CorpU Weekly Digest: Social Learning (2012-May-21)

Topics: Social Learning

Here are this past week's headlines in social learning: 

• In a world where the playing field keeps changing, innovation policy and practice must constantly adapt to stay in the game. And this is best achieved through collaboration. ; 
• Books: Leadership Isn't For Cowards: How to Drive Performance by Challenging People and Confronting Problems and Timeless Leadership: 18 Leadership Sutras from the Bhagavad Gita ; 
• Webinars ; 
• Conferences

 In a world where the playing field keeps changing, innovation policy and practice must constantly adapt to stay in the game. And this is best achieved through collaboration.
Many firms realize this and have adapted their innovation processes accordingly. Procter & Gamble's R&D department, for example, now sources half of all ideas from outside the company, while Apple, with its apps, has been a pioneer in putting the consumer at the center of the innovation process. Increased global integration, through Web 2.0 and social media tools, has accelerated the uptake of distributed networks of practice across international R&D sites. Yet there remains a persistent lack of understanding of local differences. The idea of sustaining innovation is particularly relevant in the wake of the global financial crisis, which has served as a timely reminder that success, especially the fast-buck variety, rarely, if ever, lasts forever. The good news is that more and more companies are seeking to sustain innovation, resulting in enduring competitiveness and value creation. They are upholding values that provide better ways of doing things over the long term. However, continuous value creation cannot be sustained if some stakeholders are winning at the expense of others. This suggests that a multilayered approach to sustainability, in which responsibility and competitiveness are closely linked, can lead to more innovation. Read the IESE review on "Collaboration: The Key to Making Innovation Last"

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 The Business of Learning: New Major Products, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

No major news in mergers, acquisitions, or product releases.

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 Books To Read

In the book Leadership Isn't For Cowards (to be released June 26, 2012), leadership development consultant Mike Staver offers straightforward steps to leading courageously and practical tips for driving performance. As Stave sees it, courageous leadership means toughening your approach by being rigorous in the application of your values through the company culture. It means confronting and challenging people, and not letting them get away with being less than you know they can be. The book covers the development path to vuild the six components of courageous leadership: (1) Accept Your Current Circumstances, (2) Take Responsibility, (3) Take Action, (4) Acknowledge Progress, (5) Commit to Lifelong Learning, and (6) Kindle Relationships. The six components build off of many common approaches to leadership development, but the focus on personal commitment to self-awareness and learning is one that often does not get the same pride of place as others. His text offers manageable steps to develop these components, like: (1) Identify the area in your business or life where a gap exists between your current reality and your desired reality; (2) Align yourself with a person or a group of people who can commit to holding you accountable for closing the gap; and (3) Make a specific commitment to the outcome(s) you want and assign dates to them. With courageous leadership, you'll create a culture and a mindset that encourages and demands personal excellence of oneself and those who would follow. Some good points in here, and some thoughtful anecdotes. Buy now

Although it was written well over two thousand years ago, the Bhagavad Gita ("Song of God"), a revered Hindu religious text, contains an immense wealth of ageless wisdom that speaks directly to the needs of today's business leaders. Timeless Leadership (to be released July 31, 2012) takes this unlikely resource and teases out important lessons on 18 aspects of leadership, from commercial vision to motivation, decision-making, and planning. Looking in detail at what the Gita has to say about these and other issues of interest to business professionals, Timeless Leadership focuses on one central point: that once the basic thought process of man is improved, the quality of his actions will improve as well, leading to better results. In an era of global organizations in which cultural intelligence is a premium, this text may be a good way to help introduce the concepts into your leadership development programs. Buy Now

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 Webinars 

Copyright Basics for Online Presentations 
Date: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 2pm ET
Presenter: Joe Leone, Partner in the law firm DeWitt Ross & Stevens (Madison, WI) Register now

Techtonic Shift in HR technology (Online Conference)
Date: Tuesday - Wednesday, June 5 and 6, 2012
Presenter: Jason Averbook (Knowledge Infusion) and Naomi Bloom (Bloom and Wallace) Register now

Gamify Your Training: Use Gamification to Increase Employee Engagement and Improve Feedback
Date: Thursday, August 2, 2012, 1pm ET
Presenter: Greg Greunke, President, Tuzooni & Greunke Register now

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 Conferences

Social Recruiting Strategies Conference
Date: May 22-25, 2012
Location: Chicago, IL, USA Register now

National Institute on the Assessment of Adult Learning
Date: June 6-8, 2012
Location: Atlantic City, NJ, USA Register now

2012 International Conference on Knowledge and Education Technology
Date: June 7-8, 2012
Location: Paris, France Register now

Leading Across Generations: Workforce Challenges and Opportunities
Date: June 13-15, 2012
Location: Berlin, Germany Register now

The Talent Management Summit
Date: June 14, 2012
Location: London, UK Register now

Gamification Summit
Date: June 19-21, 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Register now

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