Innovation – where do you get your inspiration?

In the corporate environment learning, or training, is by it’s very nature often a reactive exercise. As service organizations we partner with our clients to solve for very real problems – customer disatisfaction, a drop in sales, an increase in business. All require learning support in some manner. More often than not this need for support is not well anticipated nor well articulated which means that as learning professionals we need to react quickly to understand the need, to design and build the solution and in some way or form facilitate it’s delivery. No matter the end form, the starting point is usually a reaction. The process too can become very reactionary especially when we are faced with limited time, resources and budget. Human nature drives us to use solutions that have worked for us in the past based on what we know of the audience etc. In a reactionary environment it becomes increasingly difficult to drive towards innovation.

The reality of being a reactionary service providor will never change. There will always be unanticipated needs among the planned initiatives. It is what is it is. But as learning professionals there are steps we can take to get ahead of the game – to drive some proactive innovation even before the need arises. And it begins with our own mindset and challenging ourselves to look beyond the known.

So where do we go for this mind expanding experience? I find my inspiration in many places. Mentors, discussions with peers and reading among them. Reading from diverse sources is perhaps the most accessible way to develop insight and new ideas. The list below is by no means exhaustive and is designed only as a starting point from which to change and expand your perspective. A chance for some new tools/thoughts/ considerations in your learning professional toolbelt. Readers – please add your own recommendations in the comments section. Let’s build a library of “go to” sources for further learning and inspiration.

1. Success Magazine.www.successmagazine.com

This just happens to be my favourite “business” oriented magazine. I lean heavily towards business/industry publications because it allows me to develop an understanding of the current challengs and future directions. It allows me to see what others are doing. It allows me to understand what’s important to the key players. When I apply my filters I start the process of developing the direction I am likely going to have to move my team in order to continue to be a value added part of the organization. It allows me to challenge proactive thinking and learning within our reactive reality.

2. Chief Learning Officer Magazine. www.clomedia.com

A nice mix of big picture thinking (my preference) and getting it done (the business requirement). Don’t be put off by the title – it’s a great source of helping us to understand what learning industry leaders are thinking. Apply your filters and get out of it what you need.

3. Learning specific publications and/or websites.  The list here is broad but a few I enjoy are Learning Solutions Magazine (www.learningsolutionsmag.com/),  Kirpatrick Partners  (http://www.kirkpatrickpartners.com/) and eLearning Guild (http://www.elearningguild.com/) It’s always nice to see what others are doing.

4. Industry specific websites and/or publications including technology publications.

5. Talent Management, Communications and HR.

The reality is we are in the business of helping people grow and we need to work closely with these groups to ensure that we are supporting the right growth with the right messaging. A few favourites include Talent Management Magazine (http://talentmgt.com/),  Human Capital Media (http://www.humancapitalmedia.com/) and Melcrum (www.melcrum.com/).

Before you start your exploration a few words of advice. There is a lot of material out there and you can’t possibly read, absorb and apply it all. Help focus your reading and learning by applying a select group of filters to what you are reading. My reading is broad but the questions, or filters, I keep in the back of my mind are fairly consistent. From a leadership perspective the type of questions I ask include:

1. Can this be applicable to my company/industry

2. What future learning/leadership/innovation needs might this drive?

3. What skills sets do I need on my team to support this?

4. Who and what do I need to influence to allow for us to try this?

Depending on your position or role your questions may be a little different – the point is, a filter is going to help. A lot.

Questions to use as filters – ideal for the learning professional.

1. Who will this impact? How do they like to learn?

2. What new skill sets will this drive?

3. What is the competitive advantage that I need to help support.

4. How can I take this and make it my own.

Long term viability as a learning organization means we need to be linking our solutions to the business results of our clients. We need to be impactful. Expanding your perspective will allow you to do both. So tell me, where do you get your inspiratation to innovate? What resources can you recommend to your learning peers?