immediate impact - endless possibilities
December, 2015
In This Issue
Conference 2015
Important Dates
Holiday Hours
4 P's of Effective Communication
Quick Links

"December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come."
~ Fennel Hudson, A Meaningful Life 

The final page on the 2015 calendar - and what a year it's been!  We've been through some huge changes here at Insights, with the amalgamation of our Calgary and Vancouver businesses into one company, a new team, and changing roles and responsibilities.  We've had to dig deep into our own work to support the tectonic shifts that have taken place in our organization.  And the use of our own materials in our journey has helped us better prepare to support you - our customer - in tackling and solving your own unique business challenges.  It's been a year of growth and change - and we're excited to build on the momentum going forward into the New Year.

We've wrapped up our 2015 customer conference and professional development day, and we're lining up some exciting offerings for the next twelve months.  But for now, we're going to get set to spend a few days of reflection and renewal with friends and family, and we hope you have the opportunity as well.

If you missed Live and In Colour 2015, we've got a short recap here, along with dates for our upcoming 2016 Discovery Accreditation sessions.  So take five, top up that coffee cup, and catch up on the latest news from Insights Learning and Development. 
Wow!  The networking!  The drumming!  The Cracker Barrels, and the Business Challenge Analysis session.  Live and In Colour 2015 was a day full of learning, sharing and fun.

Nearly 100 people attended the Insights Learning and Development conference, which took place at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Monday, December 7th. The theme for the one-day event was 'Building Resiliency in Individuals and Organizations' and included numerous learning, sharing and networking opportunities.

Managing Director Steven Tory said: "Live and In Colour is a fantastic opportunity for our customers to connect with other like-minded professionals and industry experts and explore new ways of deploying the Insights model within their business. It's also an opportunity for us to deliver some new content and share some developments that are currently in the pipeline."
 
Cracker Barrel Sessions in Progr
The conference aimed to provide personal development experiences, create opportunities for best practice sharing and strengthen our community of clients and practitioners.

It was also an opportunity to showcase the new Insights Canada West business, which was formed after Insights' successful Vancouver and Calgary organizations merged in November to create one business.

City of Prince George Director of HR Rae-Ann Emery said: "We introduced Insights into our organization around six years ago. Insights is our common language and, if we had a culture, it would be Insights because it's just so profound. It's complex, yet simple and people understand it. It's made such a difference in our organization."

Provincial Heath Services Authority Leadership Specialist Rick Thomas added: "I've used other models before but Insights is so much more accessible and robust. The products are so powerful. Having the opportunity to attend the Live and In Colour event, and get together with other practitioners and Insights experts was amazing."

The conference opened with a flash-mob style drumming event led by special guest Judy Atkinson of Circles of Rhythm. Attendees used 'boom whackers' - hollow percussion tubes - in Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Cool Blue to build a community through rhythm.

Manager, Learning Services, Cathy Anderson presented a session on storytelling before Managing Partner Helen Morley presented a session on leadership resiliency. Steven shared some developments currently in the pipeline and Managing Partner Leslie Cole co-facilitated a session on how effective leadership can overcome some common business challenges.

While the conference is a regular annual event for the Canadian market, it was the first time using the Live and in Colour branding. Steven said: "We received some really great feedback and many of our customers said this was the best conference yet."

Plans are underway to finalize the date for Live and In Colour 2016.  Watch for details.  
Upcoming Events              
 
Discoverylogowithglobe
Insights Discovery Accreditation, 
Calgary - February 8-11, 2016 (M-Th)
Vancouver - May 10-13, 2016 (M-Th)

There are now over 30 public and internal Accreditations each year across North America, which demonstrates how many organizations are choosing to bring Insights Discovery 'in house'.  In fact, we always end up with a waiting list for IDA sessions, so if you're considering attending either the IDA session in either city, don't hesitate.  Register today.  

Full details and registration information is located here.
Holiday Hours and Season's Greetings 

Holiday hours The offices of Insights Learning Development will be closing at noon on Thursday December 24th, and we will re-open on Tuesday, December 29th.  We'll be closing at noon on Thursday, December 31st and re-opening in the New Year on Monday, January 4th.

December 24th: 10:00 am to Noon
December 25th: Closed
December 28th: Closed
December 29th: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
December 30th: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
December 31st: 10:00 am to Noon
January 1st: Closed
January 4th: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm 

On behalf of everyone here at Insights Learning and Development, we wish you and yours the very best of the holiday season, and we look forward to working with you in 2016.  
The 4 P's of Communication
Four steps to manage crucial conversations
             
The Insights 4 P's of Communication model provides a powerful template for communicating timely information in a way that meets the largest number of needs.  It can prevent you from feeling frustrated that a crucial conversation didn't go quite the way you had wanted. In a recent on-line article, Steve Knight shared four steps to take before you head into those important conversations.  

Just like the Insights 4 P's, he recommends clearly defining your Purpose for the conversation, the Plan you're presenting, creating a compelling Picture of the outcomes, and focusing on the People-related issues or questions.  

The complete article is located here.  If you'd like to explore the Insights 4-P's of Communication model in more depth, please contact our office. 
 
Let's Be Social 
Join us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.  We'll be using these links to provide updates in-between our monthly newsletters and we'll also be re-posting or re-tweeting stories and articles we find interesting. 

If you have comments or suggestions for articles in upcoming newsletters, please  contact me directly. 

Dale Nelson, 
Insights Learning and Development