Free Agent – Hurled Through the Window of Opportunity

Boss: “I have some unfortunate news.”

Me: (thinking to myself) ‘Here we go…again…’

Boss: “Your position has been eliminated effective a week from Friday.”

Me: “Hmmm, something tells me this is not a joke.”

Boss: “I’m sorry. This is no joke.”

Bah-dump-tssshhh!
(Not sure that’s the correct spelling for a rim shot, but that’s the audio clip that played in my head.)

Safe to say that news was a shift I did not see coming. And yes, I know…shift happens…and it did with a thunderclap of change.

I have been separated from my current employer due to a reduction in force. That makes the third time this has happened through no fault or failure on my part. It’s funny how a mix of frustration and disappointment can be accompanied by near immediate feelings of freedom and elation. It wasn’t that way the first two times…maybe there is some truth to the third time being the charm.

While being separated from a job with no warning can be tough, I’m excited to report I have not been separated from my vision and passion for pursuing the discipline of Embedded Performance Support – EPS.

It is a blessing to have earned the confidence to know exciting times have only just begun.

As a long-time performance consultant in the corporate L&D profession, I’m pleased to announce that I am relaunching Human Performance Outfitters to power Living In Learning, my “back-burnered” EPS consultancy. It is exciting to return to the mission of “outfitting” organizations to effectively equip themselves to sustain workforce performance through adopting a holistic learning and performance paradigm.

Momentum in the L&D industry is shifting as I write this post. Momentum around the recognition of what training alone cannot accomplish – Sustainable Workforce Performance – at a new “ground zero” – @ the Point-of-Work.

Choosing to adopt the EPS discipline as the engine behind driving workforce performance is not just a good idea; it is the future of learning and performance.  Adopting EPS also has implications of Change that, having accomplished this journey before, carry implications I can only confirm as a lofty objective. Experience reveals that mastering EPS as the core discipline behind a successful ascent to the summit cannot be treated as optional.

As an “outfitter” my role is typically a temporary engagement ranging from:

• Readiness assessments for determining challenges and gaps related to EPS adoption
• Defining discrete business learning and performance demands in your ecosystem
• Recommending adjustments to discovery, design, development & delivery methodology
• Aligning requirements with vendor technology for “best-fit” evaluation & selection
• Road mapping a viable migration path to full adoption of EPS
• Change leadership to accomplish cultural and organizational adoption of EPS

Being an “outfitter” my role is not to make the climb, but to enable your staff to make the ascent by accurately mapping the best path to follow; identifying the right “climbing gear”; and coaching to enable your own staff to employ proven, repeatable “climbing techniques”.

In my career, I’ve been to the summit successfully three separate times, and every trip was unique. Every organization is different, but the end game is the same – workforce performance sustainability. It is important to choose an “outfitter” who has been to the top and can prevent costly falls and delays.

If your organization recognizes that true business results are won…or lost…@ the Point-of-Work, and a bold decision is under consideration to adopt a performance paradigm and head up the mountain to sustainability, meet me at base camp, and let’s kick around some ideas regarding the “climb” that lies ahead!

Gary G. Wise
Workforce Performance Advocate, Coach, Speaker
gdogwise@gmail.com 
(317) 437-2555
Web: Living In Learning
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