How important is it to you that the people around you at work—or the people you’re responsible for training—are happy? Does happiness make a difference in productivity?  How much does your CEO care about having a happy workplace?  According to Dr. Steve Gladis and Dr. Elizabeth Cabrera, people who experience more positive emotions are more successful. Positive employees make better decisions, have better interpersonal skills, and are more creative, productive, and resilient. Companies can, therefore, gain a competitive advantage by creating positive work environments. I asked Dr. Gladis and Dr. Cabrera to write a blog series on this topic and they replied… wait for it… positively! You will find their blogs in the “Happiness” tile on the Human Capital Community of Practice page.

Speaking of productivity, did you know that ASTD has a new Human Performance Improvement (HPI) Certificate program? Human performance improvement (HPI) equips organizations and professionals with the knowledge and skills to maximize results. We are excited to announce that the ASTD HPI Certificate program has recently been streamlined and strengthened to improve the learning experience. This three-workshop series enables you to identify and analyze human performance gaps, design and develop cost-effective and justifiable solutions to close performance gaps, implement impactful solutions, and evaluate financial and nonfinancial results. Learn more by clicking on the “Improve Performance” tile on the Human Capital Community of Practice page.

Also, have you ever wondered how the most successful people in any profession became so successful? I’d be willing to bet they had great mentors. What if you could stop and ask people like Warren Buffet, Jim Collins, Dave Thomas, or Condoleezza Rice who they had as mentors? If you register for our free webinar, Meaningful Mentoring, on February 26th 2013 with Bill Treasurer, author of the internationally bestselling books, Courage Goes to Work and Courageous Leadership: Using Courage to Transform the Workplace, you’ll not only find out, but also come away with practical strategies for structuring mentor/mentee relationships at all levels. .

Anthony Quintero

Community of Practice Manager, Human Capital