Some writings you may find helpful and thought provoking

Are you in a position to influence others but have no authority to make changes or implement programs? If so, then you meet the definition of a consultant as found in Peter Block's book, Flawless Consulting.
As internal consultants we want to solve our clients' problems. We work to have our expertise used and our recommendations implemented. We strive to build and maintain partnerships with our clients. More... 

Is Your Training Department  A Service Organization?

by Charles Fields

How is your training department faring in these economic times? Are you as secure as you were five years ago? Today companies are under pressure to reduce expenses as much as possible. Once again many training departments are coming under scrutiny.

Recently, I was asked to develop a program for a local company. During our first meeting I questioned them about using their own training department. The response was quick and to the point. "Our training department can't deliver what I need. They won't customize the program; everything is a package program. And they charge too much." More...

 Change as an Act of Creation by Charles Fields

We’re all fascinated by change. We’ve tried to lead it, manage it, be an agent of it, control it, and change it. Here’s how one author describes it. More...

McTraining by Charles Fields

"We can’t take 3 days away from work for a training, so can you cut it to two days?” I get asked that question a lot these days. There’s a lot of pressure to “do it in less time AND cover all the material AND include practical exercises to build their skills”. If it’s a three-day workshop, people want it in two. More...

We Don't Celebrate Anymore by Charles Fields

To begin, here’s what I mean by celebration...gathering in the spirit of joy to share hospitality and the pleasure of being with others.  The intent is to connect with others... to build community.

There was a time when we celebrated minor events in our work life.  Today we seem to celebrate less and less.  Two events have sparked this observation. More...

Fire, Ready, Aim by Charles Fields

We love to solve problems!  We like to act quickly to solve a problem based on the initial "facts" that we have. Rarely is real problem is the same as the initial or apparent problem.  In our desire to “find a solution” we fire before we aim, and aim before we’re ready. More...