Building Business Acumen for Trainers: Skills to Empower the Learning Function [Hardcover]

Terrence L. Gargiulo (Author), Ajay Pangarkar (Author), Teresa Kirkwood (Author), Tom Bunzel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0787981753 | ISBN-13: 978-0787981754

As a training and development or human resource professional, do you have the knowledge, skills, and experience you need to become an indispensable strategic partner within your organization? Building Business Acumen for Trainers provides step-by-step practical advice on business practices guaranteed to  win the support, respect, and attention of your organization. Written for both new and seasoned professionals, this essential resource will show how to put into practice the three critical areas of business acumen:

• Finance skills
• Partnering skills
• Communication skills

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The topics explored throughout this book bring much-needed knowledge to learning-industry professionals in a pragmatic, yet highly informative manner. The timing of this volume could not possibly be better for learning professionals seeking to communicate the important bridge between organizational learning and the success of strategic business imperatives."
—Kathy Watt, manager, Business Development, College of Extended Learning, University of New Brunswick

"This book admirably fills a serious gap in the professional practice of learning and performance—lack of business savvy.  It is clearly written, case-based, concrete and comprehensive.  I especially appreciated the financial and return-on-investment content. I was also delighted that it contains material on Human Performance Technology.  I will recommend this volume to my students, colleagues and corporate clients."
—Harold D. Stolovitch, emeritus professor, Université de Montréal, principal, HSA Learning & Performance Solutions LLC, and author Telling Ain't Training and Training Ain't Performance

"This engaging book is absolutely essential for human resource professionals! It should be required reading for everyone in our field.”
—Jill Russell, principal and founding director, TPO HR

"Some of the jewels of this book are it explains the language of finance; it provides practical advice on how to communicate the case for investing in development initiatives, and it is full of guidance on how to collaborate with the business to determine the payback of investing in development solutions.  The case studies used throughout the book brings ideas to life in an exciting way.  This is one of those books every HR, HRD, and training professional should have."
—Judith A. Hale, author,Outsourcing Training and Development: Factors for Success

"Relevance is in the eye of the beholder. And for training professionals who want to earn a seat at the strategic planning table, nothing can help build corporate relevance better than applying the skills outlined in this book which will show you how to turn training into business results."
—Marty Fisher, vice president, Stores HR and Training, Abercrombie and Fitch

"If today’s aspiring Learning professionals don’t read this book, they will miss an opportunity to gain that ultimate competitive advantage that will revitalize their career into becoming a true business player. The primer on financial tools, business partnering and dynamic communication strategies described in this book are excellent. The book has integrated a number of innovative learning concepts, tools and methodologies that weave a comprehensive business learning roadmap for Learning professionals to attain greater business acumen and be on top of their game."
—Francesca Bleck, director, human resources, Technical Learning & Development, Lafarge North America and Latin America, Corporate Technical Services

"Changes in our industry have revealed the critical need for knowledge and skills in business acumen—the area Business Acumen for Trainers specifically and uniquely addresses. This is a must read book for anyone in a training position today or in the future."
—Wes Parker, national curriculum manager, Management & Employee Development, Verizon Wireless

From the Back Cover

As a training and development or human resource professional, do you have the knowledge, skills, and experience you need to become an indispensable strategic partner within your organization? Building Business Acumen for Trainers provides step-by-step practical advice on business practices guaranteed to win the support, respect, and attention of your organization. Written for both new and seasoned professionals, this essential resource will show how to put into practice the three critical areas of business acumen: Finance Skills, Partnering Skills, and Communication Skills.

Each section in the book highlights one of these three skills and can be used as a stand-alone reference. To help you succeed, the book is filled with case studies, thought-provoking interactive scenarios, templates, quizzes, questions for reflection, and self-paced exercises, all available on the accompanying CD.

"Some of the jewels of this book are that it explains the language of finance, it provides practical advice on how to communicate the case for investing in development initiatives, and it is full of guidance on how to collaborate with the business to determine the payback of investing in development solutions. This is one of those books every HR, HRD, and training professional should have."
—Judith A. Hale, author of Outsourcing Training and Development: Factors for Success

"For training professionals who want to earn a seat at the strategic planning table, nothing can help build corporate relevance better than applying the skills outlined in this book, which will show you how to turn training into business results."
—Marty Fisher, vice president, HR and Training, Abercrombie and Fitch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer (October 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787981753
• ISBN-13: 978-0787981754
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #951,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Top-Down Picture We Have Long Needed, April 18, 2007

By 

Robb Murray "Computer Training On-Call" (CHICAGO, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Business Acumen for Trainers: Skills to Empower the Learning Function (Hardcover)

---->Remember the old Robert Burns quote, "Oh, would that God the gift would gee us, to see ourselves as others see us"? (Modern business equivalent: "What do we look like to the customer?") This book is a unique tool that grants us this very top-down and outside-in perspective; it's a Google Earth for the business of training.
---->Terrence Gargiulo and his associates have provided a unique, full panorama here of training as seen by business management. Probably half of the fit into any field of work involves mastering its buzzwords. So we need to be talking the business language that management wants to hear, and this book begins immersing us in "their" terms, beginning early in the first chapter.
---->You can use this book to make a good training department better. The book can not only stand as a textbook for academic programs in T&D but, even nicer, can be grist for team meetings and staff development sessions at work.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Dozens of sections are so concise and useful that you will want to dog-ear and tag them for quick retrieval. Here are eight of my favorites:.
1--The "Break Even Analysis" (including terms) section, pp. 64-67, plus the CD-ROM file.
2--The ROI chapter (Cht. 3) gives Kirkpatrick's 4 Levels of Evaluation, p. 83.
3--"Values Not Demonstrated Through ROI Analysis", p. 101.
4--"Ten Question to Ask Before Turning to An Outside Vendor", p. 120.
5--"Seven Negotiating Tips", p. 149.
6--Ready-to-Use RFP Form in Cht. 4 of the CD-ROM. Why reinvent the wheel?
7--"Top Five Critical Success Factors for Successful Partnerships", pp. 179-191.
8--"Making Effective Presentations" (Cht. 12, p. 315-), including "Delivery Do's and Don'ts", p. 327-). A training manager could make a whole master class (TTT) out of this chapter for staff, even utilizing the web sites on p. 342. In fact, I hope someone will.
READABILITY:
---->Good phrases of no-nonsense advice jump out throughout the book: "Plan out the work to create the RFP", "Get what you contract for", etc.
---->There are marvelous "Thinking Like Management" inserts beginning right with the first "Financial Basics" chapter on p. 18. These inserts resurface throughout the book and are helpfully condensed into Appendix 3 (p. 349).
---->Most chapters feature a Review Quiz to be sure you have mastered fundamentals.
---->There are many URLs that will give current information, and that includes a list of them on the accompanying CD-ROM.
FULL-BODIED POINT-OF-VIEW:
---->True to today's project management thinking, the perspective of the book is business-wholistic, covering the three domains: 1) managerial/financial, 2) organizational and 3) technical (production-focused). The stool cannot stand without all three legs. "5: Building Institutional Support" and "6: Partnering with Your Customers" are chapters rightly included as business topics, and not as marginal "OD fluff". Business happens through people and their relationships, and there's no shortcutting that.
---->Similarly, "8: Human Performance Technology" shows systems thinking in action so that, for example, you're "Making Sure Training Solves the Right Problem" (p. 238). There are no missing pieces in this assembled jigsaw puzzle.
A WELCOME FOUNDATION:
---->I can foresee this book's becoming a standard text and emerging in fresh editions and revisions for years. As trainers, we have to get outside the box and stay there. That's where the instructions are: and you'll find them in this great book.