I’m having a really great weekend… huge amount of learning.
I’ve read 3 E-books which have been just fascinating.
I joined Twitter a few weeks ago and it has opened me up to a whole new world of social media. (I’m fully aware that I’m a bit behind the 8 ball on this as many people have been into the web for ages, but better late then never!) In fact, I don’t think I ever really got the power of the web until now. It’s amazing.
So why am I sharing this in the Vivat® blog?
Because as a TLA (Turning Learning into Action) specialist, specialising in transfer of learning, my next trick is to do something with that learning.
If you’re familiar with TLA and Vivat® work, you’ll know that my bottom line is to create results from learning experiences. We don’t deliver any training, but work solely on the transfer of training or transfer of learning back into the work place or life.
Generally we support people after they have attended corporate learning events. But hey, learning can happen anytime, any place, and right now it’s happening in Manly, Australia!
My top 5 tips are:
1) Capture the learning while in the learning zone:
If you’re reading something and you’re loving it and learning from it, capture it while you read.
You can do this via an audio record or just plan old pen and paper. Yesterday, for each 100 page E-book I took around 5 -6 pages of A4 notes. As silly as this sounds, use a notebook you love (especially if you have a stationary soft spot, check out www.smiggle.com.au). Mine is bright pink, but plain back leather moleskin (www.moleskin.com) is also a favourite! I also often fold the A4 pages in half to give me 4 columns over a double page spread so I can capture more bullets at one glance. That way I can review the whole content of the book very quickly.
As an aside, 2 of these e-books had already made provision for taking notes. One was a work book style, with a column for notes running down the right hand side throughout the 100 pages of the book. The other had an 11 page workbook to fill in which went alongside it. For me the 11 page summary was something I used and worked best. I want to make the notes shorter than the book itself so I can review the information without needing to re read it.
2) Create a plan of action or action plan of how you are going to transfer the learning. Put pen to paper and commit to what you are going to do. Just do it! Now, when you are inspired with what you are learning, before you leave the training venue or comfort of your armchair. Don’t think you will come back to it… you probably won’t.
3) Have a timeline on the action plan. (3 months or shorter is best)
I’ve broken my action plan into 6 key steps and have put together a timeline spread over the next 3 months, starting with what needs to happen immediately before I can go any further with the project. Any longer than 3 months can be challenging to keep momentum going and focused.
4) Don’t put anything in the plan you won’t do.
Sounds obvious, but I had to think long and hard about this yesterday.
One of the points I learnt was that if you have a video of yourself speaking on your home page, the average time people will stay at your website is 6 minutes, verses 60 seconds with plain text. But am I really going to put a video of myself on the front page for all to see? This is the time to make a decision, now when you commit to the plan, not when you come to execute it. If you’re really not into it or it’s something that you think you should to do rather than want to do then don’t put it in the plan.
I often tell clients attending corporate training “don’t put on your action plan what you think the company wants you to do, your manager wants you to do, the trainer wants to you to do, put what you want to do” – that way the transfer of training is way higher (and on corporate training we have ways of making sure this is all aligned anyway, but that’s for another post!).
So, yes, look for a video coming on my homepage soon and if it’s not there in 3 months you can call me on it.
5) Tell someone about your plan – get them to hold you accountable.
In our process we call this an ‘accountability buddy’. I am aware the term accountability isn’t very sexy (Who wants to be ‘held accountable’? Sounds all a bit forced!) and ‘buddy’ sounds all a bit US to us here in Australia. No offence to any US readers! If anyone has got a better idea for a new term I’m open to your thoughts… I’ll explain what the role is though so you can get a sense of how it works.
An accountability buddy helps hold you accountable to what you want to do. They don’t nag you or tell you what to do, but they have a copy of your plan too. You can agree upfront how often you are going to review the plan with them to discuss progress. Their role is to listen, so pick someone you think can listen to. If could be a friend, a mentor, or a work colleague. I suggest steering away from a partner or manager. It can be hard for them to be impartial and support you with what you want to do rather than go to their own agenda. For this particular action plan I’m going to use one of my business mentors to help me keep on track.
So – here’s my action plan for transferring learning from a book
• Capture the learning while you read
• Make a plan
• Have a timeline
• Don’t put anything in the plan you won’t do
• Have someone to hold you accountable
Have fun with it and remember I’d love to hear your thoughts about new terms for ‘accountability buddy’.
The E-books were either free or low cost, between US$10 and $30. I got great value from all of them.
The Four Layers of the SEO model – How to rank higher www.ocseoexpert.com
How to start a business blog – Michael Martine www.michaelmartine.com
The Zen of Social Media Marketing – Shama Hyder www.clicktoclient.com