Learning Programs

Skillsoft goes Private. E-Learning Market has Matured.

Posted on February 12th, 2010.

Today Skillsoft announced that the company is being acquired by a private equity firm for approximately $1.1 billion.  This acquisition price reflects a 14% premium over the public share price and a price to sales ratio of 3.3, which is quite high for a company of this size.

Why did this private equity firm decide to acquire the company?  Essentially the company is already very highly valued, yet its market…

From E-Learning to We-Learning

Posted on September 25th, 2009.

The corporate training industry is undergoing some major changes.  Over last few months we have been involved in many discussions with organizations about the tremendous needs to build, manage, and formalize their social and collaborative learning programs.   This is being driven by many factors:  the slowing economy, the “always-connected” nature of the workforce, and the explosion of social software tools and platforms now available.
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Modernize Corporate Training: The Enterprise Learning Framework

Posted on May 24th, 2009.

Over the last year or so we have talked with hundreds of companies about their desire to transform their corporate training programs to take advantage of social networking, knowledge management, communities of practice, and better models of blended learning. As we studied dozens of high performing training programs through our Learning Leaders® program, we realized that today’s corporate training world has fundamentally evolved.…

People not just Megawatts: The Vestas Story

Posted on February 12th, 2009.

In today’s new green (and red ink) economy, businesses all over the world are working hard to reduce operational expenses, restructure their workforce, and transform themselves into sustainable business models.  I think one of the most exciting examples of a company going through this transition is Vestas Wind Systems, the global leader in wind energy systems.

Vestas Wind Systems:  People not just Megawatts

Vestas is a fascinating company.  Headquartered in Denmark,…

Deep vs. Wide: The New Career Strategy

Posted on February 6th, 2009.

Times are tough.  Today we learned of another 590,000 jobs lost and that US unemployment rose to 7.6%.  We seem to be getting several emails each week from high powered HR or L&D professionals who have lost their positions at their favorite employers.  

I also speak regularly with top HR and L&D managers about their internal career development and talent management programs, and I see a major shift taking place:  organizations and individuals are…

Talent Management Challenges in the Federal Government

Posted on August 3rd, 2008.

We have been doing a lot of research and work with the Federal Government in the area of talent management.  Let me share a few interesting findings.

The United States Federal government has more than 2,7 million employees, ranging in roles from secret service agents to financial analysts to IT specialists to scientists.   These people work in a variety of federal agencies, each of which have a strong and clear mission to provide security, services,…

Make Learning part of your Business Strategy

Posted on July 31st, 2008.

One of the important lessons we have learned from our High Impact Learning Organization® research is the simple but profound fact that learning is part of a corporate business strategy.   While many HR and business leaders still believe that “training” is department which improves workforce productivity and should be treated as an expense item, our research clearly finds otherwise.  Corporate learning is a critical part of any enduring business strategy,…

Social Networking in Talent Management: Where are we?

Posted on July 2nd, 2008.

Whew.  Earlier this year we embarked on a major research effort to understand the growing role of social networking in enterprise learning and talent management.  The results are amazing.   Let me give you a brief preview of some of our initial findings:

1. Organizations are working mightily to figure out how to leverage social networking (blogs, wikis, presence awareness, messaging, expert directories, communities of practice) in all forms of corporate training, customer education and

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New Disciplines of the Modern Training Organization

Posted on June 2nd, 2008.

This month we are launching The High Impact Learning Organization®, a research study which has been more than three years in development.  During this time we have interviewed hundreds of corporate HR and training leaders and reviewed in-depth trends of more than 780 global organizations. 

 Audio Overview of this research:  click here.

As I have been discussing this research with our…

Are you an Enduring Organization?

Posted on April 20th, 2008.

As we continue to study best practices in the implementation of corporate learning and talent management, we find that high performing organizations fall into two categories:  those who endure and prosper over long periods of time (decades), and those who rapidly rise to prominence, then falter during a major business challenge, and often become acquired (or disappear).

The former are what we call “enduring organizations” – and they typically become iconic brands which provide tremendous…