THE LEARNING FLASH

Isn’t May beautiful? Everywhere you go the trees and flowers remind you of the wonderful times to come.  If you think you have the prettiest spring, send a picture to info@russellmartin.com and will we feature it on Lou Russell’s Facebook.  If you are already on Facebook, please send Lou a friend request.  She’d love to share with you.  

Like last month, this newsletter is broken into the following segments of brief articles:

• Project Management Magic - The latest practical PM tools, techniques and information
• Leadership In the Middle - Thoughts and ideas from the trenches of Middle Management
• Improving Higher Education - Ways to grow student success in career and public higher ed
• Training Truths - New ways to facilitate learning
• Technology - The latest news in Information Technology
• Web Wonders - Always amazing what’s on the web – just for fun
• The Contest - Find out who won last month, play this month, win fabulous prizes!
• Come See Us - Visit our webinars, blogs, public workshops, booths and speeches

Speech Follow-up: Did You Get It?

We have had a lot of trouble getting emails through firewalls to people who have asked for copies of presentations, free profiles, free shipping and other conference offerings at least since the beginning of 2008.  If you did not receive what you asked for, please contact Mbrown@russellmartin.com and you will get all and MORE!!  Our apologies…

Project Management Magic

Thanks to PMI Palmetto (Greenville, SC)

Lou had a great time participating in a panel and presenting the closing keynote at the April 2008 Symposium.  If you’d like speakers for your next PMI function, please contact Margie Brown at mbrown@russellmartin.com for more information.

Project Management for Sponsors: Manage Their Expectations

We are proud to offer a new 1 day workshop (live or online) for your project sponsors and stakeholders to so they learn what you need from them on a project.  The class is a great tool for project managers who want to improve project success through better sponsor communication. 

Contact Margie Brown at mbrown@russellmartin.com for more information.

Latest Project Management Trend: Core Business Competency

Project management is no longer a specialization; it is everybody’s job.  As businesses cut back and try to do more with less, project management has become a critical success factor.  Do your teams have what it takes? Check out Lou’s latest book 10 Steps to Successful Project Management..  Find fast, flexible techniques to improve project communication and success.   Check out our in-house and public workshop schedule.

Contact Margie Brown at mbrown@russellmartin.com for more information.

ASTD – ICE: San Diego, CA

Lou will be facilitating the wildly popular Project Managers for Trainers workshop and doing an Author Chat at ASTD International Conference and Expo May 28 – June 2, 2008.  Lou would love to see you if you are going to be at the conference.  If you would like to share a cup of coffee or a drink with Lou, drop her an email info@russellmartin.com to schedule a meeting.

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Leadership In the Middle

The Leadership Academy: All Leadership Training is Not the Same

There are many good options for growing leaders, but RMA’s Leadership Academy is different because:

• Budding leaders get 1-on-1 attention during and after class from a coach.
• Leaders practice their skills in the classroom so they have the confidence to implement new skills back at work.
• Local executives visit and share their leadership stories.
• Attendees create a network of support for each other, helping each other in class on real leadership problems, not case studies.
• Can’t beat the location – the award winning Children’s Museum of Indianapolis – how can you NOT be creative?  Sign up now – the next class is August 26-28, 2008. 

Contact Margie Brown at mbrown@russellmartin.com for more information.

Kudos to Allen County United Way

Big thanks to Kim Johnson, the United Way and the Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network for a great leadership day (“My Team, Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them”). Allen County is lucky to have such dedicated and amazing staff strengthening the hands of the strong. If you are looking for a one day leadership retreat for your teams, contact Margie at mbrown@russellmartin.com.

No News is Bad News: Sharing Difficult Information with Staff

Inside INdiana Business contributor Lou Russell says what everyone in our industry knows, the credit crunch has made it harder for businesses and lots of cutbacks are in the works. The complete ramifications of this loan chilliness remain to be seen, but in the near term, there may be tough times ahead for some of your staff.

Read More

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Improving Higher Education

Purdue Entrepreneur – Is Mom proud?

If you are looking for a new way to support your favorite sporting team, a young Indiana entrepreneur may be able to help. The Rah Bra has been created by Purdue Sophomore Ben Stover.

Thanks to IACPS

Lou had a great time giving two presentations to the newly energized Indiana Association of Private Career Schools.  She enjoyed meeting and reconnecting with people dedicated to student success.  If your local higher ed organization is looking for programs and speakers, please contact Leah Colville at lcolville@lplusearn.com for more information.

Students Need to Belong to Thrive

Here’s a great research paper about the social needs of students in higher ed and what schools do poorly and well in this regard. The concern here is how schools, as social organizations, address what is defined as a basic psychological need, the need to experience belongingness. The findings suggest that students' experience of acceptance influences multiple dimensions of their behavior but that schools adopt organizational practices that neglect and may actually undermine students' experience of membership in a supportive community.

High School Presentation

Did you know we have a new High School Recruitment Presentation packaged for your high school reps to teach potential students project management.  It’s not too late to get their attention for a summer or fall start.  For a free trial, contact Leah Colville at lcolville@lplusearn.com for more information.

The Human Capitalist

In the Spring 2008 edition of the LINK magazine from the Career College Association, Lou Russell offers her diagnosis on what factors contribute to unhealthy teams, and her prescription on how to achieve an effective cure.  If you’d like a copy of the article, please let us know at info@russellmartin.com.

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Training Truths

Toys and Learning

Elaine Beich has done it again! Check out the new Pfeiffer book “Trainer’s Warehouse Book of Games”.  If you like to try new exercises and new toys, you’ll love the creative ideas combined with Mike Doctoroff’s crazy gadgets.  Look for Lou in two!

Presentation Tip

Want to have people LOVE your presentation and settle your nerves at the same time?  Start with a group activity, rather than a canned (boring) introduction.  For example:

Ask everyone to think of one thing they are hoping you’ll explain in your presentation.  Now, ask them to find at least three other people in the room who have the same goal.  The first team to set up wins fabulous merchandise!  As one of their members writes their goal on a flipchart, encourage other groups to do the same.  When half of the group are done, ask for volunteers to share their ideas – take the pressure off.  Now, review the goals and map them to your content. 

Find more presentation ideas in Lou’s books The Accelerated Learning Fieldbook and Training Triage both available at www.russellmartin.com.

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Technology

General Economy Affecting IT Employee Confidence

According to a recent, online poll by staffing firm Technisource, the IT Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. IT workers, dropped 8.6 points to 47.4 in the first quarter of 2008, reaching its lowest level since measurement began in 2005. IT worker's faith in their own abilities has not changed much, nor has their confidence in being able to find another job if the need arises, said Michael Winwood, President of Technisource.  Other results from the IT employment report suggest that:

• Sixty-nine percent of technology workers believe the economy is getting weaker, up 17 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2007.
• Nearly two-thirds of technology workers (62%) are still confident in the future of their current employer, compared to 66% from the previous quarter.
• More than half of technology workers (55%) believe that fewer jobs are available, up 20 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2007; yet 48% are still confident in their ability to find a new job.

Demand for highly skilled IT staffers is as strong as ever. ERP, SAP, Oracle, Peoplesoft, .Net, Java, business intelligence and systems architecture are all hot areas. Good project managers are also in high demand right now.

Growing New Skills

Check out this article Lou wrote years ago for Auerbach… still quite true.

Technology and Learning

Six areas are identified in a new report as emerging technologies likely to impact learning in higher education. The Horizon Report is issued annually by the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. The 2008 areas: grassroots video, collaboration webs, mobile broadband, data mashups, collective intelligence and social operating systems. 

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Web Wonders

Overseas Care Packages

Created by our friend Sue Ream’s son Jason: This site allows military members to be sent care packages.  You can send to someone you know, or you can ‘adopt’ a member of the military.  The care packages consist of a variety of customized goods from toothbrushes and toothpicks to slim jims and salty crackers.  Along with your care package, you can send a message to the soldier letting them know how much you appreciate what they are doing for our country, and the soldier can, in turn, send you their own thank you message back.

Voice to Text Message Free

Here is a link to a free service that allows you to speak into your phone and then have it send a text message.  You can "speak" the text message to yourself, someone else, or a whole group of people (all at once).

Free Rice, Play the Game

Click on this site and play the vocab game.  Each word you get right feeds people.  That’s much better than Suduko!!

My Living Will

Last night my sister and I were sitting in the den and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle to keep me alive. That would be no quality of life at all, if that ever happens, just pull the plug." So she got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.

Email Effectiveness Tip

How long does it take you to make an appointment on email?  It’s very frustrating, isn’t it (those of you who have tried to make appointments with Lou are nodding right now… sorry!).  Here’s a tip:  if you receive an email that has 2 or more ‘Re:’ in the subject line, pick up the phone. 

Green Driving

Here are some gas saving maintenance and driving tips that really work:

• Righty tighty, lefty loosey! - Gas caps - About 17% of the vehicles on the roads have gas caps that are either damaged, loose or are missing altogether, causing 147 million gallons of gas to vaporize every year.  Poof! 
• Underinflated tires - Sometimes it's good to be full of hot air.  When tires aren't inflated properly it's like driving with the parking brake on and can cost a mile or two per gallon.  If you don't know how to check your tire pressure stop by your local auto or tire store and they’ll gladly show you how. 
• Worn spark plugs - A vehicle can have either four, six or eight spark plugs, which fire as many as 3 million times every 1,000 miles, resulting in a lot of heat and electrical and chemical erosion.  A dirty spark plug causes misfiring, which wastes fuel.  Spark plugs need to be replaced regularly.
• Dirty air filters - An air filter that is clogged with dirt, dust and bugs chokes off the air and creates a "rich" mixture - too much gas being burned for the amount of air, which wastes gas and causes the engine to lose power.  Replacing a clogged air filter can improve gas mileage by as much as 10%, saving about 15 cents per gallon.

Only in America ...

• do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
• do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and ---a diet coke.
• do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
• do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

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The Contest

Last month’s Puzzle Winners

Meg Morales, Karen M. Parker – Strong Health Highland Hospital, Dan Brandon – American General Financial Services, Kelly Olsen – CIK Enterprises, Judy Walsh – The Mitas Group, Kim Warnky – EDS, Paula Drumm – HP, Kathy Franklin – National Life, Susan D. Jack – MetLife, Paul Mossberg – Insurance Services Office, Donna Di Nunno – EM& I, Michael J. Shirrell – Klipsch Group, Inc., Patty Brady – Marriott.

Lou’s Latest Book Project and CONTEST

Lou is getting ready to start her dream book “SUPERb Leaders”, a fun and actionable book aimed at people who must lead and do lots of other work at the same time.  Sound familiar?  Chock full of surprises (comics, puzzles), ASTD has agreed to take on this project, as strange as it is!  Thanks, Mark and Cat.  Would you like to be in it?  Think about what prevents you from being a Superb Leader and turn it into an Archrival, for example, Evil Emailer.  Prizes to all who contribute!!

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Come See Us

Spring Into Webinars

• May 6, 2008    2:00 – 3:00 PM Accelerated Learning for Online and Classroom Faculty
• May 19, 2008  1:00 - 3:00 PM Growing ROI by Growing Project Sponsors
• June 20, 2008  1:00 - 3:00 PM Leadership Alchemy
• July 29, 2008 1:00 - 3:00 PM  My Team: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Work Without 'Em

For more information, click in the title.  Click here to REGISTER NOW

Spring Into Workshops

Attend an RMA Public Workshop

• 6/26/08 – 10 Steps to Successful Project Management – Indianapolis, IN
• 8/26-28/08 – Leadership Academy – Indianapolis, IN
• 11/5/08 – 10 Steps to Successful Project Management – Indianapolis, IN

Visit the RMA store for more information or to register. 

Attend one of our ASTD Project Management for Trainers Certificate 2-day workshops:

• 5/30-31 - San Diego, CA
• 7/21-22 - Chicago, IL
• 9/8-9 - Alexandria, VA
• 10/23-24 - Atlanta, GA

Register now for these workshops.

Blogs

• It's the People
• Project Management Mania
• IT Leadership Alchemy

Add these to your feed reader!

Lou is Podcasting

Lou has been playing with podcasts, and has two new podcasts at www.careercollege.com.  Watch for more new 10 Tips in 10 Minutes editions this month.   She also recorded a small promotional piece for the ASTD certificate workshop Project Management for Trainers which you can listen to at their website www.astd.org (see above for more info about these workshops). Big thanks to Lindsay Blamire for continuing to help drag her into this decade with all her amazing technology ideas.  Do you have a topic you’d like Lou to record a podcast about?  Just let her know at lou@russellmartin.com. 

Where the RMA Team Will Be in May

Lou Russell 

• May 4 - 5 - Edison, NJ
• May 7 - 8 - Bloomington, IL
• May 15 - Fort Wayne, IN
• May 21 - 23 - Franklin Lakes, NJ
• May 30 - June 2 - San Diego, CA

Margie Brown

• May 7 - 9 - Bloomington, IL

Mary Cook

• May 21 - 23 - Franklin Lakes, NJ

Jeff Feldman

• May 21  -23 - Franklin Lakes, NJ

Susan Vaughn

• May 6 - 7 - Franklin Lakes, NJ
• May 21 - 23 - Franklin Lakes, NJ

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