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I'm so glad our state capitol isn't "Pigs-Eye"

By Denise Gamble on March 8, 2010 4:36 PM | 5 Comments

What's in a name? Apparently motivation, interest, application, and all sorts of other good things.

How do you "sell" your workshops to internal staff? A lot of it has to do with the name of the training. Is it a dry descriptor (Email Basics), or a snappy eye-catcher (Collaborating with Others using Microsoft Word)?

It is not just the title that matters, if they continue reading, potential participants want to know that the workshop contains useful application, relevance, and is content-rich. Staff will want to sign up for a session that sounds interesting, engaging, perhaps even (gasp!) fun.

I know this isn't rocket science (is rocket science even rocket science?), and, at the same time, I feel like a need a major algorithm to attract people to our workshops.

"You like me! You really like me!"

By Denise Gamble on December 11, 2009 7:21 PM | No Comments


...*clutches her Oscar (r)*....

We had the Emerging Tech Expo. We were expecting about 70-100 staff members to show up - we ended up with 180! (If you build it, they will come, indeed!)

Here's a link to the TExpo blog: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/emergingtexpoblog/

Check out the short video of the event.

And now, for my next trick...

By Denise Gamble on December 11, 2009 3:12 PM | No Comments

My colleague, let's call her "Intrepid Skills Trainer," and I worked on the 2010 workshop schedule yesterday. It will be a busy year. Here is a partial list of what we plan on offering:

  • Windows 7
  • Project Management - Fundamentals (2 day); Advanced (2 day)(new)
  • Google Apps, gmail, etc. - in concert with Office of Information Technology
  • File Management
  • Thunderbird - possibly, depending on google rollout dates
  • UMCal
  • Excel 2007 - multiple offerings including: Overview (new); Tables; Pivot Tables; Charts (new);
  • Word 2007 - multiple including: Overview; Collaborating; Mail Merges (new)
  • PowerPoint 2007 - Overview, and Punching Up PowerPoint Presentations (new)
    • (tentative title... probably needs more "P"s in it)
  • Wiki - Beginning and Intermediate
  • Effective Email Communication
  • Power of Positive Feedback
  • Risk Taking: Using Data and Intuition (formerly "How to Fail")
  • Effective Meetings
  • Managing Change
  • Training Others: One-on-One
  • Additional Office of Human Resources (OHR) workshops
  • Libraries Communications (tentative, in partnership with Communications Dept.)
  • More, more, more that I just haven't thought of or haven't yet witten down!

I guess I'd better get a move on....

Failure IS an Option

By Denise Gamble on May 13, 2009 11:45 AM | 2 Comments | No TrackBacks

I created a workshop called "How to Fail." I facilitated it last year and the evaluations were positive. Basically, it looks at how failure is a necessary part of learning, creativity, and progress. If you aren't occasionally falling flat on your face, you probably aren't stretching yourself hard enough to experience the many lessons life has to offer.

If an organization can embrace failure - even encourage failure - it would go a long way toward breaking down the stifling, lackluster, and change-averse cultures of blame and mistrust.

The other day I engaged in a hearty round of failure. It was neither awe-inspiring nor invigorating. It was awful.

Continue reading Failure IS an Option.

Yankee Doodle

By Denise Gamble on April 8, 2009 9:41 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

"What do you wanna do?"
"I dunno. What do you wanna do?"
"Doesn't matter. You decide."
"Okay, how about a movie?"
"Naw."
"Oh, I know! Bowling!?"
"No, I'm really not in the mood for that."
"Well, what are you in the mood for?"
"I dunno. Whatever you wanna do, I guess."

Continue reading Yankee Doodle.
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