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22nd December 2006

Neon Elephant Award Announcement

Dr. Will Thalheimer, President of Work-Learning Research, announces the inaugural edition of the Neon Elephant Award, awarded for 2006 to Cal Wick of the Fort Hill Company for leading the development of the first commercially-viable training-follow-through e-learning software and his work as co-author of the book, The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development into Business Results.


The Neon Elephant Award

The Neon Elephant Award is awarded to a person, team, or organization exemplifying enlightenment, integrity, and innovation in the field of workplace learning and performance. Announced on the day of the winter solstice—the day of the year when the northern hemisphere turns away from darkness toward the light and hope of warmer days to come—the Neon Elephant Award honors those who have truly changed the way we think about the practice of learning and performance improvement. Award winners are selected for demonstrated success in pushing the field forward in significant paradigm-altering ways while maintaining the highest standards of ethics and professionalism.


The Symbolism of “Neon Elephant”

The glow of neon represents enlightenment, illumination, and gravitas. The elephant represents learning, power, strength, and the importance of nurturing the community.
 

2006 Award Winner – Cal Wick

Cal Wick embodies the values of the Neon Elephant Award. In 1999, he founded the Fort Hill Company because of his frustration with the way typical management-training programs produced virtually no impact when the learners returned to their jobs. Cal’s answer to this problem was the development of Friday5s—an e-learning platform that enables training results to be channeled to on-the-job implementation. By tracking learners’ progress toward goals and connecting the learners’ managers and learning administrators to the progress of implementation, Friday5s enables a revolution in how we think about training. No longer is training about information. No longer is it an event. With an online training-follow-through platform, implementation can become part of the training contract. Since the 1980’s the field has moved from training to performance improvement. Cal and his team’s invention provides a bridge between training and performance. It’s not one or the other. The goal is on-the-job performance. Now training can be outfitted to support that performance.

Cal and his team at the Fort Hill Company do more than create and market their products and services. By utilizing results from both research and practice and by honestly evaluating their own on-the-job results, they have been able to build a continuing cycle of improvement in their own work efforts. They’ve also compiled their own learning in The Six Disciplines book, published this past April (2006), making it easy for the rest of us to improve what we’re doing. In the book, which I’ve previously reviewed as “nothing short of revolutionary,” they’ve laid out a coherent and well-tested system for getting training results. It’s not just about training-follow-through software. It’s about an attitude and a complete methodology for getting business results.
 

Selection Methodology

The award is based purely on merit and the criteria detailed above. Proposals are not accepted, nor are any entrance fees solicited or accepted. While advice on the selection is sought from industry thought leaders, Dr. Will Thalheimer of Work-Learning Research is the final arbiter. Awards will only be made in years when exceptional contributions to the workplace learning and performance field are apparent.


Will Thalheimer and Work-Learning Research

Work-Learning Research is Dr. Will Thalheimer’s research and consulting practice. Dr. Thalheimer helps his clients build wildly more effective learning interventions by (a) bridging the gap between research and practice, (b) compiling research from the world’s preeminent refereed journals on learning, instruction, memory, and performance, and (c) sharing that knowledge with a large dose of practical wisdom.

Dr. Thalheimer conducts workshops on instructional design and e-learning, performs learning audits to help clients get unbiased feedback on their learning interventions, researches fundamental learning processes, conducts learning evaluations, and shares his insights on his industry-leading blog (www.willatworklearning.com) and in his other writings (www.work-learning.com/catalog).


Contact Information for Will Thalheimer, President, Work-Learning Research, Inc.
 

Phone:             617-718-0067

Email:              click here

                       

Formal Press Release

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