I was recently invited by Chris Flett of Ghost CEO and Cyndi Hunter of Silver Spoons Food Tours to take part in a culinary tour of foodie hot spots.  We took in 6 restaurants and my taste buds danced in delight, where for 3 hours, I sampled, savoured and salivated.

Here’s a summary of where we went and how it applies to training & development.

As this delectable drink glided down my gullet at Pour House I was thrilled to learn that it was created by a fellow female entrepreneur, Audrey Saunders who once owned a carpet cleaning business.  Not being captivated by carpets she took a bar-tending course and ended up at one of the top 20 bars in the world.

Lessons for learning – it’s never too late to follow your passion and learn something new

Next we dropped in at Nuba, owned by a Lebanese man whose family stopped off in Mexico before ending up in Canada.  The culinary result?  A traditional Lebanese favourite, deep fried cauliflower, infused with the Mexican influences of avocado and jalapeno.

Lessons for learning – keep the old and mix in the new for for what Nuba calls an authentic vrs traditional experience.
Rogue was next on our menu, the restaurant not the rascal.

There we were served salad that had croutons made of cornbread.  To die for!  They also served a sushi bomb with a pipette.  Pipette’s are normally equipment found in science labs, but this creative chef found a new use.  Filled with sauce, when you pop the morsel in your mouth, you also squeeze the pipette which releases the sauce.

Creative?  Yes.  Memorable?  You bet.  Applicable to T&D?  Of course?  What new uses can you find for things to make your training stand out?

At Guilt & Co we toured what had been an old tunnel used to run rum, which was now a funky beer cooler.  We also were drawn to cards at our table with questions that begged to be answered.  Questions such as “if you had to, what relatives would you lock up in the shed and why?”  “What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” And my fav, “paper, rocks or scissors?”

Implications for learning?  What simple tools can you use to enhance participant engagement?  Tip: make sure they’re appropriate for your organization’s culture, as what is one organization’s playful stress ball is another’s waste of time.

Finally at at Cobre I was tickled to find you could rent a room for a private party.  No big deal right?  Big deal as you could bring your own IPod and ergo have your own music played.

I was also entranced by owner Stuart Irving’s tale on how he got started.  Seems in high school he didn’t like mechanics.  The high-school counselor suggested he take cooking instead.  Once Stuart realized cooking the food included getting to eat the food he was hooked.  (That plus figuring he’d have a whole school year to make favourable impressions on his female cohorts.)

Implications for learning – the roots of our passion for learning can often be found early in our lives and customization and learner choice (in this case bringing one’s own IPod) is a great thing

From Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo’s hands comes the gorgeous traditional Tibetan textile piece pictured above.

Equally illuminating is the quote beside it.

‘We don’t have to let go, we simply have to not hold on’ by Joseph Goldstein.

I love sayings that get to the heart of things.  That pack an international journey into one suitcase.  That leave you hanging, mouth slightly agape, brain humming and wanting more.  This is one such.

Focusing on letting go means choosing to have reached out, to have grasped in the first place.  If you’re not holding onto something you can’t let it go because you didn’t have it in the first place.

Not holding on means not making the choice to grasp in the first place.  No clenching, no holding on with teeth gritted teeth until the cordons in your neck are screaming at attention.

Regarding training and development, I’ve learned to not hold onto my expertise.  While I have it in spades (expertise that is), I freely share it and welcome others’ expertise.  Not holding onto my having to be the supreme expert, know all, Grand Poobah of powerful learning means I can focus on other things when I’m designing and/or delivering a workshop.

Other things like creativity, innovation and engagement.

What can you not hold onto regarding your training and development?

Seth wrote a post with the above title.  He recommends you hire professionals or amateurs and not the bulk, who are in between.

Professionals he defines as: those who cost big bucks but are worth more, those who show up … regardless, those who have integrity and stand up and those whose learning curve is always pointed up.

Amateurs he says are those who are in it for love not money, are a wee bit obsessed with the craft and will trade income for “doing what she loves with freedom”.

The rest?  The rest do it because it’s a job.  Period.

As a learning and development specialist I recommend combining the top two.  Amateurs and professionals.

I’m passionate about learning, mine and yours and ours.  I do it because it love it.  Because I wake up at 3 am and have a hard time falling back to sleep because I’m excited about a new way to turn someone onto learning.  Because my mind is constantly churning out new ways to increase people and organization’s love of learning.  Because I adore helping people laugh, learn and lead.

If that’s amateur then I’m a proud amateur.

As a learning and development specialist I’m also highly formally trained.  I ALWAYS include professional development in each year’s business.  I figure I owe it to my clients to ride the learning wave or create the wave, versus being left behind on the beach.  And I charge.  I charge what I’m worth – you get the full meal deal with me.  Lots of international experience, decades of experience period and experience with a wide variety of sectors means I can not only handle almost any learning curve ball thrown my way, but I can throw it back with grace and grit.

If that’s professional, then that’s me.

As a learning and development specialist I grind my teeth in frustration when I hear someone (from Seth’s unwashed masses):

• complain about having to teach something to their colleagues
• claim dull content prevents them from making learning engaging
• assume they can teach simply because they’re a content expert (not realizing that training and development are a whole different skill set that doesnt’ automatically come with subject matter expertise)

I believe training and development is a calling.  I’ve answered the call, loud and clear and with passion and exuberance.  I get paid to do it.  Fortunate me.  Just call me an amafessional.

To get the things you’ve never had

Do the things you’ve never done

(Sign posted in a store I visited while at a community festival today.)

If you define ‘things’ beyond just stuff this is powerful.

It’s also timely.

I’m embarking on some radical new learning for some new business goals.  Most of the time I’m jazzed up with excitement and standing tall, looking into the future.  Sometimes though when my nerves are knocking and my breath feels faint and echoes of ‘are you sure you can really do this?’ bounce around in my head, it’s good to remember…..

Take a deep breath and remember to exhale.

You never know what fire’s burning inside you until you bring it out into the light of day.

What do you need to do to get the things you’ve never had?

And speaking of diving in, take a look at this crazy and courageous guy who takes a deep breath and soars, literally.

“Business or pleasure?,” said the guy who was sitting beside me on a recent flight.  “Business,” I replied.

But I got to thinking.  What does that say about business?  That it can’t be pleasurable?  That we can’t have fun or have ease when we’re working?

Let’s face it, the old adage ‘put your nose to the grindstone’ involves blood.  Imagine sticking your snoz on some sandpapery moving surface.  Ouch with a capital ow.

Here’s to business AND pleasure.

Want to read an example?  Check out Danielle LaPorte’s of White Hot Truth ‘Today is an epic day.’

Want to see an example?

Check out the video of John Nese owner of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA.  Now here’s a guy who’s mixing business and pleasure.

I’ll toast to that.

I have been participating in the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs E-Series program since January.  It’s like a mini-MBA for women business owners.  It kicks business butt.  We’ve heard a variety of speakers on a variety of topics (see below for a listing with links).

What’s been a common challenge however is to find time to take what we’re learning and apply it to our own customized business strategy.  I have a hunch for why it’s tough and why you may have the same trouble finding time to keep your head above the daily flotsam and jetsam of work to focus on strategy.

It’s because of the lizard.  Yes, it’s the lizard’s fault.

The lizard part of our brain that is.  We all have a part of our brain commonly referred to as the lizard or reptilian brain.  It’s responsible for the basics: to keep us safe and alive.  When we’re using that part of our brain, far from creative or strategic thinking, we’re focused on survival.

In today’s uber paced world it’s ‘safe’ to keep your head down, to not make waves, and simply focus on getting through the day.  Our brains are programmed for just that.  For a long time that’s how we’ve survived, putting one widget ahead of the other.

However, in today’s world it’s not going to get you leading any kind of energizing, meaningful life.  That takes time, forethought and practiced attention.

It takes saying no so you can say yes to what’s important and strategic.  It means taking care of basics – getting enough sleep and exercise, eating healthy and having loved ones to connect with.  Once the basics are taken care of our lizards are apt to be satisfied and go to sleep, so we can sneak out and do the extraordinary.

I hurt my back recently and it took a long time to heal.  Frankly it freaked me out.  In order to take care of my lizard I’m headed to a rejuvenating yoga class tonight, and next week and the week after and so on.  It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

I need to keep my lizard happy so I can focus on strategy.  And you?  What does your lizard need so you can focus on what’s really important?

Here’s the aforementioned list of who has been giving workshops at the e-series:

• branding – Isabelle Mercier (Leapzone Strategies) and Sam Reynolds (Echo Memoirs)
• creative marketing – Mike Jagger (Provident Security), Lori Kliman (Cupcakes), Terry McBride (Nettwerk Records and YYoga)
• advisory boards – Judy Brooks (Blo Blow Dry Bar) and Bev Briscoe (Briscoe Management)
• building value in your business – Mark Wardell and Lisa Colls Simpson (Wardell Professional  Management) and Queenie Chu (Kins Farm Market)

Arlene Dickinson is smart, savvy and easy to listen to.  She’s CEO of Venture Communications, ‘one of Canada’s largest marketing firms’.

At a recent talk she gave, she was asked for her top advice.  Here  it is, plain and simple.

‘Thank god you don’t live in Haiti [or more recently earthquake stricken Chile].  We are blessed to live in this country.’

More specifically:

- ‘opportunities exist to get through tough times, we have freedom and democracy, we have so much’

- ‘we have to look forward, that’s what entrepreneurs do, make it happen, there’s always a market’

- ‘it’s a marathon not a sprint – take care of your diet, sleep and exercise – stay healthy.  The average millionaire in the US dies at the age of 60′

Are you sprinting or in it for the marathon?  How do yo know?

Like this post?  Here are two more about Arlene’s business philosophy.