WLP Deadline Extension - Due to Today!

Due to the historic winter storm last week, the deadline for WLP Nominations was extended to 5pm on December 14th.

Whether it's a sign to you to get a nomination in after all, or simply a relief from a stressful week, this is your chance to be recognized. You can find the application at www.astdiowa.org.

Good luck!

Nominations are Open for the 2009 WLP Awards!

You work hard. Your team works hard.

You deserve to be recognized.

That's why the ASTD Central Iowa Workplace Learning & Performance (WLP) Awards were created--to give back to those who give so much toward the training and development industry.

Nominations are now open for the Second Annual WLP Awards. Visit www.astdiowa.org to download an application and to register to be there for the big ceremony. Visit the beginning of this blog for photos and commentary on the 2008 event.

Categories for awards are:
Training as a Business Strategy
Measurement
Technology
Coaching and Mentoring Programs
Most Innovative Training Solution
President’s Award (New this year!)

Winners are provided with a beautiful award anyone would want to display, and will be providing a 50 minute Best Practices presentation for the audience on their winning submission. Two complimentary tickets to the event are provided for winners.

Also, be sure to register your team and others from your organization now! Registration ends January 11th and seats are limited. Cost to attend is only $45 for ASTD or SHRM members.

Slides from Project Mgmt Workshop

Dan Topf promised a copy of his slides for you at the Project Management workshop.

You should be able to access them through this link. Enjoy!


http://pandclearnandperform.fugent.com/vpvm/?ID=AC000E4B-9E96-4081-8271-DE0101B61592

Project Management Recap

Friday’s quarterly program “Project Management for Instructional Designers and Human Resources Development” was an exciting learning experience as to how learning and development professionals can add basic project management skills to enhance programs they are responsible for overseeing.

Dan Topf began this highly interactive program with the basic project management skills that we can use to develop programs while comparing them to other instructional design and project management designs that are commonly used today. We actually developed a complete program using project management skills.

The afternoon was filled with seven different sessions that people could attend in order to get their questions answered and learn more about a project that they are currently responsible for completing. These seven sessions included Stakeholders Are Committed, Business Benefits Are Realized, Work and Schedule are Predictable, Project Team Is High Performing, Scope is Realistic and Managed, Risks Are Mitigated, and Instructional Design Special Issues. Each session was given four times, with each round lasting 20 minutes. Participants could select up to four different topics to attend. Coaching was also available for people to talk about issues they have with their current projects.

This all could not have happened as smoothly as it did without the help of the presenters and volunteers with project management experience from ASTD and Project Management Institute – Central Iowa Chapter.

Keep Change at Bay

An interesting topic came up during the October 9, ASTD Chapter meeting on Marketing Your Training. It was the topic of change and how we can keep our projects on track. Anytime we, in the learning and development field, are working on a new project we run across changes that sometimes are never ending. Change is something that may not be completely eliminated, but it can be controlled. Part of project management teaches us to “nip it in the bud” before it occurs. One technique I have used is to create a plan of action that is approved by those closely involved with the project (stakeholders.) It helps to create this plan of action with input by the decision-making stakeholders directly involved with the project.

You can learn more about how to manage change while working on a project during the Central Iowa Chapter ASTD quarterly event "Project Management for Training Designers and Human Resource Development" held on November 6, 2009.

See www.astdiowa.org for details on the workshop.

In the mean time, here are some questions we'd like to discuss with your comments posted below:
· What are some of the techniques you use to help keep your projects on track?
· What makes these techniques successful or why are these techniques not successful?

Please feel free to add your comments about this topic.

Be Excited! Project Mgmt Workshop on Nov. 6th!

These are the learning objectives of the half-day workshop from 8am-Noon on November 6th. Be sure to sign up and stay for the afternoon session, 12:30-4:30pm. It includes hands-on application, one-on-one coaching by a project management expert, and breakout sessions to further develop on the skills from the morning session.

(Please note! Location has been changed to Tero International., 1840 NW 118th Street, Clive, IA 50325).

You are invited to leave your comments on this posting and share with us the objective you're most excited to learn and why.

1. Define your training and development project using commonly used project management terms, concepts, and principles

2. Reconcile popular models of project management, instructional systems design, product development, and human performance technology to inform you on your unique training and development project life cycle

3. Plan your training and development project using a robust project planning procedure

4. Select and apply proven project management tools to your training and development projects based on your projects unique needs

5. Assess your training and development projects’ health using the Seven Keys to Success

6. Draft an action plan for your training and development project

Step It Up! The Extras from September 25th Workshop

Included in this posting:

1. Favorite Quotes
2. Other Session Notes
3. Career Factbook from Bersin

Favorite Quotes

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. (1 vote) Eleanor Roosevelt

You cannot know a person until you crawl into their skin and walk in their shoes. Author Unknown

What is insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. (6 votes) Albert Einstein

Respect one another. Don’t expect from one another. Author Unknown

A problem is an opportunity in work clothes. Henry J Kaiser

Miracles occur in the unforeseen moments that even your imagination misses sometimes. Author Unknown

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (2 votes) Jesus (Matthew 7 vs 12 and Luke 6 vs 31), Wolfgang Mieder, echoed numerous times through history

A leader without followers is only taking a walk. (1 vote) Stever Williams

Help is not help until it is given, so turn your intentions to help into acts of help. We judge ourselves by our intentions, but others judge us by our actions. Lee J. Colan
(6 votes)

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away. (2 votes) Hilary Cooper and George Carlin

Enjoy the journey, not the destination. (2 votes) Joel Osteen

A person’s a person, no matter how small. (4 votes) Theodor Seuss Geisel– Horton Hears a Who

There are only two ways of living your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. (2 votes ) Albert Einstein

The unexamined life is not worth living. (1 vote) Socrates

We don’t change as much as become more of who we already are. (8 votes) Marcus Buckingham

Life is the process of exchanging time for memories. Author Unknown

If you pit a good performer against a bad system, the system will win almost every time. Geary Rummler and Alan Brache

Great quotes from great leaders – 3 minute inspirational movie with music! http://www.greatquotesmovie.com/


Other session notes

Shared Ideas to Work More Strategically Despite the Challenges Present

· Look into a project management system to allocate resources
· Tie what we’re doing to the overall business strategy and view the business plan to align our activities
· Networking with other groups to build relationships and communicate why you’re there
· Have a leader in the performance function who is strategic and will “take the hits” that come with asking questions
· Finding the early wins
· Find out what business results are causing them pain

Team Ideas to Increase Business Acumen

· Subscribe to industry email update
· Network – use the casual environment
· Use the Harvard Review Case studies to sharpen strategic thinking skills
· Inviting guests to your meetings to help interpret the business data
· Leverage an opportunity to work together
· Job shadowing
· Industry certification (outside of Learning, HR) for the industry/field you support


Career Factbook from Bersin

Bersin research continues to contribute to the knowledge base of the field. This recently published Career Factbook is particularly helpful for plotting your course and learning about emerging trends.

See the document: http://www.bersin.com/uploadedFiles/Bersin/Website_(Pages)/Resources/Linda/062909_FB_CareerFactbook_JB_Final.pdf

Most notable to the workshop on Friday:

· Business Acumen is continuing to be development need for us and is essential to assist us in developing credibility

· Groundbreaking projects and the desire to work them shows as a key goal for managers, directors and senior executives, though notably senior execs have as top 3 goal to reduce their hours

· “Business in” projects are a path toward credibility. The “Learning and HR Out” projects even with a good plan tend to marginalize the department.



Please let me know where your internal client relationship triumphs and challenges are and what questions you have – it’s my favorite topic!

Still to come are electronic copies of slides and the tools/forms shared in the workshop.

Nancy Q. Smith

Step It Up! Program Preview, September 25th

Step It Up!

Moving from Solution Provider to Performance Consultant and Strategic Partner

Imagine, you’re calling key consulting client. Her assistant answers the phone.

“Could you hold please? She may have left for her next meeting.”

The assistant places the call on hold and walks to your client’s office. “Do you want to take a call from Ken, with people development?” Your client shakes her head, “Tell Ken to check in with me next year. I’ll call sooner if I need help with anything.”

“Hello. I’m back. I was able to catch her on her way out the door. She asked me to have you check in with her in mid-2010. She said she’d contact you sooner if she had a project for you.”

What do responses like this indicate? Of course, your client could be busy. She also could be facing budget issues. But the lack of interest in getting together indicates something bigger.

Primarily, what this indicates is a lack of value placed by the client in the relationship. Why? There are two likely drivers:
1) Lack of Access, Credibility and Trust with the client
2) Client perception of the consultant as a tactical order taker or solution provider rather than a performance consultant and strategic partner; therefore the conversation you were planning to have was not business relevant to that client

Planning and managing client relationships is an essential practice of internal and external consultants. Successful client partnerships require that consultants establish Access, Credibility and Trust.
· Access: Your ability to gain “face time” with true clients
· Credibility: Your clients confidence in your capability to deliver results
· Trust: Your clients confidence in your reliability and integrity to achieve results
The ACT model, developed by Jim and Dana Robinson, represents the success practices of “star” performance consultants and strategic business partners.

Access is where relationships begin. Yet, one area that presents challenges to consultants in working to establish stronger client partnerships is gaining access to the “true” clients for an initiative. Often, we discover upon reflection that the types of people we have been working with don’t meet the client test. In this case, they are contacts, not clients.

What’s do I mean by the client test? Well, true clients:
· Own/are accountable for achieving the business results supported by the project
· Have authority to obtain resources and make decisions
· Are within the chain of command of the employee group(s) whose performance is to be impacted

Ultimately, we must gain access to the true client(s) for an initiative if we’re to achieve business results. The good news is that there are proven techniques to gain access to the true clients in ways that work with existing contact relationships.

Credibility is comprised of your knowledge of the organization and industry as well as your knowledge of HR, Learning and OD. These two knowledge areas should be in balance. There are proven ways to develop in these areas. However, as Jim and Dana have reminded us in their book, Performance Consulting, what really matters is not what you know; What really matters is what you do with what you know. That’s how you develop credibility. And you need a plan to do so. Proven techniques include delivering on your commitments, presenting business cases with solutions you offer, and showing shared accountability for business results.

Credibility and Trust are inter-related. Trust is confidence in how you achieve results. And yes, it is possible to be credible without being trustworthy. Trust is both a measure of integrity as well as accountability for delivering the right results in the right way to benefit the business. Key trust building activities include keeping client confidentiality, showing joint accountability and ownership, as well as operating with the utmost integrity consistent with organization values. One simple way you can build trust is to ask for permission prior to forwarding an email. This demonstrates to your client that you value the relationship and seek to protect their reputation.

Whether you are a performance consultant or a strategic partner, building Access Credibility and Trust is vital to your career success. ACT is one component of the fully developed model for strategic partnering and performance consulting that Jim and Dana pioneered now offered through Exemplary Performance.

Note: This content is adapted by Nancy Q. Smith of Exemplary Performance from work © 1995 and 2009 by Jim and Dana Gaines Robinson and their Firm Partners In Change. Exemplary Performance purchased the intellectual property of Jim and Dana in 2008 and gratefully acknowledges their contributions to HR, Learning and OD. Exemplary Performance is the exclusive provider of the workshops and services based on Jim and Dana’s work. Nancy Q. Smith is Director, Strategic Partnering, for Exemplary Performance.

Want ROI Certification?

Don't miss this rare opportunity to get your ROI Institute Certification right here in Des Moines, IA! Click on the links for more information about the ROI Institute Certification Workshop that will be located at Nationwide Insurance in downtown Des Moines.

ROI Institute certification program information http://www.roiinstitute.net/learning-opportunities/certification/

ROI Institute event details and registration link http://www.roiinstitute.net/learning-opportunities/certification/5-day-course/2009/08/17/roi-certification-nationwide/

Des Moines session flyer and certification overview documents http://drop.io/ROIcertificationDSM#

Recap on Collaborative Program

The feedback was positive from this intense program. The morning kicked off with Succession Planning, presented by Dan Schneider from EDGE/Schneider Consulting Group. He kept the audience engaged with stories of personal experience, models that made sense of complicated ideas, and personal application at each table.

The group of Central Iowa ASTD and Central Iowa SHRM members then broke for an hour lunch, mingling, sharing their succession planning stories, and looking forward to the afternoon session.

Ray Weinberg carried out the afternoon session on Metrics and ROI. He walked among the participants and set the stage for why this topic is so important, and then challenged us with the tools, equations, and models to help make us more effective in this skill set.

ASTD and SHRM are both hard at work determining the topic and speaker(s) for next year's collaborative program. If you're interested in helping to coordinate this event, please contact Jennifer Chittenden at programming@astdiowa.org.

Photos from the Succession Planning and ROI/Measurement Workshop

Dan Schneider on Succession Planning.

Gadgets, Games and Gizmos Recap

What a great program it was! We all had some takeaways from the day, some interesting and maybe even surprising statistics and facts, and a new lens from which to view generations and learning. You're encouraged to post a comment about your experience at this program if you attended, as well as post questions for others if you were unable to make it.

Some photos from the day. Enjoy!

Here is the audience for the Workshop

Eveyone having a good time!

GGG Sneak Peak

On April 3 when we do our workshop of Gadgets, Games and Gizmos we are going to be discussing some exciting things. As a sneak preview, here is a link to the first chapter of my book Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning and a short video of me talking about the value of video games with the local CBS news anchor.

Link to Chapter One of Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning.

Link to television interview.

Look forward to seeing you at the workshop, in the meantime, play some game:)

Games, Gamers and the Workplace

In a few short weeks I will be on a plane heading to you (the ASTD Central Iowa chapter) to discuss fun and exciting ways in which learning can leverage gadgets, games and gizmos to create engaging learning using new methods and techniques.

Before the presentation, I thought it might be fun to look at some definitions that relate to using games and gadgets in the work place.

Simulations

The term “simulation” has many different meanings. The most well known type is the flight simulator. It is in these simulators where pilots learn to fly aircraft in a highly realistic environment. The concept of a simulator now includes the use of software to emulate actual equipment. It is now possible to create an electronic version of multimillion dollar equipment such as a plastics extruder. These simulators are typically not presented in 3D. They are more likely to be a representation of a control panel or parts other working machine.

Another type of simulator is a “Social Simulator.” These are simulations in which a person is simulating interactions with others. A social simulation takes place in an environment similar to the actual environment and encourages the learner to interact. These are sometimes called “Branching Simulations.” They can be created using photographs, video or, more recently 3D characters. In these simulations, the learner is presented with a question and then given several possible responses. The learner encounters a virtual character like a doctor and the doctor responds to the learner based on a pre-programmed script. The learner, based on his or her answer, is branched to the area of the simulation corresponding with the chosen response.

Branching simulations are effective for learners who are novice or new to a subject matter. The choices provide an appropriate representation of responses and help guide the learner to appropriate behavior. When a learner is more experienced or knowledgeable in the content matter, the branching simulations becomes less effective. This is because an experienced learner typically wants to provide a response that is not listed in the simulation as an option. This frustrates the experienced learner. The experienced person typically ends up selecting what he or she thinks is the right answer and doesn’t learn any new information or behaviors.

Simulations are typically solo activities. While a group may work together to help make decisions while observing a fellow learner navigating a simulation, the learner is only interacting online with the program behind the simulation. In contrast, in a virtual world, multiple learners are “inside the simulation” at the same time interacting and responding to each other.


MMORPG—Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Games or (MMORPGs) are virtual 3D environments where the player assumes a role and identity not typically related to his or her real world self and attempts to earn points to move to a higher level within the game. Players become magicians, knights, priests, or warriors with special powers and interact within a persistent online world. Once a role is assumed, the player embarks on adventures or quests with a team, guild, or clan. They seek treasure, battle monsters, or accomplish other specific goals and objectives that are an inherent part of the world. A good example of this is World of Warcraft.

These worlds also are distinguished by the fact that they have a large number of players all interacting with each other in a persistent world. A persistent world is one that continues to exist and function even when the player has logged out of the world. Player generated changes to objects or items in the world remain in a manner similar to the physical world. If you move a chair in the physical world and come back three hours later the chair will remain in the same place providing no one else moved it. Moving a chair in a persistent virtual world provides the same result unlike some environments that would “reset” when the player logs out of the game.

These worlds are also inhabited by non-player characters (NPCs), which are also known as a bots (presumably short for robot) or agents (like Agent Smith in The Matrix). These NPCs are not controlled by people; they are actually programs that are designed to look like characters in the virtual world but are designed perform certain tasks or play a limited role, such as providing a clue to the treasure. NPCs operate based on pre-programmed logic.

For example, in many online role-play games there are NPCs who can be defeated to earn points or to gain wealth. Defeating these NPCs helps a player progress to the highest level in the game.

Most MMORPGs require players to work together to achieve certain goals. In World of Warcraft, a variety of players with different skills and roles join forces to achieve success in many of the quests. For example, to defeat Ragnaros, a giant seething fire god (and one of the game’s signature foes), you need a guild of various people to assume such roles as mages, hunters, healers, or priests. Each player involved in the attack of Ragnaros performs a different task. The tasks are related and are interdependent. For instance, a player acting as a warrior may be doing battle and receiving a high level of damage but be kept alive by a spell cast by a fellow player acting as a mage.

MMORPGs can be used to teach concepts related to the real world through examples. It is possible to completely corner a market in an MMORPG and then observe the repercussions were that is not possible in real life. One can also observe interactions between and among players to understand teamwork, group goals, and other social interactions. The Harvard Business Review published an article how leadership skills learned in MMORPGs can translate to some skills within actual virtual teams. However, the fantasy aspects of most MMORPGs make it difficult to apply the use of these games within a work setting.

The term MMORPG is also sometimes shortened to MMO or MMOG to represent massively multiplayer online or massively multiplayer online game because MMORPG said three times fast is a mouthful.


Metaverse

Early we mentioned that some of the virtual world phrases are right out of a science fiction novel. Here you go. The term Metaverse is from a 1992 science fiction novel written by Neal Stephenson called Snow Crash. The term embodies Stephenson's vision of how a 3D virtual reality-based Internet might evolve in the future. The term has come to represent the idea of a free-form online 3D world inhabited by avatars controlled by their real-life counterparts.

An avatar is how a person represents him or herself in the virtual world. The word avatar is said to be a Sanskrit word meaning the incarnation of a form of god on Earth. While this may have been the original meaning, the term now represents the virtual figure a learner decides to create to interact in the 3D world.

In most online environments, the player has the ability to change or alter his or her avatar, which can be 2D or 3D. These alterations typically include body shape, clothes, and hair style. Avatars are controlled through the computer keyboard or mouse. They are able to move independently through the virtual environment controlled by their real life owner. In the simplest terms, the avatar is an online version of the person who inhabits the metaverse. Other terms are synthetic worlds and cyber worlds.

A metaverse is similar to an MMORPG but with some vital differences. First, in a metaverse, players are not playing a defined role such as a hunter or mage, they are playing a character they have created.

A metaverse typically does not have specific goals or objectives created by the metaverse itself. Players can create their own goals or objectives, but they are not an inherent part of the world.

Finally, the environment of a metaverse typically allows the player to create his or her own digital items, such as houses and clothes, using a scripting language or by dragging and dropping items. Because of the ability to create your own things in a metaverse, these environments typically involve the exchange of some type of currency tied to real-world dollars. A person in a metaverse can buy, sell, or trade digital assets that are created by themselves or others, and then exchange the virtual currency for real-world currency.

Perhaps the best known example of a metaverse is Second Life. However, Second Life is not the only metaverse commercially available. Other worlds exist with names like Active Worlds and There. In fact, there is an organization called the Open Source Metaverse Project, which is actively promoting a free, open source version of a metaverse.

A metaverse environment can be used for training purposes. Spaces can be established within metaverses for conducting learning activities and events. It is also possible to create many different learning environments in which people can interact to learn about items in 3D. You can provide instruction on how to repair a laptop through a virtual tour of the laptop within the metaverse.

VLW—Virtual Learning Word

Another term similar to a metaverse is Virtual Learning World. This term represents the concept of creating a virtual world in which learning is the primary focus. These worlds can be expansive virtual spaces in which different type of learning occur in different areas can be confined to a small “scene” such as a city block where first responders review building evacuation techniques.

Immersive Learning Simulation

The eLearning Guild, a community of practice for e-learning professionals, defines an immersive learning simulation as: “A learning system that combines simulation, pedagogy and “hard fun” to create a truly engaging and behavior-changing form of learning.” The umbrella term encompasses many different forms of immersive learning beyond virtual worlds. Included in the terms immersive learning simulation are games, mini-games, virtual labs, serious games, and simulation/scenarios.


MMOLE-Massively Multilearner Online Learning Environment

The MMOLE is yet another term for the genre of a computer generated learning environment in which large numbers of learners interact with each other in a virtual 3D world with the specific goal of learning. The learning can occur formally through a class-like environment or through a scripted scenario (like a role play). In that way it is like a MMORPG since it has specific goals. However, learning also can occur informally through chats and discussions among learners in a fashion similar to a metaverse. So, the MMOLE is a combination of a metaverse and a MMORPG designed for learning.

MMOLEs typically have two modes, one for an instructor and one for the learners. The instructor mode allows someone to facilitate a learning event and manage the interactions within the environment. This prevents everyone from chatting at once, and it provides a formal environment in which to learn. In other words, it allows the learning to be managed.

But managed learning is not the only kind of learning that can or should occur in a MMOLE. The fact that avatars can roam around the virtual space and interact with each other through pre-programmed jesters, Voice over Internet Protocol, or text chat means that the environment can foster and encourage informal learning.

One example of this sort of MMOLE is ProtoSphere, a product created by Philadelphia-based e-learning development firm ProtonMedia. The ProtoSphere environment contains several elements that make it effective for learning, including linkages to LMSs, the ability to link to traditional e-learning courses from within the MMOLE world, and programming for tracking learner outcomes on specific events. Additionally, there is a profiling system that matches learners with each other in terms of interest and knowledge. This networking aspect facilitates informal learning within the learning environment.

Mobile Learning

The delivery of instructional content over the portable devices that employees carry with them as part of their regular job. The same devices used for checking e-mail and making phone calls provide learning opportunities through different types of media such as audio, video, animations, interactive activities, and small learning modules.

Social Networking

This is a collection of web pages for each member in an organization. The members maintain profiles describing themselves and what they are currently doing, interact with each other using network tools, and create links with other members of the social network. One in four American adults visit social networking sites at least monthly. These sites can help organizations share knowledge by helping employees find others with similar interests, view what other employees are working on, and collaboratively work on projects by having a central place for communications. Consumer-oriented social networking sites include MySpace.com, Facebook.com, and LinkedIn which is more professional-focused.

Gadgets, Games and Gizmos Presentation.

A list of "Gamer" traits we'll be discussing at the workshop.

Looking forward to speaking with everyone at the Central Iowa ASTD group on “Gadgets, Games, and Gizmos for Learning” on Friday, April 3rd.

At the workshop, we will discuss how to design learning events to leverage MP3 players, video games and other technologies common in the consumer marketplace and have some playing some fun learning and playing games ourselves. We'll also discuss instruction design techniques that work with blogs and wikis and even set up some Twitter accounts.

In the meantime, check out the Gadgets, Games and Gizmos web site for some fun games and information on the topic we'll be discussing. I hope to see you there.

Also, if you have any questions or ideas concerning the topic and workshop, please leave a comment.

Announcing the 2009 Programs!

Karl Kapp, “Gadgets, Games, and Gizmos for Learning”
Friday, April 3rd,
8:00am-Noon at DeWaay Capital Managment

Nancy Smith, “Exemplary Performance: From Provider to
Partner—Working More Consultatively with Internal Clients”
Friday, September 25th,
8:00am-Noon at DeWaay Capital Managment

Clint Padgett, “Project Management: Project Success Method”
Friday, November 6th
8:00am-Noon at DeWaay Capital Managment

To register for all three programs and save big, sign up for the Trio Package!

http://www.astdiowa.org

WLP Award Winner - Most Innovative Training Solution

Winner: Pella Corporation

Concluding the program was Faye Howard from Pella Corporation to share their Most Innovate Training Solution, a technical program and partnership that was developed for their PDSN department, how the program works, and it’s incorporation into their corporate environment.

Photo: The award is being presented to Faye Howard.

WLP Award Winner - Training as a Business Strategy

Winner: Kemin Industries

Another brief break ensued as we transitioned to a presentation by Denise Forney from Kemin Industries on the Tiger Team and their Training as a Business Strategy. Denise invited a guest, a member of the Tiger Team, Herb Elliot, to the stage, who testified to the great benefit of this team and their efforts.

Photos: (Top) The award is being presented to Denise Forney from Kemin Industries, (Bottom) The Tiger Team.

WLP Award Winner - Technology

Winner: Nationwide Insurance

Following a brief break, Dawn Plimmer and Scott McCluer from Nationwide Insurance dazzled the audience with their winning Technology by showcasing the electronic tool for the Nationwide Business Simulation: ADEN.

Photo: Dawn Plimmer and Scott McCluer are joined by their teammates, Jody Noble, Mark Krakau, and Rick Howard.

WLP Award Winner - Measurement

Winner: Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Next, Catherine Shoenthal-Muse of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage took the stage to display their excellent method of Measurement and their implementation of Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model.

Photo: The team behind this winning practice joined Catherine on stage to accept the award.

WLP Award Winner - Coaching and Mentoring Programs

Winner: Allied Insurance

Following the panel discussion, the awards presentations began. Angela Siegfried and Brent Messelheiser from Allied Insurance kicked off this part of the morning with their winning Coaching and Mentoring program. Following their presentation and a brief audience Q&A, they were presented with the beautiful award.

Photo: The award is being presented to Angela Siegfriend and Brent Messelheiser from Allied Insurance.

WLP Panel Discussion

The day began with the Executive Panel Discussion. Representatives were Gary Walljasper from Principal Financial, Joan Jensen from ChildServe, Phil Hodgin from RDG Planning & Design, and Terri Nagle from Sauer-Danfoss. Paul Smith, President of ASTD Central Iowa, moderated the panel discussion. The main focus was the value of learning and development in their organizations.