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Thinking about change, the article Change Creation and Change Management: Partners in Performance Improvement caught my eye. The article by Roger Kaufman and Dale Lick in Performance In Practice, Winter 2000-2001, asserts that in order to survive, organizations must react to the change thrust upon them. Which is a reactive approach of change management. They assert that change creation provides a proactive approach for successful performance improvement. They contend that it is vital to consider the need to create change as well as manage it. The following comparison chart summarizes some of the interesting points they made.

Speaking of change, we are very proud to announce a change to our Board. Mr. Dana Harnish has accepted the position of Director. Dana will be administering our Job Bank and advisory responsibilities to our communication group. Welcome aboard! (No pun intended…well, maybe). Dana joins us as Janette Crumley resigned from the Director's position to devote more time to her baby daughter and growing business. We thank her for service and dedication. And wish her and her family the very best.

I look forward to seeing you in March with our guest speaker Ron McLemore of the City of Virginia Beach. Ron and his training staff have a wonderful facility from which they have generously offered to host us. We look forward to seeing many of our "southside" members at this informative program, too! In April, another very special event - we will be partnering with the Society of Human Resources (SHRM) to welcome Chet Zoltak, a Principal and the Chief Learning Officer for Benefit Administration Services, Towers Perrin from Philadelphia. Chet is an experienced HR consultant and has over 20 years experience in the field of Learning and Development. You will want to hear what he has to say, I'm sure.

See you soon,
Debbie

Raving Fans -
A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service

The authors begin telling this delightful story by asking the question "do we want satisfied customers or raving fans?" When you hear the term raving fans, what immediately comes to mind? Lunacy? No… we are not talking about enraged customers hollering their dissatisfaction. We are talking about staunch supporters and repeat customers who love your organization and the service it provides. Take a moment to think about your organization's strategy … are you creating raving fans or status quo content customers? What about your personal life … any raving fans there?

The reader is given three secrets to creating raving fans. The first is to decide what you as an organization want. The second is to discover what the customer wants … ask them! The third, and perhaps the most important, secret is to discover what the customer wants and deliver PLUS ONE. What is plus one, you ask? It is about exceeding customer expectations. These days when an organization even comes close to meeting the low customer service standard we have allowed, the public is accepting. Imagine what happens when an organization not only meets, but also exceeds the customer's expectations … you have raving fans.

If anything you belong to is interested in having raving fans, I would highly recommend this book. It will be helpful in meeting your organization's goals as well as your family's, professional group's, … the list goes on. Devote an hour out of your busy schedule to improving your work and personal lives.

Elaine St. James

How often do we say that we wish things were simpler … that life was not so complicated? Read this book and find out a hundred ways to do so. Some of the suggestions that I have put into play to simplify my life are ….

-reduce the clutter by going through your "stuff" every 6 months - someone could really use that suit you have not worn in three years that you forgot you even had ·

-put your standard grocery list on computer which reduces time creating the list and time in the store as well as virtually eliminating spontaneous purchases ·

-do not answer the phone/door just because it is ringing/knocking - return the message on your answering machine when you want to ·

-take a vacation at home - relax

-get rid of all but 1 or 2 of your credit cards - that is all most of us use anyway once we receive that initial 10% off our first purchase

-be in bed by 9:00 one night a week - rest is crucial to our well-being

just say no - how often have we heard this? how often do we put it in practice?

I will leave you with this thought as I go to the library to check out one of this book's recommended readings, Speed Cleaning by Jeff Campbell, keep it simple my friends!

When employees hear that they'll be attending this training, they're silently (or not so silently) wondering, "What's in it for me?" You probably know the benefits they'll gain by mastering this skill: more money, consideration for promotion, increasing their own safety, improving relationships with co-workers. You may also know what happens if they don't master this skill-the company may experience decreased productivity and increased liability.

Once you have the WII-FMs of your training firmly in mind, make them clear to the participants! Articulate them before, during, and even after your session. Before, talk up the benefits with a memo or pep talk. Then introduce and wrap up the training itself by listing the benefits. Afterwards, check on people; recognize their progress and reinforce the benefits: "Say, you're getting a grip on this! How do you like it?" "Are you finding that it's about twice as fast as the way we used to do it?"

I: Involve people through INTERACTIVE methods.

Games involve people. You can take nearly any content, write some multiple-choice or true-false questions, and have people answer them as they move along a game board. Be sure to build in some surprises: "Uh oh, Pat tripped. Safety violation! Go back 2 spaces!" It's the element of chance that keeps competitions and games lively. Most people enjoy playing familiar TV game shows, too. Adapt your material to fit the rules of "Jeopardy," "Family Feud," "Pictionary," or even the new "Millionaire" game.

If you're looking for engaging methods that are a little quieter, create crossword puzzles or word jumbles based on your content. You can have people complete them alone, in pairs, or in a team. And don't wait until the end; you need to review throughout your training - early and often - with interactive events.

S: SIMPLIFY the complex.

People lose interest when dry material gets too complex. Remedy that by telling vivid anecdotes that make the content stick in their minds. Also, link statistics to numbers that people can grasp- how far would the units in your data reach, if laid end to end? How long would it take to count them off, if you listed them one per second? How many people would fit inside a space you're describing?

Trainers, facilitators, e-learning designers, and others engaged in knowledge development could take a lesson from the computer games industry. Gaming shows us that long, traditionally tedious, and difficult tasks can be engaging and fun when they're part of a good story. There's no question that-when harnessed effectively-e-learning can be a faster, more cost-effective way to provide consistent information to people wherever they are and whenever they need it. The challenge is to strike a balance between cost-effectiveness and an engaging learning experience.

Initially, cost has seemed to overshadow content. Most early e-learning efforts have been adaptations of text-based training delivered electronically. These types of programs represent the worst of all possible alternatives-they deprive participants of interaction while reducing them to reading "green screens" of scrolling text. These electronic textbooks don't make use of the interactive power of electronic delivery, such as video, sound, and simulations.

E-learning consumers should expect programs that incorporate the same innovative tools and techniques used in the computer gaming industry-such as graphics, interaction, and skill-building challenges-to deliver an educational experience that's compelling, informative, and fun. The learning experience should be designed with a clear story line and interactive exercises that are engaging and relevant to course objectives. Ideally, computer game and other e-learning experiences should leave participants free to make choices that directly impact the outcome.

For example, Riven is a complex and challenging commercial computer game that offers puzzles to solve as you move through a series of locations to complete a quest. The choices you make lead you to a variety of outcomes. Each time you play, you learn, and ultimately master the game. Riven makes full use of animation, sounds, and videoclips. The result is an experience that draws you in completely. Should we expect any less from a business e-learning program?

The next generation of e-learning has arrived; here are four ways you can design e-learning with interaction and fun in mind.

Choose your own adventure. A strong story line is key to the success of interactive e-learning. Working through a story or simulation gives participants context for learning valuable lessons as they address business challenges, resolve workplace issues, and move ahead in the marketplace. It's the experience of working through the issues that remains with learners, so they're better equipped to handle real-life situations.

For example, an e-learning program might establish the following scenario: Your business is at a crossroad, and you must select a strategy that will help differentiate it in the marketplace. The strategy you select will suggest the investments you need, the employees you hire, and the customers you pursue. As events unfold, you may rethink your strategy, suffer the consequences of poor decisions, and reap the rewards of good decisions. Despite the outcome, the story line provides common frames of reference for all participants and can facilitate individual or group learning at any scale.

Drive home value with feedback. Though it's important to build facilitation into the e-learning-through tips, periodic debriefs, and the like-direct, person-to-person feedback provides the final link that ensures success. Through live interaction, a facilitator can provide closure by wrapping up the experience, responding to open issues, and beginning the process of transferring lessons learned to real-world situations. To drive home lessons learned, you may want to provide participants with a written review or ask them to forward questions to experts who can address work issues. A collective group summary with a live facilitator may also be helpful. In addition, a participant's manager may debrief and transfer actions to day-to-day workplace situations. When possible, it's best to adapt facilitation to meet the goals of the learning experience. For the most part, offering email and chat lines that address specific issues-combined with opportunities to debrief with a manager-is optimal.

Keep the conversation going,e-style. Conversation draws people into learning. When they interact, learners can help each other work through simulations, games, and other interactive exercises and transfer what they've learned to the workplace. E-learning can be especially effective when conducted as a team exercise. When two to four learners gather around a computer, they can discuss strategies and interact in much the same way as in a classroom. When that's not possible, it's important to incorporate other types of learner interaction throughout the experience. This is where e-learning developers should take a page from the gamers book.

For example, advanced computer games often use chat functions in both their individual and team programs. Players can email questions and encourage one another. They can also use email, chat rooms, and Web postings to pick up tips, review strategies, and discuss outcomes. All of these tactics work well in a business e-learning environment, too. Adding interactive exercises into a learning program encourages discussion. Once a participant makes a decision-selects a strategy, bids for or releases a customer or employee, and so on-there should be an opportunity to discuss the ramifications. And these consequences stimulate discussions that start as, "I was doing fine until my largest customer decided to bring the work in-house. So how do I hold on to the employees who were assigned to that account?"

A strong story line also encourages discussion. You can gauge how well participants are learning by noticing the game-specific vocabulary in online chats and day-to-day conversation. Participant interaction is important. The buzz around a learning experience facilitates learning transfer. It's part of what differentiates traditional teaching from true learning. It's active instead of static, and the outcome lasts longer than the time it takes to read a textbook or attend a seminar.

E-learning, not e-boring. Let's face it, the structure of business relationships is fluid today. Multidisciplinary work teams, distributed work teams, and project-related work groups all demand rapid learning delivered on site and just-in-time. While debating the relative merits of e-learning versus traditional classroom learning may make for a lively discussion, most arguments miss the point. Online learning, like voice response systems, ATMs, and other electronic self-service tools, is here to stay. The debate focus should be how to make the most of new technologies to design e-learning tools that are engaging and effective.

You can do this by paying attention to the design details. Incorporate enough fun and excitement into learning so that a participant will want to share it with colleagues. And you must make the most of technology to deliver content in a way that encourages interaction. Posting 500 PowerPoint slides on a Website is not e-learning; it's e-boring.

As you consider developing e-learning tools for your organization's learning repertoire, explore the world of gaming and entertainment Websites and note how they harness technology to engage and deliver. Once you begin looking at e-learning as its own experience rather than comparing it to classroom learning, the need for facilitation and participation becomes obvious. And making e-learning effective is no longer a mystery.

David Klaila is managing director of Celemi Learning Business. Contact him at celemi

New Communications Director

Dana Harnish, has accepted the position of Director effective immediately. He will assume the position vacated by JanetteCrumley and assume his duties as soon we get him "trained". Dana has an extensive training background. He served 20 years in the US Army (HOOAH!) and has worked at EER Systems working with distance learning programs, CBT's and televideo. He also worked with StarMountain and is currently theTask/Delivery Order Manager for the development of web based training for TRADOC. at Camber.

Welcome Dana!

Your Board at Work....

SEVA ASTD Board Meeting Minutes: January 17, 2001 7:00 pm In attendance: Debbie Christian; Dave Gorwitz; Linda McCafferty; Mary Lou Andrews; Chris Ferretti; Andre Fenwick; Shirell Mathews; Doris Thomas; Kris Miracle; Abby LaCroix; CeCeeVlk; D.L.Fosque; Lisa Orton; Cindy Armor.

1.President's Remarks:
Thanks for all that everyone has accomplished already. Our (SMART) goals for the year are to increase Marketing, Membership and Measurement.

2. Old Business:
SHRM Conference will be Sept 23-25 at the Norfolk Marriott (cost TBD). Speakers & exhibiters needed. Expected attendance is 400+.

3. Reports:
Administration - Director: Abby LaCroix

Abby LaCroix: ODI has credit card software that is used only 3-4 times a month. Abby and CeCee will do a side-by-side comparison of this with other plans being considered.

Mary Lou: Master roster is under construction; will be emailed to all. Will also look at posting on e-groups. Chris Ferretti has recreated the new logo, and CeCee can print it on blank cards as needed Debbie, Mary Lou and Chris will get together to look at ordering other stationary.

Chris Ferretti: Reimbursement form distributed. Budget reviewed and approved. Look for ways to increase revenues (eg membership, PDD and sponsorships) and decrease expenses. Goals: Anything we buy should be tax-exempt.
Reduce facilities costs (DL is looking for free program locations) Ensure smooth accounting (eg member vs non-member fees for meetings).

Professional Development
Director: Cindy Armor

Andre Fenwick: Volunteer Hampton Roads, 14 March (9am-3:45 pm), Virginia Wesleyan, includes box lunch. Does ASTD want a booth? Presentation Skills training: 4-6 session series, Intro to Presentations 101, charge TBD. PDD: No final numbers yet for 2000 conference.

Doris Thomas : January program had 31 attendees (25 members, 6 nonmembers of which 4 were non-paying guests). Feedback from 19 participants: positive response, wanted more time and less adversarial participation.
Goals:
Keep topics fresh and hot to training world
Increase attendance 25%
Have Jan and Feb programs ready to start 2002.

D.L. Fosque : Looking for ways to decrease expenses and increase attendance at monthly meetings.
Goals: Locate free sites
Don't overspend budget
Coordinate book reviews for newsletter
Prepare for Jan & Feb 2002 programs.

Communication and Marketing
Director -TBD

Kris Miracle: Membership: Confirming membership numbers for 2001.

Goals: Increase membership 25%
Double number of corporate memberships
Build membership team

Shirell Mathews:
Goals: Database of military prospects (ISD, training, education) History of chapter
Recruiting plan (by next month)
Form committee.

Lisa Orton: Newsletter to published every other month-list of due dates distributed.

Goals: Form committee
Incorporate members suggestions for topics into newsletter

CeCee Vlk: VP Technology-Webmaster
Goals: Provide opportunity to advertise ongoing issues, events, etc.
Keep pages dynamic-not static
Create links to training resources.
Please send CeCee any resources you discover

President's closing comments: Develop those committees! Next Board meeting: 21 February, 6 pm.

New Members

William Hall - Southern Illinois University

Catherine Kehrig - Global Nomads International

Rob Robertson - Global Learning Systems

Libby Saunders - US Army

Charles Tracy - US Navy

Rick White - US Navy

ODI is a classical organization developer specializing in measuring and helping clients improve cultural capacity. For over a decade ODI has been developing an enterprise-level software package, CapacityWare, which brings complex solutions for large organizations to a manager's desktop. "There is no other software package that does the job of CapacityWare, or even close to it," says ODI President Joe Lacroix. We developed the package for our own use, and are not in the process of licensing it to other classical organization developers or to large organizations.

ODI emerged from Mr. Lacroix's experience while in the US Army. When he retired in 1992 with 26 years of experience, he put his Army experience as a certified organization effectiveness officer to work for him and for Hampton Roads. He has also served as Chapter President of SEVA-ASTD and served on the Board of Directors, along with other members of the ODI staff continuously for the last 6 years.

ODI serves large area clients while shifting its considerable experience to that of a "teaching" consultancy that has already begun certifying qualified candidates in the use of CapacityWare and the hefty Technology embedded within it. Over a dozen "How to…" binders of literature that constitute the client library are "linkable" directly to the software as a aid to internal consultants and client managers and leaders. The CapacityWare tool is an integral part of the ODI vision to make available to everyone in organizations a means to identify and solve interpersonal barriers to achieving optimum capacity. "As it stands now," Lacroix said, "organizations are compelled to try and make up for last capacity by hiring more people. That formula only works for just so long before the weight of added personnel costs force a downsizing scenario. There is a better way." When asked about competition, Lacroix said simply, "There is no competition for what we do. Our innovations have created a whole new technological arm in the organization development field, and right now, we own the terrain - all of it."

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