TIPS for Good Management Ltd has been in existence since 1998. Julian Hammond is the principal and founder of the business who has a wide background of industrial and commercial knowledge with over 30 years experience at supervisory, middle and senior management level. Julian also operates at director level. Based in the heart of Norfolk, UK, the Company boasts a number of corporate clients who have gained significant benefits from the courses that TIPS for Good Management offers. We are also approved by the Chartered Management Institute.
The TIPS programme has been uniquely developed using our Brain Friendly' techniques. The use of accelerated learning means that information is absorbed more quickly, more thoroughly and can be recalled more easily. In 2007 we were UK Winners of The National Training Awards and in 2008 we received the Training Journal Award for Best Change Management Programme and recognition for the Best Commercial Programme for over 1000 employees.
We spend years at school and college learning things. Maths, Science, English, Chemistry, Physics etc, etc. But how long do we spend understanding how we learn? For most of us this period of our lives was spent learning in the "academic way". It was fairly strict and the threat of punishment if we didn't conform was ever present. We learned by constantly repeating things and we competed with our peers, surely you remember the stigma of being bottom of the class or the dislike we felt for the swot who was top of the class? Talking to each other was frowned upon; indeed in exam and test conditions it was called cheating! Learning by reading was also the norm and was probably the way most of the knowledge was transferred. At best our teachers spoke, wrote information on a board and we listened and copied it down. Compare that experience to how we learned things before we could read write or even speak properly. Yes I am referring to our formative years before attending school. We learned by experimenting, by getting it wrong and being encouraged to have another go. We were told stories which carried phenomenally powerful messages. Games and having fun were all an integral part of our learning process at a critical time in our development. In fact these were important lessons that we needed for life, so they had to be learned well. Have you noticed how sometimes under extreme pressure sportsmen "choke"? This tells us a lot about the brain and what the conditions need to be for optimum learning and peak performance. If you consider some of the teachers you had in school or college which one's stand out most? For me it was those that were truly inspirational. The one's that cared about me the individual, who encouraged me to do better even when I perhaps got it wrong or didn't understand straight away. There were never any stupid questions for these teachers, they applauded the attempt and by doing so I lost any fear of failure. Above all else they made it fun, enjoyable and inclusive.
Can you recall the colours of the rainbow and in their correct sequence? Thought you might! Did you do the "Richard Of York Gained Battle In Vain" thing? Maybe you remembered ROYGBIV?
When you leaned the alphabet and even your "times tables" (when they used to be mandatory) did you do it with either a song or rhythmically? I can almost hear you singing - A, B, C, D, E, F, G....
The use of acronyms and mnemonics have been powerful learning devices for centuries as have stories and metaphors.
Here's another strange phenomenon, what happens when you catch a familiar aroma wafting in the air, say a particular perfume or after shave? It immediately accesses the memory of a person, maybe a time and a place of emotional significance to you. For me it is always the smell of newly cut grass in spring. The memories of the cricket field come flooding back and the "crack" of leather on willow.
Similarly a familiar piece of music can conjure up in your mind's eye an image of a scene or a memory of an event long since passed. It comes back to our consciousness as sharp and clear and as powerful as if it was only yesterday.
What does all of the above tell us and how does this fit with "Brain Friendly Training?" We know that participants on a training event will likely be influenced by the school "system" they experienced. Firstly we create the right environment for the brain to learn effectively, this is absolutely critical.
When we deliver information it comes in a variety of ways, all designed to appeal to the most natural way of learning. We play games, and have themes to the sessions where the whole room becomes a learning environment. Music features heavily and the occasional use of carefully selected aromas to set the mood or stimulate participants. The learners are encouraged to share knowledge rather than compete with each other; this can take the form of learning partners or syndicate work. Stories, movie clips, game shows, virtual car racing, Oscar ceremonies, all features in our learning approach.
The outcomes of the Brain Friendly approach have been astonishing by anyone's standards.
Participants leave the sessions full of energy and ideas about how to implement the training. People talk of "life changing" moments and being able to recall information easily and they retain it for extraordinary long periods of time. The business results for companies have been equally stunning. One large corporate organisation kept a tally of the cost savings proposed over 2 years of management courses we ran. The last total we heard of was over £30 million!
In summary, Brain Friendly training is a truly holistic approach to learning. The whole person is engaged in a way that makes even the most difficult of subjects easy to understand and apply in the real world. The techniques appeal directly to that part of the brain where long term memory and learning resides and is probably the most natural way for human beings to absorb, retain and recall information.
Our delegates talk of "inspirational training" and "fantastic results". Many are taken by surprise about how much they have learned whilst having fun. This often doesn't become obvious until suddenly they find their brains accessing a piece of learning and apply it to a situation in the workplace with dramatic results!