Retooling time...

I'm in the middle of learning Lean Six Sigma, a quality process/practice that seems to be making it's presence felt in the corporate world. Look around many organizations that are serious with their improvement efforts and you will see the need for a Six Sigma Black Belt practitioner. Though the belt color may be just a way to organize their practitioners' seniority and capability, it is seen as some kind of manner to guarantee that someone knows what they are supposedly talking about.

So why did I enter into this particular arena? For starters, I am no complete stranger to quality processes - and practices. After all, having been exposed to the concepts of the Capability Maturity Model's CMMI for several years, you could say that the importance of quality has rubbed off on me. After all, when I was expected to teach the introductory and expansion courses of CMMI, I had to have a clear understanding of what all these meant.

Now comes 6 sigma, and it's underlying practices - and I would like to delve into this. Become a known practitioner and be part of the growing local community. It's also a nice coincidence that the Master Balck Belt handling all these training, happens to be a training colleague of mine in PM, and testing. Aside from that, I count at least two - possibly three colleagues also taking the program, so it's not as if I'm all alone in all this.

So yeah, even at the cusp of my fifth decade in this world, I find the need to improve my knowledge and skills. I've known this all along, and I don't hold it as a negative thing... after all, this was the life I got used to when I started learning programming and analysis way back when. It's simply retooling time for me - like it or not... and I don't 'not like' it. But I do hope I can find ways to better absorb all these ideas in a faster manner.

Conducting Training in Cebu

Since September this year (2012), I have had four occasions to go to Cebu for training conduct purposes. These happened for different courses, with different partners - and yes, allowed for different drinking partners as well. My first outing to Cebu was to assist Jinkee with PADS in Pioneer bldg., and then the day after, conduct Testing fundamentals with Tess at the e-block within the Cebu IT park. All in all, it was a three day conduct, and we were billeted at the Summit Circle. I also got the chance to meet Carlos on my first night and experience STK ta Bay's gastronomic dishes. I also brought home some Chicharon and Cebu lechon. Ironically, I only tasted Cebu lechon (Ayers) when I brought it home to Manila. We all got an earlier flight than scheduled on our way home.

My second endeavor had me billeted at the Golden Prince with Brian and Marie - Brian had a separate conduct, while Marie and I had Project Management School - a near bruising 4-day conduct. The Golden Prince wasn't as good a location as the Summit, but at least it also had WiFi. Unfortunately for the Golden Prince, they had some roach problems which sort of black listed them from Accenture after our outing. We also had the opportunity to drink in Ayala's Gilligans, and I ended up drinking a pail filled with SMB light (roughly 6 bottles) plus one more bottle - I can't recall what we talked about that lasted until closing time of the mall... but it was indeed a lively discussion. On my last day, I got to meet with Dennies, who treated me to lunch. Brian and I then decided to take the cab to the airport and hopefully repeat getting an earlier flight... unfortunately, it seemed that PAL decided against doing such practices sometime between my last Cebu trip and this... so we ended up waiting for close to four hours in the airport. What I was able to do, however, was to take home some frozen (Zubuchon) lechon, and a few Belgian cookies courtesy of Carlos. It was a tiring experience, but at least Brian and I shared a cab home.

My third conduct was with Marie, while Gina and Francis had their own training. This time Marie and my training was for Test Design Fundamentals in Pioneer. This particular outing was also, I might add, the one where I almost drank nightly with Gina and Marie - twice at Marie's room (an idea of mine) so we could enjoy wine at a cheaper manner than having to pay corkage. We enjoyed wine, cheese and grapes. We enjoyed eating at places our students suggested to us. On our last day, I had a unique problem - I had bough some groceries on the assumption that I would consume them slowly each night. Now I had (among other things) a whole pint of milk. A task I had Francis help me with before leaving Accenture - we got to the airport and waited things out again, and I ended up bringing nearly four kilos of lechon.

My fourth conduct was with Ariel... this time, we were doing Estimating... a course I really don't have much love for - but can conduct when necessary. For the most part, Ariel and I had our own evening activities... not really bothering each other, and we would just meet for the taxi trip to e-block. We experienced the spicy, boneless lechon of Ayers on our second to the last day. I checked out the poolside of Summit Circle, and probably took the only alcoholic beverage of my trip this time around - one light beer. We decided, on our last day to try to finish early, because of the supposed traffic due to the fiesta in Mactan island. I don't know if we were lucky, but we did not encounter as heavy a traffic as we thought. We ended up killing time in the Marina plaza, and even got a massage. We arrived in the airport rejuvenated. I also, following the example of Jingo and Francis, left my car in the airport parking - thus making the trip home form NAIA less tiring and worrisome. I also brought home two kilos of frozen lechon - one which we've consumed... the other, still in the ref.

Now, what can I say about the training we've conducted? The classes were, for the most part, not that many, hence making the classes easier to handle... the participants, for the most part, were also quick in being able to absorb the ideas presented in each conduct. So I don't find the conducts as tiring as those I handle in Manila. Had it not been for the fact that arrangements have to be made with Ben every time I leave for Cebu, it would be fine for me to do these more often.

Having said that, it looks like I will have another trip to Cebu, for a PADS conduct wiht Jinkee mid-December. I'm looking forward to it.

Possibly last of the Testing courses I'm handling

It seems that the Accenture Testing Center for Excellence is looking to start handling the Testing courses internally, as opposed to having 3rd party vendors (which I'm technically a part of). The move is a logical one, and had I been in Accenture's shoes, one that I would have implemented long ago. After all, if the company is a Center for Excellence, then why need outsiders teaching their capabilities the best practices of the company?

However, two things can get in the way of this reality:

The first is, of course, the future facilitator's knowledge of the lessons to be taught. You see, despite my, and my colleagues, being outsiders, we are aware of the technologies and practices of Accenture for the past decade. On the other hand, the new facilitator, although coming from some testing-related projects, may be approaching their lecture from a practical perspective - nothing wrong here, except the possibility that they may not be practicing what the ADM (basicslly the company's bible on how to run the entire project) is saying.

This means that somewhere along the way, there will be a possible misalignment with what 'is the best practice' and what 'is being practiced', as the facilitator uses his or her experience as basis of discussion. This will include, practice, terms, thought processes. Nothing technically wrong here - unless said project practice is doing some 'practical' short cuts that may impact quality of the practice.

The second concern is more a business-priority concern. Apparently, many companies - Accenture included, look to training as a 'cost' and not as a strategic pillar. The latter will mean looking at all testing-related activities, including training of personnel (and naturally, all aspects of said train ing - including faculty development) has to be addresses from a long-term investment viewpoint. Simply put, it's a farming mentality (to use the analogy), you reap the benefits after having spent the effort to planting.

What am I trying to say? My experience is that resources assigned to training are suddenly pulled out when more profit-centric projects suddenly need them... thus uprooting critical resources to the ongoing training. Why is this the case? Because of the aforementioned viewpoint of training as a cost, and not an investment.

The irony of this is that Accenture -at least a few years back, even published a book on the return on training - specifying how much a return on every training hours can be, calculating it at a 5:1 ratio, meaning for every $1 spent on training a resource, the ompany can get a return of $5. Said repot was even hailed in the industry for it's putting a monetary feedback to training, one of many nebulous activities hard to put some measure on; specially in this seeming metric-intense environment.

That said, I'm not saying this is the case here, though historical experience bears this out.

On a personal viewpoint, it will mean I won't be given testing-related training in the near future. But so long as this will be done properly, I won't mind losing the work, and will be happier if I need not be recalled after a few years because Accenture suddenly reassigned their resources to more profit-centric projects.

Trying my hand at being a College Professor

Yup. You read right. This past semester, I tried my hand at being a substitute professor in a relatively new college. Here's how it happened... I was conducting a specialized training for a friend - having a few of his staff, and volunteer staff as my students - a sideline while I was relatively having a lot of free time on my hands. Well, it so happened that the sister-in-law of a friend (who was also in my class; the friend that is... not the sister-in-law) suddenly found herself a faculty short.

It seemed that their Marketing 15 (Internet Marketing) class for their College of Business, was missing a professor. My friend asked me if I was interested to take on the slack, and I said 'sure, why not'. After all, the class was only on Saturday afternoons.

So it was, that I found myself going through interviews, teaching demos and the likes of which I have not gone through in... well, decades (I think). They found me fit for the course (of course), and asked me to submit some requirements (of which I've yet to fully copy with - like I said, its been a while).

I met my students... 19 individuals, and to say I got to really know them would be a lie. After all, how can you get to really know all of them when you only get to meet them once a week? And only for three hours at that? It was really a struggle for me to have this class... Aside from the fact that I came in mid of the semester, I also had my Cebu trainings coinciding with my schedules.

Needless to say, I got through... had to design a Final Exam and guide the students through creating web sites for advocacy programs, while preparing lecture materials based on a PowerPoint presentation; which in turn was based on a book that I did not have. Though we were using the computer lab, there were times when Internet access was troublesome. It was during these times that I felt a bit frustrates, but persevered on for the benefit of the students... after all, it was not their fault that all these things happened.

The semester finally and eventually ended with me hanging in there. For the students and my friend's sister-in-law. Yes, there were times I wanted to say I may not web free to teach next semester, specially if Cebu will still be in the agenda, but to say I did not in any way enjoy this experience, would likewise be a lie. I like helping people...Guiding them in one way or another, and I hope that I will get to handle another class - though this time, with a better prepared plan and curriculum. Though I don't see myself doing this too soon either.

Meanwhile, it's the semester break, and I have to submit my requirements. In that regard, I've emailed people, scanned certificates and found some old articles I wrote, because apparently, these are all important in any Education institution. Ah well... On the other side, being called 'Professor' in a college, has a nice ring to it... even if it's just an informal title.

Supervisor training rollout

It has been a while since I've had a new training to sink my teeth into. In fact, I can't recall the last time I did it - unless I count the one I did for John's people and the Red Cross. Other than that, it may have been a year (at least) since I did something like this.

At this particular juncture, the workshop in particular is thenSupervisor 101 training developed by Accenture. This is a two-day training meant to replace a much needed to be retired  Leadership Skills for New Supervisors training - poor hodgepodge of a saner training that I also had the opportunity to conduct. So imagine this... I'm on the 3rd iteration of this conduct, sort of... After all, Supervisor 101 is - for all intents and purposes, a new and very different training.

Well, this time, it's a whole lot better than what it is replacing, and, at least, it integrates various trainings, like Cross-cultural communication, Managing Diversity, handling of issues... Plus the usual tips on handling teams and performance management. So yes, it's still a seeming hodgepodge of many topics put together, just that these topics are all essential for any supervisor... More so an Accenture manager/supervisor.

Like any roll out, there are challenges we (Jingo and I) face, and one challenge in particular is the tight schedule of this training. Even our participants see how cramped this is, so it's not our imagination (yes, I noticed and commented on this as well when I first studied the contents), but being consultants with little clout within the organization, we could not influence the change. Tis can be frustrating... Because the training materials are good. It however suffers because the participants are not able to absorbed everything the training wants them to do... at the given time frame.

Still, rise to the challenge Jingo and I did. So we are able to follow the timeframe, but we had to diverge from the suggested practice, which bespeaks of our capability to assess how things are going, and make the necessary adjustments. We focused on the important topics, then considered the game at the end when we were sure of finishing all important topics first.

There were observers... and I was wondering whet they would be observing of us. Strange, really. I know it's possibly because of how they are just making sure of the conduct's quality. But if they did their due diligence, they should have known that we are their preeminent trainers. We're even more Accenturized than a lot of their employees. This last statement may be seen as a boast, or exaggeration, but I really think that in this case, it's validated.

All the while, I was experiencing a head ache, and Jingo noticed this. But I finished my modules. We wrapped up the training, and are just awaiting the verdict of the observers. We shall see. Ther funny thing is, efen as we were doing the conduct, Jingo received a text message from Malou that we had another scheduled conduct in November.

Ah well... Mission done, and I got a good night sleep after. Glad I did it, and showed people that I can still roll out a new training conduct - specially one that is leadership/management oriented.

On the importance of joining a Speechcraft.

Speechcraft is a program of the Toastmasters, that is offered to people who are not Toastmasters, yet may need a similarly designed, however truncated, public speaking improvement program. Normally, a Toastmasters club offers this for free - or with some fee... normally to defray operational costs in conducting such a program (e.g. snacks, certificate printing, etc...) People who join this normally go through several speech projects with each one focusing on one improvement aspect for said speech... be it better organization, gestures, vocal variety... each one being evaluated by a Toastmaster, so the Speechcraft participant gets to know where they may need certain improvements.

So why did I write this? It's a response to a conversation Bryce shared with someone else. When asked what he did this summer, he mentioned that I joined him in a Speechcraft program. Asked why? He said he did not know. I guess the latter is my fault, as I just asked him to join... and I even stuck around to make sure he did join. As to the why... I was hoping it was self-evident. I guess I was wrong.

Anyway... why should one join a Speechcraft? Self-improvement angle aside, let me just mention a few reasons - the first being that Speechcraft does help one build confidence in and for public speaking. Granted, Bryce may not lack in volunteering for certain roles where he gets to prepare and present... but he's riding on the fact that he knows what he's talking about and is confident he can deliver his talk in proper English. But by attending Speechcraft, he learned certain techniques that would further enhance his communication skills - not just from a one-on-one perspective, but hopefully even in front of a lot of people. So yes... Confidence is easier to achieve... and with that, a more believable speaker. After all, would you listen to - much less, be convinced by someone who does not seem confident of what they're suppoed to be talking about?

Second...  Speechcraft helps improve one's stage presence. The program, as I said earlier covers two very important presentation aspects... gestures (including eye contact, proper use of hands to help describe something, or enumerate clearly... anything that - with the use of hands, feet or even facial features. This will hopefully allow people to send their message across real well. After all, any visuals (and I'm not referring to PowerPoint here) that helps the message get across faster and clearer, is a must have for any presentation.

Third... Speechcraft allows people to become better leaders. It may not be an automatic thing... after all, leadership demands several skill sets, but with one's attendance here - by earning the confidence, the capability and craft of speaking and getting your message across clearly, anyone can have the makings of a real leader... not just someone pretending and getting by with filibustering or just pretending to be confident. People demand this communication skill form their leaders. So yes... anyone seriously considering the possibility of leadership should take Speechcraft lessons.

Thing is, these skills are not some hidden mystery. You can read about it in may tomes. But one last thing (well, not really, but in the interest of keeping things short, I'll stop at four), Speechcraft offers a practical experience laboratory. People learn by listening, by practicing and by reflecting on what others say. It's a workshop... and along the way, they become more aware of certain needs for improvement... come next meeting, assuming they are serious in pursuing what their mentors and evaluators say, all Speechcrafters should come out with better results.

And THAT Bryce, is why I made you join this Speechcraft workshop. I want you to be better equipped as a future leader.

I took this test today... quick and easy. As seen below, this is the result I got. Cool.

DISC Personality Style

Inspiring Inspiring, influential, interactive, and interested in people. This person likes to interact with others and have fun. They tend to focus on talking with people and keeping things exciting over tasks.

Facebook quizzes, quiz apps & blog quizzes by

Leader's Window - after a long time of not conducting it...
Just like riding a bike and welcoming a long time no see friend.

 These pictures represent Day 2 of the training. I did not strive to take quality pictures - just take some pictures. I know if I were serious, I would practice all the time... believe me, I did. But I did not strive to show these pictures here, as they did not have anything to do with said training.

 This conduct was jointly facilitated by Mon and me. As usual, in the first day, the participants took a Leadership assessment test - and on the second day, we asked them to check their answers and helped them interpret their results.

 While waiting for my turn to do the facilitating, I would read an ebook freely given by Seth Godin. Naturally, I was doing this with my iPad.

 Part of the latter lessons in the afternoon was to do Performance Contracting (and some Coaching on the side), so this is what I asked the participants to do. This was to practice them with doing PC-type meetings.

 Coaching scenarios helped them realize their potentials and areas for growth - in this triad exercise, an observer will take down notes, so they could give their feedback to the 'coaches' in this role play activity.

 Our participants were eager to learn and very game to participate, as these pictures show. Considering that a lot of them were currently in Bench, this would be a bit of a new experience for them... none the less, they still tried adopting the lessons and practicing them via said role plays or game-related activities.

 Feedback giving need not be serious all the time, and we Filipinos can really inject humor to lighten an otherwise heavy message. It might not be advisable in real life... but in a training like this, the fun aspect makes for better learning.

L

More Trainers:

Here are more pictures of colleagues I've been lucky to work with (for the most part anyway), sa as I already posted some pics of colleagues in past entries - it is but fair that I continue the tradition whenever I can.

Rex:

He's been teaching technical related courses (mostly Object-oriented conducts) in the morning, and then runs to his application support job at the latter part of the day. This leaves him with roughly around 4 hours of sleep per day on the average.

If there is anyone who epitomizes being a workaholic, I'd say that Rex fits the bill to a 'T'. Yet despite this hectic schedule, Rex has proven to be a very amicable personality. We've become fast friends, and have on occasion, shared some brown bottles after our training conducts - though this does happen less oten these days due to his work schedule.

If Rex has shown any passion for anything, its obviously towards cars. I think its a family thing, but even then, it rubs off on Rex, whether he knows it or not. That said, if you've got any queries about cars or stocking up / dressing up your car - Rex sould be a good resource person.

Lovern:

She partners with Fiel, Gina, Tess, Rex, Ariel and me occasionally, proving that she is able to handle technical training - though there are times she still adjusts due ot the audience, Lovern can usually hack any challenge that comes her way.

But that isn't what is the only interesting anecdote about Lovern, not be a long shot. For starters, she's certified First Aid and Rescue resource person - thanks in pert to her boyfriend, who is a certified Rescue instructor. She has, as an exercise, been involved with the Dragon Boat rowing (although, having said that, she just recently informed me that she finds the team's new schedule difficult to commit to).

Lovern is a good soul. At times, she may get into misunderstandings... but if there is any misunderstanding on her part, rest assured... she isn't doing it on purpose. You see, I can honestly say that Lovern does not have a malicious bone - at least, not one visible, or easily discernible.

Biboy:

I've only partnered with Biboy on two occasions - one is at Component Detailed Design, and the other is on Application Testing School. During both conducts, he proved to be able to handle most technical (object-oriented) training, heck... as I took this picture, he was in the middle of conducting a Java bootcamp for Accenture.

Biboy is liked by his PhoenixOne family, which goes to show that he is an amicable person. His only challenge is to convince some of my other colleague of his professionalism - this due to his having missed some training sessions and leaving his partners hanging. I do not know the entire story, but I can surmise that he was in the middle of contract negotiations, and had to prioritize those over conducts... a sad sitiation - but who's to say I wpuldn't do the same?

But, as I said, Biboy is amiable, easy to talk to... very respective in addressing others, and I wouldn't mind working with him again. I guess he feels a bit uneasy with others... but again, that is mere conjecture.

As I get to take some pictures of other facilitators, I shall place another entry of my colleagues.

On Sharpening the Saw:

When I typed out that statement, little did I know that Brainbench - that old online testing certification body, announced that for the week of March 5-9 (Mon to Fri) all their tests would be for free. I mean... Wow! Free!!!

Last time I took these tests were in the '90s - I think, when they were still in their introductory phase (in other words, for free). I mean, lets face it... I wasn't in any mood or situation to get certifications that I would have to pay for. But... for free? Well, that changes everything.

So as I perused the topics I would like to consider for certification, I wondered what I would like to be known for... and naturally, what skills did I consider having. After all, even if they're for free, these certifications come with a transcript - and it won't look too good to have passed on, say, the 5th try on something. Plus the fact that I was not entirely free to take these tests the entire day, so I had to maximize my free time (usually evenings).

Well... take these tests I did - and I'm glad to say that will just stock knowledge backing me up, I was able to pass all the exams I took. What exactly were these exams? Below is a screen-shot of the exams I took.

If you look at the list, its a combination of core skills (Coaching, Business Communication, Managing People in the U.S. setting, Presentation Skills, Listening, Problem Solving - Qualitative)and technical skills (Disaster Recovery and Planning, Project Management, Customer Requirements Analysis, Software Business Analysis, RDBMS concepts)... skills that I feel, a consultant of my background should be familiar with.

The nice thing about this? I proved to myself that I did know enough of certain topics - granted, I'd need to review more, but I had the basics (and in one case, the advanced concepts - and not the basics) covered. Yup... I sharpened the saw in taking exams - and by taking the exams, I know I still 'know' some topics - for example, the RDBMS concepts were last taught by me some decades ago.

Since Brainbench loves to say that these certificates come with a three-year coverage, well... lets just say that I can peddle these (if need be) until the end of 2014.

So once again, thank you Brainbench... hope this promo and game repeats itself some time.

First Things First: Training for others... reminder for me.

Today I conducted (for the first time in a long time - and I' not sure if it was the very first time) a training based on Covey's Habit 3 (of his 7 Habits fame) - First Things First. Let me say that I was glad I am familiar with Covey's ideas - even if its been years since I read his books (Seven Habits and First Things First... not to mention The 8th Habit as well). But really, one other reason I know od his work is because I tried creating a Mission Statement all those years ago.

Problem is, somewhere along the way - although I still subconsciously practice some of his ideas - I've sort of misplaced the needed practice or follow through. I guess it was because of not using the tools on a regular basis... after all, the tools are supposed to be easy and more importantly, easily accessible.

Unfortunately, the latter was not the case, so that is what happened. I lost track of Habit 7 (Sharpen the Saw), although as I said earlier, I do practice a lot of the suggestions and ideas in an almost automatic manner (a compass paradigm if you will), but at the same time, I am mot taking full advantage of how things should be with my QII activities. Damn...

So my conducting this training IS a good reminder for me. A reminder that I should refocus... plan and set goals again. In that sense, I would like to thank God and the people who made me do this conduct today. Yes, its March... not exactly the start of a new year. But better late than never, right?

So First Things First... I need to revisit my Mission Statement... wee if it needs tweaking. I also need to rededicate some 'me' time to plan and review. Sunday mornings still seem to be the best time for me and my reflections. So be it. Sunday, 8am... I'm setting this part of the day for a Mission Review, and I will write it down in my planner to remind me.

Tomorrow, I will also try to sharpen the saw by taking a few Brainbench exams (specially while its free)

Estimating class:

This consists of three days of learning hos to use an internally-created tool for helping people come up with project estimates for different scenarios, differing platforms given the client's many possible needs.

To say that this is an intense training squeezed into three days is to sell it short. You see, its very intense, and the only thing going for most participants is the fact that they are familiar (or should be) with the client business and the Accenture way of doing projects.

When it comes to teaching this course in an ideal setting, one requires mastery of the tools - or at the very least, familiarity and understanding of how to use them, and why they need to be used.

I actually belong to the latter group of facilitator because I find it superfluous to study the tools further, specially since 1) I won't really be using these tool outside of Accenture, 2) I find no reason to use the tool, as I am not assigned to Accenture projects and 3) quality in the training is not really a necessity - these days its just a statistic. This is not to say that quality totally goes out the window, rather, its not a priority... hence my not putting the needed effort to master the tool. I'd say that this may be the root to my having a cavalier attitude to training in Accenture - thus just giving the minimum requirement.

That said, I get by... and still learn more of the tool whenever I conduct it one more time. Eventually, by sheer repetitive use or 'number of conducts' - I will get to be an expert with said tools given minimal preparation effort in learning it. But to really be an expert in its use? I'd have to use it in the environment it was designed for - and I don't see that happening. Maybe I should just decline teaching this. I don't see any reason (hence lack the passion) to really do learn it.

To add to the contents of this site, I shall take more pictures of my class - try to get action shots of both the facilitator(s) and the participants. Hope this allows for greater dynamics - which in turn will rebound to more frequent conducts. As I take more pictures, it will allow for more interesting and diverse contents (or at least, that is the general idea), and hopefully leading to creating a more interesting site.

Here's to luck and great pictures.

2012 trainings.

Its a new year - and with it comes new challenges; albeit the same old training conducts - at least, for now anyway. Yup, this picture, for example shows my first class for 2012 - namely a Packaged Application Design School (a.k.a. PADS), which is all about General Design concepts geared more for the packaged application solutions type of project (which basically covers platforms like SAP, Peoplesoft, Oracle, and other similar ERP solutions.

Funny thing is, I only started teaching Packaged-solutions related training this year - more so, after the U2K2 project. Ironic since the other way around - meaning conducting the training, then becoming part of the SAP project (which would really have helped me). Still, I was already starting to conduct such training in the past - but my exposure to U2K2 really helped galvanize my learning and appreciating how packaged applications are done, and why.

I only wish that the frequency of my training conducts get more frequent - I mean, there used to be times in the past that I would have 4 full weeks of conducts. It was tiring, but it allowed me to get the needed money for my usual expenses - including tuition. I do hope it becomes more frequent soon, as I do need to have more earnings to cover for my and my family's needs (expenses). Granted that I'm sure I can trim the fat in some aspects - but if I can maintain the comfort level (which isn't really that fat or totally leisurely comfortable), that would be better.

With respect to not being able to get what I need from the training, then I will really have to reconsider my career. It may be a sad day for training - as this will not be the first time I've heard of a really good trainer (no bias intended here) from retiring form training to pursue 'greener' pastures.

I'm sharing a few Leaders' Windows pictures... this way I get to update this blog - not just with articles, but with pictures of what we look like when we're doing what we do. Sorry if it sounded a bit wishy washy -but I wanted to make sure no one can get back to my article and say infringement or intellectual property sabotage, or whatever else nonsense some some legalistic paranoid pea-brained person can come up with by looking at what I could post. No it hasn't happened yet - and no one's complained... but better safe than getting a shiv on the behind.

This was the class I handled with Alain in McKinley - it went for two days and as usual, there were many activities that made this class lively. That said, let me now keep uncharacteristically non-descriptive and let the pictures be proof that what we do is fun. The picture above shows a group making a makeshift house - its one of the last (if not the last) activity everyone goes through - purpose of which is to prove that the 'situational time out' works.

As most activities are bent towards showing how groups can work better - by way of better leadership, we had the class break down into groups.

Some of these participants I've known for quite some time (beyond Accenture's walls - others, I've had the privilege of having taught for about two or three training conducts straight... coincidence, mind you, as it so happens that the conducts they enrolled are the ones i was scheduled to do.

If you're wondering why they're just posing - believe me, they're working on something... namely their closing presentation... in which case they wrap the training up by letting us see what they remember about the two-day conduct's topics.

Alain and I had no problems with this batch... if anything, they were eager to learn and share - in fact, in some instances, you'd have to limit their talking time, or they'd go on and on. Overall, it was a great time for all.

'nuff said!

Here're two more of my colleagues in Facilitating... as I did say I would try to add pictures as soon as I could - well, I have no idea yet when my next class will be so it might not be a good idea to go wait for until I have had a couple of pictures before posting.

Meet Alain, in my PrimaryEdge days, he was one of the last people to get hired to perform falititating skills - more prominently, with some Professional development courses. Alain has proven to be a great facilitator - with his humor and his ability to explain things in simple, uncomplicated ways - his participants easily get to follow him... and after all, isn't that what's important?

His transition to PhoenixOne was, of course, easily done... coming from recommendations from the rest of the team - and though he first started in a limited capacity (having to handle the family business when his father could not), he has since then been given more facilitating time. A fellow colleague (Jingo) once referred to Alain as 'Poh' the character in Kung Fu Panda - and in a way, I find similarities in the characterization - not that Alain is a shoo-in for Jack Black of course, but that Alain can sometimes be seen as the character of Poh in several things... outlook in life, humor, maybe even the appetite?

Next we have Jingo:

What can I say about this person? He's a natural drama queen when he want to be... and that description speaks volumes in itself. He very conscious about how he looks and dresses, he's always making sure he is in the know about other people's thoughts - thus he does invest time in talking with people - and talks to them - both by listening and sharing... and in coaching parlance, sympathizing with others.

He also gets into the psyche of the female participant with his multitude of 'masa' related anecdotes - and can crank up the emotional factor with stories - both funny or with some emotional impact. He can act things out and can even belt a song or two with a very good voice. Some people refer to his as a thespian - and they won't be off the mark. Jingo is a performer... whether its on stage or off... and isn't facilitating somewhat like a stage?

Little surprise, therefore, that he happens to be the favorite facilitator of the BPO crowd. Lest this sound like a description of a typical derogatory blonde joke, I need to add that Jingo has equal mastery of substance - be it coaching or even the BPO project management (which I hear has better designed materials than the solutions version - though not as deep).

I have been posting pictures of my colleagues lately - it gives me a chance to update one of my FB albums and experiment with my camera's zoom lens. Take this image of Mon, for example... a simple, straight forward shot of him while he was explaining a few concepts to the participants (and not a bad shot if I say so myself, he he he).

The training was all about the Team Lead School, and Mon was driving in some ideas for our participants, as I aligned the camera to take the shot... the really amazing part here was I was using a purely automatic setting. Naturally,I had to take some test shots and make adjustments before I finally got to this picture.

So why mention this at all? Simple, it means I'm not dependent on any automatic features that my camera offers - okay, maybe with exception to the auto focus part... but that's it

From Mon, I shifted to Ariel - I was lucky since a convenient opportunity arose.

Since Ariel took over Mon's place as my co-facilitator for the Team Lead School, I was nota bout to let this opportunity to further practice my skills pass - so when Ariel was up front talking, I decided to take a few shots of him too. In this case, my shutter speed was not too high, thus you see the blurring of Ariel's hands as he gestures while giving his explanation.

Normally, I would probably just ignore the picture and outright reject it, but then again, this is an action shot - not a posing session, and the blurred hands prove this.

Then there's Gina, who became my partner for the Packaged Application Design School (a.k.a. PADS). I like this picture because it shows Gina in a different action - as you can see how her facial expression tells volumes of how she's reacting to a participant. But worry not, this is not her usual haughty self... nope, despite the expression, Gina is just (figuratively) playing with our participants... and to be fair, our participants were the rather boisterous type... hence not surprising that Gina uses that expression.

Unfortunately (or is that fortunately?) Gina could not finish the course for its duration, so someone will have to run this with me... and Malou Jopillo (our overall coordinator) decides to bring in Jinkee...and naturally, once again I have a model for the photos.

So similarly, I took some pictures to preserve the memory of Jinkee in action. Hence I've got Jinkee doing her explanation, as she presents her knowledge to the class. Naturally, this option will not be complete without my trying to take a picture of her... as we both sahred co-facilitator roles on a Saturday training.

I will strive to further add to this blog the pictures of my other colleagues, should the opportunity to take them arise; that is.

Best of both Worlds?

Just some ramblings... first off... I'm back in training - albeit only on Saturdays, but hey... at least I get to do it on a semi-regular manner, right? So how's it been? Some changes apparently came to place while I've been gone - but at the same time, it's like nothing's changed.

How so? For starters, it seems that in the workshop/team building/outing that Phoenix One organized for all their facilitators, the end result is not a total cohesion as the team building would suggest. It seems that not everyone thinks or analyzes or for that matter, cooperates in activities. Ah well... apparently, it seems that some people were not sold on the need or necessity of such activities.

Some learnings were gleaned though - and I hope these get actionable, er... actions around improvement efforts.

Working attire seemed to take a hit as Fridays seem to have been considered a non dress-down item, thanks to people who - for whatever reason, just want their trainers to look more professional, and mot as relaxed as everyone else. Me? I'd be in the side of the fence that would say does it matter? If you're a really lousy facilitator, wearing a tux will not dramatically increase your skills in facilitating... similarly, how does short-changing happen when a good facilitator wear dressed down clothing together with their audience? Some facts and metrics please...?

Aside from this, the thought of putting all trainings on Saturdays - and only on Saturdays was, I'm sorry to say, so short-sighted, the decision-maker who made up this farce of a decision was probably hit with an inspiration of thinking... like a dodo. I exaggerate of course, after all... whoever thought this actually retracted after a week (or was forced to retract)... upon realizing that their actions will not help with their meeting certain metrics. Classic example of knee-jerk decision-making - these people should listen more to the people they get as trainers.

Some people are promoted to regional... hmmm, good luck with that - I wonder if that means they're promoted to a higher level of incompetence. Others find themselves in the same boat as those they used to put down... karma? Maybe. But for the most part, the inconsistent services of others seem to be still that - if not less efficient.

Good thing for me I'm not affected by these inane actions as I just have to deal with these things in a per Saturday basis only. Yup... I train, but only on Saturdays. The rest of the time I still am assigned to a project... and with luck, this will continue beyond September. So yeah... lets hope for the best of both worlds here.

I may even get to be assigned in a project doing something closer to training (as opposed to PMO work) - that is courseware planning development and execution. Or if I get tapped to do another U2K2 project in a different country, well... why not?

But I hope I get to still teach something. Should I finish my tour of Duty in U2K2, I could ask Mags to put in a kind word for me regarding the Unilever trainings. I mean, opportunities will abound... I just need to work as good as I can and keep my Karma clean.

I still like teaching... and these Saturday sessions make it come out as therapy of sorts - relaxation too, and it has (I'll have to admit) raised my effectiveness and capability to relate examples to my trainees. It somehow relieves me of tension from the project... and at least I get productive time out of a Saturday.

So yeah... I'm not complaining.

How the world changes...

If you notice my blog's profile picture, one that looks like a magazine called Riches, behind me is an artistic collage that used to hang on the wall of Accenture's Cybermall location. This was during my PrimaryEdge days - and definitely before Accenture temporarily let go of the place during economically leaner times... only to get it back after two year (or was that three?)

Anyway, for those in the know, that collage represented Accenture's Core values around what is supposed to be Tiger Woods' face - yes, he was still Accenture's endorser back then... at the height of his game, and definitely pre-scandal popular.

the only thing that has not changed ever since, happens to be that barong I'm wearing... I still wear it to work, and have not really realized how old it already is. In fact, I wore it just this morning to work. It's still in good condition - doesn't wrinkle easily - thus is a favorite of mine.

Other than that... everything's changed. Tiger no longer is at the top of his game - at least, not yet. He's not an Accenture endorser anymore. and though Cybermall is back - it's got an entirely different... and to me a much better, paint job. Never did like mustard yellow for walls.

Do I miss it?

You might be wondering why I started of with such a question. Not surprising since I've not been updating this blog for months. So what exactly am I alluding to here? Simple... I'm currently in the more demanding role of a project. Specifically the role of a PMO for a multinational organization. Add to the fact that this project has a very aggressive time frame and you can imagine how the complexity just piles up. Then there's the fact that I feel a bit like a fish otu of water since this is an SAP project where I've little experience regarding the software or infrastructure side whatsoever. Interesting, right?

I've been doing this for close to two months now - actually a month and a half, and by providence's hand, I'm sure to do it for the next three month - seeing the project to completion. Yes it's a struggle - and at times, things can get disheartening when I'm trying to consider what to say, what to do in terms of concepts. Making reports becomes a struggle... simply because, half the time I'm trying to interpret what is being said. I know the methodology - or at least, the idea behind them... thanks to my teaching experience with Project Management, but even then, it's an entirely different scenario. It's like I know football (or soccer, to some people) well enough - but the problem is, I'm now in an American Football arena.

So with all these challenges piled up - do I miss it? The time when I was more a Training Consultant working with Phoenix-One, teaching Accenture employees? Definitely... after all, in that area (or arena), I was doing quite well... doing okay. Heck, I was more than just okay. I was comfortable with what I was doing, I had control and I could even predict a few things and by doing so , manipulate them - like training pacing to match my needs or moods. I liked being in the spotlight (sort of) and being appreciated for helping people learn.

So am I regretting this shift? Not really... yeah it's harder - a whole lot harder than I imagined, and I feel that I may have been given a cheap deal (relatively speaking) but at the same time, this is a learning experience and a wake-up call to me. Learning since I do get PMO exposure, some rudimentary SAP project exposure as well and I get to stretch my wings - btu most important of all, I get to have an increased earning capacity.

One of my main frustrations is that I find trainers to be under-appreciated, in a sense, people like us, admire us... but they put little stock (or importance) to training. When push comes to shove, it's one of the first things to get pulled out f the expense side of a business that needs to penny pinch. The practice gets little respect, and the trainers are not seen as valuable assets - people don't see the ripple effect that a great trainer has on the workforce.

It is because of this lack of appreciation that trainers don't get the top pay they deserve. It's what attracted me to the project to begin with. I mean, I would very much love to be a trainer - at the day's end, the fulfillment is there, I don't need to worry about countless unfinished business, and my environment is contained and controllable. But the pay that should go with it is not there. And with a son who's just entered college, I need a higher earning capacity.

So... do I miss it? Hell yeah. I also miss working with my training colleagues. But do I look forward to training again? Yes I would - if the price is right. But should I be offered another project, I might just jump into that again just to ensure that my earning capacity remains what it is - if not higher. Until I get a better deal elsewhere... preferably training related - but with a much better paycheck, I'll be working projects.

On the other hand, I just might find a way to train on weekends. Heck, that may even be therapy for me - sort of.