2009 Training Trends Workshop

Recently, our client posed an interesting puzzle to us. Could SP provide a program that presented the most current education trends, and could we also provide a team building opportunity? Both ideas are good for full length workshops, but the client had a need to complete the program in a morning. We wanted to avoid the usual boring program format of participants sitting through a long lecture of statistical trends and training minutiae.



Keeping with our mantra about presenting interactive programs, we added a twist; let the participants do the trending, and then compare their results with our findings. The result was an enjoyable, involving, and interactive experience. the most important factor for the success of the mix was a fun group of participants who really put themselves into the role plays.





On a side note: We also played with an estimating icebreaker. The groups estimated the number jelly beans in a giant container. The winning group took home the beans, after generously sharing them with the other groups. Proving the statisticians right, we found that putting every one's guesses together resulted in an answer that was only 70 beans away from the exact number. A nice illustration for team work. You might ask how we knew the exact number...other than saying it involved an ISD process, it's a trade secret.