Tony Bryk - Bristol - Joining Improvement Science to NICslearningemerg
A public lecture by Prof Tony Bryk (President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching) on the Design-Educational Engineering and Development (DEED) approach to systemic school improvement, through the use of Improvement Science concepts and Networked Improvement Communities.
A Great Idea Isn't Enough for Successful Change - FinalKaiNexus
Presented by Mark Jaben, M.D., author of the book "Free the Brain"
Maybe you had expected more. Maybe it went ok, but you’d like it to go smoother. Maybe its gone well and you want to understand about how that happened for next time. Maybe you’d like change to be less of a hassle.
If so, this webinar is for you.
As a result of this webinar, you will understand:
Change is a verb, not a noun
The fundamental unit of change
Why your belief about what’s going on is not the result of what you think.
Why conflict is what you should expect and what you actually need for successful change
The choice to resist or engage is not an analytical one, so why approach it that way.
We are not wired to resist; we are wired to succeed.
An ideal change must work AND be workable; judging each uses different functions in the brain.
The top mistakes you're making in your Data Science interview - Omri AlloucheOmri Allouche
To be a great Data Scientist, you need to be a good mathematician, a curious analyst, a smart computer scientist and an expert in the problem domain. Furthermore, the field is moving so fast, you have to run at full speed just to stay in place. How should you balance these skills?
When interviewing candidates for Gong.io, we try to evaluate how well the candidate will tackle the large variety of research tasks we face, including Speech Recognition, Video and Audio analysis, NLP and statistical hypothesis testing. In this talk, I'll give an inside pick into our Data Science interview, and will list the top mistakes I see people make preparing for Data Science interviews, hoping to help you excel in your next interview and next position.
You can view a low-quality recording of the talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu0HAudwGEA
Bio:
Omri Allouche heads the Research department at Gong.io, helping sales organizations improve their performance by providing actionable, data-driven insights using machine learning.
He also teaches Applied Data Science at Bar Ilan University, and was the founder and CEO of Page2site (acquired by Algomizer), an algorithms engineer at Elisra, and researcher at IDF's intelligence unit.
Omri holds a Ph.D. in Computational Ecology from the Hebrew University (cum laude). He won several academic awards and scholarships, including the Clore fund, and his research papers had been cited over 2,000 times.
Eliminating Bottlenecks with KaiNexus [Webinar]KaiNexus
Watch this KaiNexus webinar to learn about how to identify and eliminate bottlenecks using KaiNexus' continuous improvement software. See best practices for promoting the spread of continuous improvement, learn about the leadership behaviors that overcome bottlenecks, and see the software in action.
Tony Bryk - Bristol - Joining Improvement Science to NICslearningemerg
A public lecture by Prof Tony Bryk (President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching) on the Design-Educational Engineering and Development (DEED) approach to systemic school improvement, through the use of Improvement Science concepts and Networked Improvement Communities.
A Great Idea Isn't Enough for Successful Change - FinalKaiNexus
Presented by Mark Jaben, M.D., author of the book "Free the Brain"
Maybe you had expected more. Maybe it went ok, but you’d like it to go smoother. Maybe its gone well and you want to understand about how that happened for next time. Maybe you’d like change to be less of a hassle.
If so, this webinar is for you.
As a result of this webinar, you will understand:
Change is a verb, not a noun
The fundamental unit of change
Why your belief about what’s going on is not the result of what you think.
Why conflict is what you should expect and what you actually need for successful change
The choice to resist or engage is not an analytical one, so why approach it that way.
We are not wired to resist; we are wired to succeed.
An ideal change must work AND be workable; judging each uses different functions in the brain.
The top mistakes you're making in your Data Science interview - Omri AlloucheOmri Allouche
To be a great Data Scientist, you need to be a good mathematician, a curious analyst, a smart computer scientist and an expert in the problem domain. Furthermore, the field is moving so fast, you have to run at full speed just to stay in place. How should you balance these skills?
When interviewing candidates for Gong.io, we try to evaluate how well the candidate will tackle the large variety of research tasks we face, including Speech Recognition, Video and Audio analysis, NLP and statistical hypothesis testing. In this talk, I'll give an inside pick into our Data Science interview, and will list the top mistakes I see people make preparing for Data Science interviews, hoping to help you excel in your next interview and next position.
You can view a low-quality recording of the talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu0HAudwGEA
Bio:
Omri Allouche heads the Research department at Gong.io, helping sales organizations improve their performance by providing actionable, data-driven insights using machine learning.
He also teaches Applied Data Science at Bar Ilan University, and was the founder and CEO of Page2site (acquired by Algomizer), an algorithms engineer at Elisra, and researcher at IDF's intelligence unit.
Omri holds a Ph.D. in Computational Ecology from the Hebrew University (cum laude). He won several academic awards and scholarships, including the Clore fund, and his research papers had been cited over 2,000 times.
Eliminating Bottlenecks with KaiNexus [Webinar]KaiNexus
Watch this KaiNexus webinar to learn about how to identify and eliminate bottlenecks using KaiNexus' continuous improvement software. See best practices for promoting the spread of continuous improvement, learn about the leadership behaviors that overcome bottlenecks, and see the software in action.
Lambda Solutions Webinar | Capturing Data to Improve the eLearning Experience...Lambda Solutions
Regardless of what industry you work in, your training needs to have a purpose and produce outcomes - whether they are to inform, teach, improve, or change. The trick is implementing a system for evaluating how effective your training is. This is where data and analytics come in.
By collecting and analyzing data, you will begin to paint a picture of what aspects of training are working, where you need to improve, and the steps you need to take to make those improvements.
Building the Ultimate Full Company Growth TeamSean Ellis
The goal of any company with a valuable product is to scale adoption by qualified customers. This generally requires establishing a "north star metric" and managing growth against that metric. These slides show how you can build a core growth team that coordinates the efforts of the full company to drive sustainable growth. It is important that every idea be treated as a test. The more tests you run the more learning you gain for growing the company. But running a lot of tests requires a process that is explained in the slides.
Driving Efficiency in Non-Instructional Operationsbyronheadrick
A brief overview of how to drive efficiency in the non-instructional areas of public schools. Discusses LEAN Frog's ASSESS, IMPROVE, SUSTAIN approach to ascending to efficient and effective processes. Also, presents the LEAN Frog LEAN School Management System.
How early talent can adopt high-flier behaviours fastAnima & Atman
How can we help students, interns, apprentices and graduates rapidly adopt the behaviours that distinguish high-flyers? We explore the results of 281 hours of research and analysis into individuals who added significantly more value than their peers, across 6 large organisations – and share practical ways to help people to stand out.
Building a Company-Wide Growth Culture: SaaStr Annual 2016Sean Ellis
Growth is getting harder for SaaS business. Over the last 10 years, 3X more dollars chase the attention of every US Internet user and the channels for acquiring customers are in constant flux. The solution is a coordinated full company growth effort. These slides show how to drive broad participation and execute in a weekly cadence of testing and learning.
"Building a Company Wide Growth Culture" at SaaStr Annual 2016saastr
Sean Ellis, CEO of Growth Hackers, shares his advice on building a culture of growth within an organization at SaaStr Annual 2016 held in San Francisco Feb 9-11th. www.saastrannual.com
By the end of the session, attendants will be able to: 1. Define “Problem” 2. Define “Problem Solving” 3. Describe & use the “Problem Solving approaches” 4. Know the advantages of Problem-solving as a “Team”
Workshop on Root Cause Analysis tools: Ask Why five times and fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram. I use this to teach basic concepts and give people an experience of using the tools.
Continuous Embedded Learning - Assocation for Talent Development 2018Darrin Murriner
An overview of where embedded continuous learning is going in a corporate environment. This presentation was made at the Greater Cincinnati chapter of ATD in October 2018
The real learning curve - where learning happens and happens well. Learning in the workplace is influenced by motivation and needs to be nurtured in different ways by managers and leaders. This presentation applies Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership to supporting learning at work.
Balance HR: Starting with Evidence-based Learning • Virtual CoffeeEdward Vanhoutte
In this session, you'll learn how to apply evidence-based Learning & Development practices.
What's served with the coffee?
• Learning, the evidence-based way
• Zooming in on Learning techniques and tools
• How to use these Learning techniques and tools
• Tips for your backpack
Lambda Solutions Webinar | Capturing Data to Improve the eLearning Experience...Lambda Solutions
Regardless of what industry you work in, your training needs to have a purpose and produce outcomes - whether they are to inform, teach, improve, or change. The trick is implementing a system for evaluating how effective your training is. This is where data and analytics come in.
By collecting and analyzing data, you will begin to paint a picture of what aspects of training are working, where you need to improve, and the steps you need to take to make those improvements.
Building the Ultimate Full Company Growth TeamSean Ellis
The goal of any company with a valuable product is to scale adoption by qualified customers. This generally requires establishing a "north star metric" and managing growth against that metric. These slides show how you can build a core growth team that coordinates the efforts of the full company to drive sustainable growth. It is important that every idea be treated as a test. The more tests you run the more learning you gain for growing the company. But running a lot of tests requires a process that is explained in the slides.
Driving Efficiency in Non-Instructional Operationsbyronheadrick
A brief overview of how to drive efficiency in the non-instructional areas of public schools. Discusses LEAN Frog's ASSESS, IMPROVE, SUSTAIN approach to ascending to efficient and effective processes. Also, presents the LEAN Frog LEAN School Management System.
How early talent can adopt high-flier behaviours fastAnima & Atman
How can we help students, interns, apprentices and graduates rapidly adopt the behaviours that distinguish high-flyers? We explore the results of 281 hours of research and analysis into individuals who added significantly more value than their peers, across 6 large organisations – and share practical ways to help people to stand out.
Building a Company-Wide Growth Culture: SaaStr Annual 2016Sean Ellis
Growth is getting harder for SaaS business. Over the last 10 years, 3X more dollars chase the attention of every US Internet user and the channels for acquiring customers are in constant flux. The solution is a coordinated full company growth effort. These slides show how to drive broad participation and execute in a weekly cadence of testing and learning.
"Building a Company Wide Growth Culture" at SaaStr Annual 2016saastr
Sean Ellis, CEO of Growth Hackers, shares his advice on building a culture of growth within an organization at SaaStr Annual 2016 held in San Francisco Feb 9-11th. www.saastrannual.com
By the end of the session, attendants will be able to: 1. Define “Problem” 2. Define “Problem Solving” 3. Describe & use the “Problem Solving approaches” 4. Know the advantages of Problem-solving as a “Team”
Workshop on Root Cause Analysis tools: Ask Why five times and fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram. I use this to teach basic concepts and give people an experience of using the tools.
Continuous Embedded Learning - Assocation for Talent Development 2018Darrin Murriner
An overview of where embedded continuous learning is going in a corporate environment. This presentation was made at the Greater Cincinnati chapter of ATD in October 2018
The real learning curve - where learning happens and happens well. Learning in the workplace is influenced by motivation and needs to be nurtured in different ways by managers and leaders. This presentation applies Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership to supporting learning at work.
Balance HR: Starting with Evidence-based Learning • Virtual CoffeeEdward Vanhoutte
In this session, you'll learn how to apply evidence-based Learning & Development practices.
What's served with the coffee?
• Learning, the evidence-based way
• Zooming in on Learning techniques and tools
• How to use these Learning techniques and tools
• Tips for your backpack
In an era of collective impact, systems building, competitive funding, and making lasting change in the lives of youth, data is here to stay. The question is: Will data work for you or against you? In this workshop you will gain skills and resources to make sense of your data. Learn how to effectively use data to measure, adjust, and strengthen your program’s impact, and tell a more powerful story along the way.
The Future of the Client Agency Relationship - A presentation by Hall and Par...The_IPA
in 2015, the IPA commissioned research on the future of how agencies work with their clients. The findings were presented at the IPA Commercial Conference. They discuss the development of a shared agenda to rebuild trust and explore concepts around communications and customer experience.
Continuous Professional Development - Key to Commercial Success in AdvertisingThe_IPA
A presentation by Andrew Pinkess of the IPA's Professional Development Group which outlines the evidence linking training and development to the growth of marketing and advertising agencies.
#IPASocialWorks Social Media Measurement GuidesThe_IPA
The IPA, The Marketing Society and the Market Research Society (MRS) have launched a groundbreaking #IPASocialWorks joint initiative, with Facebook and Twitter sponsorship, to identify good practice in social media effectiveness and measurement. The short and expert guides to measuring not counting are now available to view. Learn more here http://www.ipa.co.uk/news/industry-publishes-social-media-measurement-guide
The IPA hosted its Talent Adaptathon at Altitude in London on 7th October 2014 in association with Daniel Marks London. IPA President Ian Priest (International MD, Chime Communications) talked about winning the war for talent to wrap up his ADAPT agenda. Get involved by visiting the Hub www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/talent and on Twitter #ipadapt.
Sydney Hunsdale: The business case for retention - specialists v generalistsThe_IPA
The IPA hosted its Talent Adaptathon at Altitude in London on 7th October 2014 in association with Daniel Marks London. Sydney Hunsdale (Consultant, Former Global COO Razorfish & Chief CFO Vivaki EMEA) talked about investing for growth and the business case for retention - specialists v generalists. Get involved by visiting ADAPT Hub www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/talent and on Twitter #ipadapt.
Dr Max Blumberg: Harnessing the power of human capital for the digital ageThe_IPA
The IPA hosted its Talent Adaptathon at Altitude in London on 7th October 2014 in association with Daniel Marks London. Dr Max Blumberg (CEO Blumberg Partnership, Goldsmiths Research Fellow & CIPD Consultant) talked about harnessing the power of human capital for the digital age. Get involved by visiting the ADAPT Hub www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/talent and on Twitter #ipadapt.
Jane Asscher, Pete Buckley and Alexia Clifford discuss performance planning a...The_IPA
The IPA hosted its Performance Adaptathon at Altitude in London on 8th July 2014 in association with ISBA, Kingston Smith and RedHAT. 23red's Jane Asscher, Pete Buckley from MEC and Alexia Clifford of Public Health England discussed performance based planning and reporting of the Change4Life campaign. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6bRK9B47zQ. Get involved by visiting the ADAPT Hub www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/performance and on Twitter #ipadapt.
Engine Group UK CEO Debbie Klein on thinking outside the remuneration boxThe_IPA
Engine Group UK CEO Debbie Klein reveals how to think outside the box when starting out on planning new models of remuneration. This presentation was shown at the IPA's Performance Adaptathon in London on 8th July 2014. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4zlmErJHOY. Find out more about ADAPT at http://www.ipa.co.uk/performance and join in the conversation on Twitter using #ipadapt.
Peter Field on maximising campaign efficiency using the IPA Effectiveness Dat...The_IPA
Marketing consultant Peter Field talks about maximising campaign efficiency in advertising using key learnings from the treasure trove of knowledge that is the IPA Effectiveness Databank. This presentation was shown at the IPA's Performance Adaptathon in London on 8th July 2014. Find out more at http://www.ipa.co.uk/effectiveness and join in the conversation on Twitter using #IPAEff.
IPA President Ian Priest strives for win-win performance in client/agency rel...The_IPA
IPA President Ian Priest introduces the fourth chapter of his ADAPT agenda with a look at how the industry can attain win-win performance in client/agency relationships by moving towards less time based and more value/risk-based remuneration models. This presentation was shown at the IPA's Performance Adaptathon in London on 8th JUly 2014. Find out more at www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/performance and join in the conversation on Twitter using #ipadapt.
Pernod Ricard CMO Martin Riley on the future of effective partnerships from t...The_IPA
Martin Riley, Pernod Ricard CMO and President of The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) looks at the future of effective partnerships from the client's side. He believes Creativity, Challenge, Connected (to business), Continuity and Culture key for clients with Communication, Creativity, Craft, Contribution (to business) and Committment key for agencies. This presentation was shown at the IPA's Performance Adaptathon on 8th July 2014 in London. Find out more on our website www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/performance and join in the conversation on Twitter using #ipadapt.
Tim Williams on how North American agencies are transforming their approach t...The_IPA
Ignition Consulting Group Founder Tim Williams reveals how some North American agencies are transforming their approach to compensation using fixed, variable and dynamic price models. This presentation was shown at the IPA's Performance Adaptathon in London on 8th July 2014. Find out more at www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/performance and get involved in the conversation on Twitter #ipadapt.
Big Data and Analytics: The IBM PerspectiveThe_IPA
Gareth Mitchell-Jones, Associate Partner Big Data & Analytics at IBM, shares his thoughts on the hot topic of Big Data from his unique perspective at an IPA 44 Club event in London. To learn more about The IPA visit www.ipa.co.uk and The 44 Club here http://www.ipa.co.uk/groups/44-club-2
How media agencies solve the big data revolutionThe_IPA
George Maynard, Group Head of DataScience at Annalect, shares his thoughts on how media agencies are coping with the big data revolution at an IPA 44 Club event in London. To learn more about The IPA visit www.ipa.co.uk and The 44 Club here www.ipa.co.uk/groups/44-club-2
VCCP Kin Production Director Chris Chaundler - Sustaining brand conversationThe_IPA
VCCP Kin Production Director Chris Chaundler's presentation from the Agile Creative AdaptLab at The IPA's Agility Adaptathon in London where he looks at how to sustain brand conversation 24-7 in an always on world. Learn more about Agility www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/agility & on Twitter #ipadapt
Victors & Spoils CEO John Winsor - Crowd sourcing in the USAThe_IPA
Victors & Spoils CEO John Winsor's presentation from the Agile Creative AdaptLab at The IPA's Agility Adaptathon in London where he covers the latest crowd sourcing ideas and advertising creativity from the USA. Learn more about Agility www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/agility & on Twitter #ipadapt
AppNexus VP Sales EMEA Nigel Gilbert's presentation from the Agile Media AdaptLab at The IPA's Agility Adaptathon in London where he talks about the demand side platform (DSP) from the client perspective. Learn more about Agility here www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/agility & on Twitter #ipadapt
Xaxis CEO Caspar Schlickum - Programmatic media buyingThe_IPA
Xaxis CEO Caspar Schlickum's presentation from the Agile Media AdaptLab at The IPA's Agility Adaptathon in London where he introduces programmatic media buying and real-time bidding from a trading desk perspective. Learn more about Agility www.ipa.co.uk/adapt/agility & Twitter #ipadapt
Normal Labour/ Stages of Labour/ Mechanism of LabourWasim Ak
Normal labor is also termed spontaneous labor, defined as the natural physiological process through which the fetus, placenta, and membranes are expelled from the uterus through the birth canal at term (37 to 42 weeks
A workshop hosted by the South African Journal of Science aimed at postgraduate students and early career researchers with little or no experience in writing and publishing journal articles.
This slide is special for master students (MIBS & MIFB) in UUM. Also useful for readers who are interested in the topic of contemporary Islamic banking.
Safalta Digital marketing institute in Noida, provide complete applications that encompass a huge range of virtual advertising and marketing additives, which includes search engine optimization, virtual communication advertising, pay-per-click on marketing, content material advertising, internet analytics, and greater. These university courses are designed for students who possess a comprehensive understanding of virtual marketing strategies and attributes.Safalta Digital Marketing Institute in Noida is a first choice for young individuals or students who are looking to start their careers in the field of digital advertising. The institute gives specialized courses designed and certification.
for beginners, providing thorough training in areas such as SEO, digital communication marketing, and PPC training in Noida. After finishing the program, students receive the certifications recognised by top different universitie, setting a strong foundation for a successful career in digital marketing.
This presentation includes basic of PCOS their pathology and treatment and also Ayurveda correlation of PCOS and Ayurvedic line of treatment mentioned in classics.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Executive Directors Chat Leveraging AI for Diversity, Equity, and InclusionTechSoup
Let’s explore the intersection of technology and equity in the final session of our DEI series. Discover how AI tools, like ChatGPT, can be used to support and enhance your nonprofit's DEI initiatives. Participants will gain insights into practical AI applications and get tips for leveraging technology to advance their DEI goals.
MATATAG CURRICULUM: ASSESSING THE READINESS OF ELEM. PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS I...NelTorrente
In this research, it concludes that while the readiness of teachers in Caloocan City to implement the MATATAG Curriculum is generally positive, targeted efforts in professional development, resource distribution, support networks, and comprehensive preparation can address the existing gaps and ensure successful curriculum implementation.
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty, In...Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty,
International FDP on Fundamentals of Research in Social Sciences
at Integral University, Lucknow, 06.06.2024
By Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
How to Build a Module in Odoo 17 Using the Scaffold MethodCeline George
Odoo provides an option for creating a module by using a single line command. By using this command the user can make a whole structure of a module. It is very easy for a beginner to make a module. There is no need to make each file manually. This slide will show how to create a module using the scaffold method.
The simplified electron and muon model, Oscillating Spacetime: The Foundation...RitikBhardwaj56
Discover the Simplified Electron and Muon Model: A New Wave-Based Approach to Understanding Particles delves into a groundbreaking theory that presents electrons and muons as rotating soliton waves within oscillating spacetime. Geared towards students, researchers, and science buffs, this book breaks down complex ideas into simple explanations. It covers topics such as electron waves, temporal dynamics, and the implications of this model on particle physics. With clear illustrations and easy-to-follow explanations, readers will gain a new outlook on the universe's fundamental nature.
8. Barriers to learning
Action
Outcome
•Insufficient data
•Inaccessible data
•Misleading data
Reflection
Planning
•Pressure for action
•Denial of problem
•Panic, blame, ‘movi
ng on’
Theory
•Taboos and traditions
•Conformity, authority
•Undiscussable subjects
9. Barriers to learning
Action
Outcome
•Insufficient data
•Inaccessible data
•Misleading data
Reflection
Planning
•Planning without new
ideas = futile
•Focus on detail to
show ‘control’
•Risk aversion procrastination
•Pressure for action
•Denial of problem
•Panic, blame, ‘movi
ng on’
Theory
•Taboos and traditions
•Conformity, authority
•Undiscussable subjects
10. What drives our actions?
(Often implicit)
Goals
Values
Deep assumptions/
Mental models
Actions
Adapted from
Torbert, Senge
11. Single and Double Loop Learning
Goals
Values
Assumptions
Action
Outcome
Reflection
Planning
Theory
Adapted from
Argyris & Schon,
Kolb, Torbert
12. Possible ‘double loop’ inquiries
•
•
•
•
Have we set the right goals?
Are we using the right measurements?
What are our models of how advertising works?
Are our processes delivering the learning we
need?
• What barriers exist to productive learning in our
organisation?
• What skills or resources should we invest in?
13. Recommendations
• Shift focus from ‘Measurement/Accountability’ to
‘Learning/Performance Improvement’
• Address systems and structures needed for
this, e.g.
–
–
–
–
Data/knowledge management
Roles and responsibilities
Timely and frequent cycles of action learning
Reward open dialogue and learning from results
• Apply double loop learning to examine goals and
action strategies....
Editor's Notes
A v simple example. Starting the lawnmower.Action – outcome. Pull string, nothing happens.Do you go on pulling the string? Up to a point. But then it would be crazy.So you stop and think, maybe talk it over with someone who knows about mowers or has tried. This process comes up with various theories. You might decide the most common theory is its out of petrol.So you change yr plan. Instead of pulling the string a few more times, you check the petrol. Then you get some and put it in. Then you pull the string again.And it either works or it doesn’t. You’ve learnt something about the mower and how to deal with it.
This example is banal but it will serve to introduce David Kolb’s learning cycle.A very helpful concept for me in planning learning of any sort.For learning to take place, you need to keep moving around the whole cycle.Just action isn’t learning. Neither is theory, neither is planning. They need to be joined up.
In both these examples, just repeating the action doesn’t lead to change or learning. If we do not pass through all stages of the cycle, no learning takes place. Or at best we will be like Peter Cook....There’s a deep truth in this. Just doing the same thing over again does not lead to improvement (unless, just possibly, it was perfect to begin with). Someone asked Ashkenazy his secret and he said I do not practice wrong notes. If we do not apply the learning cycle to what we do we are, in effect, practising wrong notes.
So why don’t we all do this all the time? Applied to the organisation, it’s not so simple. I want now to explore some of the behaviours that frequently create barriers to learning – and not all these are easy to change. Some are even, unwittingly, created by management. Yet these are the issues we need to work on if we want to improve the quality of learning in this field. I’ll suggest some of the barriers which, based on my own experiences, inhibit organisations from moving around this cycle.First of all, our ability to learn is hindered if we aren’t clear what the outcomes of our actions are. This of course places measurement back in the spotlight. And I think it is never sufficiently recognised that one of the main barriers to learning in advertising effectiveness is simply that the data we need isn’t available.Sometimes it doesn’t exist. Frequently, it doesn’t exist over a long enough timescale. Or it exists but it is not practically available. These are issues not just of research but of knowledge management – how is information recorded, stored and shared.Or we have data which we assume measure the right outcomes, but may not. These data can be obviously misleading. This also raises the important question of how we define the outcomes we wanted in the first place – but more of that in a moment.
Suppose we have data that are, if not perfect, at least adequate for some sense making. What barriers in the organization can compromise our ability to make sense of them?One common factor is the pressure for action, for closure, for a quick decision. Much of the daily rhetoric of management rewards concepts like ‘action-oriented’ or ‘decisive’ , and devalues reflection or theory. Therefore time and resource will not be devoted to this stage, and indeed people may be effectively prevented from offering points of view which conflict with the simple drive to closure.A different dimension is created by the pressure for managers to report success in order to continue to proceed with their plans. This leads to a collective desire to deny or disguise outcomes which don’t match the goals that have been set. If this persists, eventually there comes a point where the real situation can no longer be avoided. By this time it may have become a crisis. The response by senior management is likely to be panic, scapegoating, punishment, and then quickly ‘moving on’ – there may be embarrassment and rhetoric of ‘looking to the future, not the past’, therfore not the proper analysis of what happened which will allow learning to take place
Even when proper reflection is allowed to take place, however, it may well hit another set of problems when the analysis of the situation starts to come up with alternative theories to explain what may be going wrong. In most organisations there are views which cannot be openly expressed. There are traditions of ‘how we do things’ which carry corresponding taboos. Individuals are highly susceptible to the pressures of conformity and received authority. Saying the unsayable will often lead to being treated as if you had gone mad. Accordingly there are subjects which for practical purposes become undiscussable.In my experience, attempts to discuss how advertising works often fall into this category.
If reflection and theory have been allowed to take place, it’s possible to make plans which offer a real alternative and therefore the possibility to try something new. But without these prior stages, plans will merely repeat what has been tried before – a futile process. Planning, however, will take place – in the absence of new ideas it may well focus on issues of largely irrelevant detail in order to create the illusion that much hard thinking and control is being put in.Finally, the culture of risk aversion – of not being allowed to fail, or even to ‘sub-optimise’ creates an impossible pressure which is often resolved by procrastination. Meetings, analyisis, speculation and argument are prolonged indefinitely but also pointlessly because no real learning has taken place.This is paradoxically the opposite outcome to the ‘pressure for action’ which I mentioned earlier and yet many teams manage to live with these contradictory pressures at the same time. Projects are simultaneously urgent and yet delayed by unresolvable debate. The result is usually a lot of stress but little learning.
I want to talk about one more important idea before I stop. I’ve not considered yet why we behave the way we do in the first place. Our actions are very rarely random – they are usually logical and goal related. However we may not even be conscious of what goals and what logics we are using in out habitual behaviours, until we stop and examine them – and this is not always easy.Let’s assume then that if our actions are not completely random, they are driven by goals, values, and assumptions – sometimes also called ‘mental models’ – which in many cases are not explicit (and therefore we are often unaware of them).
Let us now add this box to the learning cycle diagram. It should become clear that if we engage in a process of reflection and theorising, we open up the possibility f not merely changing our actions, but of changing the goals, values, and assumptions that underlie these actions. Indeed, if we don’t make explicit and challenge these goals values and assumptions our actions are unlikely to change in ways that will go beyond them.And if we can consider changing our goals, then that will also change the sense we make of the outcomes we observe, of which outcomes we pay attention to, and the expectation gap between our goals and our outcomes.I have adapted this idea from Chris A and Donald S. Who have invented the names single loop and double loop learning.
you will realise I am predominantly in the theory quadrant right now, and I make no apology for that – Theory is a liberating force when it is treated as part of a learning cycle. As Kurt Lewin said, there is nothing as practical as a good theory. So what might this mean for organisations in the context of advertising practice? I would suggest that single loop learning would be the process of studying results, in order to adapt strategies and executions and media plans. It’s not always well done, but it is a familiar concept. Double loop inquiries would however be about challenging some of the assumptions and habitual processes which are used in that single loop learning. For instance, it might involve questions like:
I will conclude with three general recommendations. They are easier said than done because they are organisational issues which may be deep rooted in culture, powerstructures, espoused belief systems and so on. But any company that genuinely wants to improve the quality of its advertising outcomes might consider working on them.Thank you.