Teacher Conference

My son's teacher conferences are fantastic. The middle school really understands the student and parent needs.

Instead of inviting parents to come to the school and wander around to talk to a couple of teachers who will be in their rooms, the parents and student come to one room and the teachers all take turns sitting down one on one. The student leads the conversation based on some question he or she has answered in advance (i.e What am I most proud of this semester? Where can I improve?)

You get a full view of how your child is doing, the good and the not-so-good. Plus, you see the interaction between the teacher and student, which is sometimes more valuable than a grade.

How could this approach be used with customers or employees?

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

A LULU of an idea

At LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications and Training, we're experimenting with an idea we call LULU. LULU stands for LaBov University of Learning and Utilization. It's different from the typical online university in that it is not mandatory for employees and it has a growing list of learning opportunities presented--most of those fed by the employees.

We've created a website where our employees can find modules, webinars or videos on any topic they are interested in. Plus, they are free to post the ones that they find themselves. We also are giving each employee a "bank account" of money they can spend any way they want on learning, no questions asked. All of this is on the honor system--if any employee says he used his learning bank account to buy a book, fine, we believe him.

The employee can choose to keep score of their learnings by logging what they read or viewed on a spreadsheet on the site. They can also receive more points by conducting a Lunch & Learn of that material for employees.

What does the company get for all this? A lot. We can refer to the points a person has at review time or when she is requesting to travel to a seminar, for example. If she has been a voracious learner, she will be rewarded. If she hasn't participated in learning for a year, maybe we discuss that.

But best of all, we get an environment of learning where our people are contributing to it. Will it last, who knows? But if we can offer a world of learning to great people, it will only help us be a better company internally and externally to our clients.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

Learning from Lernos

My twelve-year-old son and I began a project a while ago. We wrote a book together. It was entitled, Lernos. Lernos was the main character in the story, which was a fast-paced epic of numerous beings with special powers galavanting throughout the universe.

Was the book good? I don't know, it depends on who's reading it. Is it commercial? Maybe, maybe not.

But whether or not the book is any good is not the issue. The experience of writing it was a blast. Just like in other endeavors, experience trumps all.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com