White Paper 10x10x10 Framework: A Model for Creating a

Executive SummaryTime is the single most precious asset in today’s fast-paced business world. Busi-ness professionals must make the most of every minute of every day, even as demands on their time have increased exponentially. Staying informed is one of the most critical needs that business people have, and also one of the most time-consuming. This paper explores a new framework for delivering information in easily-digestible 10-minute nuggets that satisfy a range of informational needs. The 10x10x10 framework supports immediate problem-solving and the ongoing development needs of today’s leaders in a hyper-competitive, ever-changing world, ultimately driving higher levels of organizational performance and agility.

JOHN AMBROSESenior Vice President,

Strategy, Corporate Development and Emerging Business

SkillSoft

OCTOBER 2010

10x10x10 Framework: A Model for Creating a Nimble, Adaptable Global Workforce White Paper

SSWP.1618.1010

Table of Contents

Fostering Wide Business Perspective in a Time-Challenged World 1

The Time is Right for a Better Leadership Information Model 1

The 10x10x10 Framework 2

Ten Minutes to Read 2

Ten Minutes to Listen 3

Ten Minutes to Watch 3

Putting It All Together 4

Blending at the Course Level 4

Blending at the Program Level 4

Blending at the Learning Environment Level 4

Conclusions 5

Appendix 1 6

10x10x10 Framework: A Model for Creating a Nimble, Adaptable Global Workforce White Paper

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Fostering Wide Business Perspective in a Time-Challenged WorldTime is the single most precious asset of today’s business professional. It is the metronome behind every organiza-tional task, project and initiative. It is absolute and non-negotiable. Every one of us, no matter our role, geography, or age, has exactly 1,440 minutes each day. What separates us is how we choose to use those minutes.

At the same time, the availability of information has acceler-ated. Despite the many channels of instant information, too much valuable time can be wasted in searching, rather than finding. General search tools can be good at pinpointing a phone number or an odd fact, but fall short of providing thoughtful, rich perspectives distilled into advertising-free consumable nuggets that can propel business IQ. And yet, the need for thought-leadership that can sharpen business-relevant perspective at all levels of the organization has never been greater or the stakes higher for several reasons:

• Pace of Technology—Technology changes mean markets can turn on a dime.

• Global Competition—Decisions need to be made more swiftly in the face of intensifying global 24x7 competition.

• Decentralization—Organizations are more geographically fragmented and dispersed leaving fewer opportunities for reflective strategic discourse incorporating multiple perspectives.

• Changing Workforce—Demographic shifts, baby boomer retirements, great diversity, less loyalty and more fluidity.

“The concept of time is changing – both in terms of expecta-tion of information and results on demand,” wrote Gráinne Conole, chair of the Institute for Educational Technology (IET) in a recent research report. With this as a background, it seems an almost insurmountable task: delivering thought-ful information in a way that’s consistent with the speed of business today.

Learning professionals in the coming decade will be chal-lenged as never before to provide creative information solutions that deliver on the organization’s hunger for multi-dimensional perspectives and best practices. Such content is no less essential for the organization than balanced nutrition is to our bodies. The fact is that knowledge professionals are running faster, longer and in more directions than ever be-fore. To help workers and their organizations remain vibrant, energetic and ultimately successful, learning professionals might think of the learning resources they are providing as more than just ‘content,’ but rather as the essential thought-leadership nutrients the organization needs to operate and thrive in a decade where time is of the essence.

The Time is Right for a Better Leadership Information ModelIt wasn’t very long ago that exposing business professionals to the best thought leadership was generally accomplished through books and live lectures. These opportunities still exist, but in many circumstances they are too analog, too slow, too inconvenient, and too expensive. These modes of learning are not as desirable to technology-savvy workers for whom video iPods, MP3 players and social media are second nature. It is also difficult, as a learning or professional devel-opment leader to accurately predict which topics are most critical across a diverse employee population.

Yet, great thought leadership no longer needs to remain trapped and inaccessible in old-world modalities. By leverag-ing today’s current generation of technology, the best think-ing of the leading gurus and practitioners can be captured, chunked, and delivered to any device with a Web browser, including netbooks, Blackberries, iPhones and Droids. It can be searched, listened to, or watched. It can be saved, down-loaded or shared. It can be organized, annotated and pushed. Digital thought-leadership can be used in creative ways as part of digital social communities where online discussion can result in deeper reflection and richer appreciation.

10x10x10 Framework: A Model for Creating a Nimble, Adaptable Global Workforce

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As a leadership development professional at one Fortune 50 company with several hundred thousand employees world-wide said, “Not all our employees are executives, but it is our job to provide the tools to help them think like they are.” Technology can unlock the time-tested insights, advice and best practices of giants like Peter Drucker, Clay Christensen, Gary Hamel, Marshall Goldsmith, Thomas Friedman and many others, and provide an invaluable stream of thought leadership that can enrich the perspectives and critical thinking skills of all your employees in digestible bites.

The 10x10x10 FrameworkOne best practice for cultivating a digital thought-leadership stream is by adopting a 10x10x10 framework. This frame-work is built on the premise that the people who would benefit most from rich breakthrough thinking are also the most time-challenged and difficult to reach population in an organization. They might not only be your executives, but your senior managers, your highly motivated key contribu-tors, your high-potential employees, and large swaths of your general workforce who are highly engaged and desiring growth. The 10x10x10 framework is designed to reach all these populations with bite-sized, highly engaging content matched to the individual’s preferred learning style and time constraints.

Simply put, 10x10x10 is all about providing a stream of world-class content that can be accessed on any Web device anywhere in the world by a busy professional who has just ten minutes to invest. Moreover, it is about allowing the user to select from a variety of modalities. A user may have ten minutes to read, ten minutes to listen or ten minutes to watch. This framework brings together assets from four independent SkillSoft content sources into a single leader-ship stream that can satisfy these needs.

Ten Minutes to ReadEvery professional in your organization understands the value of a book. In fact, if you were to conduct a poll, you

would undoubtedly find a large majority of people lamenting their inability to read more books. Why? Because books provide not just facts, but context and texture. They provide a logic train with a starting point, middle and end. They provide deep insights and analysis. For most people in business today, books were the primary tool for formal skills transfer in their lifetime. Books are a time-proven treasure trove of contextual information.

Today’s reality has reduced reading long-form books to a rarified luxury. But the information that continues to be captured in book form is no less vital. The challenge is unlocking this information is a way that is relevant and efficient for a time-challenged workforce, without sacrificing deeper context when needed.

The first leg of the 10x10x10 framework is targeted at solving this problem of providing an opportunity to learn when someone has just ten minutes to read. By incorporating an online reference solution that enables users to instantly search millions of pages of vetted, business-relevant content. But content alone is not enough. Equally important is a search platform that can pinpoint the relevant sections hidden within these books so a busy professional can get to the very heart of the information quest while having the full context should there be a need to go deeper in any direction.

Books24x7® BusinessPro™, from SkillSoft, is an ideal plat-form for satisfying members of your audience when they have just ten minutes to read. BusinessPro is arguably the world’s most comprehensive collection of business reference books aggregated online and accessible through an easy to use and fully integrated search interface. Via BusinessPro, a user can instantly search the content of more than 6,600 world-class books comprising more than 1.7-million pages covering every corner of business know-how from opera-tionally oriented business processes like project manage-ment to self-improvement. There is also abundant content on higher-level business issues such as business strategy,

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sustainability and theory from the likes of Harvard and Stanford, to name just two of the more than 400 participat-ing publishers.

Ten Minutes to ListenLearning through listening is increasingly popular as time-challenged high performers look to maximize “blank space” in their otherwise crammed schedules. Examples include drive-time commutes, during workouts, while on or waiting for flights. And audio files are among the most universally portable format today as they can be played directly from any computing device including netbooks and tablets, cop-ied to CD for playing in the car, or downloaded to an MP3 device including iPods for complete personal mobility.

The second leg of the 10x10x10 framework targets the audio learner. Progressive learning organizations see these down periods as opportunities to provide rich, professionally-pro-duced, name-brand audio content that broadens business perspective even as it entertains.

ExecSummaries™, from SkillSoft, is an ideal content source for reaching the road warrior with mindful, business audio content. ExecSummaries is a hand-picked selection of the must-read business books that are truly distinguished through their ground-breaking business thought leadership. Each book is distilled into a compact “executive-style summary” designed to convey the essence of the book in a document that be read in about ten minutes. What’s more, each new summary is available in a downloadable “podcast” format that can be played on virtually any computing or music device.

Examples of the more than 200 titles found in the ExecSum-maries audio podcast collection include:

• Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson

• The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C. Maxwell

• What the Customer Wants You to Know by Ram Charan

• Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott

• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Ten Minutes to WatchThe third leg of the 10x10x10 framework is the modality of video. The advantages of video are obvious: compelling, engaging, and emotive. Video, as a medium, excels in its ability to quickly and efficiently allow learners and the world’s foremost business authorities and leadership gurus to connect where and when needed. And with more and more devices, including the new generation of smart phones, capable of playing standard video files, L&D organizations have more opportunities than ever to leverage this format.

One of the challenges with video is time. Much commercial video production tends to focus on long-form story-telling, i.e. 30-minute sitcoms, 60-minute documentaries, 90-minute movies. It is a comfortable format, especially when it is event based with a user blocking the time to attend and participate for the duration. But how can video be used effectively to satisfy the ad hoc needs of your time-challenged workforce? How can you incorporate video into your leadership de-velopment stream in a way that appeals to today’s YouTube generation?

More and more organizations are relying on the Leadership Development Channel ®, from SkillSoft, to deliver bite-sized video, called QuickTalks. QuickTalks are sophisticated, compelling 10-minute or less videos that capture the essen-tial thinking from experts around the globe on specific topics spanning the full spectrum of business related topics in management, leadership, personal effectiveness, sales, marketing, strategy and much more.

Relevant QuickTalks can be pinpointed through a simple search query, generally offering a choice of perspectives from multiple experts. By launching the video, it is as if the user

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just asked the expert, such as MIT management guru Michael Treacy, a question such as: “What can be done to improve and structure the invention process for competitive advantage?” The viewer then hears a thoughtful, response designed to inspire further consideration and action.

With more than 1,200 QuickTalks available from more than 350 globally recognized speakers, this collection offers a deep and convenient video resource.

Putting It All TogetherThe power of the 10x10x10 framework is its ability to supplement formal L&D structures with a learning-nugget approach that has proven effective in reinforcing sustainable outcomes and busy professionals prefer. In the appendix to this white paper, you will find several sample 10x10x10 grids that can be used for delivering high-impact content nuggets in support of specific competencies or serve as a model for developing your own.

The framework also has the advantage of working well in a stand-alone, self-service environment, a blended environ-ment, or both. In the self-service model, each user has an individual password and can access any of the content modalities – reading, listening or watching – from a single interface with federated search and browsable topic trees. The user is in control and can access wherever, whenever. In the blended environment, L&D organizations can take one of three approaches:

Blending at the Course LevelWith this approach a course or curriculum designer can build a custom course that incorporates content from the 10x10x10 framework as learning modules. These compo-nents can be mixed, organized and presented with other SkillSoft assets, such as self-assessed exercises, online men-toring, simulations, Job Aids and course components, as well as your proprietary content.

Blending at the Program LevelWith this approach, an organization typically leverages a live or virtual class targeted at a specific topic or initiative as an anchor event. To expand effectiveness and ensure retention of the key goals of the anchor event, L&D can leverage targeted elements from the 10x10x10 framework, such as videos, executive summary podcasts or specific book chapters as pre-work or post-work. This approach fortifies the anchor event by ensuring that participants are level-set before they arrive, are prepared with a common vocabulary while they are active in the dialogue, and have a communal sense of sustained reinforcement when they return back to their ‘day jobs,’ post-event.

Studies show that this type of regular interaction yields far better results in terms of retention. One study showed that learning activities occurring 6 times over a 30-day period raised retention significantly compared to a single event.

Blending at the Learning Environment LevelWith this approach, an organization seeks to leverage a diverse array of online learning activities that include, but are not confined to, the 10x10x10 assets. Organizations tend to think about a design model that aggregates all of their diverse online learning offerings into an open, accessible environment. Content can be prescribed, but by removing barriers and offering a rich repository of learning opportuni-ties, organizations encourage the workforce to take owner-ship and responsibility for their personal development.

Blending at this level means that L&D fosters the evolution of a learning resource that the organization can rely on as the definitive content resource for a variety of:

• Activities—Including self-study assignments, assessments, tracking, live virtual sessions, on-the-job skills practice, coaching sessions, workshops, and labs.

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• Assets—Including documents/manuals, off-the-shelf online courses, simulations, information portals, CDs and podcasts, custom courses, reference books, executive summaries, videos, and live/recorded virtual meetings.

• Audience—Including managers, executives and champi-ons, coaches, trainers, support staff, peers and even cus-tomers and prospects.

ConclusionsIn an information-based economy and an increasingly information-driven world, today’s lean workforce is more challenged than any preceding generation to have all the skills and experiences required to adapt to rapidly changing roles as contributors, decision-makers and leaders within organizations that are constantly morphing to remain globally competitive. Ironically, even as these skills and knowledge gaps widen, time has become an ever scarcer commodity. Furthermore, shifts in workforce demographics and varying levels of technological proficiency abound. Equipping the workforce of this next decade with the critical perspectives and peripheral vision it needs to be business-effective has become one of the single most vexing chal-lenges facing organizations today.

SkillSoft’s 10x10x10 framework can help. It provides a model for leveraging a variety of superb, stand-alone content assets and “revisioning” them as a single holistic leadership stream that provides a 24x7 lifeline to busy, often remote business people who instinctively understand their limitations and gaps and who want to take responsibility for their ongoing professional development. What’s more, 10x10x10 encom-passes multiple learning modalities in compelling, conve-nient new ways. As a result, several Fortune class organiza-tions have already begun to adopt the 10x10x10 framework

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Appendix 1.

CHARACTER

When you only have 10 minutes…

…and want to understand the core concepts of a ground breaking book …and need an immediate answer …and would like actionable advice

from a business guru

ExecSummaries BusinessPro Leadership Development Channel

Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor (A Summary) by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O’Toole and Patricia Ward Biederman

Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O’Toole and Patricia Ward Biederman

QuickTalks: Ken Blanchard: Ethical Management Featuring Ken Blanchard

The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything (A Summary) by Stephen M. R. Covey

Ethics for the Real World: Creating a Personal Code to Guide Decisions in Work and Life by Ronald A. Howard and Clinton D. Korver

QuickTalks: Stephen Covey: The High Cost of Low Trust Featuring Stephen Covey

Leading With Character: Stories of Valor and Virtue and the Principles They Teach (A Summary) by John J. Sosik

How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything...in Business (and in Life) by Dov Seidman

QuickTalks: Bill George: Staying True to Your True North Featuring Bill George

A Leader’s Legacy: How Would You Like to Be Remembered? (A Summary) by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

Business Ethics as Practice: Ethics as the Everyday Business of Business by Mollie Painter-Morland

QuickTalks: Pat Lencioni: The Five Root Causes of Team Dysfunction Featuring Patrick Lencioni

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Appendix 1. continued

PERSONAL CAPABILITY





Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (A Summary) by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee

Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee

QuickTalks: Tim Sanders: Emotional Intelligence Featuring Tim Sanders

Leadership and the Sexes: Using Gender Science to Create Success in Business (A Summary) by Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis

Wargaming for Leaders: Strategic Decision Making From the Battlefield to the Boardroom by Mark Herman, Mark Frost and Robert Kurz

The Hidden Forces that Shape Decision-Making Featuring Dan Ariely

Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes for an Answer: Managing for Conflict and Consensus (A Summary) by Michael A. Roberto

Decision Making & Problem Solving Strategies by John Adair

QuickTalks: Justin Menkes: Executive Intelligence: Working With and Through Others Featuring Justin Menkes Ph.D.

Why Decisions Fail: Avoiding the Blunders and Traps That Lead to Debacles (A Summary) by Paul C. Nutt

Emotional Capitalists: The New Leaders: Essential Strategies for Building Your Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Success by Martyn Newman

QuickTalks: John Sweeney: Lead Like Improvisers: Listen to Your Gut Featuring John Sweeney

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FOCUS ON RESULTS





Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done (A Summary) by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

The Organization of the Future 2: Visions, Strategies, and Insights on Managing in a New Era by Frances Hesselbein and Marshall Goldsmith (eds)

10 Rules for Strategic Innovators – From Idea to Execution Featuring Vijay Govindarajan

Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right (A Summary) by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

The Keys to Strategy Execution: A Global Study of Current Trends and Possibilities 2006-2016 by Donna J. Bear et al.

QuickTalks: Jim Harris: Execution: A Case Study Featuring Jim Harris

Creating the Accountable Organization: A Practical Guide to Improve Performance Execution (A Summary) by Mark Samuel

Creating the Accountable Organization: A Practical Guide To Performance Execution by Mark Samuel

QuickTalks: Tim Sanders: Innovation means Execution Featuring Tim Sanders

Profit or Growth?: Why You Don’t Have to Choose (A Summary) by Bala Chakravarthy and Peter Lorange

The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build Your Team, and Get Immediate Results, 2nd Edition by George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check and Jorge E. Pedraza

QuickTalks: Michael Treacy: Fundamentals of Company Performance Featuring Michael Treacy

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INTERPERSONAL SKILLS





The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence and Persuasion Through The Art of Storytelling (A Summary) by Annette Simmons

Learning from Life: Turning Life’s Lessons into Leadership Experience by Marian N. Ruderman and Patricia J. Ohlott

QuickTalks: Gareth Jones: Great Leaders are Great Communicators Featuring Gareth Jones

Beyond the Babble: Leadership Communication That Drives Results (A Summary) by Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

Leader to Leader 2: Enduring Insights on Leadership from the Leader to Leader Institute’s Award-Winning Journal by Frances Hesselbein and Alan Shrader

QuickTalks: Jeff Kaplan: Business Relationships are Personal Relationships Featuring Jeff Kaplan

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time (A Summary) by Susan Scott

The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

Master the Message: Communicating for Success Featuring Edge Training Systems

Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear (A Summary) by Frank Luntz

151 Quick Ideas to Improve Your People Skillsby Bob Dittmer and Stephanie McFarland

QuickTalks: Robin Sieger: The Attitude Factor Featuring Robin Sieger

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LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE





Driving Change: The UPS Approach to Business (A Summary) by Mike Brewster and Frederick Dalzell

Influencer: The Power To Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler

Excellence, Execution and Change: Continuing the Search Featuring Tom Peters

You Can’t Order Change: Lessons From Jim McNerney’s Turnaround at Boeing (A Summary) by Peter S. Cohan

The Future of Management by Gary Hamel and Bill Breen

CEO Exchange QuickTalks: Fred Hassan: Managing Change Featuring Fred Hassan

The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations (A Summary) by John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen

Built to Change: How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness by Edward E. Lawler III and Christopher G. Worley

QuickTalks: Gary Hamel: Reinventing Management Featuring Gary Hamel

Influencer: The Power To Change Anything (A Summary) by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler

Harvard Business Review on Leading Through Change by Harvard Business School Press

Senge on Change and Learning Featuring Peter Senge

Documents

White Paper 10x10x10 Framework: A Model for Creating a