May
19 Really, who needs Coffee Break MBA?
Coffee Break MBA- it's a bit of a fanciful name, but it expresses the idea pretty well.
But while it is a long slog for a worker bee, climbing out of the cubicle 15 minutes at a time, there is a different perspective for business owners.
Imagine each of your people as an idea vacuum, constantly learning and adapting to the inputs that come into his or her mind. Imagine adding a diverse set of Big Ideas and Great Ideas (2 different kinds of awesome!) to their mental menu. Every person who signs on to learn will grow in their perspective, in their skill set, and in their productivity.
But what if you intentionally sponsored that growth - and in tens or hundreds of different directions at once?
For some companies, the CEO goes to a conference, hears a keynote, and buys a case of books written by that speaker for her 'team'. That one Great Idea gets transmitted through the organization, and within a few months, the useful parts are integrated into how the business functions.
Imagine if there were fifty readers, scattered throughout the company. Imagine if they were paired up, 2 to a book, so that there was some accountability and encouragement around finishing the book. Within a month, the company would have 25 Great Ideas or Big Ideas that could find some application in the company. With some competent management, those new ideas could be vetted and integrated from the bottom up.
One person can impose a vision on a company. But are you willing to bet your company on your vision not having any blind spots? Spreading the search around will expose the company to so many more ideas.
North Creek Consulting is developing a framework for you to turn your company into a learning organization. http://northcreek.ca/nextbook is the public face of this framework - a simple site that recommends books and pairs readers across the internet.
North Creek will spend some time connecting with your management team, identifying your vision, your goals, what drives your company, and what your challenges are. I will customize a booklist for you that spans perspectives, prescriptions, and approaches. I will work with you to develop a process for learning from your employees. Your staff will be empowered to change your processes, your priorities, your strategy, and your bottom line - by learning from the smartest minds in business and life.
Contact me, Dave Block (dave@northcreek.ca, 780-604-2602) to set up a free initial consultation. Prepare to build a corporate library, prepare to invest some time in your employees, prepare to learn.
Turn your company into a learning organization, one coffee break at a time.
Cheers,
P.S. Go ahead and call me (780-604-2602), I'll work with you personally to set this up so it works for your company. If you have a training budget, buying a whole library costs about the same as sending one person to one conference!
Categories: Books , Business , Methodology