Improving Performance of College Boards
by Chuck Howard, CPT

Not to be outdone by their administrators, college boards are now getting into the act of linking the achievement of organizational goals and objectives to performance improvement for board members, as evidenced by the process adopted as standard policy by Olds College in Alberta, Canada. Working closely with the college’s Learning Enhancement Services team, the board developed a performance improvement process that follows the basic principles of the Standards of Performance Technology.

Focus on Results
The Olds College board engages in an annual review of the Olds College Ends Statements, which include values, vision, mission, and outcomes. These Ends Statements guide the development of the college’s rolling four-year business plan, which is approved by the board in June of each year and forwarded to the Government of Alberta. Likewise, the Ends Statements guide the development of the high-level strategic directions of the college management team. This is a “results” focus for the development and regular updating of a Board Skill Profile that encompasses all of the skills that board members need to achieve the board’s objectives. This board performance improvement process cycle follows a series of steps:

• The Board Evaluation Committee reviews the Ends Statements data and recommends changes to the Board Skill Profile. Once these changes are approved, the committee directs the board secretary to prepare Board Performance Review Packages for each board member.
• Board members are expected to complete a performance review of their own skills relative to the Board Skill Profile along with a ranking of their preferences for skills that they want to contribute to meet board objectives. Additionally, they complete a 360° feedback performance review of their peers’ skill contributions.
• After reviewing the data, the board chair schedules meetings with each board member to discuss the results of the feedback and uses that data to consult with each board member to develop an annual Performance Improvement Plan that will facilitate each member in improving skills that contribute to meeting the board’s objectives.
• The vice chair is charged with the responsibility of meeting with the board chair to review the results of the chair’s self-evaluation and the board 360° feedback, which results in the completion of a Performance Improvement Plan for the chair.
• Upon completion of the process, the chair provides a report to the board summarizing the professional development plans for board members.

Take a Systems Approach
As previously described, the board performance improvement process is systematic in that it is informed by a well-defined Ends Review process that includes clear statements of organizational outcomes for the year. The resulting Board Skill Profile utilized as an evaluation tool for each board member gives clear direction for the establishment of annual performance improvement plans and systematic evaluation of their effectiveness relative to the accomplishment of board outcomes.

Add Value
College president H.J. (Tom) Thompson reports that the process has brought about significant improvement in the performance of individual board members and, in turn, a paradigm shift in the level of board participation in the governance of Olds College. This transformation can be described in three phases:

• Initial Board Behavior: Prior to the development and implementation of the Olds College board performance improvement process, the focus of board member participation was to rely on their experiences outside the college environment for processing and responding to the data provided by college administration.
• Modified Board Behavior: Soon after the implementation of the performance improvement process, individual board members started to develop skills and gain confidence in their abilities to perform more effectively during board meetings and as members of board committees. The collective contribution of the board moved to more strategic level thinking and responses, comparing systems and operational models, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, and providing feedback on their suitability for improving Olds College performance.
• Transformed Board Behavior: With continual consistent application of the performance improvement process, board members have now progressed to actively participating in generative thinking, which has resulted in the creation of new models that have significantly contributed to the growth and performance of the college.
      The process has also added value by identifying skills that are needed but currently lacking. The board uses this information to recommend to the government body who appoints new board members to select those who have the interests and skills that the board needs to achieve its outcomes.
      The president also stated that this process has facilitated shared leadership between the board and administration at Olds College, in that it has created a safe environment based on a clear understanding of individual roles, as well as an alignment of the administrative evaluation process with the board improvement process.

Establish Collaborative Partnerships
The application of the process has given synergy to the creation of a team approach to achieving board and college objectives. By its very nature, the process encourages individual board members to choose the roles in which they have skills or expertise, or skills they wish to develop that will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of their board.

Summary
Likely, the greatest benefit to the process of improving performance, collectively and individually, is to further members’ confidence in their ability, skill, and knowledge in thinking and working together to accomplish board objectives. The fact that the college is commencing construction on a mega project that will see the development of a Community Learning Campus at Olds College is testimony to the success of this practical application of the Standards of Performance Technology.

Chuck Howard, CPT, is coordinator of Learning Enhancement Services at Olds College located in Olds, Alberta, Canada. He has provided leadership for the application of the principles and standards of performance technology in the development of the learner-centered, competency-based training programs offered at the college. Chuck also consults with organizations and businesses that are clients of the college to develop performance improvement interventions that meet their needs. He may be reached at choward@oldscollege.ca.

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TrendSpotters:
The Criterion-referenced Test Development Model
by Carol Haig, CPT, and Roger Addison, CPT, EdD

We are pleased to welcome Sharon Shrock, PhD, and Bill Coscarelli, PhD, to TrendSpotters. Sharon (sashrock@siu.edu) and Bill (coscarel@siu.edu) are professors of Curriculum and Instruction at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) and specialize in instructional design and evaluation. Both have lectured around the world and have consulted with more than 30 global corporations. Sharon and Bill are regular presenters at ISPI conferences, and Bill is a past president of ISPI. They are the recipients of numerous awards and honors and received ISPI’s 1991 Outstanding Book award for Criterion-referenced Test Development, which discusses the Criterion-referenced Test Development Model. For more information, visit www.shrockandcoscarelli.com.

Genesis of the Model
Proper testing is often skipped because people cannot write tests and do not want to write tests. Tests frequently fail to get the desired results because they are poorly designed. And, testing brings up emotional baggage from past school days. The Criterion-referenced Test Development Model enables users to overcome all these obstacles and write tests that work. As Bill reminds us, “Developing a test right costs no more than doing it wrong.”

Some years ago, Sharon and Bill were building a workshop to teach an untrained client group how to write criterion-referenced tests. The literature on test creation contains few models and tends to focus on classical, norm-referenced testing procedures. Consequently, Sharon and Bill built the Criterion-referenced Test Development Model from components from many sources. The model enabled the clients to create effective criterion-referenced tests.

Model Description
A criterion-referenced test is focused on specific competencies to determine if an employee has the skills to do a particular task. The competencies must match the job, and the test must ask questions that simulate the way the employee gets information and solves problems on the job.

The Criterion-referenced Test Development Model enables a skilled or unskilled person to create a test by following 13 specific steps. Click here to read a brief article, Make the Test Match the Job, that describes each step in the model in more detail.

Figure 1. The Criterion-referenced Test Development Model.

How To Use the Model
When you have to develop a test, follow the model. Consider it your security blanket and follow the steps. If you are an instructional designer, use the model to build your Level 2 evaluation. Legal considerations are built into the process and flagged for the test developer in Criterion-Referenced Test Development. The book is a great help if you are not able to follow all the steps or must cut corners in the test creation process; it tells you the consequences of leaving things out.

Success Story
Hewlett Packard realized significant results from using the Criterion-referenced Test Development Model to create a certification process for employees. A partnership composed of HP, SIUC, and Sharon and Bill conducted a global needs assessment to define what certification would be at HP.

They began with a pilot course and then helped clean up the memory-level questions so common in traditional attempts at testing—the ones that require test takers to spew out memorized information rather than reason through sample situations to solve real-world problems. Next, Sharon and Bill trained HP staffers to use the model, and they built new tests. The tests had to prove that employees had the competencies to do their jobs. The results from the new tests were such that HP eventually created an external certification service.

Advice to Users of the Criterion-referenced Test Development Model
Here at TrendSpotters Central, we recall several agonizing experiences with test development that led us to seek out a testing expert for guidance. In one case, we asked the expert to critique a particular test and, from the feedback we received, we created a job aid to guide us in future test creation. We would have killed for the Criterion-referenced Test Development Model in those days.

Sharon and Bill’s clients recommend the book particularly because of the exercises it contains. We concur. Try the model on the next test you have to develop.

Links to the Performance Technology Landscape
The Criterion-referenced Test Development Model supports these principles of performance technology:

Application Exercise
Try these activities:

• Analyze an existing test in your organization against the Criterion-referenced Test Development Model and identify the memory-level questions. Are your tests testing regurgitation or application?
• How do you determine the cut score for tests? Is it arbitrary, based on someone’s school experiences? Remember that a criterion-referenced test results in a “score” of Pass or No Pass. Are you using a proper technique such as the Angoff?

Opportunities to Learn More
For a more thorough grounding in developing criterion-referenced tests, come to Sharon and Bill’s pre-conference workshop on Sunday, April 29, Constructing Level Two Evaluation and Certification Systems: Technical and Legal Guidelines in San Francisco, or attend their two-day ProSeries Workshop February 22-23, in Phoenix, Arizona.

To review past contributions to the TrendSpotters Open Toolkit and find all the models and tools featured in this column, click here.

If you have an HPT model or tool that supports you in your performance improvement activities, contact Carol Haig, CPT, at carolhaig@earthlink.net or http://home.mindspring.com/%7Ecarolhaig, or Roger Addison, CPT, EdD, at roger@ispi.org.

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Show Me the Evidence!
by Mary Norris Thomas, CPT, PhD

Indeed, “Show me the evidence!” is one of our hallmark demands, certainly no stranger to our vernacular. Although short and simple, the phrase is packed with meaning and the two operative words “show” and “evidence” are perfect for one another. I think you will see the connection by taking a closer look at “evidence.”

Karl Popper, a noted 20th-century philosopher, defined evidence as support for a proposition derived from empirical observation or experience (1992). The definition of evidence in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (2006) is similar to Popper’s: an outward sign, something that furnishes proof. Two key elements of these definitions of evidence are:

• effect of evidence
• source of evidence

The effect of evidence is that it supports or furnishes proof of a proposition. The source of evidence is empirical observation, experience, or outward signs. This brings us to examine “empirical.” Empirical is defined as based on publicly observable events, that which is known through the senses, observation, or experience (Popper, 1992). Because evidence is by definition empirical, it would be redundant to say “empirical evidence.”

Why are “show” and “evidence” perfect for one another? Because to achieve the effect of support for a proposition, we must show the evidence to make it publicly observable.

We are not quite done. Given your demand of “Show me the evidence!” has been met, you must consider the evidence for yourself. Consider, for example, the following:

• Source. Does the evidence come from a primary source, which is an original report by the originator of the work, or from a secondary source, such as a report (commentary, review, synthesis, or critique) of the work by others? Did you check the primary sources to verify that the evidence is accurately cited in the secondary sources?
• Procedure. Was the evidence collected in a reliable and valid manner?
• Data. Are the results or findings accurately cited?
• Conclusions. Given your consideration of the evidence, what conclusions do you draw? Do your conclusions agree or disagree with those of others?

Whew! Although short and simple, “Show me the evidence!” is quite demanding. It not only carries an explicit burden of proof, but also a serious obligation of scrutiny on your part.

References
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. (2006). Retrieved November 9, 2006, from http://search.eb.com.library3.webster.edu/dictionary?va=evidence& query=evidence

Popper, K. R. (1992). Logic of scientific discovery. Retrieved November 9, 2006, from www.philosophypages.com/dy/e5.htm#empl

Mary Norris Thomas, CPT, PhD, CEO of The Fleming Group LLC, specializes in organizational behavior, studies and analyses, and armed services command and readiness programs. She is a longstanding activist in ISPI, currently serving as founding chair of the Science and Research Professional Community and Professional Community Steering Committee member. Mary welcomes your comments at mnthomas@fleminggroup.com.

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ProSeries: Still Time to Reserve Your Seat

What the “Critics” are Saying

“Your session in Atlanta was absolutely fabulous! Everyone on our team said it was one of the best workshops they have attended—this is a group of seasoned professionals with higher degrees and much training history. I think it is quite a feat to wow this group! Thank you for all the wisdom you passed on to us. I have been a fan of yours for a very long time, and it was such an honor to be able to work with you in that small workshop.”

—Deb Page, Georgia’s Leadership Institute for School Improvement, attendee of Judy Hale’s Results Through Effective Implementation ProSeries Workshop

Dates and Location
Starting on Tuesday, February 20, 2007, at the Phoenix Crowne Plaza Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, ISPI’s ProSeries Workshops will begin with an all-star line-up of presenters. For information on the location, click here.

Who’s on the Marque

• Geary Rummler, CPT, PhD, Introduction to Serious Performance Consulting, February 20-21
• Margo Murray, CPT, Managing Mentoring Processes for Measured Results, February 20-21
• Carl Binder, CPT, PhD, Building Fluent Performance for Results, February 22-23
• Sharon Shrock, PhD & William Coscarelli, PhD, Constructing Level Two Evaluation and Certification Systems, February 22-23

Special “Ticket” Price: Buy Two Get One Free
Register two individuals for a workshop at the full registration fee and bring a colleague for free. To register your group of three individuals, call ISPI at 301-587-8570. Registrations must be submitted at the same time. For additional information on registration, visit www.ispi.org/ProSeries/register.htm.

For full details on these ProSeries Workshops, visit www.ispi.org/ProSeries.

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From the Board
CPT—Enhancements on the Way
by Darlene Van Tiem, CPT, PhD, CPLP, ISPI Director

Have you ever been asked to develop and conduct training when you know that training alone will not make the impact that is desired? Have you ever listened to employees explaining that a new idea will not be welcomed because “we don’t do it that way here”? Have you ever made a recommendation and others wondered what gave you the “right” to say that? Earning the Certified Performance Technology (CPT) designation and having your own large, attractive CPT certificate in your workplace would enhance your credibility.

The CPT designation is the hallmark of performance technology, also known as performance improvement. Certification represents that an individual has submitted at least three performance improvement projects based on the 10 Standards of Performance Technology to ISPI’s certification review team. In addition, an applicant must submit an application and an attestation from the supervisors of each of the three or more projects signifying that the projects were conducted as described. This is a formal application process that is reviewed by approved reviewers who verify that the standards were followed in each of the three projects.

Overall Efforts
We all recognize that the world changes daily, and we know we need to adapt continuously to keep up. In this vein, the CPT is being enhanced in many ways. This article is to tell you about the CPT initiatives toward continuous improvement.

Recertification
Recertification of the CPT, for example, is going well. Over 200 CPTers were recertified last year—indicating that CPTers find value in their designation and the requirements for keeping up to date in performance technology. Recertification points may be earned at chapter meetings, conferences, writing articles and publications, attending or conducting training and other workshops, and through many other opportunities. If you have any questions about recertification, you will probably find the answer at www.certifiedpt.org, or you may email Judy Hale, ISPI’s Director of Certification, at judyh@ispi.org for clarification.

CPT Workshops
CPT workshops are available to help prepare for the application process. Two-day workshops may be held publicly, in-house, or sponsored by local chapters. The next workshop is taking place in conjunction with ISPI’s Annual Conference, April 29-30 in San Francisco, CA. This workshop is a good way to begin the application process and understand what it takes to become certified. For more information, contact marketing@ispi.org.

CPT Clinic
Each year during ISPI’s Annual Conference, a special luncheon and clinic are held for CPTs. This year, ISPI asked CPTs for their input into the following themes and more: How have other organizations made the transition to HPT? Why do organizations value CPT? What are some success examples? What are some missteps or lessons learned? What are some best practices? Details about the upcoming event will be available in the next few weeks.

CPT Mapping
Of course, there are many ways to learn about and experience performance technology. There are academic programs, but it is also realistic to learn on the job or experientially along with coaching from an expert. Many ISPI local chapters have mentoring programs that support and guide members in acquiring the expertise and project experience to apply for CPT. Stacey Rafter (lsrafter@earthlink.net) can provide chapters or individuals with information about chapter mentoring programs and success stories.

As the Board of Director’s liaison for CPT, I am privileged to work with Judy Hale, Director of Certification, and Rob Foshay, chair of the CPT Committee, on efforts to continuously improve this professional designation. If you would like more information about CPT program, visit www.certifiedpt.org. You will find a directory of those who have earned the CPT designation and general information about the 10 Standards of Performance Technology and Code of Ethics. If you have any comments, questions, or ideas about the CPT program, please contact me at dvt@umich.edu. We are always looking to enhance CPT and make it more dynamic, valued, and respected.

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The Innovation Scorecard
by Donald T. Tosti, CPT, PhD

Here are the 10 cultural practices, in order of their perceived importance to implementing innovation.

1. People see their job more in terms of the value they create than the task they perform.
2. People show a sense of personal urgency and energy about achieving results.
3. We are willing to make significant changes in the way we do things now to better provide value to the customer and to the company.
4. We are more concerned with doing what is right for the customer and organization then we are with doing only what the boss wants.
5. People in the organization have a clear understanding of how their efforts impact the satisfaction and retention of our customers.
6. Meeting the needs of the business and customer is seen as far more important than conforming to bureaucratic and administrative requirements.
7. We see ourselves as able to influence events, not as victims of circumstances.
8. People feel encouraged to make on-the-spot decisions when necessary, without waiting for full approval from higher management.
9. At the conclusion of a project, we regularly look for “lessons learned.”
10. Once we have made a commitment to change, we have a sense of urgency and a high level of resolve to follow through.

Donald T. Tosti, CPT, PhD, is a consistent contributor to PerformanceXpress. He is the managing partner of Vanguard Consulting, which specializes in the alignment of organizational processes and people with the stated strategy of the organization. Don is an expert in organizational systems. His pioneering work on contingency management began in the 1960s. As the principle investigator for the multimedia leadership/management course conducted at the U.S. Naval Academy, he adapted the methods of performance analysis to the study of leadership and management behavior. His subsequent work on modifying behavioral norms and leadership has demonstrated the power of HPT in organizations such as British Airways and General Motors. Don may be reached at Change111@aol.com.

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California Here We Come!

In less than three months, ISPI and IFTDO will gather in San Francisco, California, for the 2007 International Performance Improvement Conference at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel. And, in just about two weeks, Friday, February 16, the early registration period will close. Make plans now to attend the only conference dedicated to performance improvement and save $100.

The 2007 International Performance Improvement Conference—Performance Beyond Borders—spans six days, April 28-May 3, starting with an all-star line-up of pre-conference HPT Institutes and workshops. The conference then expands to include more than 225 educational sessions highlighting the latest ideas, tools, and techniques to improve worker and workplace performance.

Come to San Francisco and experience what we have to offer:

• Keynote Address by Lynne Lancaster, Bringing Out the Best in Every Generation: Performance Beyond Clash Points
• Six Masters’ Series Presentations
• Two HPT Institutes
• Four Certificate Programs
• Over 30 Pre-conference Workshops
• Community Center: A World Bazaar of People, Ideas, and Performance Improvement
• Bookstore
• Bagel Barrel
• Discussion Forums
• ISPI Career Center
• San Francisco Extravaganza!
• Closing Session by Klaus Wittkuhn, CPT, Process—A Concept that Changed the World
• Earn CPT Recertification Points, Graduate Credits, and HRCI Credits

Spanning All Performance Parameters
This year’s conference is a special event as we partner with the International Federation of Training & Development Organisations (IFTDO). Together ISPI and IFTDO will blend areas of expertise and practice to explore different views and diverse ideas. 

If you have attended an ISPI Annual Conference in the past, you are keenly aware of the value and ROI received by participating in this premier event. If you are a first-time attendee, this promises to be a conference experience that provides value the whole year through.

For up-to-date Annual Conference information, visit www.ispi.org/ac2007. Register before Friday, February 16, and receive a $100 discount off the full registration fee. Click here for full registration details. If you have any questions, contact ISPI at 301.587.8570. We look forward to welcoming you to San Francisco!

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Project Proven Tools and Techniques for ISD:
The Performance Model
by Guy W. Wallace, CPT, Representative of the Instructional Systems (IS) ProComm

The Performance Model (PM) is used to:

• Capture an articulation of ideal performance in terms of outputs, output measures, and standards, tasks, roles and responsibilities
• Capture a gap analysis of typical performance versus ideal performance and identify the “probable causes” for those deviations

PMs should ideally be produced using the insights and experience of master performers and other subject matter experts. Just as one pulls together the right people to map a process, the Performance Model is as good as its sources. I typically facilitate groups of 8-12 master performers in a three- to four-day analysis team meeting that produces both the Performance Model and the Enabler Matrices (the subject for next month’s column). Of course, the length of the meeting depends on the scope, complexity, newness, and controversy level of the targeted performance to be captured.

If a process map already exists, we typically follow that structure to inform our Performance Model’s structure in what we call areas of performance (AoPs), so as not to create two views of one process performance.

The Performance Model allows one to look more closely at the human role in the processes, and serves to inform additional data-gathering efforts, such as enabling knowledge and skills, and other non-human, environmental enablers.

Why produce them? To provide input to the enterprise functions, systems, and processes that deal with the human variable, and to the enterprise functions, systems, and processes that deal with the non-human variables in the ongoing operations of the targeted processes.

Areas of Performance
Performance Models are organized by AoP. An example set of AoPs from a real project (edited a bit) is presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Areas of Performance

The goal with the AoPs is to create a consensus “segmentation” of the performance—a configuration that eliminates (or minimizes) any gaps and overlaps for the scope of performance that we are charged with addressing. This could be a whole job or department and all or some of the work responsibilities, or one or more processes with many performers from multiple departments or organizations. This is the “analysis framework,” a place to begin to create “customer ownership” of the data.

Customer ownership of the data is a key philosophy of my approach to instructional system design (ISD). Regarding ISD, I tell my clients, “I own the process, and you own the data.” They usually like that. And I like it best when they do own the data.

Performance Model Chart
The Performance Model chart itself is a data-gathering and -reporting template. A sample PM chart is presented in Figure 2 for one of the AoPs.

Figure 2. A Performance Model Chart

The Performance Modeling Technique
Conducting performance modeling is best done* via a group process, where an analysis team of master performers and subject matter experts is systematically facilitated in

• A review of the project’s goals, teams, meetings, outputs, and schedule
• A review of this meetings’ goals, outputs, process steps, and any concepts or philosophies to embrace
• Defining AoPs for the scope of the analysis
• Completing the PM charts for each AoP, including an articulation of ideal performance on the left side of the chart and a gap analysis on the right side of the chart

[*You could complete the AoPs chart and PM charts after conducting interviews and draft reviews, but that approach takes a lot longer and is hard to create customer ownership in the output. Too often the analyst is the owner of the data, which is never ideal.]

Summary and Close
Additional, in-depth content on this tool and technique is available in Chapter 11 of the 3rd edition of The Handbook of Human Performance Technology, edited by James A. Pershing, CPT, PhD. There is also content on the ISPI website on performance modeling under “99-Seconds.”

If you would like to participate further in a discussion about Performance Models, make a comment about the article, or ask Guy a question, click here to visit the IS Discussion Forum.

Next month: The Enabling Knowledge and Skill Matrices.

Guy W. Wallace, CPT, has been an external ISD and HPT consultant since1982, is the president of EPPIC Inc., has been a member of ISPI since 1979, is a past president of ISPI, is the author of lean-ISD, and is a recipient of an ISPI 2002 Award of Excellence. He may be reached via guy.wallace@eppic.biz and related resources may be obtained at his website: www.eppic.biz.

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High-Performance Marketing: How To Make Sure Your Ad Agency Is Working for You
by Richard F. Gerson, CPT, PhD, CMC

Many performance consultants and their companies choose to work with an ad agency in an attempt to build their business. The consultants place the responsibility for advertising squarely on the shoulders of the agency. However, the agency may be purely focused on advertising (creating ads, placing ads, etc.) and not focused on the marketing that is required to develop the performance consulting business. Although the agency may create great looking ads, the unfortunate thing is that most advertising does not work the way it was intended to work. Here are seven tips that will help you determine if your ad agency is working for you:

1. Make sure the agency has created an advertising plan the complements your marketing plan. Remember advertising is one component of marketing and, as such, must support the marketing plan. So, assuming you have written your marketing plan, be aware that shotgun advertising or advertising that wins awards without bringing in customers is not effective for you, the client.
2. All advertising must increase sales. That is the sole purpose of advertising: to get more customers in the door. If advertising does not increase sales, change the ads or change the agency. Sales are what count, not awards, plaques, or attractive and creative ads.
3. Make all advertising a direct response with a call to action. If there is not a way to reach you in the ad, then the ad is called an image ad or a “tombstone” ad, which can serve as your “death knell.” No advertising should be institutional or image building. You cannot afford it. All of your advertising must have a direct response mechanism to contact you: phone number, email address, or website address.
4. Advertise to an audience of one. Mass advertising will not get the responses you desire or require. Target your marketing and your advertising to the smallest group possible that is most likely to respond to your message. Make sure your ad agency writes all the advertising messages as if they were being written to one person.
5. Match the ad agency to your business. If the agency is too big, you may get lost in the shuffle and your account may not receive the proper attention. If the agency is too small, it may not be able to service you. And, if the agency’s size is just right, make sure its values and business strategies are aligned with yours.
6. Make sure all ad copy is customer centered, not creative or about the copywriter. Ad copy must make the customer think the ad was written especially for him or her. When customers read it, hear it, or see it, they must immediately think, “Hey, they’re talking about me personally.”
7. Control your marketing and advertising and work with the agency to guide those working on your account. You know your business better than anyone. Do not let the agency create anything without your input and approval. And, certainly do not let the agency place anything without your approval.

Follow these seven tips and your work with an ad agency will be successful. If you are working with an ad agency and are not getting you what you need in terms of these seven recommendations, you need to replace that agency. You should consider working with a marketing consultant or firm that understands how performance consulting businesses operate and the specific marketing requirements they have. Remember that advertising is not for everyone, but marketing is.

Richard Gerson, CPT, PhD, is president of Gerson Goodson Inc., a performance consulting firm located in Clearwater, Florida. He is the author of 22 books, with six books on marketing, sales, and customer service, along with several other books on performance management and performance consulting. He may be reached at 727.726.7619 or richard.gerson@richgerson.com.

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ISPI Career Center: MORE than Just a Job Fair!

Are you looking to hire the best and brightest in Performance Improvement, Training, Instructional Design, Organizational Development, and related fields? If you answered yes, then there’s no better opportunity to meet and interview qualified applicants for your current vacancies than at ISPI’s 2007 International Performance Improvement Conference, in San Francisco, CA, April 30-May 3. The goal of the Career Center is to give quality employers and candidates the opportunity to meet and explore their options in a more personal and intimate setting.

Job seekers will have access to nationally-recognized career development professionals, including job coaches and counselors, who will be onsite to help you take your Human Performance Technology credentials to market. Attend workshops on job search and other career-enhancing topics and receive personalized guidance in one-on-one sessions.

If you are an Employer: Post positions, review credentials, and interview candidates on-site. A limited number of employer exhibit booths are available inside the Career Center. To pre-register as a candidate or an employer, or for information on employer exhibit booths, email Amy Connelly at careercenter@ispi.org or call 317.769.4310.

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Performance Marketplace

Performance Marketplace is a convenient way to exchange information of interest to the performance improvement community. Take a few moments each month to scan the listings for important new events, publications, services, and employment opportunities. To post information for our readers, contact ISPI Director of Marketing, Keith Pew at keithp@ispi.org or 301.587.8570.

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ISPI Membership: Join or Renew Today!

Are you working to improve workplace performance? Then ISPI membership is your key to professional development through education, certification, networking, and professional affinity programs.

If you are already a member, we thank you for your support. If you have been considering membership or are about to renew, there is no better time to join ISPI. To apply for membership or renew, simply click here.

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Newsletter Submission Guidelines

ISPI is looking for Human Performance Technology (HPT) articles (approximately 500 words and not previously published) for PerformanceXpress that bridge the gap from research to practice (please, no product or service promotion is permitted). Below are a few examples of the article formats that can be used:

• Short “I wish I had thought of that” Articles
• Practical Application Articles
• The Application of HPT
• Success Stories

In addition to the article, please include a short bio (2-3 lines) and a contact e-mail address. All submissions should be sent to april@ispi.org. Each article will be reviewed by one of ISPI’s on-staff HPT experts, and the author will be contacted if it is accepted for publication. If you have any further questions, please contact april@ispi.org.

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About PerformanceXpress

Feel free to forward ISPI’s PerformanceXpress newsletter to your colleagues or anyone you think may benefit from the information. If you are reading someone else’s PerformanceXpress, send your complete contact information to april@ispi.org, and you will be added to the PerformanceXpress emailing list.

PerformanceXpress is an ISPI member benefit designed to build community, stimulate discussion, and keep you informed of the Society’s activities and events. This newsletter is published monthly and will be emailed to you at the beginning of each month.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact April Davis, ISPI’s Associate Executive Director, at april@ispi.org.

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Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA
Phone: 301.587.8570
Fax: 301.587.8573
info@ispi.org
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