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For a number of years but especially this past year, a training trend is growing; asking what happens after the classroom stuff is done. We have always talked about 'training is the beginning of change not the end.' But until recently, many of our clients were mostly interested in getting positive feedback on the session itself rather than the impact that it can have long after the lights are off and the partcipants are back at work.

Don't get me wrong, we like getting positive feedback about how a session went and often do. In fact, we think of the session feedback as much more than just 'smile sheets' (a derogative term in our mind). In fact the feedback can show the level of confidence a person has in both the value they received and likelihood they'll use it back on the job. That'a an important first step.

This week I was talking with a potential client about what their expectations were for some training they wanted to offer. When I asked what role the senior managers would or should play in the participants ongoing development, they both smiled. I knew that they understood how important that reinforcement behavior was. Unfortunately what came next didn't give me much confidence that there would be much follow-up or reinforcement. I learned that senior managers were drowning in their own work and didn't see follow up after training as their role, let alone important enough to take action on.

At a recent training industry conference we heard from an amazingly talented future forecaster, Bob Johansen. His new book "Leaders Make the Future" outlined several major social trends and how they would impact the skills a leader in the future (next ten years to be exact) would need.

Bob told us that after doing these 10-year forecasts for more than forty years, he thought this one was at once the most frightening as well as filled with possibility of any his team had done. That got my attention.

The social communities and technologies that support them were only going to grow geometrically from what we know now. That means that there will be more information about more things than anyone can even imagine. Since he was talking to the training industry he took his remarks to the next level. What role can/should a training resource play that would add value and truly help their clients.

In a word, 'filter'. Using your expertise in a given market segment that knowledge allows you to read the trends and help clients edit through the myriad number of options. After the session I began to think about who my 'filters' were. Who are the experts I turn to to edit out the extraneous and focus on what matters most. CNN, my partner, my kids, my minister, a few close friends, NY Times best seller lists, and professional peers who have a track record of success, were a few.

Who do you trust to help you filter the mind-boggling level of new information you get every day?

Over the past five years we have trained thousands of retail District and Region Managers as well as thousands of retail buyers. If you have participated in a MOHR Access training program, let us know what you've found most valuable by posting a blog entry here.

This is also a great place to pose questions about challenges you face. Someone out there in retail is probably facing the same thing and may have even found a solution they will share.

Join the retail conversation! Post an entry today.

Nearly a 1,000 retail District Managers have participated in Retail Multiunit Management (RMM) sessions over this past year. Even seasoned pro's who have been DMs for many years have found new ideas for managing from a distance and have strengthened their leadership skills.

One of the biggest challenges that DMs say they face is getting all of their stores to be more proactive in leading their own teams instead of waiting for the DM's visit to the store.

How do you get your store managers to run their stores like they own it?

Many of our retail clients want better performance to happen fast. So do we! The challenge is often that clients forget that no matter how amazing the actual training is, if that's all there is, peak performance doesn't usually occur.

We recently worked with a major, national retailer who is facing the same challenges that all apparel retailers are facing, namely how to drive sales. One of the comments from their Senior Executive made a lot of sense. She said "It's not about changing who we are but being our best selves. We need everyone to bring their A-Game every day they're here."

What do you think people need from a company in order to bring their A-Game every day?