Training Program Implementation

Something remarkable happened when we started bringing Customer Success leaders into our sales conversations. The traditional sales process transformed into a strategic partnership discussion that benefited everyone involved. After implementing this approach across hundreds of deals, we discovered benefits that went far beyond our initial expectations. Sales teams gained a deeper understanding of post-implementation challenges, which helped them qualify opportunities more effectively. Instead of focusing solely on closing deals, they began asking questions about operational readiness, internal champions, and resource allocation. Prospects received authentic insights into what successful implementation truly requires. Our CS leaders shared real examples of customers who thrived and openly discussed common obstacles they might face. This transparency built trust and helped prospects make informed decisions. Better aligned customer expectations from day one. When CS leaders joined these conversations, they highlighted potential roadblocks and success metrics based on similar customer profiles. This practical guidance helped prospects understand the work required to achieve their desired outcomes. This early involvement proved invaluable for our CS team. They gained visibility into the customer's vision before contracts were signed, allowing them to proactively plan resources and create tailored onboarding strategies. A surprising result was the reduction in "rescue" situations during implementation. We eliminated many issues that typically surfaced months into the relationship by addressing potential challenges during sales discussions. The data supported our approach. Deals that included CS leaders showed 40% higher implementation success rates and 25% faster time-to-value. More importantly, these customers renewed at significantly higher rates. For those considering this approach, start small. Choose strategic opportunities where CS insights could substantially impact the prospect's decision-making process. Document the outcomes and refine your strategy based on that feedback. Great customer relationships begin with the very first conversation.

You get your dream job as a People and Culture lead in an organisation, what next? Follow BELOVD Agency first 90 days plan to maximise your impact in your new role. Weeks 1-2: Orientation & Immersion 1. Familiarise Yourself with the Organisation: Understand its history, values, mission, and current state of the team and efforts to build a healthy culture. 2. Meet Key Stakeholders: Schedule meetings with executives, team leads, and HR personnel. 3. Gather Data: Collect existing data on employee demographics, past DEI initiatives, training sessions, etc. 4. Set Expectations: Clarify your role, objectives, and what support/resources you will need. Weeks 3-4: Listening & Learning 1. Conduct DEI Surveys: If there isn't recent data available, distribute anonymous surveys to gather employee insights on the current DEI environment. 2. Host Focus Groups: Segment by departments, roles, or demographic groups, and listen to their culture-related experiences and suggestions. 3. Review Policies & Procedures: Look for potential biases in hiring, promotion, compensation, and other HR processes. Weeks 5-6: Analysis & Initial Feedback 1. Analyse Data: Understand the current state of DEI in the company using quantitative (from surveys) and qualitative (from focus groups) insights. 2. Identify Pain Points: Highlight areas of concern and opportunity. 3. Present Initial Findings: Share preliminary findings with senior leadership, ensuring transparency. Weeks 7-8: Strategy Development 1. Define DEI Vision & Objectives: Outline what DEI success looks like for the firm. 2. Develop an Action Plan: Prioritise initiatives based on impact and feasibility. 3. Engage Allies: Identify DEI champions within the firm to assist in driving initiatives forward. 4. Seek External Partnerships: Consider collaborations with NGOs, industry groups, or external DEI experts. Weeks 9-10: Implementation & Initial Training 1. Initiate Pilot Programs: Test out key initiatives in select departments or regions. 2. Roll Out DEI Training: This can be in the form of workshops, webinars, or e-learning modules. 3. Establish Reporting Mechanisms: Ensure there's a process for employees to safely report any DEI-related concerns. Weeks 11-12: Review & Adjust 1. Gather Feedback: Understand the initial impact of your strategies and what might need to be refined. 2. Adjust Strategy: Modify your action plan based on feedback. 3. Plan Next Steps: This could involve scaling pilot programs, further training, or launching new initiatives. Is there anything you would add?

As startups scale, effective sales implementation becomes the difference between stagnation and sustainable growth. After analyzing hundreds of sales organizations across startups, I’ve distilled the key pieces of advice that founders and leaders should keep in mind. 1. Sales Strategy Fundamentals - Start with the right price: Establish pricing that reflects value rather than just covering costs. - Define your ICP: Clearly identify your ideal customer profile before building your sales process. - Understand sales velocity: Recognize that sales success depends on both deal size and deal frequency—optimize for predictability. Your first sales hire should generate predictable and consistent revenue, not just hunt elephants 2. Team Structure - Build a complete sales organization: Structure your team with marketing, SDR/ADRs, and account executives with clear handoffs. - Choose between top-down or bottom-up: Determine whether to pursue enterprise-led or product-led sales motion. - Invest in sales operations: Create systems that maximize selling time and minimize administrative burden. Effective sales organizations separate lead generation, qualification, and closing responsibilities 3. Pipeline Management - Calculate required pipeline coverage: Pipeline is prologue. Maintain a pipeline that’s at least 5x your bookings target. - Master lead qualification: Develop clear criteria for MQLs, SQLs, and PQLs to maintain quality. - Analyze conversion metrics: Track conversion rates at each funnel stage to identify bottlenecks. 4. Sales Process - Implement Challenger selling: Train reps to teach prospects, tailor messaging, and take control of the sale. - Map key stakeholders: Identify champions, opponents, decision-makers, and influential stakeholders. - Create a consistent demo: Develop a compelling product demonstration that clearly shows value and addresses pain points. Great salespeople don’t just ask about problems—they teach customers about problems they didn’t know they had 👉 Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/gePqUC3g

Yesterday my daughter made an observation that’s relevant to all mid-market CISOs. While speaking to her on voice call, my father-in-law struggled to switch the WhatsApp call to video to show their dog’s antics. He asked my mother-in-law to help. While on the call, my mother-in-law needed to transfer money via UPI to someone. So they had to cut the call - because my father-in-law needed to step in! My daughter came to me with this question: Two people. Same house. Same everyday things. Yet their skill levels are so different. Now, imagine this inside a company with hundreds or thousands of employees. - Some struggle to identify phishing emails - Some don’t understand the risk of weak passwords - Some click on malicious links without a second thought - Some approve payment requests based on text messages - Some download & install unauthorized software - Some share sensitive information over email without realizing - Some upload company secrets into ChatGPT for projects Yet, many CISOs run just 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤 cyber awareness simulations per year & think it’s enough. It’s not. Cyber awareness needs to be continuous, personalized & measurable. A strong cyber awareness program should: 𝟭) 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀 Phishing, smishing, vishing, and deepfake attacks that mimic what attackers actually do. 𝟮) 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 A finance executive needs different training than a new intern. 𝟯) 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 Gamification, role-based training, and bite-sized learning improve retention. 𝟰) 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 & 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 Identify employees who need extra training instead of treating everyone the same. 𝟱) 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 Cyber threats evolve daily; training should too. 𝟲) 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗻 Department-wise reports of people & the potential learning gaps Awareness is not running a simulation & calling it a day. It's the actions & the next steps: - for improvement - knowing the awareness posture of everyone - for building a culture where employees become security assets If you’re a CISO evaluating solutions that train employees further based on their actual responses, DM me. My team works with a platform designed to make cyber awareness practical, engaging & effective. -- Hi, I’m Rajeev Mamidanna. I help mid-market CISOs strengthen their Cyber Immunity.

Independent research by @60 Decibels reaffirms the positive impact of Bayer's smallholder farming initiatives on improving livelihoods!   The study captured the voices of smallholder farmers participating in our projects in India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Mexico and Honduras, with most farmers reporting increased yields, income, improved farming methods, and enhanced quality of life.   One example is the Ansal initiative in Kenya, where Bayer Vegetable Seeds offers a disease-resistant and climate-resilient tomato variety coupled with agronomic training. The results have been overwhelmingly positive:   86% of farmers experienced increased production 91% reported an increase in farming income 73% achieved better farming methods 89% reported improved quality of life   These improvements illustrate the impact of offering innovative and sustainable solutions, combined with providing training to farmers, enabling them to extract the maximum value from our products.   We continue to learn from each project and apply those lessons to achieve even better results and to fulfill our goal to support 100 million smallholder farmers by 2030.   If you’re interested in the results of the initiatives outside of Kenya visit: https://lnkd.in/ewNyePDR

If we want teachers to design learning that's real-world, meaningful and hands-on, we need to radically re-think Professional Development for teachers. Here are 3 ideas to shake-up your PD in August before school starts: #1: For real-world connection: Partner with 3-4 non-profit groups in your community. For a 1/2 day, send your teachers out. Have them volunteer with the groups. Learn what they're about and build relationships. For the 1/2 half, teachers create a presentation for their colleagues about how the organisation could be integrated into project-design, exhibition spaces or learning experiences for kids. Outcome: knowledge of local organizations combating local issues. Contact people within these organizations. Easier real-world integration learning. BONUS: Invite guests from other local community organizations during your ongoing PD over the year to give 1 hour presentations about their mission and what they do. #2: For subject-relevance: Partner with local companies that are integrating academic learning into what they do. Send your English teachers to a publishing company or the local newspaper. Send your science teachers to the bio-tech company in the next town. Send your math teachers to visit engineers. Use 1/2 the day to visit these places, talk about the real processes they use academic learning in. For the 1/2 have of the day, teachers work in their subject groups to dive deep into how their subjects can be connected to real careers in project design. Outcome: experience for how subject learning is used in content and processes outside of school. Relationships with professionals who can be experts for kids, projects that support kids to become writers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, etc. #3: For MAKING: Use what teachers have planned for the first project of the year and spend 1/2 of the day having your teachers MAKE the product they want their students to make. Want kids to make a film? Go out and make a film. Portrait drawing? Draw it. Use 1/2 of the day de-constructing the making process. What steps are necessary? What supports are necessary for kids? Use this experience to help understand better planning for Project-Based Learning. Outcome: More scaffolding for kids in the making process. Creating frames to give freedom and allowing for more student-driven work that is high-quality and integrating a "learning by doing" experience in PBL. BONUS: Make this a regular part of project planning. From the wise words of Jeffrey Robin: Do the project yourself, first. Basically, get teachers OUT. Move PD from academic learning and into experiential learning. We cannot expect teaching for kids to change unless we change how teachers are learning. Need help? Reach out. info@imagineif.dk 📸 : 2023: Lynghede School partnering with Kongernes Jelling where teachers became students and used the museum to create a whole-staff theater performance in one day. #pbl #projectbasedlearning

Want to think smarter about teacher development? Imagine it like a burger: ↓ Getting better as a teacher (or helping others to get better) is not an easy task. This is due to things like the paradox of expertise (the best teachers make it *look* easy), the knowing-doing gap, and habit inertia. To give ourselves the greatest chance of success, we must invest heavily in 'what works' when it comes to professional development (PD) and ignore almost everything else. So... what works? Instructional coaching? Learning communities? Lesson study? Well, it actually doesn’t make a lot of sense to ask whether things like instructional coaching are effective. It's like asking if a burger is healthy. It depends on what they contain. Like a burger, any PD is only as good as its *ingredients*. And so, what are the 6 essential ingredients of effective PD? If any of the following are absent, change is unlikely to happen: 1/ GET IT → Helping teachers to develop an understanding of the science of teaching and learning. 2/ SEE IT → Helping teachers to develop a bank of strategies of what the science looks like in practice. 3/ TRY IT → Engaging in rehearsal to help teachers contextualise these strategies for their subject(s), students, and selves. 4/ KEEP IT → Helping teachers to build fluency in these strategies and embed them in the routines of their work. 5/ FIT IT → Tailoring development to the contexts and needs of teachers and, where possible, their teams and schools. 6/ OWN IT → Motivating teachers to invest effort in all these processes and follow through with any commitments they make. NOTE GET IT and SEE IT can be done in either order, but both must come before TRY IT, which must come before KEEP IT. FIT IT and OWN IT should be considered before and throughout the PD experience. The 'IT' in each case refers to the content of each activity. And so, while the nature of these ingredients is generic for all teachers, their content should be specific to the subject, age range, or even culture each teacher operates in. All in all, this is how we end up building the domain-specific knowledge necessary for expert teaching. 🎓 For more, check out this systematic review and guidance report on effective professional development. https://lnkd.in/eyikK9mj SUMMARY To get better as a teacher (or help others get better), we need these 6 ‘essential ingredients’ to be present: → Understanding the science → Seeing examples of practice → Rehearsing → Building habits → Tailoring to individual needs → Securing motivation 👊

Most schools get curriculum training wrong. They spend thousands on new materials and hope a one-day PD does the trick. Here’s what usually happens: Teachers get a thick guide no one has time to read. The opening training is surface-level and rushed. By October, folks are improvising. By January, the curriculum barely resembles what was purchased. This isn’t a teacher problem. It’s a training problem. If you want your curriculum to actually drive results, here’s how to do it right: 1. Start with the Why Don’t assume buy-in. Build it. Teachers need to understand: - Why this curriculum? - What gaps will it help close? - What strengths will it build on? - How will it make the work more effective, not more complicated? 2. Prioritize Execution Over Exposure Sitting through a launch PD isn’t enough. Training should be: Ongoing: part of PLCs, coaching, and planning Practice-based: including rehearsal and feedback Modeled: leaders and coaches need to show what good looks like, which means they need to put themselves in the role of teachers and plan a lesson like a teacher would and then model it 3. Build a Strong Prep Routine No great lesson happens without preparation. Create a shared playbook: - Clear planning protocols - Exemplar lessons and student work - Expectations for lesson internalization 4. Make Collaboration the Default Teachers shouldn’t be planning alone. Schedule weekly co-planning. Pair teachers to internalize together. Review lesson execution with video and feedback. Curriculum is just a tool. Whether it works depends entirely on how you train people to use it.

Do you think you are fooling your employees about inclusion? Probably you are not. So often I see that employers seem to believe that saying how inclusive they are on social media will convince their employees that they have a great culture. The fact is, employees know when all is not well. You can’t “fool” them about inclusion, they must live it.  As organizations strive for inclusivity, navigating the plethora of diversity events and initiatives can raise awareness in a positive way, but it requires a thoughtful approach. If your tactics are about marking dates on a calendar but do not drive meaningful change, your efforts will not be effective 1️⃣ **Purposeful Engagement:** Embrace diversity days and months as opportunities for awareness and understanding. Encourage open dialogue about race, disability, gender, sexuality, and religion to dispel myths and assumptions. 2️⃣ **Go Beyond Tokenism:** Avoid superficial gestures by prioritizing internal awareness and engagement first. Celebrate achievements internally before broadcasting externally. Ensure that you share and celebrate tangible accomplishments around equity, not just celebrate diverse identities. 3️⃣ **Embed Equity &  Inclusion in Culture:** Integration is key. Embed equity & inclusion into every aspect of your organization, from recruiting to manager expectations to leadership engagement. Only by making it a 365-day commitment will it drive a culture where everyone feels valued and respected. 4️⃣ **Science-Led Monitoring:** Measure success beyond visible diversity. Seek feedback regularly including anonymous channels to provide input. Assess the impact of initiatives and identify areas for improvement. Regular data review and alignment are crucial for long-term progress. 5️⃣ **Empowerment & Leadership:** Provide genuine opportunities for staff to shape priorities and advance their careers. Foster inclusive leadership, ensuring all senior leaders are seen engaging in the work, and strive for diverse representation at all levels of the organization. By following these best practices, organizations can not only celebrate diversity but also drive real change, creating environments where everyone can thrive. #DiversityandInclusion #InclusiveCulture #DEIBestPractices Diversity North Group

DEI can learn a lot from Emergency Management (EM) But DEI can't become traditional emergency management - it has to be what EM strives to be: strategic, just, and embedded in operations and culture. DEI efforts are often approached in a reactionary way - in response to some trend, public outcry, or internal crisis. This post focuses on how to proactively operationalize plans. But keep in mind that a strategy is the foundation our plans are built upon - it is customer/client-centric and helps us choose to do somethings and not others. With planning, the organization is the focus. I learned this the hard way in my private sector career, 20+ years in federal and local government, and consulting with 100+ clients. POETE is an acronym to help build a capability - it can support more intentional action. POETE stands for: ⒈ Plan 📝: (A) Collaboratively develop plans with stakeholders (especially people closest to the work and closest to impacts); (B) Ensure plans are based on quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis disaggregated by demographic data - statistics need narratives to provide context ⒉ Organize 🧩: Build and strengthen teams and organizational structure to implement the plan - include diverse perspectives from every level of the organization ⒊ Equip 💰: Dedicate resources so teams can implement plans - dedicated position(s), budget, leadership support, and time ⒋ Train & Educate 💡: Ensure that all employees - leadership, managers, and frontline employees - have the necessary training and education to play their respective roles in implementing the plan ⒌ Exercise/Practice ☑️: Practice the newest and prioritized parts of the plan(s) to make sure people can do what is expected of them. Adjust plans, organizing, equipping, and training/education based on outcomes of practicing and practice again. At every part of this continuous transformation process, just practices are critical - HOW we do what we do is often even more important than what we do. This approach can make the implementation of your DEI vision more vibrant than you could have ever imagined.