Year two of attending the LTEN [Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network] Annual Conference is in the books for me! Once again, the speakers were extremely fascinating – and thought-provoking. They discussed an array of topics from happiness and overcoming failure to mitigating stressful situations. Such inspiration has left my mind full of reflection, as I share here what I learned last month.

Shawn Anchor, bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential, launched the Conference speaking to the inherent benefits of a positive and happy outlook - and how to use it to your advantage in both the workplace, as well as your daily, personal life.

He believes it’s not always reality that shapes us. Instead, it is the lens through which our brains view the world that shapes our reality. If we change the lens, happiness, learning outcomes and business results change too. There are also different outlooks on happiness and what is needed to achieve it. Indeed, one common misconception is: hard work means success, which then leads to happiness. However, as Anchor explained, the way that our brain actually works is when we achieve a goal, we move the target. We continually strive to do better and tend to overlook each success. Thus, our brain has a hard time understanding true happiness with each accomplishment. It becomes a negative because we’re never truly satisfied by our accomplishments; thus, we’re not (or, don’t ever feel) happy. Then, it further snowballs into a lack of positive thinking. Performance becomes affected; it is diminished, decreased and even non-existent.

Luckily, there is a formula to ‘re-wire’ the brain! Training your brain to become more positive is the first step in achieving true happiness. Anchor noted that just two minutes for a twenty-one-day span allows your brain to work more optimistically and successfully. By doing such exercises as writing down 3 things you are grateful for each day, journaling about a positive experience over the past 24 hours, or meditating about and performing random acts of kindness, all help the positivity flow.

There is one other idea from Anchor that is relevant for leadership, talent development and training that I'd like to share ... “If we study what is merely average, we will remain average.” This quote rang true for me, as we often allude to the averages and use them as a marker. Instead, we should be striving for better and supporting others to go beyond average. 

Shawn Anchor was not alone in the inspirational speaking department. Keynote speaker, Nicole Malachowski, a former United States Air Force officer and the first female pilot selected to the Thunderbirds, also spoke about (mental) change.  

Specifically, she referenced how failure leads to success. For instance, the message of a recent Gatorade commercial stated the secret to victory was actually having defeat be your fuel. This is a powerful message, as we know the feeling of defeat. It leaves us upset, angry and feeling less than others. It takes a strong individual to get back up and try to do better the next time, rather than surrendering to it. But, being the best is more about pushing the limits to maximize your own performance, as an individual and as a team member.

Her talk also revolved around the difficulty that people have responding to and accepting change. While I tend to think of myself as a pretty easy-going person, I have to admit that it’s not always easy to adopt change, or change my routine. For others, it is highly stressful and can make one engage and take an even harder line. When the truth is, letting go and acting calm under the pressure is the best tactic. After all, accepting change is a necessity and it usually means an improvement, on some level. For example, organizations make changes to streamline processes and make everyday tasks more efficient. In the long run, change usually pays dividends for the individual and for the bottom line of an organization.

In the end, being positive in your personal and work life is a choice. Being able to overcome failures and manage stress in order to celebrate your successes is a challenge, but one that can be learned. Ultimately, the choice of how you act - and react - is up to you, but being aware with these particular insights goes a long way.  Once again, some insightful inspiration for work – and life.  

Scrimmage receives two Finalists nods for this year’s LTEN Excellence Awards.

Along with our client, Radius Health, Scrimmage was named a Finalist in the Innovation category – a category Scrimmage won last year.  Central to the nominated practice, Radius solely utilized Scrimmage’s gamification tools and mobile learning platform to simultaneously drive its new product training, as well as onboard 250+ sales reps. It proved to be so popular, as well as identified key skills gaps, that it became the vehicle for continuous training.

A second nod has also came in the Partnership category. Scrimmage and its client, Lundbeck, partnered to create a March Madness knowledge challenge game for its Neurology sales reps across the US. The Scrimmage Client Services team flawlessly structured and implemented the game for an astounding 99.9% engagement that also produced eye-opening results, transforming its training for the remainder of the year.  This pivot ultimately saved the company countless monies in potential lost revenues, while also retaining its top talent.  

Scrimmage CEO, Derek Lundsten, presented to a standing-room-only crowd with our clients joining him, including Nick Albert of Radius Health and Zoe Kane of Sun Pharma. They were kind enough to share their use cases, answer audience questions and showcase their teams' instances. It was session with great interaction and knowledge-building around mobile learning and its various benefits.

Once again, in LTEN’s Expo Hall, Scrimmage was on hand to exhibit, demo its latest features and share some fun too. In fact, we debuted our brand new corn hole game in our booth with several winners selected from our leaderboard.  It’ll be back in action this Fall at DevLearn’s Expo (Booth # in Las Vegas – October 23 & 24 – Be Sure To Visit Us & #PlayWhereYouWork + #ScrimmageFun!