Here comes an exciting new release from Media Partners Corporation and not a moment too soon! Change and Innovation Through Brainstorming is a program focused on creative idea generation and problem solving. In this evolving economy creativity might be the difference between companies that sink and those that swim.
Hosted by hilarious improvisational comedian and successful corporate speaker John Sweeney this program presents simple and effective techniques to help make your brainstorming meetings successful.
Like all Media Partners releases this program contains a healthy dose of humor and beautiful production value. Sweeney is a highly engaging host with the resume to back up his claims of being a brainstorming expert. Mr. Sweeney has routine engagements with several Fortune 500 companies and has helped many of them get back on track in their respective lines of work.
The purchase package includes two versions of the movie as well as a comprehensive leaders guide and customizable PowerPoint presentation. This program has serious potential for any organization that feels sluggish in adapting to new business models or developing new material.
To find out more about this program please follow this link.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Avoiding Litigation Landmines
Here we have another title that speaks to the necessity for professionally documented discipline files. This is a well produced title that illustrates a common and realistic scenario.
An established employee has begun to raise the attention of a newly appointed supervisor. The female manager feels her gender may be a factor in the employee's reluctance to acknowledge her disapproval. She slowly realizes the importance of documenting the corrective actions she is taking. This documentation dossier will later serve as fodder for a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Like many other compliance training videos Avoiding Litigation Landmines emphasizes the pitfalls of including opinion or commentary in a discipline document. The supervisor makes the error of alluding to his age as a contributing factor to his inability to learn new methods of conducting business. When his case goes to trial this one sentence accusation threatens to undermine her legitimate reasons for terminating his employment.
This is a movie that I feel is a strong tool for teaching managers the dangers of improperly documented disciplinary actions. It includes commentary by professionals and the themes presented translate well to several industries.
To find out more about Avoiding Litigation Landmines please click this link.
An established employee has begun to raise the attention of a newly appointed supervisor. The female manager feels her gender may be a factor in the employee's reluctance to acknowledge her disapproval. She slowly realizes the importance of documenting the corrective actions she is taking. This documentation dossier will later serve as fodder for a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Like many other compliance training videos Avoiding Litigation Landmines emphasizes the pitfalls of including opinion or commentary in a discipline document. The supervisor makes the error of alluding to his age as a contributing factor to his inability to learn new methods of conducting business. When his case goes to trial this one sentence accusation threatens to undermine her legitimate reasons for terminating his employment.
This is a movie that I feel is a strong tool for teaching managers the dangers of improperly documented disciplinary actions. It includes commentary by professionals and the themes presented translate well to several industries.
To find out more about Avoiding Litigation Landmines please click this link.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Documenting Discipline 2
An unfortunate reality of the workplace is the necessity for employee discipline. In most instances, poor behavior can be corrected with a brief discussion of the shortcoming and it's effect on productivity or morale. However, when ill performance becomes habitual stronger measures may be necessary. In those instances, termination needs to be backed up by a litany of documented offenses.
Documenting Discipline is a great tool for teaching the fundamentals of verbal and written warnings in the workplace. The focus of this movie is staying on message with your documentation. While it is tempting to fault an employee for a 'bad attitude' or 'laziness' those are characteristics grounded in perception rather than fact. This video will teach Supervisors to focus on what is observable and measurable. If an employee is consistently tardy you can observe how often and how late he is. If he is ill-prepared for work you can remark how and when. Both of these examples may speak to a generally lazy work ethos without using subjective language.
The strength of Documenting Discipline lies in it's realistic portrayal of an employee being misleading and fraudulent. It shows how discipline (and subsequent termination) is made easier when corrective action is taken through the appropriately documented channels.
To find out more about this video please click this link.
Documenting Discipline is a great tool for teaching the fundamentals of verbal and written warnings in the workplace. The focus of this movie is staying on message with your documentation. While it is tempting to fault an employee for a 'bad attitude' or 'laziness' those are characteristics grounded in perception rather than fact. This video will teach Supervisors to focus on what is observable and measurable. If an employee is consistently tardy you can observe how often and how late he is. If he is ill-prepared for work you can remark how and when. Both of these examples may speak to a generally lazy work ethos without using subjective language.
The strength of Documenting Discipline lies in it's realistic portrayal of an employee being misleading and fraudulent. It shows how discipline (and subsequent termination) is made easier when corrective action is taken through the appropriately documented channels.
To find out more about this video please click this link.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Meetings Bloody Meetings training movie
Today I'd like to write a little bit about a very popular training movie that focuses on business meetings. Meetings Bloody Meetings is a movie starring John Cleese of Monty Python fame. Cleese has launched an extremely successful and highly entertaining line of training movies over the last few decades. While I remain a big fan of both his cinematic productions and his training movies this one is growing long in the tooth.
First of all, I would like to point out that the shelf life for a training movie is rarely longer than ten years. Fifteen years is definitely pushing it and few products are effective when the hair and clothing are more interesting to the audience than the content. Exceptions exist (see: the Sid Story) but by and large- and I say this as a Generation X'er- antiquated training movies can end up being the butt of a joke rather than the helpful tool you thought you invested in.
I enjoy the message in Meetings Bloody Meetings. The importance of inviting the right people, starting on time, sticking with the agenda and keeping order are very valid points and are presented in a humorous and clever way. The movie fails in it's length (thirty minutes) and the grainy, early eighties video and sound production.
I realize I'm not being particularly fair by basing my critique of this squarely on it's age but compared to the newer movies made by Cleese that focus on the same topics this is old-hat. Nonetheless, Cleese made a winner and that is apparent in it's seemingly unending popularity.
To find out more about this training movie please click this link.
First of all, I would like to point out that the shelf life for a training movie is rarely longer than ten years. Fifteen years is definitely pushing it and few products are effective when the hair and clothing are more interesting to the audience than the content. Exceptions exist (see: the Sid Story) but by and large- and I say this as a Generation X'er- antiquated training movies can end up being the butt of a joke rather than the helpful tool you thought you invested in.
I enjoy the message in Meetings Bloody Meetings. The importance of inviting the right people, starting on time, sticking with the agenda and keeping order are very valid points and are presented in a humorous and clever way. The movie fails in it's length (thirty minutes) and the grainy, early eighties video and sound production.
I realize I'm not being particularly fair by basing my critique of this squarely on it's age but compared to the newer movies made by Cleese that focus on the same topics this is old-hat. Nonetheless, Cleese made a winner and that is apparent in it's seemingly unending popularity.
To find out more about this training movie please click this link.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Is "Good" Enough Training Movie
Welcome to the latest installment of masterpiece employee development. Today I'd like to talk to you about the newest training movie release from Media Partners Corporation titled Is "Good" Enough? This short meeting opener revolves around a simple question: what is the price of mediocrity?
It is generally accepted that 99.9% is a good mark to shoot for when we're talking about mistakes on the job. But is that the reality? Is "good" enough? Consider for a moment what the implications of 99.9% being good enough actually amounts to (taken from the video):
-470 dictionary definitions would be misspelled.
-1,902 people would contract food borne illness every two minutes.
-44,230 prescriptions would be mislabeled every year.
My my my... That does paint a different picture, doesn't it? Of course figures like these can make things feel hopeless. Why do we even get out of bed in the morning if 99.9% isn't good enough? Well, the point here is strive for your best and not settle for mediocrity when you know you can do better.
This is an interesting movie that combines clever graphics with thoughtful statistics. The short meeting opener can be viewed with or without narration and on a continuous loop for use on a conference television or to play while people are entering your meeting room. At $295.00 it's a bargain.
To find out more about this movie please click this link.
It is generally accepted that 99.9% is a good mark to shoot for when we're talking about mistakes on the job. But is that the reality? Is "good" enough? Consider for a moment what the implications of 99.9% being good enough actually amounts to (taken from the video):
-470 dictionary definitions would be misspelled.
-1,902 people would contract food borne illness every two minutes.
-44,230 prescriptions would be mislabeled every year.
My my my... That does paint a different picture, doesn't it? Of course figures like these can make things feel hopeless. Why do we even get out of bed in the morning if 99.9% isn't good enough? Well, the point here is strive for your best and not settle for mediocrity when you know you can do better.
This is an interesting movie that combines clever graphics with thoughtful statistics. The short meeting opener can be viewed with or without narration and on a continuous loop for use on a conference television or to play while people are entering your meeting room. At $295.00 it's a bargain.
To find out more about this movie please click this link.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Sid Story training video
For it's age this is a pretty good training video. It also stars Dennis Franz of NYPD Blue fame.
Sid is a supervisor at a plant with poor productivity ratings. He supervises the night shift who regularly is the least productive crew. He receives a visit from a business consultant who encourages him to start giving productivity scores to his employees.
Sid is resistant to the changes but when he notices improvements he develops his own style of improving productivity. He gives the crew an incentive to receive 100% efficiency- a loaf of pumpkin bread for each guy.
When the plan works, the company CEO tries to replicate the plan by giving employees a free $3 lunch for each week of 100% productivity. It fails miserably.
When the CEO and Sid get together to discuss why the plan failed they come to the realization that they need, what Sid calls, "planned spontaneous recognition."
What's great about this movie is how lifelike and realistic it is. Obviously Franz brings a lot of that to the production but it is truly a fun and entertaining story with some great moments. It remains an excellent coaching title, especially for blue collar employees.
For more information on this video please click this link.
Sid is a supervisor at a plant with poor productivity ratings. He supervises the night shift who regularly is the least productive crew. He receives a visit from a business consultant who encourages him to start giving productivity scores to his employees.
Sid is resistant to the changes but when he notices improvements he develops his own style of improving productivity. He gives the crew an incentive to receive 100% efficiency- a loaf of pumpkin bread for each guy.
When the plan works, the company CEO tries to replicate the plan by giving employees a free $3 lunch for each week of 100% productivity. It fails miserably.
When the CEO and Sid get together to discuss why the plan failed they come to the realization that they need, what Sid calls, "planned spontaneous recognition."
What's great about this movie is how lifelike and realistic it is. Obviously Franz brings a lot of that to the production but it is truly a fun and entertaining story with some great moments. It remains an excellent coaching title, especially for blue collar employees.
For more information on this video please click this link.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Village of 100 training video
There's not too much to say about this training video. I will say this: totally fun and a great idea. This is a short "meeting opener" that was inspired by a popular e-mail chain. The question posed: what would the world look like if you compressed the population down to 100 people? How many African-Americans would there be? How many Japanese people? Homosexuals? Christians? Blind people?
The answers are both startling and inspiring. The brilliance behind this video is that it can prompt so much intelligent conversation in just three minutes. Very cool indeed.
For more information on this training video please click this link.
The answers are both startling and inspiring. The brilliance behind this video is that it can prompt so much intelligent conversation in just three minutes. Very cool indeed.
For more information on this training video please click this link.
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