A trainer and coach offers four basic rules to help HR executives successfully navigate through emotionally charged confrontations. And the first rule? Maintain a sense of calm and open-mindedness. In my work as a negotiation coach and trainer, I come across HR professionals all the time who don’t...

Three-ring circuses have three acts going on simultaneously under the big top. Separate and outside the rings, clowns run around acting silly. Leadership is like that, only more so. Leadership is a four-ring circus, complete with occasional clowns inside the rings. This is why it is the most studied...

Social networking is not only changing the way HR leaders think of legal risks or recruiting opportunities. It also should make them think about the way they select high-potential candidates for leadership-development programs. In recent weeks I attended two events with CHROs from Fortune 500 companies....

Based on Brandon Hall Research awards submissions, CLO columnist Brandon Hall presents ways to train a talented, winning sales force. Selling products and services is the lifeblood of a corporation. It doesn’t matter how good your products are if they don’t sell.That makes training salespeople...

A new breed of learner is driving the evolution of learning in companies. Over the past decade, the story of enterprise learning has increasingly been dominated by an emphasis on the “learning” part and a de-emphasis on the “enterprise” part. It’s like an adaptation of...

Two years ago, I wrote the following in Chief Learning Officer magazine: “Reality is an endless stream of knowledge, culture and ideas that flows faster and faster. Traditional books are snapshots of that stream. The swifter the stream, the shorter the life of the book. A book is an event. We...

The human mind is a great device that processes information quickly and efficiently. However, its attention span is getting shorter, particularly given the ever-growing demands of various data streams on this rather limited commodity. With the world of information growing at a rapid rate, managing...

By customizing learning at the individual level, organizations can reap business benefits, such as improved performance, more motivated and loyal employees and reduced overall learning costs. Organizations have a long history of assembling learners in the same room at the same time and force-feeding...

In an ever more complex and volatile business environment, organizations must leverage all the resources of a global firm to develop and provide for learners and leaders. In October 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high of 14,164. By March 2009, the Dow had sunk to 6,469, and...

Talent managers know transitions are often a key part of leadership and career development for employees. In times of change, individuals can re-explore their goals, assess their capabilities, accelerate their learning and close gaps in their experience. Talent managers too often fail to consider how...