearning. We decided to change their titles, too…Training Project Managers. Now that’s a very simple straight forward title that doesn’t leave much out as to what someone would do with a title like that. Not. They not only manage entire training projects, they design and develop the entire project, too! Their skills must include project managment, writing, layout & design, development, and good understanding how an LMS operates. Maybe we should look at their titles again – Instructional Training Project Design & Development Administrative Managers!

Or maybe just one big blanket title for all of us….”Gurus of Training!”

As a man thinketh

James Allen was a 19th Century philosopher who wrote a small book titled, “As a Man Thinketh.”  It is one of those little books that has hundreds of references to logical thinking and basic fundamental principles.  They came in several sizes but I got the one that is about 2″ by 2″ and is a perfect pocket companion.

One of my favorite quotes is “An idea is first formed in the mind as a thought.”  Imagine that?…every thing we see or do was first an idea in someone’s mind.  At a very basic level the ball point pen was first an idea.  To a more modern relation, I recall when blogging first came out when the phrase “Web Logging” was first introduced.  We all have ideas but how often to we stop to “think” where that idea came from?

You might say to yourself, “Self, How does this apply to learning?”  I’m glad you asked.  My work is in corporate retail training where RESULTS are the measurment of the ages!  We are so focused on results (and the lack there of) we lose sight of why results are not where we would expect. 

We know Results are driven by Performance, and we know Performance is driven by Behaviors.  We also know Behaviors are due to the thoughts of those we want the eventual Results from.  So…

Leaders review results with their managers and say, “These results are poor.  Your performance is lacking.”  The manager then goes to their repsective subordinates and say, “Our perfomance is not up to par.  You better change your behavior.”  That manager then goes to their subordinates and say, “Your behaviors stink! You better think about how to improve.”  In the end we focus on the results and push down with vigor and enthusiasm to change those results in dismal failure.  Well, maybe not failure but we sure do put a lot of energy into it.

Ok, back to Mr. Allen.  Hmm…so if an idea is first formed in the mind as a thought then why not flip this around.  Lets look at a suggestion focusing on the thoughts of the base line workers.  Give them the tools, messages, and training focused on thoughts that affect their behavior.  Their behavior will then change their performance and Walla! the results will take care of themself.

I need to ‘think’ about this some more…

Web 2.0 – an observation

Continuing a thought(s) on Web 2.0 I see this paradigm shift in the Millennium generation as two-fold. First, it is about being connected 24/7, but I see it extending further into their (‘their’ being those young people parents don’t understand) real world. The new coined phrase of “Social Networking” encompasses what we know of as Web 2.0 today. But what does “Social Networking” mean in their real world as it applies to Web 2.0? I don’t know actually, but I have a theory…Life 2.0

I’m fascinated observing my son who will be 20 years old in a couple months. Not only does he ‘tag’ me on his social web space, he keeps me tuned into things I wouldn’t normally be aware of. Not so much directly saying, “Dad, check this out.” but rather his actions and behaviors I observe often generate questions I direct to him. Or I simply sit back and watch.

An example I witnessed was on a recent trip to Disney. We were boarding the roller coaster at Animal Kingdom, “Everest – Legend of the Yeti.” Fortunately we were directed to the front where my son and step-daughter got to sit in the very front seat. I sat in the same car in the second row. He said he was going to take a movie of the ride because of the perfect opportunity of riding in the front seat with no obstructive view in front of him. Watching him from my seat as he held the camera while we rode was not all that amazing. What was amazing is he was holding the camera steady with one hand ’steering’ it as we banked the curves AND sending play-by-play updates via text message to his friend with the other hand – or should I say thumb.

I love riding roller coasters and even the biggest ones I try to hold my hands in the air. Some of the bigger ones though I have to hold the grab handle. Now I can see me attempting to hold on with one hand while holding a camera with the other, but I’d be afraid I’d drop the camera. More so, I would be so focused on the ride that I wouldn’t pay attention if I was even getting a good shot. That all being said, I cannot see how I could manage a steady hold on a camera AND sending one legible text message let alone play-by-play updates!

What does all this mean? This generation is simply wired different. Not only can they play a MMORPG, text message, download songs, and keep up with their social space on the web, they can do it all simultaneously without missing a beat.

Their social network is not just their presence on the web, it’s their whole life! Maybe we should look at Life 2.0?

Until my next thought…

The First!

Welcome to my blog. My first blog post actually.

Figured it was time to get one of these. Why? Why not. I can use it for useless random thoughts, intriguing ideas, and hopefully my thoughts on workforce learnining someone will benefit.