A Very Serious Training Game Yields Performance Improvement for Navy Officers
by Dick Stottler

“Serious games” are all the buzz in the training community—and for good reason. Highly interactive video games can provide students with realistic and engaging learning experiences. One specialized domain in which a very serious game has been in use for some time is training U.S. Navy Tactical Action Officers (TAOs) at the Navy’s Surface Warfare Officers School (SWOS) in Newport, Rhode Island.

A TAO commands “watch standers” who operate a ship’s weapons, sensors (sonar and radar), navigation, and supporting aircraft and vessels. Under extreme stress and time pressure, TAOs must make rapid tactical decisions in hostile, uncertain situations that affect mission success, the safety of a multibillion dollar ship, and the lives of the ship’s crew. For example, a TAO must be able to determine whether a radar blip is an incoming missile or a passenger airliner and respond quickly and appropriately. Failure to act correctly can have dire consequences.

Becoming a great TAO requires extensive experience in tactical situations. However, in the past, providing this experience was expensive. To train a single TAO, eight students and five instructors were needed to play other roles and evaluate the TAO’s performance using a $6 million simulator that cost $600,000 per year for software enhancements. This high cost limited the amount of practice each student could receive. To provide lower-cost training, Stottler Henke developed a simulation-based intelligent tutoring system called the Tactical Action Officer Intelligent Tutoring System (TAO ITS), comprised of three software applications.

Figure 1. Tactical Action Officer in the Combat Direction Center of the
aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. (Source: DoD photo.)

The student interface provides a free-play simulation that enables students to act as TAOs in realistically complex tactical simulations. The simulation user interface displays a geographical map of the region and provides rapid access to the ship’s sensor, weapon, and communication functions.

Figure 2. The TAO ITS simulation user interface enables students to receive tactical information and control the ship’s weapons, sensors, and support vessels and aircraft.

Learning requires more than just practice and experience. Students must be able to make sense of those experiences to identify poor decisions and actions, missing knowledge, and weak skills that deserve attention. However, when using simulations that model complex cause-and-effect relationships, it is often hard for students to figure out which of their many actions and decisions were good or bad. To provide more comprehensive and useful instructional feedback, TAO ITS evaluates the entire sequence of student actions and simulation events and states. Then, it reports the tactical principles that were (or were not) applied correctly. For each principle, the student can select and review relevant multimedia material or see a replay of the relevant part of the scenario.

Figure 3. At the end of each scenario, TAO ITS displays a report card that lists
the actions that identify principles the student demonstrated successfully
(green) or failed to demonstrate (red).

The scenario authoring tool enables instructors to create scenarios that specify the type, attributes, and intelligent behaviors of each friendly, enemy, and neutral platform (ship, plane, helicopter, missile, and submarine). For example, a hostile plane might fly patterns to search for enemy vessels and then attack the vessels when found. TAO ITS provides an early version of the SimBionic^® intelligent agent toolkit that enables tactical experts to define these behaviors without extensive support from software programmers by drawing and configuring hierarchical finite-state machines (FSMs). Using the scenario authoring tool, instructors can also create FSMs to implement automated evaluators that assess the student’s performance by analyzing their actions in relation to other simulation events and state conditions.

Figure 4. The scenario authoring tool includes an early version of the SimBionic^® intelligent agent toolkit that enables scenario authors to define simulation behaviors and evaluators as hierarchical finite-state machines.

The instructor interface enables the instructor to review the students’ performance and assess their progress in detail. It allows instructors to review student simulation runs and tailor scenarios to help overcome any observed deficiencies in their understanding to ensure that classroom training is adequate.

TAO ITS has been a useful training game. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division in Orlando, Florida, surveyed 12 students at SWOS to elicit their reactions to TAO ITS. Nine students had extremely favorable reactions to TAO ITS as a classroom aid, two had favorable reactions, and one was neutral. According to Lt. Commander Gene Black, lead AEGIS instructor at SWOS, “TAO ITS gives student tactical action officers 10 times the tactical decision-making opportunity [compared with that provided by] existing training systems.” The U.S. Navy designated TAO ITS as a Small Business Innovation Research success story, a distinction awarded to only a small fraction of these research projects.

Spurred by the success of this system, the Navy contracted Northrop Grumman and Stottler Henke to develop an enhanced version of TAO ITS to make the training experience even more realistic, engaging, and effective. The second-generation TAO ITS, currently being tested, uses speech recognition, so students can converse with simulated crew members that are controlled by intelligent software agents. In addition, it evaluates the student’s actions in real time to provide coaching during scenarios.

The evolution of serious games, such as the TAO ITS, is a significant development in the training industry. Such games, properly designed and deployed, can lead to dramatic performance improvements, both in the classroom and in the field once students are trained. ISPI members and those in the profession would be well advised to closely monitor this trend in the use of advanced technology.

Dick Stottler is the founder and president of Stottler Henke Associates, Inc., an artificial intelligence (AI) software development and consulting firm based in San Mateo, California. He provides technical leadership in the design of AI-based systems for training and scheduling. Dick has led the development of simulation-based intelligent tutoring systems that provide practice-based learning and automated evaluation of student performance skills spanning tactical decision making, data analysis, equipment operations, organizational procedures and guidelines, and emergency medicine. He received his MS degree in computer science (artificial intelligence) from Stanford University. Dick has co-authored more than 30 papers in refereed journals and conferences. He may be reached at stottler@stottlerhenke.com.

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TrendSpotters:
The Multi-level Performance Framework
by Carol Haig, CPT, and Roger Addison, CPT, EdD

As we mentioned at the end of last month’s column, there is a unique doctoral program in performance improvement at the Sonoran Institute of Technology (ITSON) in Sonora, Mexico. Mariano Bernárdez, CPT, PhD, and the program’s director, joins us for a closer look at this program and the primary model guiding the program’s approach to improving performance. Mariano, mbernardez@expert2business.com, also leads a performance improvement consulting firm, MBC Consulting. Located in Chicago, Madrid, and Buenos Aires, MBC is dedicated to the development of individual, organizational, and social performance through distance education, virtual organizations, and communities of practice.

Genesis of This Model
Mariano’s interest in not only improving but also in creating performance in organizations led him to develop the Multi-level Performance Framework model. It integrates several well-known models into one that is well suited to designing a new business because it addresses issues both external and internal to the organization. The component models are likely familiar: Roger Kaufman’s OEM, Geary Rummler’s Nine Performance Variables (in Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space), and Tom Gilbert’s Behavioral Engineering Model (in Human Competence).

Students in the ITSON program are focused on the incubation of new businesses in Sonora that they design from scratch. The Multi-level Performance Framework model is their guide. In the process of originating new businesses, the students put performance improvement to practical use in the community and the businesses.

Model Description
The Multi-level Performance Framework, while containing familiar elements from the three core models mentioned above, requires an unusual approach to performance improvement: outside-in, rather than inside-out. We begin at the societal or Mega level to reflect the needs of the greater community and set objectives and goals, design a strategic plan, and determine how the company will manage the plan. Next, we look at the organizational level, take the same approach, and continue through to the individual or performer level. Organizations that use this model create a double bottom line: one is Mega and captures the monetary benefits to the community; the other does the same for the organization.

Like the Behavioral Engineering Model’s probe questions, the Multi-level Performance Framework is supported by the Aligning HPT Models: Performance Levels—Key Questions to help users of the model design an enterprise where functions are aligned from startup.

How to Use the Model
At ITSON, the students use the Multi-level Performance Framework model to build a strategic plan for the new business based on the community it will serve. They develop a business case to determine revenue for the societal goals, and then move inside to set revenue goals for the organization and its products and services. By working through and down the model, the newly designed organization is in alignment and more likely to operate efficiently and cost effectively while meeting the established goals.

The model can also be used to identify alignment issues in an established organization or to determine which foundational elements are missing.

Mariano reminds us that, “…we can do good because we are good, or we can do good because we are smart.”

Success Story
In the late 1990s Refinor, a state-owned petrochemical company with locations in both Argentina and Brazil, was experiencing a number of social problems. Refinor earned 30-40% of its revenue from sales of diesel fuel to local farmers. Younger workers from the surrounding communities left their family farms and joined Refinor for job security. The farmlands were abandoned as social strife spread through nearby communities, effectively shrinking the diesel market even as Refinor continued to grow. When Refinor was later privatized, employees received large severance packages. The lands they had left were still capable of producing crops, but the newly wealthy employees had neither the farming nor entrepreneurial skills to re-establish their family farms and provide a market for Refinor’s diesel fuel.

Traditional performance improvement interventions were not appropriate because they focus on the internal aspects of organizations. Using the Multi-level Performance Framework model, Refinor was able to gain market share despite a shrinking market. It achieved these results by helping former employees develop the skills to farm and manage their lands. For more details, see Mariano’s 2005 PIQ article: Achieving Business Success by Developing Clients and Community: Lessons from Leading.

Advice to Users of the Multi-level Performance Framework
The Multi-level Performance Framework can benefit your clients at both the project and organizational levels in these situations:

• The organization or project has a corporate social responsibility commitment.

• The organization is seeking public funding or an angel investor.

• Sustainability is a critical factor for the project or organization.

• Market development is a priority.

• The target market is new.

• Your client or company is starting a new business, is a business incubator, or wants to contribute to a developing nation.

• You want your client to see the full return of each dollar invested in consulting.

• Your client organization faces some of these challenges:
  • Inhospitable business environment

  • Loss of qualified workforce

  • Young professionals anxious to make a contribution to society

  • Social liabilities

  • Community rejection or resistance

Links to the Performance Technology Landscape
The Multi-level Performance Framework supports these principles of Performance Technology:

Application Exercise
You might begin with a current project. Determine the ROI and then calculate the Mega bottom line. The Multi-level Performance Framework can be particularly helpful in determining social ROI to attract funding.

One of the strengths performance consultants bring to their clients is the ability to combine and modify proven models and tools to improve performance and to design new organizations. Previous TrendSpotters Arnoud Vermei and Michiel Bloem’s TSA Performance Design Model, an adaptation of Rummler and Brache’s nine performance variables, helped them create a performance organization for elite sports. The Multi-level Performance Frameworkis another excellent example of the flexibility of performance improvement models and supporting thought processes.

ITSON’s PhD and MBA programs in Social and Organizational Performance Improvement will start accepting applications from U.S. candidates for its 2008 program next August.

To review past contributions to the TrendSpotters Open Toolkit and find all the models and tools featured in this column, click here.

If you have an HPT model or tool that supports you in your performance improvement activities, contact Carol Haig, CPT, at carolhaig@earthlink.net or http://home.mindspring.com/%7Ecarolhaig, or Roger Addison, CPT, EdD, at roger@ispi.org.

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10 Strategies for Building Successful Partnerships: Part 1
by Terrence L. Gargiulo

In this three-part article series, we explore 10 strategies for strong partnerships within your organization. The 10 strategies are:

1. Seek to be an integral part of every functional area.
2. Be proactive.
3. Reduce administration.
4. Streamline standard offerings.
5. Get to the executive table.
6. Support partner activities.
7. Establish liaison roles.
8. Align T&D with corporate communications.
9. Celebrate successes.
10. Reinvent the partnership.

In Part 1 of this article series, we explore the first three strategies.

1. Seek to be an integral part of every functional area
Every functional area T&D supports has its own set of business processes. We want our partners to view us as an essential resource so that we are invited to be a principal contributor during strategic and tactical discussions. In other words, we want to be seen as an integral part of our partners’ success. Two functional area business processes that stand out as prime candidates for our involvement are strategic planning and project development. Strategic planning varies greatly from one organization to the next; however, every functional area needs to set goals, lay out projects, and determine priorities.

We can contribute to strategic planning discussions in two main ways. First, when we have strong relationships with our partners, we can act as a trusted, unbiased facilitator who leads the process and ensures that input from all the stakeholders is heard and taken into account. Second, we can articulate learning, performance, and communication activities to support the functional area’s strategic plan. Why wait until a functional area comes to us for help? By that time it is frequently too late, and we may have lost the opportunity to understand the context of the challenges the area is facing. Our interventions will be more effective when we have more time, more information, and more influence.

Project planning is another opportunity for T&D. Every project in a functional area can be analyzed in terms of what role learning can play. If your organization has some sort of project management office and its project planning document template has a section dedicated to learning, do not make the mistake of assuming that section will act as a catalyst for functional areas and T&D to develop strong partnerships. It is a start and it certainly helps, but it is not enough. The goal is to have functional areas turn to T&D during the initial phases of their projects to ask for assistance with articulating a strategy for weaving learning into all areas of the project plan.

Our T&D mission of providing learning and performance solutions can be best accomplished when we are actively engaged by every functional area we support. We need their confidence. When we are perceived as an integral part of a functional area, we cease to be a “nice-to-have resource” and become a “must-have resource.” When we are embraced as full-fledged partners, our contributions are an indispensable part of how work is done. We must do everything we possibly can to get to this position.

2. Be proactive
One of the fastest ways to eventually becoming an integral part of every functional area is to be proactive. Why wait for a request? Given your organization, how can you go out of your way to discover what people need? Simple gestures go a long way. For example, ask to be invited to some functional area meetings. Then go and listen. Absorb everything you can. This is usually not the time to offer ideas, but you will gain a wealth of insights. Use these insights to go back to key stakeholders in the functional area to ask further questions. The goal is to jump-start a dialogue and not to spout off ready-made solutions even if you have them. Another good way to tactically execute the “be proactive” strategy is to spend more time conversing with people from the functional area. This seems to be such common sense, but ask yourself, when was the last time you planned and budgeted time in your schedule just to mingle with your customers with no other goal in mind than to invest in relationships?

Being proactive takes imagination. Stop, think, and then act. Reflect on the current state of affairs of each customer. As you gather information, stay abreast of developments in each functional area so you can anticipate what will be needed. As T&D professionals, we are like waiters in a first-class restaurant where every need is met before customers even realize they had it. As at a restaurant, when this is done well our customers will be unaware of our presence and the positive impact we are having on their work. There is no need to draw undue attention to ourselves. Our goal is to help our customers succeed and not seek accolades. Be sure your motivation is driven by an internal passion for excellence and supported by a strong, dedicated culture of service within the T&D department.

3. Reduce administration
No one likes bureaucracy, but administration is necessary. There are certain things we need to do to manage and track our work; there really is no getting around it. However, how much do we really need? Can we streamline the ways our customers interface with us? And what can we do to reduce the amount of time and effort we spend on keeping our T&D shop running?

Learning management systems and other self-service systems have helped us automate some of the more routine but essential aspects of T&D. Although these are a step in the right direction, they are not enough. We need to do everything in our power to spend as little time on these things as we can. Administration shelters us from doing the real work of getting our hands messy in the unpredictable, unstable work of supporting our partners. When given the choice between uncertainty and predictability, there is no shame in admitting you favor work you have done before and know how to do. It is just not the principal way T&D adds value.

A certain percentage of our time is already occupied by organization-wide business processes that we cannot control. Therefore, we should scrutinize every procedure, meeting, form, process, report, tool, and the like…that we institutionalize in T&D. Perform regular audits of these things, and ask each department member to offer feedback on which ones might be eliminated or simplified. Recognize that the need for these things changes over time. We all can do a much better job of purging the clutter of administrative tasks by getting rid of the ones that have outlasted their usefulness. Outsourcing certain administrative necessities might be another way of reducing administration tasks for T&D personnel. Ask yourself this guiding question about each task: Is there any competitive business advantage to this administrative business process? If it does not offer any such advantage, it may be a good candidate for outsourcing. In my opinion there are very few, if any, business processes in T&D that give the organization a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage for a for-profit organization means adding to the bottom line; and for a nonprofit organization, it means furthering the organization’s mission. T&D’s ability to partner and to develop new learning and performance interventions is its competitive advantage.

Note: This article is an excerpt from Building Business Acumen for Trainers: Skills to Empower the Learning Function and is reprinted with permission by the publisher, Copyright 2006, John Wiley & Sons.

Terrence L. Gargiulo, MMHS, is a six-time author, international speaker, organizational development consultant, and group process facilitator specializing in the use of stories. He holds a Master of Management in Human Services from the Florence Heller School, at Brandeis University, and is a recipient of Inc. magazine’s Marketing Master Award. He is co-founder of the Storytelling Organization Institute (STORI). Highlights of some of his past and present clients include GM, HP, DTE Energy, Dreyers Ice Cream, UNUM, U.S. Coast Guard, Boston University, Raytheon, City of Lowell, Arthur D. Little, KANA Communications, Merck-Medco, Coca-Cola, Harvard Business School, and Cambridge Savings Bank. Terrence may be reached at terrence@makingstories.net.

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ISPI’s Distinguished Dissertation Award:
Call for Applications

The International Society for Performance Improvement is currently accepting applications for the 2008 Distinguished Dissertation Award. The Distinguished Dissertation Award is a Research Committee funded initiative aimed at honoring excellence in student research. Three tiers of reward ($500 for first place, $300 for second, and $200 for third) will be available for doctoral dissertations completed within the past three years. Dissertations must be defended and approved by the student’s committee prior to applying for the award, and may be applied for by students of any accredited university. Studies not conducted as part of dissertation research are not eligible for the award. Award recipients must agree to submit a manuscript for consideration in Performance Improvement Quarterly and are also encouraged to consider submitting a proposal to present at the 2009 annual conference.

To apply for the award, please submit the following:

• A two-page (maximum) cover letter introducing your research topic and describing its alignment with a) one or more of the Principles of Human Performance Technology (aka, ISPI’s 10 Standards of Performance Technology), and b) the utility of the study to HPT scholars and practitioners.
• A 350-word (maximum) abstract describing your study’s background, purpose, research questions, importance, instrumentation, methods, findings, and conclusions. Please do not submit a references list or bibliography, though any citations should be included within the text.
• Your current curriculum vitae.
• An emailed letter of recommendation from your faculty advisor addressing your study’s rationale (why your topic merited investigation) and value (the applied and theoretical benefits of the study).

Please submit completed applications by the August 1, 2007, to Doug Leigh, PhD, Associate Professor of Education at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education & Psychology, via email: dleigh@pepperdine.edu. Questions may also be directed to Dr. Leigh at 310.568.2389, or via email: dleigh@pepperdine.edu.

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From the Board: Branding Initiative
by Matt Peters, CPT, ISPI President-elect

• What does ISPI stand for?
• What does your membership in ISPI mean?
• Can you explain HPT?
• Does your CPT certification help you at work?
• What exactly is ISPI’s logo?

These are just some of the questions that the ISPI Board of Directors and the Marketing Communication Committee asked ISPI members last fall as it worked to improve ISPI’s marketing, communication, and membership capabilities. The Board focused on ISPI’s brand as a key element in clarifying its corporate identity to help the Society to fulfill its strategic vision and align its various products and services.

But what is a brand, and why is it important? A brand is the common premise between an organization and its stakeholders that directly supports the organization’s mission. It is the common denominator for all communications and behaviors. It speaks to internal and external audiences. It reflects the “truth” of an organization and its value to its members. It is the central, strategic idea that is consistently used through every interaction and product.

An external marketing firm examined ISPI’s organizational structure, researched its competitors, and surveyed its members. No one was surprised when they reported that ISPI is a highly respected organization, or that ISPI members are serious professionals totally immersed in job excellence. The marketing firm confirmed that ISPI is valued for:

• The real world application of theory
• Networking opportunities
• National and local conferences, workshops, and institutes
• “Intimate” access to authors and industry experts
• Job bank and other online resources

The marketing firm emphasized that successful brands are based on credibility, uniqueness, and relevance. ISPI scored well in each of these categories creating a tremendous opportunity to hone its brand.

However, some areas of potential improvement were identified. ISPI’s core brand products are HPT and CPT. The CPT certification is slowly taking hold and has untapped potential—it is seen as the “golden nugget.” HPT is also viewed positively, but suffers from poor definition—“Whether it is called OD, HPT, HPI, or PI, it is the same thing with different labels.” Finally, the average ISPI membership is between three to five years, and there is a 1,500-member “churn” each year. To new members and prospects, ISPI can be intimidating—like an insider’s club. This creates a gap between members who understand and those who are confused about ISPI’s focus and intent. Finally, Society members expressed a desire for ISPI to more accurately and aggressively communicate the value it provides to both its members and end-customers.

The Board has many actions under way to address these issues. Roger Addison and Judy Hale are leading efforts in the HPT and CPT domains. A special task force has been working to redesign the ISPI website and incorporate online technology and tools. And, another marketing firm is working to flesh out different corporate logo designs.

The Board has reviewed several different brand proposals, and is currently working to refine one based on Where Knowledge Becomes Know-How, which is defined as:

• We live in two worlds: the visionary world of pioneering scholarship and the demanding world of practical results.
• We theorize, design, build, and manage performance improvement systems that achieve lasting, measurable results for business, government, the military, and other complex organizations.
• Our members are PhDs and trainers, published authors and program designers, thought leaders and HR managers. Our members never stop learning from each other through world-class publications, conferences, workshops, institutes, ProComms, job banks, and online resources that connect our extensive network of performance improvement academics and professionals.
• We stand apart from associations that focus only on training and HR because of our unique focus on Human Performance Technology (HPT), and our CPT certification program recognizes not just the value of knowledge…but its implementation in the workplace.
• As the pressure to perform becomes greater, we will excel at providing our members the greatest gift of all—their own knowledge, not just shared but transformed into the know-how to deliver productivity and lasting results.

This is an exciting time for ISPI, and this work will define our Society for years to come. Your inputs and thoughts are most welcome. Please email me directly at mtpeters@cox.net.

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Coming to Baltimore in July:
HPT Institute, CPT Workshop, and You

One of the many great things about Baltimore is how close it is to several great American cities—and how easy it is to access. Baltimore is about a 60-minute drive from Washington, DC, about two hours by car from Philadelphia, PA, and about four hours from New York City. There’s a major international airport (Baltimore-Washington International Airport) on the edge of town and a train station in the heart of the city. So, you can see why ISPI selected Baltimore as the sight for two of our upcoming educational events:

• Principles & Practices of Performance Improvement Institute, July 24-26, 2007
• CPT Workshop, July 24-25, 2007

The Institute and CPT Workshop will be held at the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor (across from Oriole Park at Camden Yards home to Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles). The room rate is $161 per night, plus applicable taxes. You will need to reserve your hotel room directly through ISPI by completing the Housing Registration form (90 kb Word).

Speaking of Camden Yards, the Orioles will be playing two night games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on July 24 and 25. Tickets for great seats are available. And, if you want to stick around Baltimore for the weekend, the Orioles are playing the New York Yankees on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Holiday Inn Inner Harbor is conveniently located only three blocks from Baltimore’s famed Inner Harbor. The Inner Harbor is one of the world’s oldest seaports and is home to the National Aquarium, the USS Constellation, the Maritime Museum, and The Gallery. Since the 1600s, Baltimore’s harbor has been welcoming people from around the world.

Principles & Practices of Performance Improvement Institute
Learn how to apply performance consulting skills and techniques to diagnose performance improvement opportunities and prescribe strategies and tactics to address them.

• Increase your performance improvement skills and resources
• Network with performance improvement specialists
• Focus on the Total Performance System
• Respond appropriately to training and performance improvement requests
• Recommend cost-effective solutions to performance problems.

Register Today!

CPT Workshop
Receive an overview of the standards on which the Certified Performance Technology (CPT) is based, the certification process, and how the credential came about. As a result, you will gain a deeper understanding of the standards and the criteria for achieving the CPT. You will engage in exercises where you will apply a reviewer’s checklist to sample applications. You will see examples of well-documented applications and reviewers’ feedback on some that did not meet the standards. You will also use a self-assessment guide to determine your readiness to apply for the certification.

• Understand the value of the CPT certification to you and your organization.
• Better evaluate your work and the work of others.
• Assess your readiness to apply for the CPT designation.
• Develop a plan for your professional growth.

Register Today!

So, join us in Baltimore to advance your professional development and have a little fun at the same time!

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ISPI’s Advocate Program Continues to Grow

During the 2007 ISPI Conference in San Francisco, the Advocates met for their spring meeting. In addition to sharing performance improvement case studies from Clayton Lloyd, senior manager, Wells Fargo Bank, and Klaus Wittkuhn, managing director, Performance Design International, the Advocates focused on performance improvement indicatives in their organizations.

ISPI’s Advocates represent international, national, and regional organizations that are committed to improving performance and supporting the ISPI standards. Our 14 Advocate organizations include:

• Archstone-Smith
• Carlson Marketing
• Center for Systems Management
• Citigroup International
• Discover Financial Services
• Experian
• Maritz Inc.
• Microsoft Corporation
• Performance Design Lab
• Proofpoint Systems, Inc.
• SkillNet Enterprises, Ltd.
• Sun Microsystems
• U.S. Coast Guard–Newest Member!
• U.S. Navy Human Performance Center

If you would like information about the program, contact Keith Pew at keith@ispi.org, or click here to download the Advocate flyer.

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High-Performance Marketing
Partnership Marketing
by Richard F. Gerson, CPT, PhD, CMC

Many people think the key to success in the performance consulting or performance improvement business is to have a big marketing or advertising budget. The belief is that the more money you spend, the more you can get recognized, build your brand, and acquire more customers. Fortunately, that is only true in a small number of instances.

The real truth to a successful marketing campaign for any performance consultant, either internal or external, is to find marketing partners. That’s right—partners. These are people who will find it in their best interests to help you achieve your goals, just as you will find it in your best interest to help them achieve theirs. Here are some ways to partner your marketing.

Partnership Marketing Techniques

• Joint Venture: You provide the program for another company’s clients and share the profits. They may provide the marketing or the attendees, or vice versa.
• Host-Beneficiary: Your product or service is sold to someone else’s client list, regardless of who delivers the program or services. Or, you sell your services to someone else’s client list with their permission and endorsement. Each of you shares in the profits.
• Co-op Marketing: Two non-competing consultants or companies share marketing programs and expenses to the same prospects or repeat customers.
• Affiliate Program: This is mostly used with web-based sales. People place a link to your site on theirs for a percentage of sales. It is like building a sales force and only having to pay commissions after they make the sale for you.
• Hidden Assets: You work with companies to create programs that use their current client list for incremental sales. This is the same as developing repurchase programs for clients.
• Reciprocal Referral: You guarantee referrals to one single source supplier in return for the same behavior.
• Private Referral Network: You pay referral fees to reps that generate leads that become your clients or you join a referral or leads club (public or private).
• Licensees: Create a product or service that others can sell and distribute for a license fee (e.g., reprint rights to your training manuals or performance consulting model).
• Per Inquiry/Per Order: With Per Inquiry, you pay a partner for all leads that are given to you who show an interest in what you are selling. With Per Order, you pay only for sales the source generates, or you receive payment if you are the source.
• Network Marketing: Build a down line or horizontal line to sell a product, or give everyone involved in a sale a piece of the action. This could also be similar to affiliate marketing in some ways.
• Expert Endorsement: Get a recognized industry expert to endorse your work. This builds your credibility and gets customers to perceive you as successful and effective because of your association with this expert. Product companies do this all the time with celebrity endorsements. You can either pay the expert up front or after sales are made based on the expert’s endorsement bringing in the leads.

These are several different ways you can partner to market and grow your performance consulting business or to get internal decision makers to support your performance improvement programs. Think about the techniques you are already using that may be similar to the ones mentioned in this article. For example, if you work with an organization and you have an internal champion promoting your work, you have a partner. If you have a strong referral source who is “best friends” with a decision maker in your company or someone else’s, and that friendship gets you an audience and a “sale,” you have a partner. If you pay referral fees to someone when the lead he or she gives you becomes a client (as outside consultants should do), you have a partner.

The point is no one has to do it alone. A major complaint of independent consultants is that they do not have the time to market and promote their businesses because they are so busy working in their business, servicing clients, or writing materials (reports, manuals, etc.). While that may be true to some extent, if they had marketing partners, or implemented marketing partnership programs, they could multiply themselves and increase their marketing exposure, effectiveness, and results. The problem that I have found is that performance consultants are excellent at what they do but not so good at marketing (it is a whole different skill set). Therefore, I recommend one other marketing partnership program to help you. Get yourself a marketing mentor. This can be your own marketing coach, consultant, advisor, or whatever you want to call this person.

Richard Gerson, CPT, PhD, is president of Gerson Goodson Inc., a performance consulting firm located in Clearwater, Florida. He is the author of 22 books, with six books on marketing, sales, and customer service, along with several other books on performance management and performance consulting. He may be reached at richard.gerson@richgerson.com.

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Achieving Business Results Through Performance Improvement: 2007 Fall Conference

Organizations exist to deliver value to stakeholders, and value is tied to productivity driven by efficient business processes and practices that contribute to overall results. The theme for the 2007 International Society for Performance Improvement Fall Conference is Achieving Business Results through Performance Improvement. This educational program focuses on how performance improvement helps drive productivity at every level of the organization and the results that are achieved.

• Conference: September 27–29
• Workshops: September 26
• CPT Workshop: September 25–26
• HPT Institute: September 24–26

The conference will take place at the Embassy Suites Golf Resort Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, which overlooks the spectacular Phoenix Mountain Preserve and Stonecreek Golf Course.

Keynote Presentation: Business Alignment for Results
by Cedric T. Coco, CPT General Manager, Engineering Excellence,
Microsoft Corporation

For many years, organizations have struggled with the best ways to optimize workforce in order to execute on company objectives. In this day and age, the smart companies ensure equal participation of corporate strategic leadership and the learning organization. Learning leaders are no longer satisfied by a simple definition of the goals and objectives for the workforce. Instead, the learning and performance development teams have to be engaged in strategic business planning and creating organizational goals. Microsoft’s engineering community realized this and acted on it. The Engineering Excellence team, Microsoft’s learning and performance development organization, aligns with Microsoft Leadership Teams to develop HPT solutions in the areas of people, processes, and tools.

During his keynote presentation, Cedric will share with you:

• How Engineering Excellence created and implemented an organizational solution to business alignment
• How Engineering Excellence was able to operationalize the business process to create shared ownership with operational leadership over employee performance development
• Insights and lessons learned in turning a traditional training-on-request organization into an effective and credible performance development team

What’s on the Program
Here are some of the presentations slotted for your educational enjoyment in Phoenix:

• Sharpening Your Analysis Skills: Performance Analysis for Business Results
• This Is Not What I Expected When I Became a Project Manager
• Getting Kirkpartick’s Four Levels to Work in Real-Life Organizations
• Tracing the Dollar: Achieving Granularity in Performance Measurement for Large Organizations
• Understanding Causal Relationships and Their Impact on Achieving Peak Performance
• Creating Collaborative and Motivated Cross Culture Teams
• Tracking Adoption: 7 Techniques for Keeping Initiatives on Track
• Sustaining Results: 10 Steps for Sustaining Results
• Organizational Alignment: A 9 Step Method for Maximizing Organizational Performance
• Designing the Process-Centered Organization

For more information or to register, visit www.ispi.org/Fall2007.

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A Map for the Performance Improvement Landscape: Evidence-based Practices Webcast

It is common to run into roadblocks when moving from training to performance. This Human Capital Institute webcast, presented by ISPI’s Senior Director of Human Performance Technology, Dr. Roger M. Addison, CPT, June 21, 2007, from noon-1:30 pm (ET), will focus on these key performance landscape elements: results, systems thinking, value-added, and partnering. Organizational culture, mission, vision, beliefs, values, and management practices will be the foundation for discussion. Join this free webcast and learn how to use a performance map to diagnose individual, process, and organizational issues; suggest solutions to enhance performance; and look beyond training for solutions.

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Project Proven Tools and Techniques for ISD: ADDIE-level Events, Lessons, and Instructional Activities
by Guy W. Wallace, CPT, Representative of the Instructional Systems ProComm

The sixth topic that we are covering in this 12-part series is ADDIE-level Events, Lessons, and Instructional Activities.

After a curriculum architecture design effort, or without one, the ADDIE-level of ISD is used to develop or acquire instructional products. Using the same four types of analysis data described in earlier articles in this series, plus additional data brought in to the new effort, one can facilitate a design team in producing event maps of lessons, lesson maps of instructional activities, and instructional activity specs. That is the last level of design in my model.

By now perhaps you have figured out that I favor the use of maps and specs as two design template-types, with the map being visually oriented, and the spec being word oriented.

T&D Event Maps
The event map example in Figure 1 lays out the titles of the lessons that are created (named) after sorting through the incoming analysis data (from the prior analysis effort).

Figure 1. Event Map

It is a messy process, unless we borrow a template from elsewhere in the design archives and tweak it, or use it “as is,” which we call cloning.

There are many T&D events that could be “outlined” in the same manner, such as Engineering 101, Marketing 101, Human Resources 101, all being “orientations to the functional entities” within an enterprise.

The T&D event map is also supplemented by a T&D event spec.

T&D Lesson Maps
The lesson map in Figure 2 lays out the flow of instructional activities (IAs).

Figure 2. Lesson Map

IAs are tagged as being at the awareness-level, at the knowledge-level, or at the skill-level. They are also tagged as info, demo, or appo (information, demonstration, or application-oriented).

The design process starts by beginning with the end in mind, and taking the performance model data and then framing and naming appo IAs within each lesson. Note that there might be none, one, or more appos in any one lesson.

Then we decide as a design team whether demos are warranted and how to configure the info IAs. It is designing backward; beginning with the end performance in mind.

The lesson map of IAs is finished by estimating the time for each IA, as well as tweaking the name using any naming conventions currently in use.

The T&D lesson map is also supplemented by a T&D lesson spec.

T&D Instructional Activity Specs
The IAs are the lowest level of the design. The activity spec captures the name, number, and length data, plus a topic sequence and estimated length, using the data from the performance model and K/S matrices and existing T&D assessments from the earlier analysis efforts.

Figure 3. Instructional Activity Spec

And as far as an object-oriented design approach, each IA is itself composed of additional paragraphs/words, images/graphical elements, and so forth. How deep do your ISD object-oriented design methods need to go?

Summary
The ADDIE-level of ISD uses maps and specs to frame and then use the analysis data in a design process that begins with the end in mind, by using the performance model to first define any appo application exercises, reflecting the performance requirements, before designing any demo and info IAs. The lesson map of IAs is the heart of the design effort for me at this ADDIE-level of ISD.

All of this design information is intended to feed the downstream phase of development or acquisition—to build or buy or reuse existing content either “as is” or “as modified.”

Next month: ISD Design of On-the-Job-Coaching and Qualification or Certification Events

Note: An expanded version of this article and the prior articles of this series may be found in the documents area of the IS ProComm. Click here to visit the website.

Guy W. Wallace, CPT, has been an external ISD and HPT consultant since 1982, is the president of EPPIC Inc., has been a member of ISPI since 1979, is a past president of ISPI, is the author of lean-ISD, and is a recipient of an ISPI 2002 Award of Excellence. He may be reached via guy.wallace@eppic.biz, and related resources may be obtained at his website, www.eppic.biz, including his three most recent books available as free PDFs: lean-ISD, T&D Systems View, and new in 2007, Management Areas of Performance.

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The Performance Improvement Conference: Enhancing Knowledge, Know-How, and Results

The International Society for Performance Improvement invites you to attend The Performance Improvement Conference, April 5–8, 2008, at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City, New York.

Would you like to be a presenter?
If so, please submit a proposal for an educational, debate, and/or Apple Barrel session. You may also submit a proposal for a pre-conference workshop. This year’s conference theme, Enhancing Knowledge, Know-How, and Results, reflects how we put our knowledge to work and increase our ability to accomplish valued results. By sharing your expertise, you will:

• Further the discipline of performance improvement
• Partner with others to add value to the field of human performance technology (HPT)
• Network with like-minded professionals
• Bring recognition to yourself and your organization

Proposals are categorized according to ISPI’s seven Professional Communities (ProComms) and an additional eighth track:

• Analysis, Evaluation, and Measurement (AEM)
• Instructional Systems (IS)
• Management of Organizational Performance (MOP)
• Motivation, Incentives, and Feedback (MIF)
• Organizational Alignment (OA)
• Process Improvement (PI)
• Science and Research (SR)
• The Business of HPT (BHPT)

Click here to access Invitation to Present and decide what insights, practices, and/or research results you would like to share with your colleagues. Upon completing your proposal, submit by the appropriate deadline to conference@ispi.org:

• Workshop Proposal Deadline: July 27, 2007
• Educational, Debate, and Apple Barrel Session Proposal Deadline: August 17, 2007

Our field’s knowledge base is dynamic and growing. Our thought leaders are constantly adding to the foundations of that knowledge. Every year our researchers and practitioners discover new ways to implement what we have learned. During our conference, we will come together to build on what we already know; improve our skills at applying that knowledge; and facilitate the creation of valued results for ourselves, our clients, our organizations, and society in general.

Come to New York, a dynamic “city that never sleeps”, to enhance your ability to create results that always improve. For more details about the conference, visit: www.ispi.org/ac2008.

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CPTs News from Around the World

CPT Luncheon and Clinic
One hundred sixty-three CPTs registered for ISPI’s annual conference and nearly 150 attended the CPT Luncheon and Clinic on the last day. Here are some excerpts from the clinic.

Why I Changed to HPT
Jim Hill, CPT, EdD and President of Proofpoint, explained why he changed his consulting firm to one that does human performance technology instead of selling a predetermined solution. He stressed the importance of matching solutions to the need. He cited the low success rate of popular solutions such as culture change, TQM, downsizing, and process redesign as evidence of the need to be unbiased yet disciplined in our approach to problems.

Evidence-Based Practice
Mary Norris Thomas, CPT, PhD, and Karen Medsker, PhD, led a lively discussion on evidence-based practice. Mary, CEO of the Fleming Group, LLC, is the founding chair of the Science and Research Professional Community and a new Board member. She opened the session with the following statement to the group:

We have an obligation to our clients to engage in valid and reliable practices. To do this, we must draw upon best-available evidence to solve problems. Consider the source! Question authority! Demand proof! Beware of unsupported statements. Do not perpetuate statements you cannot defend.

Karen Medsker manages her own consulting practice, HPSI and is the co-editor of Performance Improvement Quarterly and professor emerita at Marymount University. Karen followed Mary’s statement by giving the group a 15-item quiz that asked:

“Do we have substantial evidence to support the following claims?”

Among the 15 claims were statements such as:

• Team-building interventions have an overall positive effect on organizational performance.
• High levels of learner control with a training program, if well designed, greatly enhance the effectiveness of training.
• Most reengineering attempts in organizations have resulted in high levels of performance improvement.

She then gave everyone the answers and the source: Clark. R.E., and Estes. F. (2002). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right performance solutions. Atlanta, GA: CEP Press.

Universal Standards
Don Kirkey and Marie Dayton talked about the need for and importance of universal standards. Don was the former manager responsible for Field Service Certification for ABB Inc., a global company as well as the former manager of Global Certification for Johnson Controls, Inc., a US-based multinational firm. He is currently the senior manager of Learning & Development Operations at Johnson Controls. Marie Dayton is the founding president of the Institute of Learning & Development Professional Inc. She is on the executive board of the International Federation of Training & Development Organisations based in Geneva and the representative for the Asia Pacific region.

Don opened by explaining what universal standards are, and why they are relevant to us.

Universal standards define a commonality of competence. ISPI’s 10 Standards of Performance Technology are universal. Other countries may choose to augment the 10 based on local needs. We are still professionalizing our discipline, HPT. Since a profession by definition is self-policing, we need universal standards and a credible certification. In addition, we work in a global market so national standards are not appropriate and, in our work, an increasingly common activity is to help clients build universal standards for other groups.

Marie talked about the market pressure for universal standards.

Universal standards for other professions are being adopted worldwide to facilitate the movement or assignment of people across borders. At the same time, there is a worldwide skill shortage and countries are spending less per capita on education at a time when technology is putting more demands on workforce expediently. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), defining human capital is the fundamental building block of a knowledge-based economy. As a result, business has to fill the void. Universal standards provide a basic platform for skill development and certification.

Marketing
Jim Schultz, CPT, closed the clinic by facilitating a working session on how to market the CPT. Each table was asked to:

• Complete a marketing goals worksheet
• Do a strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats (SWOT) analysis
• Draft a positioning statement

Some of the positioning statements were, CPTs:

• Get to the heart of the problem quickly
• Produce results that matter and solutions that fit
• Put positive results into your organization
• Get consistent sustainable results

ISPI will continue to build on the work of those CPTs who attended the clinic.

If you are interested in becoming a CPT, the next deadline for submitting your application is June 15, 2007. A new application form is now available at www.certifiedpt.org along with some excellent examples of applications, a self-assessment guide, and the revised standardized reviewer’s checklist.

To learn more about the CPT, attend the two-day CPT Workshop on July 24-25, 2007, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Your Story
If you have results to share that you think others would value, send them to judy@ispi.org.

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A Former ISPI President’s Passing: Dick Lincoln
by Danny Langdon, ISPI Past President

It is with great sorrow and yet with very many fond memories that I let you know of the passing of our colleague Richard (Dick) Lincoln. Dick was president of ISPI during its growth years from 1987-88. Tall, lean, and with an ever-winning style, Dick was the consummate professional representative of our field. He worked many years in the CDC, as part of the Public Health Training Network, and published many resources on public health topics. He also spent many years at the FDA. Upon retirement, he and his wife, Punkie, traveled extensively throughout the United States. Punkie reminded me in a recent conversation of his great love for ISPI and the many friends he made over the years.

I served with Dick on the NSPI board—he was the Treasurer—in 1974-75, along with Roger Kaufman, Philip Tiemann, Claude Lineberry, and Donald Bullock. Each went on to be president of NSPI/ISPI. I was also fortunate to be part of hiring Dick at the American College of Life Underwriters: He was my boss there for six years. We had great times together at work and in attending ISPI conferences with many, many laughs. His ever-present wit was a trademark of an overall great personality. We once worked as a committee of two for NSPI and selected Las Vegas as the site for a future annual conference. Of course, nobody else—especially the educators in our midst—thought we should go there, but we laughed for years at our insight into bringing some real fun to our annual meeting.

Dick and I shared both a professional and personal relationship of friendship that spanned more than 20 years. He was and remains a close friend and colleague. Your notes of condolence and stories of memories may be emailed to Punkie at punkiel@bellsouth.net.

ISPI thanks Dick Lincoln for being a part of our professional life.

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ISPI Forms New Volunteer Committee
by Jean Strosinski, CPT, Volunteer Committee Chair

There is a newly formed standing committee in ISPI—the Volunteer Committee. The Volunteer Committee was chartered in January 2007, and is part of the Board’s initiative to support an inclusion and integration of members. The charter is to facilitate connections between members who are interested and available to volunteer with those who have volunteer opportunities.

We, as members of the Volunteer Committee, long ago learned the value of volunteering with our professional organizations, and we know that many of you have the same experiences volunteering for your local ISPI chapters or at the conferences.

We invite you to consider an opportunity to volunteer with ISPI, your professional home, this year...now! We welcome your expertise and your strengths. Are you a strong communicator, curious about HPT research, interested in getting published, ready to support ISPI’s CPT credential, interested in spreading the word about ISPI to others, or interested in serving in chapter leadership, or believe in the value of awards and recognition? We can connect you to a committee that is looking for your expertise and support.

Email us at volunteers@ispi.org. The Volunteer Committee is here to support you in getting involved and connect you with those in our Society who share your passion and ideals and are ready to connect with you!

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Performance Marketplace

Performance Marketplace is a convenient way to exchange information of interest to the performance improvement community. Take a few moments each month to scan the listings for important new events, publications, services, and employment opportunities. To post information for our readers, contact ISPI Director of Marketing, Keith Pew at keithp@ispi.org or 301.587.8570.

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ISPI Membership: Join or Renew Today!

Are you working to improve workplace performance? Then ISPI membership is your key to professional development through education, certification, networking, and professional affinity programs.

If you are already a member, we thank you for your support. If you have been considering membership or are about to renew, there is no better time to join ISPI. To apply for membership or renew, simply click here.

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Newsletter Submission Guidelines

ISPI is looking for Human Performance Technology (HPT) articles (approximately 500 words and not previously published) for PerformanceXpress that bridge the gap from research to practice (please, no product or service promotion is permitted). Below are a few examples of the article formats that can be used:

• Short “I wish I had thought of that” Articles
• Practical Application Articles
• The Application of HPT
• Success Stories

In addition to the article, please include a short bio (2-3 lines) and a contact e-mail address. All submissions should be sent to april@ispi.org. Each article will be reviewed by one of ISPI’s on-staff HPT experts, and the author will be contacted if it is accepted for publication. If you have any further questions, please contact april@ispi.org.

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About PerformanceXpress

Feel free to forward ISPI’s PerformanceXpress newsletter to your colleagues or anyone you think may benefit from the information. If you are reading someone else’s PerformanceXpress, send your complete contact information to april@ispi.org, and you will be added to the PerformanceXpress emailing list.

PerformanceXpress is an ISPI member benefit designed to build community, stimulate discussion, and keep you informed of the Society’s activities and events. This newsletter is published monthly and will be emailed to you at the beginning of each month.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact April Davis, ISPI’s Associate Executive Director, at april@ispi.org.

ISPI
1400 Spring Street, Suite 260
Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA
Phone: 301.587.8570
Fax: 301.587.8573
info@ispi.org
www.ispi.org

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