The Allegories Blog

As a subject matter expert (SME), you have knowledge that the sales force needs to access, but the challenge is sharing information with the sales force that’s both timely and relevant.  When things change–market conditions, competitive pressures, regulatory changes, etc.–a long treatise will go unread, and a professionally produced document or video will take too long to make.  Agile content–typically short, to-the-point videos (think YouTube, not Hollywood)–will often get the information out the most quickly and engage your audience most effectively. But how do you create and share agile video content the... Continue Reading

Though we’re not always conscious of it, we benefit from informal learning every day—in our homes, workplaces and on the road.  Informal learning is driven by mobile devices. For example: while on vacation we check out Yelp to find the right restaurant. Or, if the kitchen faucet starts leaking before guests arrive, we consult YouTube for fast tips on how to fix it. This is how learning and readiness in our lives outside of work feels: it’s peer-driven, it happens just in the nick of time, and it feels totally informal. But... Continue Reading

This article originally appeared on hbr.org. Authors: Julia Milner and Trenton Milner Julia Milner is a professor in leadership, academic director of the Global MBA program at EDHEC Business School in France and an honorary professorial fellow with the Sydney Business School in Australia. Trenton Milner is the general manager of the International Centre for Leadership Coaching. Are you successful at coaching your employees? Many managers tend to think they’re coaching when they’re actually just telling their employees what to do. This is hardly an effective way to motivate people and help... Continue Reading

In a previous post we took a closer look at thinking holistically about employee development and embracing the informal learning activities people not only prefer but seek out on their own. Any strategy that ignores this 90% of professional learning already taking place outside the confines of structured learning programs is missing a tremendous opportunity to elevate sales rep performance across the most critical metrics. But change is still often scary, even when accepted as the right path forward.  So, let’s take a stab at alleviating the two most common fears. #1... Continue Reading