This has been an extra special week. I’ve had the opportunity to interview and survey almost 100 different business leaders about their perspectives on business acumen and business leadership as we start building their digital business simulations that will be part of their fall 2022 virtual and in-person training initiatives.

As so often is the case, we engage in deep dialogues about the topics of the day and the skills needed by today’s leaders to execute strategy. One of the questions that I asked in the interview is, “Which is better, to have great processes in your organization or a culture of great preparation?”

The answers were interesting and worthy of a little thought-provoking blog.

Read More >

There is no “playbook” for the new work environment. As we head toward the end of the second quarter and the end of the first half of the year, everything is different, and the challenges are greater than ever. The work environment is in flux with some companies demanding employees “come back to work” while others are telling their employees to stay remote.

Read More >

Over the holiday weekend, I used some of my downtime to watch the totally engrossing and very well-produced docudrama on Apple TV called “WeCrashed.” WeCrashed is the dramatization of the rise and fall of WeWork and founder Adam Neumann. If you don’t know the story, WeWork was a “unicorn.” Unicorn is the term used in the venture capital industry to describe a startup company with a value of over $1 billion.

Read More >

 

It’s Memorial Day Weekend in the United States. A time of year when the school year ends, the summer begins, and for many businesses, there is just one month left in the 2^nd quarter and the first half of the year.

As many Americans get ready for the long weekend and the chance to get some well-earned downtime with family and friends, the storm clouds of a significant recession are formulating on the summer’s horizon. By definition, a recession is two consecutive quarters where the gross domestic product (GDP) contracts. The GDP is the sum of all outputs of products and services consumed by an economy. The drivers of the coming recession will be easy to identify as they typically are the function of multiple factors. The recession of 2022 is going to be driven by staggering inflation, the ongoing supply chain disruptions, the continued global COVID pandemic, and the hot spot geopolitical issues that rise up every week.

Many business leaders will take the easy way out and start cutting budgets to make up for lost revenues. By doing this, they will be able to point to the fact that they still made their profit numbers. But, at what cost to the future? Great, you cut Sales, Marketing, and R&D expenses in the short term, but what is the impact in the long term?

Read More >

I am leaving the ATD 2022 Conference in Orlando with many thoughts swirling through my head. It was great to see clients, friends, and colleagues again live and in person. There really is nothing like it. There was a wonderful moment at the #transperfect party where you could feel the energy and sense of human happiness. The ability to socialize and network was great, and you could really feel the pent-up demand after three years away.

But, the universe has changed since the last ATD in 2019. The digital transformation is ongoing, fueled by the pandemic as a catalyst and it is clear that the training delivery model has changed forever. Advantexe’s prediction is that there will be much more training and it will be 15% live, 25% blended (live + virtual), and 60% virtual.

Read More >