Day Two of Impact and I can’t help feeling overwhelmed by the level of discussions, perspectives, and key findings presented here. Whether addressing global implementations, Learning Management Systems or the leadership development marketplace, both best practice companies and innovative solution providers are committed to one goal… helping organizations solve their top challenges.

With an increased appetite for informal learning at this year’s conference, I decided to share with you an interesting announcement from CPP- a company focusing on research, training and organizational development including the Myers Briggs Type Indicator assessment. CPP has formed an alliance with Thinkwise to provide an innovative learning solution portal for managers, consultants and leaders. What exactly is the Myers-Briggs Thinkbox phenomenon? Myers-Briggs Thinkbox provides ondemand learning in the form of eCoaching, videos, book summaries as well as tools to help track development and manage teams. CPP is helping organizations think outside of the box by recognizing the benefits for self-development and interactivity in using the Myers-Briggs assessment.   

According to Bersin research, Organizations agree that 80% or more of corporate learning occurs through informal approaches.  Informal learning includes coaching, mentoring, communities of practice, use of expert directories, and even social networking.

Chris Howard’s Research Bulletin on Learning OnDemand helps companies understand the differences between formal and informal learning. 

1. Informal learning provides a portal for enterprise-wide companies to access training and related information.
2. This approach requires a flexible technology architecture including a searchable repository, web and database technologies and collaborative platforms
3. Informal learning should be personalized including Web 2.0 capabilities and address the specific interests of users.
4. The learning community needs to contribute to the content of informal learning – this needs to emphasize the collective knowledge of users.
5. Owners of this content need to manager the information and monitor the networks.

CPP’s announcement addresses this demand for informal learning and helps to make learning more of an experience than simply a practice. What is your organization doing to tackle this challenge? We would love to hear from you…