Just Do It. Well.

Consider this number: 64,268

If you're looking for a book on "personal growth" that's how many you have to choose from on Amazon.

It seems that as a culture, we're obsessed with adding new skills and abilities to our repertoire, or generally just improving ourselves.

As an HR profession, we're no different, with the Personal Development Planning section of the annual appraisal cycle being given increased attention and status.

But why not take a different approach and focus on what you already do well? Here are two illustrations to make the point.

In J.B. Priestley's English Journey, he recounts arriving at the Wedgwood factory in Staffordshire, and being given the opportunity to create something on the potter's wheel.

For more than thirty years I have never tried to do anything new without cherishing this wild hope, that God would let me play tennis or billiards or the violin wonderfully at first sight, allow me to display myself suddenly as a heaven-born orator or singer. No such miracle has ever happened. Nobody yet has been startled by my exhibition of unsuspected skill. Yet I know I shall go on hoping in this same foolish fashion right to the very end, when, the silliest old man in England, I shall be hoping to die in some neat clever new way.

As Priestley is demonstrating his ineptitude at the potter's wheel, I  imagine a kindly observer placing his hand on his shoulder and saying, "Mr Priestley, can I suggest that you don't give up the day job. Your writing is really good, so why don't you just stick to that?"

J.B. Priestley: An Inspector Calls

Or consider the scene in Chariots of Fire when the future 400 metres Olympic champion's sister is disappointed that he's not taking his missionary work seriously enough, and Eric Liddell memorably responds:

I believe God made me for a purpose - China. But he also made me fast.

In both cases the message is the same: do what you do, and do it well. Do it to the best of your ability. So, dear readers, my challenge to you this weekend is to leave the personal development books on the shelf, and reflect on what natural abilities, strengths, gifts or talents you have. And use them.

Have a good weekend

Ten things you can buy with about £220

  

1. A Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Titanium Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Watch
2. A 32K iPod Touch
3. A Dewalt DC925KA XRP Combi Drill
4. A TomTom GO 950 LIVE Satellite Navigation System
5. A pair of Oakley Juliet Sunglasses with Carbon Frame and Polarised Black Iridium Lens
6. A decent exercise bike
7. One bottle of Chateau Leoville Lascases 1955 2eme Grand Cru Classe St Julien
8. 25 Le Hoyo du Dauphin SLB cigars
9. A rather tasty Ibanez SA120EX Electric Guitar

OK that’s nine. What else might you want to spend your 220 quid on?

How about the total average provision for learning and development per UK employee in 2009?

Not much, is it? And if you’re unlucky enough to work in the public sector, that amount decreases to £127 per head.

That’s about the same as a lousy bottle of Chateau Leoville - Barton 1964 2eme Grand Cru Classe St Julien.

Cheers!

Coaching on the increase

Research undertaken in advance of the CIPD’s Coaching at Work conference has revealed that 90% of the 500 organisations invited to participate in the survey are using coaching a key part of learning and development. Many organisations consider it 'crucial to their learning and development strategy'. According to the survey, coaching is being used at all levels (i.e. not just for senior managers and directors) for a number of reasons:

• 23% use coaching to build on good performance
• 20% use coaching to improve poor performance
• 23% use coaching in leadership development
  

It will come as no surprise that the use of coaching is partly in response to the tightening of the budgetary belt for learning and development departments, but it also has the specific benefit that it can be tweaked to meet the needs of the organisation. Most organisations who use coaching believe that it has great scope to improve employee engagement, empower people and boost morale at a time of great uncertainty.

Coaching used by almost 90% of organisations, CIPD reports

• How would you define coaching, and what do consider its benefits to be?
• Update: A recent report indicates that tighter training budgets have failed to reduce the use of coaching by employers. Question: is it a surprise that most firms are still using coaching despite the recession?

Learning from Chelsea

A former non-executive director of Barclays Bank has suggested (possibly with tongue firmly in cheek!) that the FIFA-imposed ban on Chelsea registering any new players until 2010 could be used as a way of limiting salaries in the banking and finance sectors.

His proposal is that banks who are caught inducing employees to leave their existing employers by offering guaranteed bonuses should be banned for a period of time from further engagement in the recruitment market

The idea has already been rejected by Lord Myners (the UK's City Minister) who believes that there are already enough safeguards under existing contractual law to address the problem of inducements to employees to breach their contract of employment. But the minister himself has not been able to suggest any viable alternative.

Chelsea transfer scandal has much to teach the City on bonuses

• Is this suggestion simply unworkable, or could it be imposed on the banking and finance sector?
• Do you think that it is reasonable that (particularly in our current economic climate) employees in this sector should be able to demand such high salaries?
• Can you think of any other way of controlling salary-drift in this area?

If the foreigners don't understand, just speak louder

Yesterday's GCSE results in England highlighted the study of languages continuing its steady decline, with data from the exam boards showing fewer people taking French (down 6.6% on last year) and German (down 4.2%). Figures produced in a report earlier this year also show that at 550 state comprehensive and secondary modern schools fewer that one in 10 pupils was awarded a top grade A* to C grade GCSE pass in a language. In 34 of them - including two of the Government's flagship academies - not a single pupil gained a high pass. This report suggests that a class divide is opening up in the teaching of languages. Of the 62 schools where all pupils received an A* to C, 58 are independent schools and four are selective grammar schools. Admittedly, the government has introduced a strategy to increase language teaching in primary schools, and also aims to make it compulsory for every child to start to learn a language from the age of seven by the end of this decade. But all of this may be too little too late if UK workers are to avoid to continue being thought of as the dunces of foreign languages.

Poor language skills 'hamper UK'

• As the UK now operates within a global market, how important is it for employees to be equipped with language skills?
• Are UK jobs which require proficiency in a foreign language regarded as specialised as, for example, ones requiring engineering or accounting skills?
• What is likely to be the long term effect of the UK lagging behind in the language league?
• Research activity: which are likely to be the most widely spoken languages in the next decade, and are we prepared to meet this challenge?

Anyone For The "Rivers and Trees" Management Course?

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The use of The Great Outdoors remains popular for management development courses in many organisations

• Are there any unique (and serious!) benefits of using outdoor development as a method of staff training?


• What can be gained through the use of the outdoors that possibly couldn't be taught in the classroom?


• Why do a number of organisations believe that development programmes led by succesful adventurers and explorers can teach certain skills, behaviours and attitude to their employees?


• Most outdoor development programmes involve a degree of risk, and there have been well-publicised instances where fatalities have unfortunately resulted. Is such a degree of risk a reason for outdoor development programmes to be treated with caution?