Training in Business

Training in Business Resources and Trends

Increased Emphasis on Project Management Soft Skills

Cisco, Cloudera, Featured, Professional Development, Project Management, Routing & Switching, Technology, Training in Business

There is a fine line between art and science in certain professions. A brilliant surgeon will never reach full potential if he or she has an awful bedside manner. As the project management professional (PMP) credential becomes more and more important, and as more and more project managers obtain the PMP credential, it is no longer enough to master only the science of project management. Earning the PMP credential demonstrates that a project manager understands the “hard skills” of project management: earned value management, development of the work breakdown structure, project schedule, project budget, and risk management plan. However, there is another set of skills a project manager must master to reach his or her full potential: “soft skills,” such as interpersonal communication, leadership, negotiation skills, influencing, and personnel management. Soft skills are much more art than science. Companies that invest in the development of their project managers’ set of soft skills are the ones that have the greatest chance of achieving project success.

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CCNP Exam Prep Tips and Must Knows

Cisco, Cloudera, Featured, Professional Development, Project Management, Routing & Switching, Technology, Training in Business

In January of 2010, Cisco announced they were updating their CCNP curriculum and their certification exams through what they described as “a comprehensive process involving customers and partners from around the globe.” The revisions focused “on the competencies that are needed to plan, implement, and troubleshoot the routed and switched networks of today and are designed to be more predictive of job readiness.”

As a result, the exams became more challenging and focused on core competencies for routing, switching, and troubleshooting an enterprise network. This paper is a detailed outline to help students understand what information would be required to pass the Route, Switch, and T-Shoot exams. This is not a substitute for training and/or knowledge required to pass these exams.

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Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water Part 3

Cisco, Cloudera, Featured, Professional Development, Project Management, Routing & Switching, Technology, Training in Business

This article is the final part of a three-part series. The first segment discussed how the idiom “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” is analogous to threats to instructor-led training. Additionally, the seven problems inherent in using traditional instructor-led training today and how ILT’s problems impact training’s stakeholders were discussed. Part Two discussed four of the six attributes of a revolutionary systems approach to ILT that fixes its problems and how to make it more workable and impactful in today’s workforce: e.g., 1) build a training system, not a program; 2) establish a platform better suited for today; 3) standardize the delivery timeframe and format; 4) use a participant-centric training approach. This segment discusses the final two attributes to fix ILT’s problems and make it more workable and impactful for today’s workplace: e.g., 1) provide all the components and tools needed; 2) build in better cost controls. The problems inherent in using traditional instructor-led training today are pervasive and impact all stakeholders. However, given its long-tenured utility, I contend that before we get rid of ILT (throwing the baby out…, if you will), we fix the problems and make ILT much more workable and impactful for today’s workplace by making revolutionary changes.

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Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water Part 3

Cisco, Cloudera, Featured, Professional Development, Project Management, Routing & Switching, Technology, Training in Business

The problems inherent in using traditional instructor-led training today are pervasive and impact all stakeholders. However, given its long-tenured utility, I contend that before we get rid of ILT (throwing the baby out…, if you will), we fix the problems and make ILT much more workable and impactful for today’s workplace by making revolutionary changes.

Read more