Building Training Frameworks

The Five A’s of Lesson Planning: A Reflective Approach to Engaged Learning Five A’s model of lesson planning — Aim, Action, Analysis, Application, and Assessment. Rooted in experiential and inquiry-based learning, this framework is designed to promote active participation, critical thinking, and real-world relevance. 1. Aim🎯 Every meaningful lesson begins with a clear goal. The "Aim" defines what students should understand or be able to do by the end of the session. It answers the essential question: ➤ What do I want my students to learn? 2. Action🧪 Instead of passively receiving information, students are invited to explore, interact, or engage with the topic. This phase encourages curiosity and participation. ➤ What will they do to discover the concept? 3. Analysis 💬 Learning deepens when students pause to reflect. In this step, they make sense of their experiences, share observations, and begin to connect the dots. ➤ Why did we do it? What did we observe or find out? 4. Application 📝 To make learning stick, students are encouraged to transfer their understanding to new situations. This nurtures adaptability and problem-solving skills. ➤ Where else can we use this learning? 5. Assessment ✅ Finally, the teacher checks whether the learning objective was achieved. This could be done through discussions, written tasks, or practical demonstrations. ➤ Did they meet the learning goal? The Five A’s model goes beyond delivering content; it creates an ecosystem of discovery, dialogue, and deeper understanding. It’s especially powerful in progressive education environments that focus on 21st-century competencies like creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Whether you're a seasoned educator or a new teacher, this approach can transform how you plan, teach, and inspire. #LessonPlanning #TeachingStrategies #ExperientialLearning #InquiryBasedLearning #ActiveLearning #EducationLeadership #21stCenturySkills #TeacherTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #TeachersOfLinkedIn

Partner enablement is often thought of as how we are enabling our partners. But sales teams are the frontline of revenue, and their success often hinges on understanding the value partnerships bring. Many organizations fail to equip sales reps with the tools and training they need to make the most of partner-driven opportunities. If you want your partnerships to truly drive impact, you must tailor enablement for your sales team. Here’s how to get started: 1. Sales reps need clarity on how to integrate partnerships into their process. Make sure your training covers: * The Partner Pitch: What’s the unique value of a partner-driven lead, and how should they position it to the customer? * Co-Sell Opportunities: How do they collaborate with partners during the deal cycle? Define roles and responsibilities for seamless execution. * Engagement Process: What’s the step-by-step process for involving a partner? Whether it’s looping them in for a demo or escalating technical questions, clear guidelines prevent delays and confusion. 2. Provide Easy-to-Use Tools: Sales enablement shouldn’t feel like homework. Create resources that are quick to access and easy to use, like * Quick-Reference Guides: Summarize partner value propositions, key metrics, and FAQs in a single document. * Cheat Sheets for Objections: Offer pre-written responses to common challenges when selling partner-driven solutions. * CRM Templates: Use CRM workflows to automate the partner engagement process, keeping it simple and repeatable. 3. Integrate Training into Sales Routines Don’t overwhelm your sales team with one-off workshops. Instead, embed partnership enablement into their day-to-day routines: * Add partner updates to weekly sales meetings. * Offer bite-sized training videos or guides they can review on-demand. * Celebrate wins from partner-driven deals to reinforce the value of collaboration. 4. Pair new sales reps with a “partnership ambassador” on your team to provide hands-on guidance during their first partner-driven deals. When sales teams understand how partnerships drive value, they become powerful advocates for partner-driven growth.

Training is easy. Transformation takes design. Anyone can deliver a great-looking workshop. Slides, activities, energy all of that is important. But none of it guarantees change. Real transformation doesn’t begin in the training room. It starts much earlier in the time spent understanding what truly drives behavior on the ground. Before one of our recent interventions, we didn’t begin with content. We began with conversations diagnostic visits, listening to the people who lived that reality every day. That’s when the gaps became clear. People didn’t need more information they needed a simple way to connect features to value. So, we introduced the FABBING framework (Feature–Advantage–Benefit) and suddenly, selling wasn’t about price; it was about purpose. But we didn’t stop there. Post-session coaching helped participants practice real conversations, share wins, and build confidence one interaction at a time. That’s where the real transformation happened. Because when people start using what they’ve learned, that’s when the learning becomes real. Training changes knowledge. Design changes behavior.  What’s one element you include in your programs to move from ‘great training’ to ‘real transformation’?

A year ago I shared a framework called GROWTH™. It didn’t perform particularly well. Which is funny, because over time it’s become one of the models I rely on most when designing learning experiences. Most training programs are built as courses. But the way people actually develop capability looks very different. Progress happens across a series of experiences—practice, feedback, reflection, and iteration. In other words, it happens through a learning journey, not a single event. The GROWTH framework is a way to design those journeys more intentionally. It breaks the process into six stages: G — Goal Setting R — Research & Empathy O — Outline the Experience W — Work in Layers T — Test & Adapt H — Highlight Progress Over the past year, I revisited the framework, expanded it, and turned it into a practical guide with examples, worksheets, and a full case study on redesigning onboarding as a learning journey. I also realized something interesting. GROWTH is actually one of the foundational pieces behind another model I’ve been developing called The Academy Engine™, which focuses on building scalable learning ecosystems. If the Academy Engine explains how education systems operate, GROWTH focuses on how the learning journey itself should be designed. If you’d like the full guide and templates, you can download it below. Curious how others think about this. When you design learning, do you think in terms of courses or journeys?

One of my client's sales teams completely broke down causing the top performers to leave because of micro-management by the client instead of fixing the bigger problem. I take complete ownership for the outcome and here's what I learned from the experience. Most sales teams don’t fail because of bad leads or bad talent.... They fail because of a lack of structure, clarity, and balance. After working with multiple growing sales teams, I’ve learned that every successful sales organization is built on 9 foundational pillars 👇 1️⃣ Quality In > Quality Out No matter how talented your closers are, if the input (lead quality) is inconsistent, your sales engine will stall. Validate, qualify, and protect your team’s time. 2️⃣ Individual Accountability > Group Averages Track performance one rep at a time. Personalized scorecards reveal patterns that averages hide. 3️⃣ Shared Accountability Between Marketing & Sales Sales blames leads. Marketing blames follow-ups. The truth? Both need skin in the game. Align incentives and define mutual accountability. 4️⃣ Founder as Strategist, Not Manager When founders run daily sales ops, they unintentionally become the bottleneck. Step back, empower a manager, and focus on direction—not every decision. 5️⃣ Culture of Respect & Recognition Praise in public. Coach in private. The tone you set as a leader defines how safe and motivated your team feels. 6️⃣ Prevent Burnout Early High-performance teams need rhythm—periodic breaks, recognition, and visibility into the next 6 months to keep motivation alive. 7️⃣ Review Rhythm is Non-Negotiable Weekly tactical. Bi-weekly performance. Monthly strategic. If it’s not reviewed, it’s not improved. 8️⃣ Clear Ownership Map Everyone must know who owns what—from lead generation to validation to management. Ambiguity kills accountability. Ensure you create an escalation matrix for when conflicts arise 9️⃣ Financial & Performance Transparency Fair pay structures and measurable metrics protect both sides. When everyone knows the rules, alignment becomes automatic. Closing Thought Sales isn’t just about persuasion—it’s about precision. If you want your sales team to scale sustainably, build your system before you scale your numbers. #SalesLeadership #SalesCulture #Founders #TeamBuilding #ExclusiveCloser #SalesEnablement

Just watched a sales leader lose 5 of his top reps after spending months perfecting a "winning" sales methodology that his team HATED. After 18 months of work, the CEO killed his career with six words: "Your team keeps missing their numbers." After analyzing 300+ sales teams and thousands of reps I've identified the exact leadership framework that separates 90%+ quota attainment from the industry average of 60%. The BIG missing piece that most sales leaders miss? Stop running meetings as status updates. And start treating them as PERFORMANCE ACCELERATION ENGINES. Here is the GOLDEN Leadership framework: GROWTH MINDSET: Start every meeting with these 3 strategic elements. → Team member shares industry insight or sales technique (creates learning culture) → Discuss application to current deals (makes learning actionable) → Rotate presenters weekly (builds leadership skills company-wide) This approach increased team knowledge retention by 72% across my client base. OPTIMIZATION SESSION: Have top performers demonstrate and teach these 4 specific skills. → Objection handling techniques (with exact language used) → Discovery questions that uncovered hidden needs → Email templates that generated 80%+ response rates → Closing language that accelerated decisions Use this exact script: "Jeff, you closed that impossible deal with [company]. Walk us through exactly how you handled their [specific objection] so the team can replicate it." LEADERBOARD ACCOUNTABILITY: Create what I call the "Performance Matrix" with columns for. → # of Booked Discovery Calls (activity metric) → New opportunities generated (pipeline metric) → Percentage to monthly target (results metric) → Weekly win or learning (growth metric) DATA & DEVELOPMENT: Each rep inputs and shares three critical elements. → KPIs for the week (leading indicators - 100% controllable) → Sales results (lagging indicators - what they actually sold) → Wins or learnings (development indicators) EXECUTION: Randomly select an AE to role play live. → Use a jar or spinning wheel to pick sales scenarios → Focus on objections, cold calls, or tough situations → Play the difficult prospect yourself → Provide immediate feedback and coaching This gets your team sharper before they jump into their day, and knowing they might be selected drives preparation. NEXT LEVEL MINDSET: End with motivation to conquer the week. → Short visionary speech or gratitude to the team → Positive reinforcement → Ensure they leave with the right mindset This is what they'll remember as they enter their next task or meeting. "REAL RESULTS from this framework: ✅ An IT services client increased sales by 37% in just 30 days ✅ Average rep retention improved from 18 months to 36+ months ✅ Team productivity increased 42% with the same headcount ✅ Top performers stopped taking recruiter calls Hey sales leaders… want a deep dive? Go here: https://lnkd.in/e2iZ7Rmv

LEARNING HOURS CHALLENGES: A SIMPLE HR MECHANISM TO BUILD OWNERSHIP (PLUS MEASURABLE ADOPTION)🎯 In many organizations, learning programs are available but participation and habit-building are the real challenges. One approach that worked well for us is a Learning Hours Challenge: a structured, gamified campaign that moves people from awareness to desire by making the benefits clear and tangible. ✅ WHAT IT IS (IN PLAIN TERMS) 🧩 🎯 Set a clear annual learning expectation (example: 60 hours/year) 🎯 Create milestones that feel achievable: 15 hours (monthly) 30 hours (quarterly) 60 hours (bi-annual / semi-annual) 🎯 Add light incentives (raffles/prizes) to reinforce consistency—without turning learning into a “tick-box” exercise 🎁 WHY IT WORKS (BEHAVIOR + CULTURE) 🧠 💡 Ownership increases attention: when employees choose and track progress, they engage more during sessions 💡 WIIFM becomes real: incentives are not the goal, but they accelerate early adoption 💡 Habit beats motivation: smaller checkpoints (15/30 hours) reduce drop-off and create momentum 🚀 HOW WE DESIGNED THE ECOSYSTEM 📚 Multiple ways to earn hours so learning fits real life: ✅ Formal training programs aligned to role needs ✅ Internal academies / in-house training (captured and logged for visibility) ✅ Self-learning libraries (e.g., digital learning platforms, MOOCs, language learning apps) A simple rule: if it develops capability, it counts ✅ THE HIDDEN HR BENEFIT: CLEANER LEARNING DATA 📊 A challenge like this doesn’t only drive participation—it also improves measurement: 🔥 Encourages teams to register internal learning sessions that typically go untracked 🔥 Creates a more complete view of total learning investment (formal + informal) 🔥 Makes it easier to link learning hours to capability building and workforce planning LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT IS THE MULTIPLIER 👥 We also embedded senior leaders early through training needs conversations—so learning offerings reflect real skill gaps, not just “nice-to-have” topics. When leaders see the logic, they sponsor it. When employees see relevance, they commit. IF YOU’RE CONSIDERING THIS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION, HERE ARE 3 PRACTICAL TIPS 🛠 Keep it simple (3 milestones max: monthly/quarterly/bi-annual works well) 🛠 Make tracking frictionless (one place to record hours and evidence) 🛠 Use incentives as a nudge, not the centerpiece (recognition + raffles can be enough) Closing thought 💡 Learning culture doesn’t scale through content alone—it scales through systems that create ownership. A learning hours challenge is one of the lightest systems you can implement with surprisingly strong impact. #LearningCulture #TalentDevelopment #HRStrategy #EmployeeEngagement #Upskilling

𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘴. ✝️ 𝗥𝗜𝗣 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀: 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟬𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 ✝️ If your team is still using word-for-word scripts, you're likely seeing: • Prospects who "need to think about it" • Increasingly shorter calls • Objections you can't overcome • Reps who sound robotic and inauthentic Today's buyers can smell a script from a mile away. And they hate it. What's replacing scripts? Conversation frameworks. Working with a B2B services client, we replaced their scripts with flexible frameworks: • Core problem statements (not feature pitches) • Story libraries (not memorized anecdotes) • Question flows (not interrogation lists) • Objection pathways (not canned responses) Results after 60 days: • Average call time increased by 38% • Prospect engagement (measured by questions asked) up 45% • Conversion to next steps improved by 31% The best part? Reps reported feeling "human again" and actually enjoying their calls. Does your team sound like real humans having valuable conversations, or robots reciting memorized lines? If it's the latter, let's talk about building frameworks that actually work. #SalesScripts  #AuthenticSelling  #SalesTraining

🌟 An important milestone for AI in justice! Yesterday, President Sandrine Zientara, along with rapporteurs Édouard Rottier and Matthieu Allain, presented the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) with their much-anticipated report: "Cour de cassation et intelligence artificielle : préparer la Cour de demain." This remarkable effort is a clear indicator of how advanced the Cour de cassation is in thoughtfully integrating AI into judicial processes. Drawing from concrete experiences and numerous already-implemented judicial AI tools, the Court continues to set a high bar in Europe and beyond. Key insights from the report include: ✅ Hybrid AI Systems: combining rule-based (symbolic) systems with machine learning (ML) to leverage clarity from symbolic AI and adaptability from ML. ✅ Internal AI Development Advantage: emphasizing agility, cost efficiency, better data control, and seamless integration between technical teams and legal professionals. ✅ Security and Sovereignty: highlighting the importance of hosting AI systems internally or on secure, European-compliant clouds to ensure judicial independence, data security, and transparency. ✅ Educational Imperative: stressing comprehensive training for judicial staff and magistrates in AI-related skills and ethical usage, alongside recommending an internal ethical charter to guide responsible AI use. Some personal reflections on Judicial AI and its challenges: ✅ The potential to enhance consistency in interpreting lower court decisions. ✅ Addressing current challenges in legal research capabilities, particularly AI-generated hallucinations and inconsistencies. ✅ Exploring secure data extraction techniques with caution due to significant security implications. ✅ Preparing for the increasing phenomenon of AI-generated litigation that could further burden justice systems. Professor Duncan Fairgrieve (Université Paris Dauphine - PSL) and I had the opportunity to participate in the hearings alongside many technical experts, underscoring the breadth and depth of the Court's consultative process. Congratulations again to President Zientara, Édouard Rottier, Matthieu Allain, and the SDER Looking ahead—there is undoubtedly much more to come. #AI #Justice #CourDeCassation #LegalInnovation #EthicalAI Cour de cassation Queen's Law Conflict Analytics Lab Ingenuity Labs Research Institute Queen's University Smith School of Business at Queen's University https://lnkd.in/eynNdvAz

Framework: Maslow Before Bloom in Education 1. Foundation – Maslow’s Needs 🧩 Physiological: School breakfast/lunch programs, hydration breaks, rest spaces. Safety: Anti-bullying policies, trauma-informed teaching, predictable routines. Belonging: Mentorship, peer-support groups, culturally responsive pedagogy. Esteem: Student voice in decision-making, celebrating effort, not just grades. 2. Structure – Bloom’s Cognitive Growth 🌱 Once foundational needs are supported, teachers can build lessons that: Start with Remember & Understand (recall, comprehension). Move to Apply & Analyze (hands-on, problem-solving). Reach Evaluate & Create (critical thinking, innovation). 3. Real-World Classroom Strategies ✨ Morning check-ins: Quick emotional pulse before academics. Safe space corners: Small areas in classrooms for calming down. Integrated SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) alongside academics. Maslow-informed lesson planning: Each unit considers student context first. 4. Policy Implications 🏫 Metrics should track well-being indicators (safety, inclusion, engagement) alongside test scores. Teacher training must include psychology + empathy-based practice. Schools should be community hubs for nutrition, counseling, and social support.