They both have stuff to teach businesses, that’s what!  There have been quality BBC articles and vids recently on new sources of inspiration for business development.  One was comedy.  You don’t have to think too hard to realise that the skills necessary in stand-up – creativity, improvisation, confidence, communication – are directly transferable to the world of work.

Neil Mullarkey leads the way here.  You can read about his training organisation – called Improvyourbiz – and workshops here.

The next was about the use of wolves to model leadership and team-working skills! I noticed that several other coaching and training blogs have flagged up this remarkable story.  However they didn’t provide any more information than was in the original article.

Using my amazing research skills I’ve managed to track this story to its source.  The organisation who runs the training is called Team Venture.  The exact name of this course is ‘Natural Leaders – Trainings with Wolves and Horses for Executives’.  Chief instructor Dr. Janet Nagel, an Outdoor Trainer with a PhD in Engineering and project management experience at executive level.

As a trainer, I find both these directions extremely exciting.  It makes me wonder, What other untapped areas of learning experience exist out there?  Anyone for Star Wars?

Image credit: belgianchocolate.

Recent research confirms that customer loyalty is more a result of how customers feel about doing business with you, rather than what they think about your products or services in a detached way.

Businesses that provide satisfying service gain their customers’ loyalty in the form of repeat business and referrals – the ‘holy grail’ of customer service. The most successful companies achieve this goal by managing the total customer experience.

The name of this new thinking is Customer Experience Management (CEM). CEM is concerned with planning how you will not only meet, but exceed, both the rational and emotional needs of your customers.

In this workshop (24/03/10) you will gain an understanding of the building-blocks of a satisfying customer experience and create interactions that turn average customers into your campaigners.

Speaker: Allen Baird

To book a place, phone the School of Education (Open Learning) on 028 9097 3539/3323 or email openlearning.education@qub.ac.uk.

Image credit: blogger’s own.

We’re holding another social media event.  It follows on from our Social Media Business Breakfast of last week.

Beyond Throwing Sheep: A Practical Business Workshop on Social Media

The format will be a practical, hands-on workshop.  There will be less theory and more practice.  Attendees can choose whether to attend a morning session on Facebook, an afternoon session on Twitter, or both.  If you choose to come all day, it’s better value.

Social media is often maligned when people hear about such things as throwing sheep, sharing cupcakes, playing mafia wars… this session is different.  We will look at how the two popular tools can be used for business.

Read further details and book your place here.  Those who book a place are welcome to email us with suggestions at info@sensei-winbeforehand.co.uk.

Storytelling, Business and Innovation (Conference)

Also, don’t forget about our Storytelling, Business and Innovation event.  Speakers are Allen Baird, Liz Weir and Colin Nesbitt from Innovation Express.  What is this event about?

What do the World Bank, Xerox, The American Heart Association and NASA have in common besides success? Corporate storytelling, that’s what! Executives from these companies know that people don’t connect with facts and statistics, much less remember them. That’s why storytelling is now part of their organisational strategy.

On 24th November 2009, Sensei Learning and Performance will host a unique training event in Northern Ireland – a conference on Storytelling, Business and Innovation. This conference will introduce you to one of biggest business trends of our time.

Read further details and book your place here.

Training is like an iceberg.  Only one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg appears visible above the water.

So it is with a training event.  The actual bit that people see, the training day itself, is only a very small part of the whole.  Lurking beyond the vision of participants and attendees lies the vast bulk of time the trainer has expended in creating the event.  There are meetings with clients.  There is topic research.  There is the design of multiple presentation aids.  There is the organisation of exercise materials.  There is the writing and formatting of a workbook.

And this is without mention of a Training Needs Analysis, that luxurious exercise when a client actually allows a trainer – oh the bliss! – to speak to the attendees themselves prior to the training in order to accurately gauge their needs, present levels of skill, preferred learning styles, etc.

All this takes time, of course.  Time that the client doesn’t really ‘see’.  Time that s/he is therefore reluctant to pay for… or even acknowledge the existence of.  (Something similar applies to business coaches and writiers, website developers, artwork designers and other professionals.)

“Can’t you just come and, you know, do one of your talks?  Can’t I just pay you for that?”

My ‘talks’!?  OK, firstly, I’m not an after dinner speaker.  I’m a professional training consultant with two degrees and a specialist training qualification.  Second, the material that I use in my training did not come to life by itself, by a sort of spontaneous generation; I created it ex nihilo, over a period of time.  Third, I have honed my ability to teach adults over the course of years, and through dint of hard work and continuing professional development I have acquired some expertise in the same.  All this is what you’re paying for, all this is what lies below the surface and props up the little bit that you see on the day!

I’m tempted to say to such, “If you can do better, go ahead and try.”  But the problem is that they would.  Try, that is, not succeed.  After all, its only giving a talk, isn’t it?  Its only for the sake of ticking boxes, isn’t it?  Any of your junior HR staff could do it too, couldn’t they?  And probably already are…

My answer: What happens when you don’t respect the full size of an iceberg?  Ask the Titanic!

There are a fair few latter-day ‘titanics’ roaming the commercial waters of Northern Ireland at the moment.  They’re enjoying themselves, spending money on relative luxuries, but scrimping on the one thing that really matters – a highly skilled, highly motivated i.e. highly trained workforce.

I suppose there’s something to be said for sinking with dignity.  But personally, I think its preferable to acknowledge the real size of the iceberg… and stay afloat!

Image credit: pululante.

Guest Blog Post by Matthew Arrell

Matthew works as a Nutrition and Conditioning Coach and is also a Personal Trainer.

The government has spent big bucks trying to get people to exercise regularly. Yes, this has a much to do with them wanting people to lead healthier lifestyles, which will in turn reduce the NHS workload, but there are loads of other reasons for getting out there and keeping active. Most obvious are the physical benefits as well as psychological and social ones.

Physical Benefits

• Promotes healthy blood sugar levels to prevent or control diabetes
• Increases bone density to protect against osteoporosis
• Reduces the overall risk of cancer
• Increases levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol -reducing the risk of developing heart disease
• Lowers high blood pressure – lowering the risk of developing heart disease
• Boosts the immune system
• In combination with a balanced diet, helps to maintain a healthy weight
• Children can benefit by developing strong muscles and bones and a healthy heart
• Children will develop self confidence and meet lots of new friends
• Pregnant women can benefit by reduced lower back pain, thus relieving tiredness and increasing the stamina needed for labour
• Finally, you will get a better night’s sleep!

Psychological Benefits

• Boosts self-confidence
• Powerful anti-depressant
• Reduces stress, as well as an improving the ability to cope with stress
• Improves mood and self-esteem
• Pride in physical accomplishments
• Increases satisfaction with oneself
• Enhances body image
• Boosted feelings of energy
• Improves confidence in your physical abilities

Social Benefits

• Increases interaction with different people and new social circle
• Time out for yourself
• Most gyms, teams and clubs run social events as well as regular training

These are only some of the many benefits of exercise. You need only choose a few, and it makes the trip to the gym worthwhile. Look at everything you’re getting out of it!

Best of all exercise can be free. You don’t have to join an expensive gym and dress up in those tight lycra suits you see some people training in. All you need are your trainers and the motivation to get out there and get moving!

Here are Some Exercise Tips and Rules

• Play a sport. Pick anything you like, even though you may have only watched it on TV, and get along to your local team. Once you start to get competitive, you won’t want to miss a session.
• Find a buddy. Get a training partner who can get you out on those nights when you’re not feeling so good and you can return the favour when they try to skip a session.
• Exercise for charity. Charity fundraising events are everywhere. They range from walks to full marathons to mountain climbs to absolutely everything. You’ll be amazed how many people you meet while you raise money for a good cause.
• Join a fitness class. Find one that you enjoy and turn up a little early for a chat with the other people there. You’ll soon be looking forward to your new class while getting fitter all the time.
• Vary your activities so you don’t get bored. Go to the beach for a day and take a football for a kick-a-bout.
• Set yourself some realistic goals. Attempting to run a marathon next week (for example) could do you more harm than good. Take your time and gradually increase the intensity and length of your sessions.
• Visualisation. Try to picture yourself looking lean and healthy, or fitting back into those trousers or dress that’s become too tight round the middle!
• Fuel yourself. Just like a car needs fuel to work, so does your body. Do NOT get straight out of bed in the morning to exercise; at least have a light breakfast to give your body fuel for a workout.
• Refuel. You need to refuel immediately to get your blood sugar back to normal. Try fruit juices. With their natural sugar and vitamins they make for a healthy recovery drink. You also need to take on board some calories no more than an hour after exercise.

So – that’s all you need to get up and running now. The rest is up to YOU!

Image credit: mikebaird.