Online Personal Development eLearning - Training Resources

Entrepreneur Assessment Profile .... This can help you make decisions such as: Which area of personal development needs most attention? What should I look for in partners or employees to complement my strengths and weaknesses? Am I really suited to being an entrepreneur? The information contained in your profile may clarify how you think about yourself as an entrepreneur, which, in turn, may be useful to you as you consider such  more...

Communication Skills to Fast-track Your Career When it comes to communication, are you a high-speed modem or two tin cans and a string? If you want to put your career on the fast track, you'll have to communicate with the best of them. In this course, you'll sharpen your listening skills and improve your written and oral communication skills as well. Finally, you'll put it all together to produce audience-pleasing presentations. Communicate  more...

Interpersonal Skills on the Fast Track You're not alone in the race, so you'd better learn how to work with others if you want to put your career on the fast track. You have to learn how to establish rapport in order to build and maintain a network of contacts. This network will help you to build effective teams to accomplish the career tasks ahead. And you must know how to lead these teams to ensure success and pull ahead of the pack  more...

The Boss Factor Your boss can make or break you, so you better find out how to work effectively with her. You must first build rapport and continue to develop it. Along the way, you'll learn how to solicit and give feedback and even learn how to use corrective feedback to your advantage. You'll also get tips on managing your manager, which is no easy task. But if you can achieve that and turn the annual appraisal  more...

Improving Your Image Lee Iacocca. Madeleine Albright. Colin Powell. Are these people who suffer from an image problem? Hardly. Do you think they were born projecting the strong, self-assured images they do? Probably not. Like other powerful leaders in business, government, and the military, they likely received training in how to project, how to impress, how to lead. A confident, positive self image is no less crucial  more...

Views on Organizational Change The way that you respond to your new job role, new responsibilities, or fresh procedures is unique to you. The way that you react to change is intensely personal. But, to a large extent, organizations change in predictable ways and for predictable reasons. Similarly, the ways in which people respond to change tend to follow predictable patterns. Being able to think of yourself as part of this  more...

Preparing for Change When the organization you work for changes, and demands that you change along with it, wariness and uncertainty are natural. Change signals the end of the tried, trusted, and familiar. But change is also a new beginning--a springboard into a new and potentially exciting personal future. "Preparing for Change" focuses on the mental attitudes and behaviors you need to develop in order to take  more...

Communication during Organizational Change Change can be shocking to you and your co-workers. By definition, it is a time of uncertainty and, therefore, turbulence, and it puts relationships under strain. How successfully you communicate is a vital measure of how well you deal with change. "Communication during Organizational Change" starts by recognizing that the first factor in successful communication is how you feel inside. The  more...

Finding Your Life Balance You fill your life with many activities and it is difficult to get the balance between those activities right. But getting the balance right gives a tremendous payback. You feel fulfilled. You are in harmony with yourself and your world. Which is good for you, and also impacts positively on your family, friends, and co-workers. The first step towards a possible adjustment of your life balance is  more...

Success over Stress "Stress is the psychological, physiological and behavioral response by an individual when they perceive a lack of equilibrium between the demands placed upon them and their ability to meet those demands, which, over a period of time, leads to ill-health." Stephen Palmer, "Occupational Stress".Contrary to popular belief, stress itself is never a good thing--it is always harmful. This course will  more...

Strategies for Better Balance "It's not the hours you put in your work that counts, it's the work you put in the hours."--Sam Ewing. This course focuses on the actions you can take to achieve a more balanced life. It begins by helping you to explore ways in which you can create some space in order to bring more nourishing and energizing activities into your life. The course will show you how to build practical systems into  more...

Your Time and You Before you can decide how to manage your time better, you need to recognize how you manage your time now. Busy people do what is required, and rarely have the opportunity to stop and consider whether they are making the best use of their time. A brief analysis of what you do currently may surprise you, and it may help you to identify some changes that could be made. This course will help you to  more...

Techniques for Improved Time Management If you don't feel that you are the organized type, or if making lists or drawing up detailed plans doesn't come naturally, don't worry. There isn't just one way in which time can be managed effectively. This course will introduce you to several different techniques for improving your time-management skills--experiment with them, and then choose and apply the tools which best suit your own  more...

Developing Excellent Time Management Habits Time management shouldn't be a separate activity--it should be an integral part of the way you do things. For this to happen, you need to be able to develop good time management habits and avoid bad ones. An effective use of time also involves managing your environment, managing your use of technology, and managing the time-wasting activities of people around you. Today we are often overwhelmed by  more...

Risk Basics In today's management revolution, risk is an inherent factor. Your success depends upon an ability to understand and operate in a mine field where opportunities abound, but disaster could strike at any moment. Avoiding disaster is no longer left to luck, but is carefully controlled through risk management. The information presented in this course on risk and hedging techniques are vital survival  more...

Approaches to Risk Management Whether you are investing in stocks, deciding what to eat, hiring an assistant, or merging corporate divisions, you're making decisions based on evaluating risks and benefits. When you need to make a difficult business decision, knowing the numbers can provide a clearer picture of your upside and downside. As an executive in today's explosive business world, your ability to take the right risk can  more...

Decisions and Risk Your success as an organizational leader depends on your ability to make decisions. Even though you may have extensive experience making tough business choices, a constantly changing business environment demands relentless skill improvement. This course sheds light on the decision-making process by moving from practical methodologies to decision-making intelligence. Build both quality and  more...

Strategic Planning and Risk Management Understanding how to excel in a climate of risk using strategic planning is crucial in today's business environment. This course will help you analyze where your business is going and how it should get there. This will help you successfully navigate the dangers inherent in risk taking. Minimizing your risk through strategic planning is planning for your success.  more...

Risk Strategies The Cutting Edge This course explores seldom-discussed topics vital to your risk-taking strategies. Maintaining a balance between risk and recklessness depends upon your knowledge of business, people, and that little bit extra. That little bit extra in creativity and values can mean the difference between being at the cutting edge or falling off.  more...

The Role of Critical Thinking in Organizations In the organizational arena, applied critical thinking skills provide an essential foundation for all effective planning, problem-solving, and decision-making activities. Employees who can analyze and reason consistently and proficiently furnish a cost-efficient resource that results in a distinctive competitive advantage. Workers who are skeptical of quick fixes and operational dogma pay  more...

Developing Fundamental Critical Thinking Skills You may not need an MBA to succeed in the corporate arena, but regardless of position or industry, you do need to be able to analyze, reason, and communicate effectively. These and other critical thinking skills are increasingly consequential as organizational planning and decision making become more distributed and reliant on written and verbal communication factors. Developing Fundamental  more...

Strategies for Facilitating Critical Thinking "Workplaces are not typically associated with reflection or critical self-reflection, ideas that are often considered 'soft' to the bottom-line, results-oriented world of business.... Yet, paradoxically, reflection is becoming more part of the lifeblood of organizations in today's economic environment." Victoria Marsick's words illustrate why businesses can no longer thrive on the unexamined  more...

Critical Thinking Skills for Managing "Rational decision making is linear and is what you do when you put your facts in order. Intuition is looking at those facts and trying to see a pattern-and the patterns aren't always evident because the patterns aren't always linear. The two together are an extremely powerful combination." Joel Kurtzman, President, Kurtzman Associates and former editor, Harvard Business Review. The Critical  more...

Organizational Scope of Critical Thinking "In any complex environment systems are necessary, but they must serve an organization rather than become its masters." This is how Ralph S. Larsen, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson, describes both the need for systems and their inherent risk. Organizational systems, with complex and intricately interrelated components, demand the application of critical thinking to avoid  more...

Making Decisions Ethically What is an ethical decision? Many studies show that businesspeople have an intuitive understanding of right and wrong, but that they find difficulty in explaining their judgments. This course provides the conceptual framework for discussing business ethics and the tool kit for making ethical decisions.  more...

Business Ethics for Managers Managers perform a delicate ethical balancing act every day. They must meet their obligations to their employer, comply with laws and regulations, address the needs of subordinates, and obey their own consciences. In this course, managers with decision-making responsibility will explore ethical issues and will acquire specific skills for creating and maintaining an ethical work environment.  more...

Understanding Organizational Ethics An organization's culture evolves from the values of its members. However, organizational culture and ethics are more than the sum of their parts. Organizations develop a self-sustaining and durable system of ethics that exerts a powerful influence on the actions, decisions, and behaviors of all employees. This course gives employees the ability to recognize ethical patterns and practices in an  more...

Social Responsibility in Corporations An organization's ethical responsibilities don't end at the door of the factory or office building. Companies are citizens of the communities where they do business. Every organization bears social obligations to the community that provides the environment for the organization's existence and growth. This course explores an organization's ethical responsibilities outside its own walls. The course  more...

The Foundations of Creativity and Innovation What is creativity, and how does it affect the brain? Why is it that people often have many of their best ideas once they leave work, when performing the most mundane tasks? Is this a coincidence, or is there a particular reason for it?As more and more organizations encourage employees to propose creative and innovative ideas in the workplace, it's imperative that you understand the foundations of  more...

Generating Creative and Innovative Ideas Is creativity within everyone's grasp? Are people innately creative, or is this a skill that some learn, and others don't?If you have ever watched children at play, it's easy to conclude that all people start at the same level, with the same creative ability. Perhaps they lose their "creative toolboxes" with the self-consciousness of adolescence, or as other demands compete for attention.Whatever  more...

Evaluating Creative and Innovative Ideas Proposing ideas is just the first step to innovation. But for every thousand ideas you generate, only one may have what it takes to make a real difference in your organization. Many great ideas will remain just that--ideas. Unless they have true commercial potential, or offer real advantages, they are destined to remain in the mental "incubator."To determine which ideas are worthy of further  more...

Implementing Creative and Innovative Ideas A creative idea only truly becomes an innovation when it is implemented successfully in the organization.After all, what's an idea without execution? Execution is crucial if the idea is to start making or saving money.The process of implementing creative ideas is what makes great ideas become brilliant ideas. But this success is never immediate. On the contrary, even the greatest ideas demand  more...

Get Your Career on the Fast Track Everyone has seen those TV shows from the '50s. The fathers went to work, worked hard, and got ahead. These people were your role models, your guides to succeeding in business. But if that's not happening, you ask yourself, "Why not?" The world is different now. Instead of job security, you need to focus on career security. In this course, you will learn more about today's new business  more...

Basic Business Skills to Get You on the Fast Track Everyone wants to get on the fast track to success. But without basic business skills, you won't even find the on ramp. To get on the fast track, you have to master the basics and build from there. In this course, you will focus on the basic skills of decision making, organization, delegation, and negotiation and learn how to apply these skills in getting onto the fast track. Without these skills  more...

Evaluation and Review So, is it success or failure? It's crucial that you take time to review your completed project and confirm the outcomes. What has been achieved, and what didn't go as planned? And how have you performed personally? Of course, success depends on your ability as an external consultant to continually develop in the role, increase your skills, and make overall improvements in your performance. This  more...

Evaluating Internal Assignments So, is it success or failure? It's crucial that you take time to review your project and confirm outcomes on completion. What has been achieved, and what didn't go as planned?And how have you performed personally? Of course, success depends on your ability as an internal consultant to continually develop in the role, increase your skills, and make overall improvements in your performance. This  more...

Group Problem Solving and Decision Making To be in business means to be on a team. Every team, even if its an informal group, convenes for one purpose--to solve problems and make decisions. In today's business world, effective business groups and teams are a key ingredient in success. By skillfully overcoming problems and making productive decisions, you'll turn your group into a community of success. In this course, you'll learn the  more...

Working for Your Inner Boss Personal Accountability Most employees in business organizations must answer to someone else. From the top of the organization chart to the bottom, nearly every manager and employee must look to a supervisor, a director, or even a customer to establish priorities, assign tasks, set deadlines, and evaluate results. Whoever gives this direction is called the boss. On one level, the boss decides how employees will perform  more...

Managing from Within Self-empowerment Have you ever thought that you could be the best boss you've ever had? By developing attitudes and skills that empower you, you can manage from within and become your own best boss. Self-empowerment is the process of taking responsibility for your attitudes, behaviors, and actions at work to maximize your effectiveness. As an empowered employee, you will be driven by ownership, initiative, and  more...

Goals and Setting Goals Most achievements, great or small, begin with an important first step: setting a goal. A clearly defined, attainable goal embodies a vision of what is possible. It's a guide star for those who navigate a course through obstacles to a desired accomplishment. However, the process of setting appropriate goals is often oversimplified or overlooked entirely. A well-constructed goal is challenging, yet  more...

Creating a Positive Attitude Oftentimes your success or failure depends not only on the situation you are in, but how you react to that situation. Your reaction to the situations you encounter is significantly influenced by your attitude. Having a positive attitude involves looking for the best in a situation, being realistic about possibilities and consequences, and having the courage to believe that you can succeed. It  more...

Pursuing Successful Lifelong Learning Today's successful individual understands that the business world is constantly changing the way people work and the way work is accomplished. How often have you heard these terms: lifelong learning, self-directed learning, continuous learning, and knowledge worker? If you wonder what these terms really mean, why they are important, and how you rate as a worker and learner for the 21st century,  more...

Business Travel Safety - Domestic Travel In ''Business Travel Safety: Domestic Travel,'' you will learn how to make travel preparations, including researching your destination and then making appropriate travel arrangements. You will also learn how to increase your safety during air and ground transportation and at destinations, such as hotels, restaurants, and business events.  more...

Business Travel Safety - International Travel In ''Business Travel Safety: International Travel,'' you will learn how to make travel preparations and international travel arrangements. You will also learn how to increase your safety during air and ground transportation and at destinations, such as hotels, restaurants, and business events. Finally, you will learn how to avoid and handle physical and nonphysical crimes in foreign countries.  more...

Business Travel Safety - Developing a Corporate Travel Program In Business Travel Safety: Forming a Corporate Travel Safety Program, you will learn how to facilitate safe and efficient travel for employees. You will learn best practices for developing a corporate travel safety program, how to choose the best travel agency for your organization, and why it is important to prepare for emergencies before traveling..  more...

Business Travel Safety - Safety Measures for Travelers In Business Travel Safety: Safety Measures for Travelers, you will learn why business travelers are often at a higher risk for being involved in a crime than local citizens. Additionally, you will understand what precautions a woman traveler should take and what safety guidelines should be followed. You will also learn why it is important for disabled persons to consider their safety when  more...

Managing Business Risk - Developing a Risk Management Plan Managing Business Risk: Developing a Risk Management Plan teaches learners about the various risk management models as well as factors that influence the risk management function in organizations. Students will also learn about the risk management environment that organizations face and the methods used to assess those risks.  more...

Managing Business Risk - Risk Assessment and Control In "Managing Business Risk: Risk Assessment and Control" teaches learners about risk identification and environmental scanning. Students will also learn about evaluation and control of risk within organizations and the methods for classifying various organizational risks.  more...

Managing Business Risk - Financing and Contingency Planning Managing Business Risk: Financing and Contingency Planning teaches learners how to identify the dimensions of risk financing and to identify the various categories of risk financing tools. Students will also learn about the major responsibilities of contract management and the importance of developing a business contingency plan.  more...

Making Decisions Dynamically Your decisions determine your life. Nowhere is this simple statement so unabashedly evident as in today's business world. Made consciously or unconsciously, your decisions represent the fundamental tool you use in facing the opportunities, challenges, and uncertainties of life. It's not a case, however, of "make a decision, any decision." The increased complexity and competition of the 21st  more...

Decision Making Implementation and Evaluation You've made your decision after careful and considered thought. The deal is done, right? Not really. Your decision, no matter how considered and creative, won't walk out on its own two legs and implement itself. It's time to nurture your decided course of action and then evaluate its effectiveness. This course will help you do just that. And you'll do it in a way that will better ensure the  more...

The Fundamentals of Effective Thinking Albert Einstein once remarked that "the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." It necessarily follows that you must raise your own level of thinking in order to solve pressing business problems and make effective decisions. In this course, you'll explore how to think about the most critical business skill of all--thinking  more...

Problem Framing When you frame a picture, you intend for the viewer to examine everything within that border. Problem framing is similar in that you must not only consider what objectively makes up the problem itself but also what subjective tendencies influence your view of the situation. This course is designed to help you effectively frame problems so that you're sure your line of sight is aimed straight  more...

Problem Solving Generating Alternatives When faced with any problem, it's tempting, especially in today's frenzied business atmosphere, to either take the easiest route or rely on the old tried-and-true methods. But how many times have you taken a certain action and realized afterward that you had more options than you realized? Now more than ever, today's business world is complex and multifaceted. As a positive result of that  more...