News from coach-and-courses
8th April 2008
My first Management Guide is published today as part of People Alchemy for Managers!
People Alchemy for Managers is a fantastic web based resource for managers, containing user-friendly Management Guides on an enormous and ever growing, range of topics. You'd expect me to say that the resource is great but if you follow this link and see for yourself you might even get a free trial!
My first Guide aims to help a manager plan and manage an event effectively and this grew from a charity job I did some months back...I also have two other Guides in the pipeline; Managing a Customer Account and Improving your Processes. I'll let you know when they are published!
29th February 2008
This month has been eventful with two articles commissioned and published on TrainingZone and one of my submissions picked as the TrainersTip.
If you'd like to download them they are on the download page
or if you'd rather read them at TZ you can find them..
Trainers tips Seven S planning:
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=179594&d=680&h=608&f=626&dateformat=%25e-%25h-%25y
Mentoring:
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=179602&d=680&h=608&f=626&dateformat=%25e-%25h-%25y
Coaching
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=178892&d=680&h=608&f=626&dateformat=%25e-%25h-%25y
I have also signed up as an author with People Alchemy, two subjects have already been written, Event Management, aimed at folk who are organising a one off event such as a company conference or away-day, and Managing a Client Account, aimed at helping staff to actively manage the business their organisation does for their bigger customers. Both modules are in the hands of the editors at present and I’ll let you know when they go live.
“We have the (low) technology to rebuild her”.
For the past 21 years a small boat has been quietly rotting in the woods near my new home.
Having determined it’s ownership I have dragged it out and found that it’s keel was broken, buoyancy tanks were waterlogged, woodwork all gone (the boat is what the maritime fraternity apparently call “Tupperware”; it is glass fibre) and trailer rusted through.
I have set myself the task of renovating it as cheaply as possible using mostly recycled junk or stuff that is already in the garage. I have termed this activity “Extreme Recycling”
Click here to see how it is looking
Extreme Recycling strikes me as quite a fun and environmentally friendly pastime so I’m offering a small prize to the person who submits the best photo of their extreme recycling project. Email your picture and a brief description of the task to me at rus{dot}slater{at}sky{dot}com
4th February 2008
This month has been particularly eventful in relation to the printed word; my opinion was sought and given for an article on training handouts, which has appeared on TrainingZone, and then I was asked to write the opening article of the forum theme on Coaching and Mentoring.
To see the former follow this link: http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=178732&d=680&h=608&f=626&dateformat=%25e-%25h-%25y
This article contains some very useful tips from other contributors and certainly helps to ensure that handouts are more useful and environmentally friendly than a tome of A4!
To read the latter follow this one: http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=178892&d=680&h=608&f=626&dateformat=%25e-%25h-%25y
Since I wrote it I won’t tell you anything about the content except to say that it aims to help overcome some of the traditional barriers to workplace coaching. Please let me know what you think (or post a comment if you are a TZ member).
10th January 2008
Planning to make money!
CHASE is a children’s hospice in the Guildford area. They approached Charity Days to ask for some training support in Event Planning and Management for their fundraising team.
As the staff at CHASE have so much money to raise they could really only devote a half-day to a set of learning objectives that would not have disgraced a three day Project Management course! As a result I researched, wrote and edited a 66 page interactive book, produced in Word, covering the assessment, planning, scheduling and debriefing of charity fundraising events. This was sent to the delegates a fortnight in advance of the training day so they could arrive with a common level of knowledge.
The Manor House in Godalming kindly donated the venue for the training session, the Deming Room, and 12 of the CHASE team spent the morning exploring objective setting; scope creep avoidance; team, donor and volunteer management; Gantt Chart/Cascade Planning, and “learning logs”.
The book has already been provided to Help for Heroes and the SDBTT, both worthy charities. If there is any other charity out there who would like a free copy please contact me directly.
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12 CHASE staff hiding the beautiful marble fireplace in the Deming room at the Manor House
News entered November 2007
CHASE-ing PR
On the 6th of November I delivered a half day workshop at CHASE , a Hospice for children in Guildford. The delegates had downloaded a workbook that contained information and "how to" guides on Public Relations, which they had worked through before the day.
At the workshop we discussed issues relating to the Hospice's PR needs, particularly the need to consider the sensitive nature of the subject and the message for different audiences. Then the delegates worked on two realistic case studies to develop a PR plan.
Jenny Edwards, CHASE Head of Fundraising, wrote after the event,
"Many thanks for this morning. It was very useful and a good team building exercise"
There is another event scheduled in January relating to Event Planning and Management.
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News entered August 2007
Yes please Prime Minister
My opinions were sought for an article on Trainingzone....if you would like to read it click the link below
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=172798
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News entered 10th of October 2006
British Society for Rheumatology
The BSR is a charity that does pretty much what it says on the tin. They wanted to explore their "Time Management" and asked Charity Days for some help. Charity Days put them in touch with Rus.
All the folks concerned were asked to carry out some pre-event diagnostics and from that Rus developed a day of input and activity tailored specifically to the needs of organisation.
Verve Venues very kindly donated the training facilities in Central London and yesterday the team from BSR (including their Chief Executive) came together for a day of learning and development.
The team from BSR in the very impressive Chairman Suite at Verve Venues Holborn Bars centre
Various tools and techniques were discussed and practiced to improve managing others, coaching, prioritising, and decision making. The team also took away action points relating to their use of technology, internal knowledge management and meeting discipline and etiquette.
In all the event was rated as having been a very valuable experience with many useful lessons learned and some useful actions for the future
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News entered 8th June 2006
Book Review
I've been asked to write a book review to be published on TrainingZone....it is in the queue for publication but I thought it would be good to give a select audience a pre-view of the review....... · Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook · Scott Adams · Boxtree, 25 Eccleston Place, London WC1 · 1996 · ISBN 0 7522 1148 · £6.99
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This is not a new book, having been in print for 10 years now, and it is not a book you will find on the shelves of many training libraries in corporate Britain, for many reasons: -it is essentially a cartoon book, with some text liberally sprinkled between irreverent three frame strip cartoons, some of which offer value and some of which are just there for laughs -it is staunchly American in its style and material -it is richly ironic and cynical -it is a spoof Having said that, it is a book, which, if you believe in the heuristic value of humour, has much to teach us about most aspects of management.
There is little serious statistical evaluation of any management theory but Adams bases his syndicated cartoon strip on his own experience of corporate life and the emails he receives regularly from “cubicle dwellers” around the world. The situations and attitudes portrayed in this book reflect what has gone on, and what still goes on, in the workplace.
Any manager can look here and self assess their own behaviours against those depicted in these cutting little drawings.
Perhaps the book provides few answers but it prompts many questions in the thinking reader;
~Do I do that? (Ever?)
~Encourage that? (Deliberately or unwittingly?)
~Look like that? (or create a perception that I think like that?)
~Preside over that? (and perhaps not even be aware of what is being done in my name?)
Adams makes no attempt to highlight “best practice” in this book, (though another of his books, the “Dilbert Principle” alludes to an idea or two) but he certainly gives us the opportunity to see the “worst practices” in action.
One of the joys of this book is the capacity it offers for “dipping”….you can open any page and read for just a few minutes and come away with a valuable insight and a smile
Rating this book out of 5 (1 being poor, 5 excellent) in the following categories:
· Overall 5
· Helpfulness 5 (not because it answers your questions but because it makes you think)
· Layout 5 · Value for money ? it was great to find it in my Christmas Stocking
· What professional level is it suitable for? Directors, Managers, Consultants, Trainers, just so long as they can laugh at some of the absurd things that reflect their own world.
· Would I recommend it? Wholeheartedly
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News added April 2006
Speak UP!
Guide Dogs for the Blind needs to raise awareness and funds on a consistent basis and is heavily reliant upon the services of volunteers to speak at schools, workplaces, organisations and events. Pam Mills, an area fundraising co-ordinator, wanted to offer the volunteers an opportunity to polish up their public speaking skills and contacted www.ukcharitydays.co.uk to ask for help. Through the Charity Days website Pam contacted Rus Slater, a Dogmersfield based training specialist, who set up and ran two programmes for volunteer speakers. On each occasion some of the volunteers were accompanied by their Guide Dogs, who add an extra dimension to the speaker’s presentations. All the speakers gave prepared and ad hoc presentations and all went away with lots of useful hints and tips for improving their already excellent skills. We even ran an unscheduled brainstorm on how to handle distractions when your Guide Dog goes walkabout in the middle of your speech!
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