This Week in Learning

Hi everybody. I'm trying out something new today. I've picked some of my favourite posts and articles that I've read recently. I really think you should read them too. Trust me, you won't regret it. 

Write a strong goal: Sell it to Scrooge by Cathy Moore.
What does a client really mean when they say "My team needs training"? Cathy provides a story to remind us what service we really should be providing (spoiler: it's not training).
It's an important lesson for training and development types. It's also one you might need to remind your clients of from time to time.

Mythical Retention Data & The Corrupted Cone by Dr Will Thalheimer.

Have you seen this image? I bet you have! Did you know it's bogus? In this article, Dr Thalheimer summarizes 4 research articles which debunk the two memes we see in the image (the percentages and the misuse of the cone itself). The moral of this story is to take things with a grain of salt and to check your facts. In the words of Abraham Lincoln (1864), "The problem with internet quotes is that you can't always depend on their accuracy."

So you want to be a freelancer? 6 surprising things I learnt in my first few months as a Freelance Elearning Designer by Ant Pugh.
Are you a new freelancer? Maybe you're thinking about starting freelance work. I've been thinking about it for a while now. That's why I found Ant's post so interesting; it's a great peek behind the curtain.
Ant's been freelancing long enough to have some real experience, yet it's still new enough to him that he remembers what's it's like starting out.

Sugata Mitra,"The Future of Learning" #ATD2015 Keynote by Cammy Bean.
Cammy got to attend ATD 2015 and I didn't.  I won't hold that against her because she was kind enough to live blog her notes, which is wonderful for those of us who weren't able to be there. This post is her notes from Sugata Mitra's keynote speech.
I've read about the "hole in the wall" experiment before. Brilliant! It's unschooling at its best. Add in "granny cloud" and you get the school in the cloud. I'd bet that the kids who do well in the school in the cloud will go on to do extremely well in life.

Action Over Inaction by The Milestone Planner.
The folks over at Milestone Planner put together a great post on the perils of inaction.
It starts out with Barry Schwartz's "The Paradox of Choice" TED talk. Dr Schwartz explains how having more options leads to fewer people making a choice. As a student of human nature, I can't get enough of this stuff!
They move from analysis paralysis to false consensus. To illustrate this project management pitfall, they use an excerpt from one of my posts. What can I say? They have exquisite taste.

Nuts and Bolts: Figure It Out by Jane Bozarth  (via Learning Solutions Magazine).
OK, I'm cheating a bit here. I read this one back in November, but I re-read it recently, so it totally counts.
Jane recounts the tale of bands that were playing at a local music and crafts festival. Both bands suffered the same setback, but they handled it in very different manners. One band rolled with it and put on a the best show they could, given the circumstances. The other band, acted like spoiled brats.
Remember, you can't always dictate your circumstances, but you can always control how you react to them. 
Improvise, adapt, overcome.

Over to you
Have you read (or written) any great posts related to training and development? Please use the comments to share with the class.