Workshop Methodology

Our approach is to structure the workshops to meet the specific requirements of our clients. We don't just teach skills, we actively demonstrate how to apply the concepts and skills to the participant's specific business environment. We bring the everyday problems and business issues managers and employees face into our workshop environment. Here, we use them as living examples of how to translate theory and skills into specific actions which benefit individuals and organizations. We actively engage participants in discussions on how concepts and skills apply to there business and personal environments. Participants also learn much from each other. Frequently we ask participants to develop, in the workshop, specific plans and actions which they can implement in their work environment. Often, this information is shared with the entire workshop group.

Here, we describe both our Design and Implementation methodologies. The objective of both is to make a difference for individuals and organizations. After attending a workshop, we don't want participants to go back to the workplace and do what they always did before. We want them to implement new actions and behaviors which we introduced. We put them in the strongest position for success.

Workshop content and structure is a collaborative effort of Dr. N. Elizabeth Fried, President of N. E. Fried and Associates, Inc. and Steven E. Frohman, President of ASI. Both individuals have strong corporate backgrounds. Additionally, Dr Fried has done research to truly understand the actual, meaningful effects of corporate training programs.

Workshop Design - The Content

Customized Content

The content of each session is designed to meet the specific needs of your business. Proven methodologies are used to present the material and engage the participants in a manner that results in learning and causes follow-on action to occur. The individual agendas are designed to build on the experience of participants. The agendas strongly consider the need for businesses to manage change and turn it into a competitive advantage. We focus on the skills, behaviors, and actions required to successfully carry out change, foster continuous improvement, and make progress toward achieving the vision. Directions, such as employee involvement and being customer-driven, are an integral part of workshop design.

Integrated Curriculum

Workshops are fully integrated. They build on the content of each other to provide you a cohesive focus leading to the desired outcomes. We ensure that the skills and behaviors introduced align with your goals. These common interest areas provide opportunity for individuals to put into action what they learn in the workshops. As thoughts, ideas, and strategies are introduced, they are related to participant’s requirements through general and individual team discussions. Actual work products are produced in the workshop by participants. These work products are designed to give participants direction and to help them implement what is learned in the workshop environment.

Individual and Group Activities

The workshops are also designed to allow participants to express their views and introduce ideas and suggestions. We foster an environment that promotes learning from each others’ experiences. One technique we implement allows participants to apply what is learned in the workshop through brainstorming sessions, where individuals and teams develop ideas and generate action-item plans to be evaluated later.

Action-Oriented

At the conclusion of each major topic area within the workshop, a "Great Ideas for Action" brainstorming activity is conducted. The objective of this activity is to identify actions that participants feel should happen when they return to their work environments. We begin this activity by asking each participant to give thought to the following question: "Based on the topic that was just presented, the examples referenced, and the workshop discussion, what changes do you think should be made in your organization?" The participants are asked to record their ideas in their personal journal. After we give the group a few minutes to develop and record their thoughts, they are asked to share their thoughts with the rest of the team at their table.

Leading You to Self-sufficiency

Inherent in our approach is a strategy that assists your organization in becoming self-sufficient in many key areas. Our approach is to provide participants with methodologies and implementation strategies that allow them to lead and to support such key activities as process management, facilitation, teamwork, strategic planning, employee participation, leadership, and more. During the workshop, we also focus on skills transfer activities with participants.

Workshop Implementation - The Environment

Workshop Execution

Each workshop is carried out as a carefully orchestrated event. We pay attention to the details with the objective of not only creating a productive learning environment but also creating a exciting experience for the participants. We create energy, momentum, and enthusiasm. We engage attendees in activities that cause everyone to participate and that afford them the opportunity to contribute and make a difference. We continually build on the knowledge and experiences of participants to complement the workshop content and make the experience "real" for those involved. We leave participants with specific thoughts and ideas for actions that they can implement after the workshop.

Throughout all interactions we practice leadership, teamwork, empowerment, employee involvement, continuous improvement, and customer-focus. We emphasize all skills and behaviors associated with organizational and individual success as we go through every module of each workshop. There is a high level of continuity and consistency within any given workshop and between workshops.

We suggest casual attire for most of the workshops. You should plan to cater lunch and coffee and soda breaks. Appropriate music is used frequently during breaks and during selected workshop activities. We create an overall environment that gives participants both the opportunity and methods to grow professionally and personally.

Room Setup - Creating a Team Environment

One of our objectives is to use the workshop environment to its fullest advantage. We want to establish individual and team working relationships that will continue and grow after the conclusion of the workshops and throughout the strategic planning, process management, and other team activities. To accomplish this, we organize the room in table groups by teams. Each table group normally has from six to ten people. Organization may differ for each type of workshop.

Use of Videos

Throughout the workshops we make use of video clips. The objective of the video clips is to show vivid examples of how the topics discussed in the workshop actually work in both the business and personal environment. The length of each video clip varies from two to twelve minutes. We find that these tend to be very meaningful from the standpoint of reinforcing learning points, as well as highly entertaining for the participants.

Inherent in the design of our workshops are several video clips by nationally recognized individuals that focus on specific examples. We also make use of other recognizable videos that clearly highlight learning points. Workshops typically include video clips from the following sources:

• Tom Peters
• Joel Barker
• Warren Bennis
• The television series, "Murphy Brown"
• The television series, "I Love Lucy"
• . . . and others.

License fees and other costs associated with the use of this material are paid by ASI and included in the workshop prices.

Facility and Logistical Requirements

We ask that the following be provided by your organization:

Meeting Facility - Workshops require a rather large room allowing for seating by team. Additional space is required for activities. The room should not be scheduled for use by others the evening prior to the workshop. Room setup is by your personnel. The facility should be set up the afternoon before the meeting.

Enrollment Coordination – Participant attendance should be confirmed with participants by your enrollment coordinator. ASI will provide a sample confirmation letter.

Other items as follows:

• Tent cards with participant’s name preprinted

• Reproduction of participant material from master copy provided by ASI

• Note pad and pencil for each participant

• One flip chart stand, paper, and markers for each table group

• Standard VCR player and LCD projector or equivalent

• Overhead projector

• Large projection screen

Suggested Catering:

• Catered/box lunch in the workshop

• Coffee, orange juice, and muffins, bagels available before class each day

• Coffee and tea available for the morning break

• Soda, cookies, and fruit available for the mid-afternoon break

Activity-Based Learning

Our workshops take advantage of activity-based learning. Activity-based learning occurs when individuals engage in an activity, evaluate the experience, extract useful insights, and identify how to apply these insights in their jobs on a day-to-day basis. Actions need to happen for any organization to achieve its vision and objectives. Often, the required actions are different from those that were previously required. Activity-based learning is used to help the participants identify the new behaviors, based on workshop activities, and translate this experience into meaningful actions that they can perform when they return to the work place. The four stages of activity-based learning are:

Let's look at how each stage will be addressed in your workshop.

1. Experience: Participants do a team or group activity. For example, they put together a puzzle or build a tower with blocks under conditions that simulate a work situation. This experience provides information about what the individuals and teams do, think, and feel in a particular situation.

2. Observations: Participants reflect on and write about the activity in their journals, then discuss their observations as a team and/or in a full group debrief. The "prompt" questions at the top of each journal page combined with the facilitator's questions and observations during the debrief help focus observations on issues that relate to the workplace.

3. Insights: On the basis of their experience and observations about that experience, participants draw conclusions or formulate working principles about what works and what doesn't. For example, they may conclude, "People need to feel trusting before they will take risks." Through skillful questioning, the facilitator helps participants gain insights during the debrief of each activity.

4. Implications/Relevance: Participants focus on how they can apply these working principles in leading and managing within their organization. During the debrief, the facilitator asks about the implications and relevance of specific insights. "How can you apply this to your work environment?" "What are the implications in your organization?" After the debrief, participants are asked to develop "Great Ideas for Action" for their organizations. These ideas are recorded on charts and shared with other participants.

Activity-Based Learning – How It’s Different

There are some important distinctions between activity-based learning, traditional education, and training. In traditional education, the student learns and the teacher transmits knowledge. The teacher is the expert, the student the novice. The focus is usually on the what and the why of the subject. In more traditional training, the focus is usually on the practical application of knowledge. The trainer is the expert who passes along techniques and skills to the trainee. The trainee is often familiar with the what and the why, but needs to learn the how.

Activity-based learning is significantly different from traditional education and training. Here's how:

• Organized around experience. Through a high degree of participation, direct "hands on" experience provides the data for powerful learning. These experiences have been called "serious play," based on the premise that this type of learning can be fun.

• Learner-based, rather than teacher-based. Activity-based learning starts with the experience the learner is having and goes at the learner's pace, with latitude for unplanned but relevant material.

• Personal, not impersonal in nature. The feelings, values, and perceptions are as important as the subject being studied.

• Process- and product-oriented. How the learner arrives at the conclusion or answer is as important as what that conclusion or answer is.

• Emphasis on holistic understanding. The integrated "complexity" of the situation is stressed over the simple, fragmented understanding.

• Perception-based rather than knowledge-based. Emphasis is on the learner's ability to justify or explain a subject, rather than recite an expert's testimony.

• Individual-based rather than group-based. Emphasis is on individual progress, rather than competition or comparison with other participants, classes or expected outcomes.

• Self-directed evaluation. Learners participate in their own evaluation, hence there's an emphasis on personal responsibility.