Ahead of Tomorrow

There is finally a heightened discussion on racism, equity, and diversity happening in the workplace today. However, with many now living at work in our virtual environment, we can no longer separate our personal and professional lives. To explore who we are at work means we need to explore who we are at home.

Reflecting on our behaviors in our personal life will help us identify ways we may have unconscious bias, micro-aggressions, or subconscious behaviors that may be racist.

Talethea Best, Founder & CEO of Best Innovations Consulting LLC and diversity, equity, and inclusion leader, and I will explore:

• 5 questions to ask yourself to help you identify your relationship with racism
• The importance of understanding yourself within a framework of others
• What it meant for Talethea to learn she was Black
• Ways to acknowledge your privilege
• How to be an Ally

We cannot change the system of racism if we do not first take a step back and reflect on ourselves, and our behaviors to recognize the role that we play within the system. Only then can we begin to make the necessary changes.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. " Desmond Tutu

Optimizing Virtual Learning Series is relevant for ANY facilitator, trainer, teacher (adult or K-12).  But really - I recorded this to help those in greatest need right now: our K-12 teachers.

This episode will provide tips/tricks & best practices for keeping your students engaged in the virtual classroom through:

• Energizers
• Ice Breakers
• Non-verbal Communication Tools

*NOTE - these are all great tricks for keeping corporate meetings engaging and interactive too!

Virtual CAN BE just as engaging and beneficial as in-person...if we design and deliver content in a meaningful way.

Our world shifted overnight from in-person to virtual, including the way we learn. It's possible you spent your entire teaching career in the classroom - you knew your syllabus by heart, you knew the way your students learned, and you knew how to keep them engaged. And now you are having to unlearn what you knew and relearn a new reality. But how could you possibly have time to unlearn and relearn when you are navigating the pandemic, your personal life, and making every effort to ensure your students are safe. Maybe little direction, or even no direction, has been given to you for best practices or tips & tricks.

Maybe not every best practice will be valuable for you, but I assure you many will be worth your time.  And don't forget - you can listen to podcasts with increased speed to save time. Change the speed on your platform if I, or anyone else, is talking too slow.  Personalize the speed for your need.

Please reach out to me on Linkedin or keith@keithkeating.com if I can be of service to any teacher organization (K-12).

Thank you teachers for all that you do.  You are the bedrock of our future.

Optimizing Virtual Learning Series is relevant for ANY facilitator, trainer, teacher (adult or K-12).  But really - I recorded this to help those in greatest need right now: our K-12 teachers.

This episode will focus on a 4-step process to consider as you are planning your virtual content:

1. Focus on essential content (Lift & Shift does NOT work)

2. Calculate how long you need, versus how long you actually have

3. Plan your critical activities

4. Thread in the content

 Virtual CAN BE just as engaging and beneficial as in-person...if we design and deliver content in a meaningful way.

Our world shifted overnight from in-person to virtual, including the way we learn. It's possible you spent your entire teaching career in the classroom - you knew your syllabus by heart, you knew the way your students learned, and you knew how to keep them engaged. And now you are having to unlearn what you knew and relearn a new reality. But how could you possibly have time to unlearn and relearn when you are navigating the pandemic, your personal life, and making every effort to ensure your students are safe. Maybe little direction, or even no direction, has been given to you for best practices or tips & tricks.

Maybe not every best practice will be valuable for you, but I assure you many will be worth your time.  And don't forget - you can listen to podcasts with increased speed to save time. Change the speed on your platform if I, or anyone else, is talking too slow.  Personalize the speed for your need.

Please reach out to me on Linkedin or keith@keithkeating.com if I can be of service to any teacher organization (K-12). 

Thank you teachers for all that you do.  You are the bedrock of our future.

If you have a brain, you have bias.

Bias forms from our own experiences, it forms from the invisible lens through which we all subconsciously see the world. And it exists in all aspects of our lives.

Rooted in the creative problem-solving methodology of Design Thinking are tools that are intended to help us overcome bias. But, without being aware of it - design thinking itself can inherently be bias.

One of the best ways to take combat bias is simply recognizing where it exists.

In part 2 of our series, Sharon Boller and I will be discussing ways bias can occur within each phase of design thinking and what you can do to overcome it.  Collectively we can tame unintentional bias and uncover the real truth for our customers.

If you have a brain, you have bias. 

Bias forms from our own experiences, it forms from the invisible lens through which we all subconsciously see the world. And it exists in all aspects of our lives.

Rooted in the creative problem-solving methodology of Design Thinking are tools that are intended to help us overcome bias. But, without being aware of it - design thinking itself can inherently be bias.

One of the best ways to take combat bias is simply recognizing where it exists.

In this two-part series, Sharon Boller and I will be discussing ways that bias can occur in design thinking to help you be more aware of it.  Collectively we can overcome unintentional bias and uncover the real truth for our customers.

Trust is the foundation for every relationship - personal and professional.  Trusted Advisorship is the ability to connect with and be influential with others in a trustful and meaningful way that benefits everyone.  

Join author and keynote speaker Andrea Howe as she shares insights, strategies, and reasons why everyone, not just leaders, should walk the talk of Trusted Advisors.

Discussion includes:

- Importance of evolving from order takers to Trusted Advisors

- Why saying "no" is not good enough

- How to develop business with trust

- Why the soft stuff is the hard stuff

- Top 5 skillsets needed for Trusted Advisors

- Her 3 favorite words (here's one of them - Woo Woo)

Being a lifelong learner is a mindset we want everyone to embrace, especially since the benefits of being a lifelong learner can be limitless.  3 key characteristics of being a lifelong learner = Learning, Unlearning, Relearning.  

On this episode of Ahead of Tomorrow, we'll be talking with Barry O'Reilly about his book Unlearn.  We will discuss the power of unlearning as a way to reframe your path to successes, to recognize and let go of your limiting behaviors, and empower yourself for a future of adaptability and agility all through the power of unlearning.

Topics include:

• How to measure Unlearning
• Unlearning on the path to evolution for leaders
• How the process for unlearning works like high-performance computers
• 4 indicators you are limiting your behavior
• How to unlearn the barricades keeping you from succeeding

While the world continues to evolve at an accelerated pace, one primary institution has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years - the U.S. education system. Minerva School, a 4-year undergraduate program, advertises as diverging from the outdated approach to provide "an undergraduate experience for the 21st-century learner", touting the program includes 7 countries of experiential learning in 4 years.

Is Minerva too good to be true?

Megan Cho, a freshman at the esteemed UCLA, thought the same when she learned about Minerva. But after recognizing more focus was put on memorization than on the skills needed to prepare her for her future at UCLA, she decided to make the switch. 2 years into her program at Minerva, Megan has not looked back or questioned her decision.

Take a few minutes to listen as Megan shares amazing insights from a student's perspective on the challenge with higher education and ways it can evolve to meet the needs of learners.

Key insights include:

• Value proposition of Minerva schools
• Minerva's approach to learning
• 3 innovative ways to improve higher education
• Strategies to prepare for the future of work

The World Economic Forum has identified Critical Thinking as the 2nd most important skillset for the Future of Work.  But if it's so important, why aren't we putting more focus on it today.  What makes it so challenging and what are the impacts if we don't exercise our Critical Thinking skillset?

In this episode, Bonnie Beresford, renowned PhD data scientist, author, and "data geek" shares with us insights into the importance of critical thinking and easily-applied practices that we can begin to use now to help us break through our confirmation biased-filled echo chambers of information on repeat.    Here's a hint: be curious about information and ask the next question - Where did the data come from? Is it credible? What are the sources? And what aren't they telling us?

Many organizations refer to themselves as being "human-centric" but just how many follow through? Quicken Loans is one of the few organizations to embody human-centricity within the organizational DNA.  Join me as I talk with KimArie Yowell, Vice President of Talent Development at Quicken Loans, on the creative ways Quicken ensures employees are kept at the center of the organization.  KimArie also shares insights into their Future of Work programs, ways Quicken is evolving during COVID-19 and preparing talent for Work 2.0, and whether or not AI is impacting Quicken's business model.

For anyone curious about what a human-centric organization looks like or new strategies to consider implementing to stay human-centric, this podcast is for you!

Education is the backbone of society.  I believe in the importance and the power of education - after all, it is my life's work. But the system is in crisis and needs to change. Take a listen to the point-of-view from Rye Keating, who graduate with his Bachelor's degree this month, to learn more about his experience with higher education, the struggle he has now that school is finished and he's looking for a job, and practical suggestions to improve the system to better prepare students for the real-world.

Top Quotes:
Higher education is not the great equalizer

• I have a big $80,000 question mark 
• The skills you learn working and working with people might be even more important than classes you are taking in college
• The college experience isn't what we've been told it is
• The most important lesson I've learned - ask other people for help - I learned through work, not school -  Great things happen when you ask another person for help