Pitfalls on the Path to Developing Effective Documentation in a Business World
by Aleksandra Andreev

Documentation is a part of our daily lives. We may not realize it, but when we complete routine tasks, such as driving to a store or taking medication, we are following a documented task. If our traveling directions are incorrect, we will get lost. Even worse, if the guidelines for using the medication are not precise, then the medication may not be effective or even harmful. Our daily lives are dependent on accurate documentation.

The business world is no exception. High-quality and detailed documentation is a requirement and necessity in the current business world. Procedures, tasks, and methods are not static. The workforce is not static either. College graduates are entering the workforce and experienced employees are retiring. It is vital that the knowledge base and competencies of retiring employees are documented, preserved, and made available for others to learn from.

How do companies capture this existing knowledge base? Many companies find themselves struggling with the amount and complexity of the tasks and procedures requiring documentation to preserve and improve their employees’ skills and knowledge. More companies are turning to instructional design tools and methodologies to create, organize, and distribute quality documentation.

Currently, most corporate documentation follows the andragogy approach, designed by Malcolm Knowles, it’s a theory based on the premise that adults are self-learners, who:

• Prefer problem solving
• Learn best from task- and process-oriented instruction
• Need to be stimulated and aware of the purpose and application of the tasks

Documentation developers need to be aware of their audience. Documentation for the sake of documenting the process will not serve its purpose.

Pitfalls on the Path to Effective Documentation
Three important challenges to good documentation are:

• Use of Colors
• WIIFM
• Use of Graphics

Use of Colors
Is the business world apprehensive of colors? Colors do not make the process diagrams less professional. Quite the opposite. Colors enhance user understanding of the processes and make process flow documentation clear and easy to apply and follow.

Recently, I was asked to remove the colors from a flowchart I prepared for end-user documentation. The reviewers wanted me to follow the standard template, which was created years ago and did not use color as a visual aid. I disagreed because a flowchart containing colors improves the audience’s understanding of the process flow. It is much easier to locate an applicable section of a busy flowchart containing various roles and responsibilities if a color key is present. For instance, yellow squares indicate tasks assigned to the designer, blue squares indicate tasks assigned to the engineer, and so forth. However, the reviewers disagreed with my proposed new flowchart standards, and, subsequently, I was required to follow the outdated template. As a result, my flowchart looked busy and lacked visual interest. Users had to read the note within each flowchart box to determine if that particular task pertained to them.

Not long ago, color printers were rarely found in offices, and color prints were pricey. If colors were used, a black-and-white printout would not show them. We traveled to meetings, printed our documents, and marked up our black-and-white copies during face-to-face meetings.

Things are different now! More companies are global, and it is simply impossible to travel for every meeting. We spend more time communicating with peers using the phone and Internet. There are various computer applications that allow us to participate in virtual meetings with global partners, in real time, with no travel required. Color printers are now considerably less expensive. Moreover, due to globalization, documents are viewed in the application during virtual sessions, and never printed.

Thus, I think it is time to change those old and outdated templates and bring color back to the business world.

Use of WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?)
According to the WIIFM theory, learners must be motivated, know the benefits of completing the task, and know its outcomes. In view of that, the andragogy theory supports it in the sense that adults need to know the purpose of the task and understand its immediate value. Documented tasks and processes must contain the purpose so end users can follow the procedure and be aware of the usage and application of the tasks.

In my experience, corporate documentation often only contains a brief description of the purpose. However, that brief purpose statement does not contain WIIFM. In many cases, there is not much excitement in completing a task, but there must be encouragement and support.

Yes, corporate tasks and procedures are often routine and dry. Reasons and benefits of following them must be clear so users are motivated to accomplish them.

Use of Graphics
I am a hands-on and a visual learner. I learn best from seeing and practicing the task. Recently, I was assigned the responsibility of reviewing end-user documentation for a new software release. To my surprise, I did not find any print screens, only step-by-step instructions. It was difficult for me to follow the tasks without visual aids. Lack of visual aids and graphics made the document appear more complex, and it was difficult to comprehend and follow even though the document was well written and detailed.

Why were there no graphics? I have seen other documentation and training materials from the same group, and they were full of print screens and graphics. What went wrong this time?

I found out localization was the reason behind the lack of graphics. Localization is the task of translating or interpreting the documentation into the local language. If a software application is written in different local languages, then the print screens and graphics must also be documented and captured in that language. Because the end-user documentation is created in simple English, it can be translated into other languages without incurring a major expense or difficulty. However, when software screen shots are used, the company must invest resources to capture the same print screens in a translated software. I learned there is a major expense related not only to replacement of the print screens, but also for subsequent updates due to software releases and upgrades.

Globalization of the current business environment brings new challenges to documentation. Other languages must be considered, and new practices need to be followed that take into account cultural diversity.

Summary
Companies must preserve their knowledge base to stay competitive and successful. Accurate documentation is an integral part of this effort. Even though the business world currently faces many challenges, quality documentation must be created and maintained. It must be clear, precise, and easy to understand. Documentation must not only be accurate and detailed, but it also needs to tell a story, explain its reason and purpose, and motivate users.

References
Knowles, M.S. (1985).The art and science of helping adults learn. In Knowles, M.S., and Associates (Ed.), Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning (pp. 1-22). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lee, Chris. (1988). The adult learner: Neglected no more. Training, 35(3), 47-52.

Smith, M.K. (2002). Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy. The encyclopedia of informal education.
www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm

Related Websites
http://tip.psychology.org/knowles.html
www.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/resources/malcolmknowles.cfm

Aleksandra Andreev has a BA in Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University, Michigan. She is a recipient of an ASTD certificate and is currently pursuing an MA in Performance Improvement and Instructional Design from the University of Michigan. Before becoming an application engineer at Ford Motor Company, Aleksandra held the position of technical trainer. Currently, she is developing methods and processes for C3P NG programs. Aleksandra may be reached at aandree3@ford.com.

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TrendSpotters: I³ Change Implementation Model
by Carol Haig, CPT, and Roger Addison, CPT, EdD

Welcome to summer! Joining us at TrendSpotters this month is Lance Dublin of Dublin Consulting, a San Francisco firm specializing in learning and change management. Lance (lance@dublinconsulting.net) works in strategy development, program design, implementation of corporate learning programs, and organizational change management. He adds his I³ Change Implementation Model to the growing resources in the TrendSpotters Open Toolkit.

Genesis of this Model
The I³ Change Implementation Model has been a work in progress, evolving over the years as client situations presented varying needs. The model grew out of Lance’s frustration with seeing organization after organization in which well-designed performance improvement initiatives fell far short of their intended goals because they were not sustained. In working with business process re-design, large-scale systems implementation, and a variety of technological innovations, Lance observed an emphasis on managing change rather than on implementing it with lasting impact. Typically, much effort was spent communicating about the change rather than ensuring that those impacted engaged with the change. As a result, most such initiatives lacked sticking power.

Lance began to explore what a successfully implemented change effort looks like and expressed what he found in the I³ Change Implementation Model. He says this model has changed the way he works.

Model Description
The I³ Model ensures that the implementation of an organizational change will become an integral part of the fabric of the organization. It can be used at all levels of an organization to plan and execute an implementation so that the change will truly stick. Here is how it works:

• Taking a consumer marketing approach, the initial Inform stage explains the change, and with branding, positioning, tagline creation, and related activities, raises awareness about the change.
• Once people know what the change is and their interest is raised, the Involve stage actively engages them in the change, encouraging them to get their hands on the new system, try out the new equipment, and otherwise internalize the change.
• With everyone actively involved with the change, the Integrate stage ensures the change becomes embedded in the organization’s culture and is just “the way we do things around here.”

How to Use the Model
The I³ Model, like others we have featured in this space, is accessible, scalable, and flexible. It provides a marked path that an organization can follow to ensure that change happens and that it is lasting. You can customize each of the stages to suit the norms and expectations in your organization while involving employees at all levels for maximum buy-in and dynamic participation in the change. Use the model to plan the change, monitor progress, make adjustments, and evaluate results at each stage.

As Lance reminds us, “Models have to be organic and work in real life.” Help your clients understand the thinking behind the I³ Model by providing accessible examples. One is weight loss. You could compare the person who goes on a diet, starts an exercise program, but quits and gains the weight back, with the I³ Model follower. The I³ Model follower first learns about healthy weight, proper diet, and exercise. Then this person tries a new diet, hires a trainer, and over time fully integrates new eating and exercise habits so that these changes become “just the way” to eat and exercise.

Success Story
Recently, Dublin Consulting helped a large medical facility implement a technology project, Learning Point. As a highly regulated industry, health care is subject to rigorous on-site examinations of policies, procedures, records, equipment, training, facilities maintenance—anything and any employee can be closely investigated against required standards. These compliance requirements, a merger, and the desire to be a better organization drove the project.

Using the I³ Model, Learning Point was deployed in three phases. In the first, the organization focused on becoming more efficient by using technology to do administrative tasks such as record keeping and reporting, and delivering online courses to reduce costs. Nine-month results showed a 96% compliance in required course completion and 100% employee recognition of the Learning Point initiative, which are results the organization had only dreamed about previously. In the second phase, they focused on being more effective by improving the learning itself through greater access to online and instructor-led courses. While compliance levels remained at the same high level, more departments made requests to offer their courses through Learning Point. The third phase is focused on integrating Learning Point into ongoing organizational processes such as performance management, enabling a true transformation of how work gets done. Stay tuned for results!

Advice to Users of the I³ Change Implementation Model
When you have a solution to an organizational issue and it is time to implement the change, use the I³ Model to plan the implementation and embed it in the organization. We in HPT have a long history of crafting wonderful solutions to performance issues in our organizations and losing our momentum at implementation. Historically, we have emphasized change management. Management is a process, not a result. This has made us reactive in implementation, focused on activity rather than results. Using the I³ Change Implementation Model to plan, monitor, and guide an implementation is a proactive approach that will lead to sustainable change.

Many colleagues have told us that they lack the position power in their organizations to work with senior executives and make a difference at the highest levels. Well, the I³ Model provides the perfect vehicle for a tangible, practical conversation with your chief decision makers. Implementation requires different skills than many practitioners have. Quite a few of us lack what ISPI Past President Jim Hill calls the “moxie coefficient.” Try using the I³ Model as your door opener to the executive suite and let us know how it goes.

Links to the Performance Technology Landscape
The I³ Change Implementation Model supports these principles of performance technology:

Application Exercise
For your next project, use the I³ Change Implementation Model to guide your implementation plan and to ensure that the four HPT principles above are part of your operating activities.

One More Thing…
A regular presenter at ISPI’s annual conferences, Lance will be an encore presenter at The Performance Improvement Conference, April 3-8, 2008, in New York City where he will reprise his session, Engaging Learners, Motivating Managers, and Energizing Organizations: Ensuring Success with e-Learning.

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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Desirable Criterion for a Presentation at an
ISPI Educational Event or Journal Article
by Donald T. Tosti, CPT, PhD, and Roger M. Addison, CPT, EdD

Over the last several years, we have been asked what makes a successful presentation at a conference or a successful article. If you are thinking about presenting at an ISPI educational event, The Performance Improvement Conference 2008 for example (deadline August 17), or writing an article for Performance Improvement journal, Performance Improvement Quarterly, or PerformanceXpress, here are some criteria you may want to consider.

We define human performance as “the valued results produced by people working within a system.” Our two most important principles echo this definition. Therefore, an ideal presentation:

1. Focuses on results (e.g., whatever the issue it would be framed in terms of some desired result)
2. Indicates how some performance systems factor impacted that evidence-based result (data preferred)

We recognize that performance may be examined at four levels:

1. The individual/job level
2. The process/operational level
3. The organizational/administrative level
4. The external/marketplace/societal level

The presentation or article may address performance systems variables at any of these levels.

The following are some examples of performance systems factors that impact results at the individual/job level.

Individual/Job Level

The following are a few examples of other performance opportunities at higher levels. Topics would be related to how the organization can respond to these real issues using performance improvement technology.

Process/Operational Level

Organizational/Administrative Level

External/Marketplace/Societal Level

These are just a few of the hundreds of existing and potential HPT application opportunities. At our conference and in our publications, presenters/authors have reported on:

• Internal branding
• Aligning the culture and strategy
• Doing a culture due diligence for acquisitions
• Development of Mega-societal goals
• Issue-based team building
• Partnering
• Executive coaching and mentoring

This list indicates the wide scope of issues that HPT can and has successfully addressed. This is the result of HPT being principle driven unlike other fields like organizational development or quality initiatives, which are more problem driven and, therefore, are somewhat limited in their ability to generalize their applications across all aspects of the organization.

We invite you to present your case studies, examples, and evidence-based articles and presentations to ISPI. For more information on presenting at The Performance Improvement Conference 2008, visit www.ispi.org/AC2008. The deadline for submission is August 17.

Donald T. Tosti, CPT, PhD, a consistent contributor to Performance Improvement journal and PerformanceXpress, is the founding partner of Vanguard Consulting. He has been a recognized expert in performance-based approaches to organizational effectiveness for three decades. Don received ISPI’s top two honors: Member for Life and the Thomas F. Gilbert Award. He also served as ISPI president in 2004-2005. Don has been involved in a wide range of organizational alignment and change programs for companies in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe. He may be reached at Change111@aol.com.

Roger M. Addison, CPT, EdD, is an ISPI Senior Director and internationally respected practitioner of performance technology. He is a past president of ISPI, past Chair of the Board and President of IFTDO. Roger has received ISPI’s awards for Service, Organization of the Year, and Outstanding Product. In 1998, he received ISPI’s highest award, Member for Life. Roger has worked and presented in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He may be reached at roger@ispi.org.

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Microsoft's Cedric T. Coco to Keynote
ISPI Fall Conference

As a professional in the field, you are no doubt interested in Aligning Business Results through Performance Improvement. Learn more about this topic by attending ISPI's 2007 Fall Conference, September 27-29 in Phoenix, Arizona. Register by August 10 to save!

This intimate learning experience, limited to 150 attendees, will offer a thought-provoking keynote presentation by Cedric T. Coco, CPT, Microsoft's General Manager, Engineering Excellence. He will share with you:

• How Engineering Excellence created and implemented an organizational solution to business alignment
• How Engineering Excellence was able to operationalize the business process to create shared ownership with operational leadership over employee performance development
• Insights and lessons learned in turning a traditional training-on-request organization into an effective and credible performance development team

Register by August 10 and save! Come hear what Cedric and his organization are doing to improve performance at Microsoft. You won’t want to miss this session.

For a full listing of conference activities, educational sessions, and workshops, visit www.ispi.org/Fall2007.

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From the Board:
Coming Soon to a Computer Near You
by Miki Lane, CPT, ISPI Director

Have you ever attempted or participated in a website design or re-design for yourself or your organization? Then you know what the Society is up against in our endeavor to re-design the current ISPI website. The desire to change the site has been growing for a number of years because the current site is being pushed to its technological and social networking ability to meet the needs of both the membership and headquarters staff.

Last year, under the direction of then director and current President-elect Matt Peters, ISPI solicited input from committees, ProComms, directors, and other interested parties to provide a wish list for what they felt the website should be able to do for the Society. That list contained about 262 items ranging from types of content to include through navigation issues. The list was given to staff for review with the purpose of determining which items were already in the system, which ones would require policy changes by the Board, which ones were not feasible, and which ones would most likely be too expensive to implement.

With his new role of President-elect, Matt had new responsibilities to oversee and, thus, turned this project over to moi. (I am required by latest NAFTA regulations to include some French Canadian content.)

To get a handle on the project, I enlisted the help of longtime friend and colleague, Mithra Zahedi. Mithra is a unique combination of graphic designer, Montreal ISPI member, website designer who has a master’s degree in HPT from the University of Montreal, and is currently working on her PhD. Mithra’s last project was to lead the team that re-designed Princeton University’s website and portal. She suggested that while we keep the stakeholders current with the progress of the website, we use their 262 item wish list as a checklist as the website is being built. It seems like the best approach to developing or re-designing a website should follow a fairly standard HPT process:

1. Defining the project (analysis)
2. Creating the concept (design and prototype development)
3. Production (full development)
4. Implementation and maintenance (implementation and summative evaluation with formative evaluation occurring in all of the phases)

We have now started the first phase of the project with the collection and specification of the goals that will be the drivers for the project. Each director and staff member have been asked to specify what they feel should be the goals and objectives of the site. My role in this is to ensure people submit their goals and then crunch through them all to discern trends, duplications, and possible omissions. The idea has been to gather input on goals from both the owners and users of the website. This will form the basis of a user-centered approach. According to Mithra, the goal of a user-friendly site is to improve efficiency. This can be done by helping users find information faster; help them make less mistakes in their navigation process; make their experience with the site coherent, intuitive, and pleasurable; and make the site visually pleasing.

Once this information is analyzed, it will form the basis for determining desired features for the site as well as resources required, budgets, and potential schedules.

The next phase of the project will be to create the concept for the website and will include what the information architecture and structure of the site will be. Throughout this process, users, owners, SMEs, and stakeholders will be involved. The outcome should be a prototype in which the original wish list items will be used to evaluate the prototype’s effectiveness.

The Board will keep you informed on the progress of the website; and if you have any questions, please direct them my way: mml@mvmcommunications.com.

We are hoping to look at a prototype by the next conference in New York City. Let’s keep our collective fingers crossed for that reality.

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Partnering to Bring Our Members More

As part of ISPI’s ongoing efforts to bring our members the very best and latest in organizational performance resources, we have partnered with Executive Excellence Publishing. EEP publications feature valuable insights in organizational, team, and life leadership development resources contributed by such authors as Jim Collins, Marshall Goldsmith, and numerous other business executives, personal development gurus, and opinion leaders. The March edition even carried an article by ISPI’s Director of Certification Judy Hale.

As an ISPI member, you receive, complimentary, the monthly online versions of the following publications designed to cover the three vital areas of leadership in your life: 

• Organizational Leadership: Featured each month in Leadership Excellence are 16 to 18 short articles authored by top executives, professors, trainers, and consultants on seven dimensions of management and leadership.
• Life Leadership: Featured each month in Personal Excellence are 22 short articles on the seven dimensions of whole-life growth, improvement, progress, and positive change.
• Team Leadership: Featured each month in Sales and Service Excellence are 22 short articles on the seven dimensions of sales and service team performance.

Click here to access these incredible new resources designed to enhance your personal and professional performance. If you have any questions or don't know your User ID and password, please send an email to membership@ispi.org or contact us at 301.587.8570, ext 110.

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Dreams Can Become Realities:
The Sonora Institute of Technology
by Roger Kaufman, CPT, PhD

At ISPI’s Achieving Business Results through Performance Fall Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, September 27-29, there will be several presentations about the HPT innovations and measurable successes from the Sonora Institute of Technology in Mexico. This is not the usual university. It is applying the useful concepts, tools, and methods of proven HPT (without the hype and fashion-of-the-moments). Not only is there major innovation in curriculum and programs, there is applied research and development, all based on value-added to all stakeholders, including society. This is not theory but application and results.

Our sessions will present lessons learned and tools that have been proven, including Mariano Bernardez’s innovative “double bottom line” business plan that all programs and projects at the Sonora Institute of Technology must prepare and have as the basis for approval. There are many more practical applications that have been and are being proven there. These will provide those attending with what really works and why.

Here is my review of the Sonora Institute of Technology and why what we are doing and learning there may be useful to others who want to do societal good while still justifying value for money.

Dream…But Don’t Change
As a student, professional practitioner, and later as a professor/consultant, I had a dream of what a really outstanding academic program would be in the area of performance improvement and accomplishment. I observed most courses that did not seem to go one with the others and each being taught from the independent perspective of the instructor based on her or his biases, or perhaps perspectives, on what should be learned. Programs and courses had only vague objectives (or what they passed for objectives). Even the best programs in the world, usually provided by good to excellent faculty, seemed disjointed and not really focused on how the completers could contribute to their own careers as well as add value to their organizations and our shared world.

Frustration, but the dreams persisted. Why couldn’t a responsive and responsible master’s and doctoral program be developed? Why couldn’t useful applied research find real-world application? “Little things” got in the way, such as egos, tenure, curriculum committees (especially impervious to change), deans, academic executives, and funding agencies.

We encouraged learners to “think outside of the box” while programs clung to the narrow confines of conventional precedent in a conventional box. We continued to do what we have always done and talk of how good we were and how students were lucky to experience us. There was a huge gap between dreams and what could be implemented. Or so I thought.

In an Unlikely Place on Our Planet…
Without my notice (or permission), something rare and courageous was happening in, of all places, the middle of the desert in Sonora in Mexico . I found out from the current rector, Gonzalo Rodriguez Villanueva, that the Sonora Institute of Technology (ITSON in Spanish) around 14 years ago (then under the leadership of the Rector Oscar Russo, MD), the university decided that they were not interested in being like other conventional higher education institutions (where students often came to obtain a pedigree but never practice) but wanted something dramatically useful and unique. They asked for bids for transformation, not just change. A program built upon Mega planning (Kaufman, 1992, 2006) was bid by academics at the University of the Americas in Mexico, Cholula, Puebla, and a societal-accountable program and transformation were launched (Rodriguez Villanueva & Guerra-Lopez, 2005). I did not know about this use and application until 2003 although I had visited the campus and gave a keynote address on strategic thinking and planning in 1993.

The Sonora Institute of Technology is now becoming what I think is the finest performance-based university in the world. Under the design, development, and implementation leadership of Mariano Bernardez and with the full participation of its international faculty (Bernardez, Rummler, Brethower, Gerson, Carleton, Guerra-Lopez, and Kaufman—all who saw the dream and became part of the reality) and with full leadership of the rector, plus the executive council, community members, and faculty, there is now a genuine research-and-results oriented MBA and PhD, based on all parts of the program enabling learners and sponsors to add measurable value to our shared world—all as part of a Mega culture at ITSON. In addition, there is now a Performance Improvement Institute (PII) with 12 sponsors for applied projects who will invest this year around $20 million for incubation or acceleration of their business that will add measurable value for society. There is also a publishing house associated with the PII: www.zyworld.com/lisandro/GBP.htm.

The PII sponsors support of one or more PhD students, commit to implement the findings of the doctoral dissertation (to be in English), and also actively learn the basic principles and concept of performance improvement (no more complaints about research never being applied).

The program, as well as ITSON, practices what it preaches and participates in evaluation and continual improvement from performance feedback from all partners, including learners, faculty, executives, and sponsors. Why teach something and not model it ourselves?

Mega thinking, Mega planning, and performance-by-design, including evaluation—taught and practiced—are now part of the ITSON culture and enjoy the outstanding contributions of the faculty, all working toward the common goal of societal value-added.

ITSON has broken down all of the conventional wisdom and now is a model, recognized recently by Ernst & Young and the Mexican Ministry of Education, as uniquely innovative, practical, and adding value.

Dreams can become realities. And you can join this great adventure as a sponsor, doing applied research and development, or as a student.

References
Bernardez, M. (2007). Desempeño organizacional. Chicago: Global Business Press.

Kaufman, R. (1992). Mapping educational success. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.

Kaufman, R. (2006). Change, choices, and consequences: A guide to Mega thinking and planning. Amherst, MA: HRD Press Inc.

Rodriguez Villanueva, G., & Guerra-Lopez, I. (2005). Educational planning and social responsibility: Eleven years of Mega planning at the Sonora Institute of Technology (ITSON). Performance Improvement Quarterly, 18(3), 3-5.

Related Readings
Bernardez, M. (2003). From e-training to e-performance: Using online learning to work. Educational Technology, 6-11.

Kaufman, R., & Bernardez, M. (Eds.). (2005). Performance Improvement Quarterly (special invited issue on Mega planning), 18(3), 3-5: www.ispi.org/publications/piqtocs/piq18_3.htm.

Rodriguez Villanueva, G., et al. (2007). El caso del Instituto Tecnologico de Sonora. Chicago: Global Business Press

Roger Kaufman, CPT, PhD, is professor emeritus at Florida State University, director of Roger Kaufman & Associates, and Distinguished Research Professor at the Sonora Institute of Technology. He consults with public and private organizations in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, and Europe. Roger has been awarded ISPI’s top two honors: Member for Life and the Thomas F. Gilbert Award. He is a past ISPI president and a founding member. Roger has published 38 books and more than 250 articles on strategic planning, performance improvement, quality management and continuous improvement, needs assessment, management, and evaluation. He may be reached at rkaufman@nettally.com.

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Call for Nominations to the 2008-2010
ISPI Board of Directors

It is time once again for you, the ISPI membership, to determine the future direction of ISPI by nominating those members who you feel have the qualifications, experiences, and vision to lead our Society. Up for nominations this year are the President-elect (3-year term, President-elect, President, and Immediate Past President) and three Directors (2-year terms). They will join the President, two continuing Board members, and the non-voting Immediate Past President and Executive Director who make up the nine-member Board.

The duties of the Board are to manage the affairs of ISPI and determine the strategic direction and policy of the Society.

Brief Job Descriptions
President-elect
The President-elect assumes the presidency of ISPI for a one-year term at the conclusion of his or her one-year term as President-elect. The President-elect’s efforts are directed to assuming the Presidency, and assignments are designed to prepare for that transition. The President-elect serves to provide continuity of programs, goals, objectives, and strategic direction in keeping with policy established by the Board of Directors. Presidents serve on the Board for one year after their term as the Immediate Past President.

Director
Each Director on the Board serves a two-year term and is a leader in motivating support for established policy. He or she serves to develop new policy and serves to obtain support for ISPI’s programs. A Director should provide an objective point of view in open discussion on issues affecting the membership and profession. He or she should thoroughly analyze each problem considered, vote responsibly, and then support those actions adopted by majority vote.

Individually, each member of the Board is considered a spokesperson for ISPI and represents the integrity, dedication, and loyalty to established policy.

The deadline for nominations is August 30, 2007.  If you would like to nominate a member, please send the following information to nomination@ispi.org:

• The candidate’s name and contact information.
• The position for which the candidate is being nominated.
• Your name and contact information.
• A 250-word statement on the candidate’s qualifications.

If you are interested in additional information on the nominations process, or the complete job descriptions and qualifications required, click here.

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10 Strategies for Building Successful Partnerships: Part III
by Terrence L. Gargiulo

This is the third and last article in a series exploring 10 strategies for building strong partnerships within your organization. The 10 strategies are:

1. Seek to be an integral part of every functional area.
2. Be proactive.
3. Reduce administration.
4. Streamline standard offerings.
5. Get to the executive table.
6. Support partner activities.
7. Establish liaison roles.
8. Align T&D with corporate communications.
9. Celebrate successes.
10. Reinvent the partnership.

In this article we examine the last four strategies.

7. Establish Liaison Roles
Staying in sync with our partners requires a good communication strategy. Diplomay offers us a good metaphor. Think of T&D as a diplomatic core and each functional area it supports as an embassy. We need to post an ambassador in each functional area. These ambassadors are people from our T&D team who act as trusted confidants and are instrumental in building strong ties. They play a liaison role by shuttling information back and forth between T&D and its partners. These liaisons can also be influential in negotiating critical aspects of the partner relationship, such as priorities, strategic planning processes, project deliverables, and communication interfaces. It is their responsibility to know the pulse of T&D’s partners. Treat this post as a rotating one. Select a term length that makes sense for your organization. In my experience, a year is a good length. Move people in and out of the role. You want as many of your people as possible to build relationships with your customers. Although in the short run this may appear to weaken or compromise the potential strength of these relationships, in the long run you are cultivating a greater number of relationships. This will serve to diversify the support you receive from your partners, increase the depth and diversity of your knowledge of them, and create more shared history with them. You also gain more perspectives, and you do not have to be concerned that a partnership will diminish if a key ambassador leaves the company. You want to avoid having to start again from square one.

8. Align T&D with Corporate Communications
Corporate communications needs to be one of our closest allies. This functional area is an essential partner. From a philosophical point of view, communication and learning are inextricably connected. Without communication there is no learning. Many learning and performance interventions look very much like communication strategies. The tools and processes of corporate communications are vital assets to us in T&D. Why reinvent the wheel when we can leverage the assets of corporate communications, particularly its ready-to-go infrastructure, for reaching out to the organization? We have a wonderful opportunity to make sure communications are saturated with learning. In this way, corporate communications benefits by having a partner who understands how to transform communication into learning.

If you do not have a strong relationship with corporate communications, make it one of your first priorities. As with any partnership we need to learn the partner’s cultural landscape. The individuals in corporate communications have a different way of viewing the world. We will benefit from a healthy dose of their perspective. They know how to grab people’s attention and succinctly transmit information. People have even less time for digesting corporate communications than they do for traditional learning so we have a lot to learn from this area. Start your efforts to make corporate communications a partner by making it a central part of T&D. Invite individuals in this area to be contributors. Seek their advice and they will begin to do the same. Natural synergies will emerge. As each group becomes more aware of the other, there will be more and more opportunities for collaboration.

9. Celebrate Successes
Our success is our partner’s success. When we celebrate our successes, we elevate our partners and generate a positive focal point for the entire organization. Because the work we do is achieved through collaboration, it is critical to exhibit public signs of appreciation and recognition of everyone’s efforts. People are energized by celebrating achievements. Our partnerships will be strengthened by focusing on the positive. It also becomes easier to learn from experience and identify opportunities for improvement. Our partners are less likely to point fingers at us for aspects of a project that may not have gone as smoothly as everyone had hoped. Instead, we become better equipped to enter into a depersonalized dialogue where accountability is not an issue because it is shared jointly. These dialogues are a wonderful way for us to grow in knowledge, increase effectiveness, and create opportunities to share lessons learned.

Celebrating successes allows us to bring visibility to T&D and reinforce our importance to the organization. If actions speak louder than words, then results speak volumes. The best way to sell T&D and encourage others to seek us as a partner is to share stories that celebrate our successes. Let these stories be authentic ones. We are not in the business of advertising, so if we get our partners to tell their stories of working with us, we will secure our role in the organization. Look for creative ways to build celebration into project methodologies. This is another good place for corporate communications to help us. Go beyond the obvious methods of sticking endorsements of courses on T&D’s intranet site or in printed collaterals. As genuine as these endorsements may be, they fall into category of advertising or “spinning.” Everyone is saturated with such messages. By themselves they do not go far enough in promoting our value to the organization, and they do not enable our partners to celebrate success.

10. Reinvent the Partnership
The survival and continued relevancy of a partnership is contingent on our resolve to reinvent it. Partnerships are relationships. They are living, breathing entities that need to be continually nurtured and renewed. If we are not constantly investing time, energy, and creativity into our partnerships and thinking about ways to improve them, they will become stale and irrelevant. No amount of processes, procedures, or even successes is going to permanently sustain a partnership. Staff changes, shifting priorities, and modifications of existing tools and processes or introductions of new ones are just a few of the sorts of things that can influence the characteristics and longevity of a partnership. Think of a partnership as possessing an almost infinite number of variations and configurations. Be guided by what is necessary and not by what is familiar. By treating partnerships as a two-way street rich in dialogue, we can discover new ways to optimize how we work with our partners. In this way, the partnership will never exist as an end itself. It will always remain focused on bringing value to the organization.

Summary
In this three-part article series, we have explored 10 strategies for building strong partnerships. Partnerships are not a luxury; they are a necessity in today’s organizations. The complexities of contributing value-added learning and communication initiatives demand we move beyond the safe and known boundaries of our area and venture deep into the organization. These 10 strategies are a starting point. Every organization has a unique set of culture rules and norms that influence its dynamics. If you are sensitive to these and learn to pace with people in your organizations, you will be surprised at how quickly you will win a coveted seat at the strategy table.

Note: This article is an excerpt from Building Business Acumen for Trainers: Skills to Empower the Learning Function and is reprinted with permission by the publisher, Copyright 2006, John Wiley & Sons.

Terrence L. Gargiulo, MMHS, is a six-time author, international speaker, organizational development consultant, and group process facilitator specializing in the use of stories. He holds a Master of Management in Human Services from the Florence Heller School, at Brandeis University, and is a recipient of Inc. magazine’s Marketing Master Award. He is co-founder of the Storytelling Organization Institute (STORI). Highlights of some of his past and present clients include GM, HP, DTE Energy, Dreyers Ice Cream, UNUM, U.S. Coast Guard, Boston University, Raytheon, City of Lowell, Arthur D. Little, KANA Communications, Merck-Medco, Coca-Cola, Harvard Business School, and Cambridge Savings Bank. Terrence may be reached at terrence@makingstories.net.

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Be a Part of the Movement: Sign Up for ISPI’s Lifetime Membership

Since September 2006, ISPI members have been converting their individual memberships to Lifetime status. Here are some of the reasons why they became Lifetime members:

ISPI is my professional home because since I first began participating in 1983 I’ve consistently found ISPI’ers to be friendly, interesting and caring about the human condition. It is also the only organization I’m aware of that has operationally defined performance, and continues to explore all avenues to measurably improve it. —Timm Esque, CPT

Since joining in 1979, I have found the Society, the Conference, and the Members to consistently be at the source for most of my learning and my practice of ISD and HPT. —Guy W. Wallace, CPT

I decided to become a life member because I have always found ISPI to be a source of leading thinking and people willing to give to their profession and others looking to join or discipline. —Lewis Parks, CPT

First, ISPI has been a part of my personal and professional life for a long time, and signing up for life membership was a way for me to communicate my intent to keep the organization a part of my life for a very long time to come. Second, I’ll never again have to worry about missing that membership renewal. —Chuck Georgo, CPT

Sign up now! Become a Lifetime member of ISPI and never pay dues again. Plus, retain all member benefits and lock in your membership dues at today’s rate to avoid future dues increases; receive guaranteed lifetime discounts on ISPI products and services; never miss a member benefit because of a lapse in payment; and contribute to building your performance improvement community of the future.

For complete details on the Lifetime Membership, click here, or download a copy of the brochure.

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High Performance Marketing:
The Only Three Ways Every Performance Consulting Business Can Make Money
by Richard F. Gerson, CPT, PhD, CMC

These three ways are extremely simple. You would think the whole world should be aware of them. Yet, most performance consultants (both internal and external) do not even consider one of these three concepts, let alone all three. In this brief article, you will learn exactly how to make money in your business while your competitors are out chasing their tails. Plus, they will start looking at your business trying to figure out what it is you are doing that is making the cash flow just to you. When you use these three marketing techniques properly, you will be like the U.S. government: you will be printing money legally.

Money-Maker #1
The first way to make money is to get more customers to buy from you. The concept is intuitively obvious, but the application often leaves much to be desired. You cannot go out and throw away money on marketing and advertising and hope these efforts will bring you more customers. You have to do three things to turn prospects into customers and get them to buy from you. The first thing is to define your unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP simply states why your business is different, unique, and how it benefits customers. This helps customers decide that they should buy from you. The second thing is to base your USP on the fulfillment of a market gap. You must identify the true needs in the marketplace and provide the product or service that satisfies those needs. The third thing is to focus your business.

Never try to be all things to all people. Rather than being a little fish in a big pond (where the sharks can swallow you up), be a big fish in a little pond (where you set the rules for survival). Even better, build your own lake (establish a new market niche or market category, which has recently been called a “blue ocean” strategy). Then, stay tightly focused on your purpose for being in business.

Play to your core strengths, and you will make a greater profit than if your business is all over the place.

Money-Maker #2
Once you have secured your customers, you have to get them to buy more from you with each purchase. Here is how to increase the volume of each purchase:

• Upsell them to a better product or service.
• Add on something to the original sale that is similar to what they are buying so they are spending a little more.
• Extend the length of the sale by offering them a discount for payment of future products or services now.

You can also offer them a complementary product or service or even something totally different. When you do this, let them try it out and return it (a book, DVD, online training program) if they do not like it. If they do return it, you refund their money, no questions asked. Or, you can provide them with an “audition” of your services or a pilot program at little or no cost with the understanding that when you show them positive measurable improvements, they will guarantee they will work with you on a larger project.

Money-Maker #3
Not every customer will buy more from you during each purchase. So, your next money-making tip is to get them to buy from you more often. You have to increase the frequency of their purchases. This works for internal performance consultants also. Just view the situation as if you were “selling” your services to your company and you would only get paid if they “purchased” your services.

Think about how book clubs, music clubs, and any type of subscription service works. The customer makes inexpensive purchases on a regular basis. More sales are made more often, rather than one big hit. Get customers to buy more often by offering them special deals, making special events just for them, and informing them of special purchases you have made on their behalf. Set up a “subscription service” for your performance work and you will have a regular cash flow.

Also, stay in constant contact with them to keep them up to date on your business. The more people know about you and your business, the more comfortable they will feel with you. And, that usually translates into customers buying more from you.

These three money-making concepts will start you on your way to printing money legally in your performance consulting business. Just figure out the implementation tactics you want to use and do them.

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 richard.gerson@richgerson.com.

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Project Proven Tools and Techniques for ISD:
Key ISD Roles
by Guy W. Wallace, CPT, Representative of the Instructional Systems ProComm

The eighth topic that we are covering in this 12-part series is Key ISD Roles. I have configured the following ISD roles, not to be confused with jobs or job titles, after being responsible for the ISD processes and staff and projects for an ISD/HPT consulting firm from 1982 until 2002. We conducted over 400 projects during that time. I have had to assign many staff members to a rush project, per the aggressive project plan, and learned how to plan and manage a “divide-and-conquer” strategy.

ISD Project Manager
The role of the ISD project manager is to meet with clients reactively or proactively (or both) to discuss performance goals and issues (problems and opportunities) and determine if an ISD effort is warranted. Then the manager develops project plans for the project tasks, assignments, and schedules in response to the specifics of the client situation and then reviews that with a project steering team. The manager also conducts “gate reviews” with the project steering team at key milestones of the project.

ISD Analyst
The role of the ISD analyst is to conduct the analysis efforts and produce an approved set of analysis data, including:

• target audience data
• performance model data
• K/S matrices data
• existing T&D assessments data

The analyst supports the ISD project manager in preparing an analysis report and the PST gate review presentations to guide the review/rejection/modification/approval of the analysis data before it is used in the downstream design phase.

ISD Curriculum Architecture Designer
The role of the ISD curriculum architecture designer is to conduct the curriculum architecture design preparation efforts and to facilitate the actual design efforts, as well as the review efforts needed to produce an approved set of design outputs that includes:

• T&D paths and individual planning guides
• T&D event definitions
• T&D event specifications
• T&D module specifications

The curriculum architecture designer supports the ISD project manager in preparing a curriculum architecture design document and the PST gate review presentations to guide the review/rejection/modification/approval of the design data before it is used in the downstream implementation planning efforts.

ISD Designer
The role of the ISD designer is to prepare for and conduct the ADDIE-level design efforts and produce an approved set of design outputs that includes:

• T&D event maps and specifications
• T&D lesson maps and specifications
• T&D instructional activity specifications

The designer supports the ISD project manager in preparing a design document and the PST gate review presentations to guide the review/rejection/modification/approval of the design before it is used in the downstream development/acquisition, pilot-testing, and updating efforts.

ISD Lead Developer
The role of the ISD lead developer is to ensure that the content configuration of the ADDIE-level design is maintained. This is especially important if there will be a large number of developers involved post-design.

The lead developer produces a development plan, where lessons are assigned and a schedule is produced for the first three drafts, the third of which is pre-designated as the pilot-test draft. All lessons get three drafts, unless it is understood that one or more specific lessons are “from Hades.” Then those lessons might be scheduled for a fourth or fifth draft. These are flagged early and managed differently by the lead developer.

ISD Developers
The role of the developers is to develop performance-based, performance-impacting T&D using the authoring tools and templates provided by their organization, as called for in the details of the design inputs to their processes. The developers, in conjunction with SMEs and master performers, draft the instructional activities for the lessons. Developers also conduct the developmental reviews in between the first and third drafts.

After the pilot-test effort, developers are given revision specifications to guide the updating of the T&D before it goes into inventory, using the LMS/LCMS, other electronic, or paper systems, for ongoing storage, administration, and deployment as intended.

Summary
The key roles within your ISD function may be configured differently. And how they are rolled up into jobs may vary by location and need and the demonstrated capabilities of your staff. My intent was to break this down as I have practiced it, hiring and developing and deploying my ISD staff at an ISD/HPT consulting firm.

Next month: Teams for Curriculum Architecture ISD Efforts

Note: An expanded version of this article and the prior articles of this series may be found in the documents area of the IS ProComm. Click here to visit the website.

Guy W. Wallace, CPT, has been an external ISD and HPT consultant since 1982, 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, including his three most recent books available as free PDFs: lean-ISD, T&D Systems View, and new in 2007, Management Areas of Performance.

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CPTs News from Around the World

Renewals
Since June 2005, 619 CPTs have renewed. Their renewal applications are full of stories about the wonderful work CPTs are doing and where they go to keep their skills and knowledge current. Barbara Gough, CPT, is in the process of reviewing the recertification applications and will periodically be reporting what she learns.

Special Work by a CPT
This year Walgreens opened a state-of-the-art distribution center in Anderson, South Carolina, designed to meet a special challenge: to accommodate a large number of workers with disabilities, especially cognitive disabilities. Currently, more than 40% of the Anderson workforce has a known disability. Those who have a disability and those who have no disability work side-by-side on fully integrated teams, doing the same jobs for fully competitive wages.

The project grew out of the vision of Randy Lewis, a Walgreens senior vice president, whose son has autism. Randy was acutely aware of the bleak employment outlook facing most people with cognitive disabilities and wanted to do something about it. The project ultimately involved several years of planning and design by multiple departments and teams.

Karen Preston, CPT, served as director of Employment Outreach for the project—helping develop appropriate selection, training, and performance support systems, including touch screens with graphic visual cues. There were many departments involved. Everyone from IT to Facilities Planning, from Employee Relations to Personnel, from Employee Development to Distribution played a role. A cross-functional taskforce Karen facilitated helped review recommendations. There was also very important involvement by external hardware/software developers and by disability agencies in Anderson.

On July 2, NBC News ran a story on the initiative and reported that the Anderson center is 20% more efficient than the other distribution centers. Efficiency is measured in terms of number of lines of orders accurately processed per hour or productivity. You can visit www.walgreensoutreach.com to learn more about the Walgreen project. Karen, who is now retired from Walgreens and doing volunteer work, may be reached at CyberKaren@comcast.net.   

Your Story
If you have a story to tell that you think others would value, send it to judy@ispi.org.

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ISPI’s Distinguished Dissertation Award:
Call for Applications

ISPI’s Research Committee is currently accepting applications for the 2008 Distinguished Dissertation Award. $1000 of prize money will be divided between first, second, and third place winners. In addition, award recipients will have an article based on their study considered for Performance Improvement Quarterly, and are encouraged to submit a proposal to present at the 2009 Annual Conference as part of the Science & Research Professional Community.

Due to the popular demand of students completing their dissertations during this summer academic term, the deadline for submission has been extended to August 31, 2007. Dissertations must have been defended and approved by the student’s committee prior within the past three years, and may be applied for by students of any accredited university. For more information regarding the application process and requirements, click here.

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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.

ISPI
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