Getting the most from attendance of workshops

I've written a blog for Future Purchasing entitled:

"How you can get the most from attending workshops". 

It was written because there are occasions when people invest 2-3 days of their time on a workshop, and have given no thought to how they will get the most from it. There's a blog next week aimed at managers, and what they can do to ensure their teams get the most from the time away from the office.

For some attendees it's as if they turn up and expect the trainer to do all the work. A bit like turning up to the gym with no idea of your goal, hoping the personal trainer will do most of the work for you, and then being disappointed with the outcome.

You have a choice use the time wisely ahead of time, or hope the trainer is a miracle worker and can get you to learn just the thing you most needed to learn.

The trainer can only take it so far to develop a workshop to support your learning and aha's, the post invites you to think about what you can do to help them, and make it a truly inspiring and valuable use of your time. It includes:

• What you can do before attending the workshop 
• What to do during the workshop
• What do afterwards

I've also written a blog entitled:

How managers can ensure their teams get the most from attending workshops. 

And addresses the same points as above but from the perspective of a manager sending their team to attend a workshop, and wanting them to get the most from the investment in time and money.

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Inspiring change - inside and out

Professional Magazines - in Pending or to Action?

There was a time in the past when the professional magazines (Speaker, Supply Management etc) would drop through the letter box and would magically make there way to the To Read pile. The problem with that, of course, was it never got read. 3, 4, ok perhaps, 7 years later I'd decide to have a tidy up and they'd end up in the bin. The intention to read them was always there but it never quite happened.

These days with the support of Social Media it seems to be easier - perhaps because it's now more than just words on a page. People, and what they have written, become alive via blogs, videos and tweets. I can ask qualifying questions and I can get replies.

Take for example last month's National Speakers Association (NSA) Speaker Magazine:

• I followed all the speakers who are on twitter who will be speaking at the forthcoming NSA Convention - I wont be there but perhaps their tweets will share some of the same hints and tips.
• I will also be following the convention hashtag #nsa12 from 14-17th July.
• I followed on twitter or facebook those people who's article had resonated with me 
• I shared with those people what I specifically liked about the article
• I started a dialogue with those who replied - who knows where that will go 
• I was inspired by Dan Thurmon's video using juggling knives as an example of how to cope with overwhelm - see also @danthurmon
• I just loved Richard Hight's art on the stage - see also @visualmpact

In the past using articles in Supply Management I've connected with people on LinkedIn and had conversations about potential work.

With my recent move into using Pinterest I even now have a place to keep favourite blog posts and inspiration videos for reference later.

If I receive the magazines to further my continuing professional development then it certainly didn't work in the past. These days I'm learning, I'm inspired and I'm taking action.

How are you using those professional magazines for your continuing professional development?

PS: It would help tremendously if those with web site makes their twitter and facebook contacts details easy to find and magazine publishers provide sufficient information in articles to find the people the article is about.

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Sowing the seeds for continuing professional development in Purchasing

Speaker Magazine picture Source: mynsa.org via Alison on Pinterest