eLearning, General Musing

Moving On

“I don’t know why you say good bye, I say hello,”

Saying good bye is never easy. In my early work life, I said good bye quite often as I changed from job to job while in college. As I got older, the time span between those moments widened and now I am the crux of those interactions in my life. I have been working at the same place for fifteen years. In that time, I made a lot of friends that are still with the company and many that have left. I am currently in the HR training and development department, but have found myself at an impasse with training in our company and with how high I can climb in the hierarchy. Training is where I want to be and to continue that passion, I needed to look outside of my comfort zone and my company. I have been offered the opportunity to start a training department at a smaller company from the ground up. That includes everything. The LMS setup and management, the training evaluation, the classroom training, the eLearning, the budget. Everything. It is an adventure that I have been preparing for since I started in the training department at my current job 10 years ago. Specifically, over the last 2 years, my skills and knowledge in all things training have been amped up with the inclusion of influence like TLDChat, Twitter connections, and general emersion in articles written by some people on the cutting edge of the field. This made my choice easy. I took the offer and I start with this new company on July 31st.

So, as I am saying good bye to friends that I have spent a decade or more with, I am looking forward to the challenge ahead. It did occur to me as I am walking the halls of my soon-to-be former employer that I have not written recently. Since my friend Ajay Pangarkar mentioned me in his list of Top 20 Learning And Development Value Tweeters (Second Edition), I need to step up my game and this situation will lend to the perfect outlet for putting keyboard to virtual paper. I will be chronicling what transpires each day, whether it be for good or as a learning experience. I would love to hear your input and ideas as I go along as well.

July 13, 2017

I have three small projects left at my old position. The courses have been built in Captivate and all I need to do is update the scrips, record the audio, and sync them up to the slides. If I can find talent quickly, this should take me a few days. My colleagues are questioning me on many of the things I do each day and are asking for some guidance on those things. I am not sure what the mystery is, but I am trying to comply and assist them the best I can. In the moments between working and meetings, I am constantly thinking about where I am going to start in the new position. I know that I need to investigate the lay of the land and see how the company functions on a business level first and then work on where the learning gaps are, but what does that look like? The closer I get to being in that environment, the more I am already mapping out the road I need to travel.

picture: Luca Bravo

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SyberDesign

Instructional Designer, Musician, Photographer, MtG Player, Thinker. I obtained an AS degree in computer technology from PHCC in Pasco County Florida. I graduated with a Bachelors Fine Arts from USF with a focus on digital image/painting and a minor in photography. Didn’t like the tech world, so I got out and started at GEICO as a Claims Rep in Lakeland, Florida. That lead to a Systems Coordinator position that led to an eLearning Developer position in our home office in Chevy Chase, Maryland. From there, I have done it all. SharePoint Admin, eLearning Developer, eLearning Designer, Graphic Design, Web, Video shoot/edit/post production, Audio record/edit/mix, and general all-around PC guy. I wore all those hats in our claims department training for about 5 years and then I settled into the HR department doing almost all of the above. I have moved on to Navy Mutual Aid Association as the Training and Development Specialist and I am creating a new training environment where there has not been one before. I am proficient in most Adobe Products, including but not limited to, Photoshop, Illustrator, Audition, Premiere, Flash, After Effects, and Dreamweaver. I have used 3D modeling software such as Poser and some other, lesser known software for audio/video editing and eLearning development tools. Personally, I began playing guitar just out of high school. I played in a local band called Contrast for a few years in Florida and now I play on a worship team at a local church. I love to write songs and I am working on getting my voice trained. I started playing Magic the Gathering in college. I now play at different formats at local shops. I am a Level 1 judge currently and I have a cube made entirely of promotional cards and cards from supplemental products (http://www.cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/9355). I also enjoy a myriad of tabletop games and card games.

One thought on “Moving On”

  1. Craig,
    I respect what you are going through. Change is very difficult and gets even more challenging as we get more set in our ways. But this is where true growth occurs. This is where learning occurs as well. And if we, as those representing L&D, don’t lead by example and challenge and learn ourselves then we are not doing justice to the roles we hold and can’t expect others to emulate what we say. Ultimately, we must do.

    And you are doing just that. You are being the actionable example of what real learning is meant to be. Yes, this is a huge change in your life and for your family. But once you jump this initial hurdle you will look back and say, ‘why was I apprehensive?’

    From the short time I know you, I find you to be exceptionally intelligent, personable and humble. These qualities alone will make you successful without even including your depth of experience and dedication!

    I’m in your corner and extend my unconditional support in the next step in your life journey. I guarantee, you will be successful.

    And thank you for the shout out, Crusher!

    Your L&D colleague, friend, and…fellow LD Metal Head!

    Ajay

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