NSPI/ISPI Timeline of Events - DRAFT

Please help ISPI Executive Director April Davis and me update her NSPI/ISPI timeline - something she first created when she started with ISPI.

Please use the "comments feature" to submit additions or edits - do that "by year" - and write out the additions - and "cut and paste the original text" to then make your edits.

1962
The Programmed Learning Society was organized at a dinner meeting held on January 29, 1962 at the Randolph AFB Officers’ Club in San Antonio, Texas. The purpose of the Society was to collect, develop, and diffuse information concerned with programmed instruction.

First issue of the Programmed Learning Society Newsletter was published in February.

In March the Society adopted a new name—National Society for Programmed Instruction (NSPI) and a constitution was adopted.

The first Programmed Instruction Institute was held in April. The Institute was designed to acquaint those interested in the fundamentals of programmed instruction and provide seminars for others who have knowledge in the field.

The NSPI Newsletter letter gets an improved look in August.

1963
NSPI receives first inquiries in January about the possibility of forming chapters abroad—France and Germany.

Over 650 attend the First Annual Convention held March 28-30 at the El Tropicano Motor Hotel in San Antonio, Texas—total registration fee including meals for members $13.00. In addition, a new constitution was adopted.

AID Magazine and the NSPI Newsletter merged to form the NSPI Journal. The first issue appears in July. AID Magazine, published by the Institute of International Research and Development, Inc. was one of the first publications to devote itself entirely to the area of PI.

The Internal Revenue Service recognizes the NSPI as an official non-profit organization in November.

1964
Board of Directors proposes changing NSPI to the Society for Educational and Training Technology…concept is rejected by the new Board.

NSPI moves to new headquarters in September to the Chapman Graduate Center on Trinity University’s Skyline Campus in San Antonio, Texas.

Sustaining Membership ($100 contribution) established by the Board to assist the Society in making firm and worthwhile contributions to the field. Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., Aircraft Division in Long Beach, California is the first Sustaining Member.

1965
Proposed constitution change and Bylaws presented to membership for consideration in May.

1966
NSPI Journal has a re-designed front cover (July).

1967
NSPI Journal re-design is debuted in July.

1969
NSPI Journal re-design is debuted in March—complete revision of design (2-color) and article content.

1970
First NSPI Membership Directory published and made available to members for $10.00.

1971
NSPI hires first Executive Director.

NSPI relocates to Catholic University’s Center for Instructional Technology in Washington, DC.

Format of NSPI Journal changes in December—splits into two publications: NSPI Newsletter which includes Society information and Improving Human Performance: A Research Quarterly, a referee journal, which includes progress and status reports about projects concerned with performance technology and programmed instruction, as well as formal research reports and technical notes.

1972
First full issue of Improving Human Performance: A Research Quarterly debuts in March.

In May the Board presents membership with a referendum to change the organization’s name to the National Society for Performance and Instruction—preserving the current NSPI logo.

Format of NSPI Newsletter is changed in November…more readable and eye appealing.

1973
Name changed in May from National Society of Programmed Instruction to National Society for Performance and Instruction.

1975
NSPI Speakers Bureau was brought into formal operation during the Convention in March.

1976
A motion was passed to change the name of the NSPI Newsletter back to its former title the NSPI Journal effective immediately (February)—bringing back content and quality while still highlighting Society news.

1977
In December NSPI Headquarters moves to rented AECT space at 16th and L Streets in Washington, DC.

1980
In December the NSPI Journal becomes Performance & Instruction.

1981
NSPI Membership Kit awarded First Place for Excellence in National Association Publications by Association Trends, a widely respected national weekly news magazine for association executives.

1983
In November the Board establishes a new category of membership—Patron Member ($1000.00 contribution). A Patron is any organization or individual who has a strong belief in NSPI and sees the Society as promoting the improvement of human performance in ways that benefit them and society at large. DuoTech, Inc. in San Diego, California becomes first Patron Member in January 1994.

1986
Published very first comprehensive book on performance technology, Introduction to Performance Technology.

1987
IBM becomes NSPI’s first Advocate Member with a contribution of $5,000.

1988
Established and launched a peer-reviewed research journal in cooperation with FSU, Performance Improvement Quarterly and the first three issues were published.

NSPI Newsletter launched in October as a separate publication.

1990
NSPI Performance Improvement Resources Directory unveiled during the Toronto Conference.

In August NSPI International Headquarters moved to 1300 L Street, NW, Suite 1250 in Washington, DC
· Ability to install more sophisticated computers with networking potential to streamline member requests for service
· Conference room
· Expansion of staff
· Healthier work environment
· Improved image

In November/December the Board recommends the establishment of two new awards: the NSPI Distinguished Service Award and the NSPI Distinguished Professional Achievement Award

1992
Performance Technology: Success Stories by William Deterline and Marc Rosenberg is published in January.

The Human Performance Technology model was developed.

Handbook of Human Performance Technology edited by Harold Stolovitch and Erica Keeps is co-published with Jossey-Bass, Inc and released in March. The Handbook provides the reader with the fundamental knowledge necessary to improve human performance in the workplace.

1994
Re-designed News & Notes and P&I debut in January.

In July NSPI was presented with the American Society of Association Executives’ Associations Advance America Award in recognition for its significant community service activities. The program called Performance Technology in the Community was a volunteer effort using HPT to address social concerns at the grassroots level.

NSPI members have access to the National Headquarters electronically via Compuserve and the Internet (October).

1995
In June the membership voted to change the name of the National Society for Performance and Instruction to the International Society for Performance Improvement. With members living and working in more than 30 countries, ISPI more accurately reflects the membership and it also acknowledges the varied interventions of human performance technology.

Performance and Instruction journal was changed to Performance Improvement.

Board approves funding to establish the ISPI Book Program. The book program better positions ISPI as the primary source of information about HPT.

1995/1996
Awards of Excellence were converted from norm-referenced to criterion-referenced.

1996
Board approved the development of a Research Endowment, investing $150,000 with the interest being used to fund projects. The fund will be used to support research to advance the field, thus ensuring ISPI’s continuing leadership as the primary disseminator.

Board approves the implementation of the HPT Institute. The Institute is designed to provide training managers with the models, tools, and techniques to transition from a conventional training department into a HPT organization.

New logo development process approved by Board.

ISPI moves to the Web in February.

ISPI re-publishes Tom Gilbert’s Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance This Tribute Edition not only retains the original text Dr. Gilbert produced in 1978, it shows how it has positively, and often dramatically, affected many performance improvement professionals.

In April the new ISPI logo and color approved by Board. The new logo includes the triangle shape reminiscent of the Greek delta, the symbol for change. The pinnacle of the mountain emphasized by the sunburst symbolizes the peak of human performance. The new logo symbolizes the premier performance improvement organization.

Master’s Series debuts at Dallas Conference giving a special opportunity for learning and discussion of timely and provocative issues with the leaders of the field.

1997
First HPT Institute held in June in Chicago, Illinois

ISPI logo is awarded the Corporate Identity Award and was published in the 13th Annual publication by Hearst books International/Watson Guptil.

HPT Institute “Making the Transition from Training to Performance Improvement” was awarded the Education Award of Excellence, sponsored by the American Association of Association Executives Education section.

1998
In November ISPI holds its first HPT Institute abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Annual Conference Program wins an Honorable Mention in the Convention Promo/Program Category in the 1998 Publications Contest sponsored by Association Trends.

1999
ISPI holds a joint Annual Conference in March with the International Federation for Training and Development Organisations. By combining the Conference, ISPI hoped to increase the exposure of participants to global issues and international practitioners of HPT.

Principles & Practices Institute debuts at Annual Conference. The new Institute is based on lessons learned and designed to integrate models, concepts, and research findings through the analysis of real cases.

The Handbook for Human Performance: Improving Individual and Organizational Performance Worldwide (2nd Edition) edited by Erica Keeps and Harold Stolovitch debuts at Annual Conference. The revised Handbook focuses on the global nature of HPT.

Board authorized the hiring of a full-time Director of HPT to become part of the National Headquarters staff.

Solutions Summit, new ISPI specialized Fall Conference, held in November. The concept continues each fall focusing on a “hot” topic.

2000
In November the ISPI Headquarters moved to a new and expanded office space in Silver Spring, Maryland. The new space accommodates growth without increasing expenditures.

2001
Board authorized the hiring of a full-time Director of HPT Information to become part of the National Headquarters staff.

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2010

From Photographs to Teaming - By Cordell Hauglie

My friend Cordell Hauglie asked for some help in publishing the following, which I am happy to help him do! - Guy W. Wallace, CPT


















Photo Courtesy: C. Hauglie

The Olympic Rainforest

While visiting the Olympic Rainforest I was on a mission to capture this beautiful environment in glorious photographic images. I had packed several different lenses for my camera and even a couple of filters to help me more closely capture what I saw. I could imagine the luxurious greens, the depths of the shadows and the cleansing shafts of light as they brightly pierced between branches thick with moss.

I had the perfect vision in my mind’s eye. I clicked off shot after shot while breathing in the clean, humid fragrance of a land filled with age old trees and listened to the birds singing to the soft rippling of a creek that lay at my feet. It was stunningly beautiful. The moment filled me with great expectations of my photographs and the ability to relive this beautiful moment each time I saw my pictures.

My hopes soared as I first returned to man-made carpets and asphalt roads – I was about to take the first look at my photo memories. I was unaware that I was about to discover that I’d failed my mission and how it would change my thinking on a grander scale.

Before me on my computer screen were my photos – one after another after another flashed by. They were both brilliant in color and yet flat. They were rich in detail but they had lost their meaning. They were actual, factual representations of what I saw but they didn’t come close to what I had experienced. I was disappointed, shocked even and mostly humbled as I realized that I had not even begun to capture my experience. I had meaningless colored pixels in nicely arranged patterns that portrayed a snapshot in time from where I stood. Uniquely as the pixels were arranged they had lost the meaning – the meaning that had existed only a few short hours before.

Beautiful San Diego, California

A few weeks earlier I had been taking photos with a long time friend. On this day he brought only his wide angle lens and had I brought along my telephoto zoom lens. We were prepared to comb the beaches and hillsides on a beautiful San Diego morning and bring back our memories through our different points of view – wide angle vs. telephoto. Many times we stood side by side and pointed our cameras in the same general direction, over the same scene and both with good intent and all the skill we could muster.

Photo Courtesy: C. Hauglie

Photo Courtesy: D. Cooley

After returning to our respective homes we e-mailed photos back and forth and eagerly compared our trip together. It struck me when seeing our photos side by side how different they were. We had almost exactly the same camera, the same fairly competent skills and shot at identical times and in the same direction over an identical landscape with identical lighting. From the results no one might have guessed we were even shooting together.

From Photographs to Teaming
It took both of these experiences for me to begin to realize that I had a very singular and focused view of my surroundings and one that was most likely unique. In addition, I discovered that I couldn’t even capture my own experience even though I was clicking the shutter on the camera!

That’s when the pieces of these two stories began to fall into place. My rainforest photos were not my experience because they lacked context – everything that surrounded me to make the total experience as I described above. My photos were not like my friend’s because I saw the world though a very different lens – AND with a very different purpose in mind because of that lens. Suddenly, all of this began relating to me on a different plane. I began thinking of all the different lenses I use and the reasons why I use each specific lens.

As I began the exchange of photos with my friend, I was able to re-experience more closely those moments we captured in time. I concluded it must been having two different lenses with two different purposes that enabled me to feel more richly the experience I had enjoyed.

The differences in capturing that same moment in two ways began to add context and meaning to what I had been trying capture on my own. Having two photos to compare began to bring out details I hadn’t noticed in just my own. I started to feel the richness of those moments when I could see them through both our lenses.

One View – One Comfy Tool

I bought each of my camera lenses because they met a specific need that I had. They allowed me to view the world exactly as I wanted to see it in my mind. However I had discovered that while my intent was to capture the rainforest as it was in the moment I saw it, I missed my mark because I had limited my view to fit in the lens I was using. I limited myself before I ever left my home and never realized it.

Best intentions, skill, time, patience, equipment, training, savvy, experience, knowledge and desire? Yes, I had it all! However what I wasn’t seeing is that it was all designed by me to see what I wanted and expected to see. I thought I was being flexible and ready to meet the challenges that lay before me but in reality I couldn’t see beyond myself. I couldn’t see that the framework within which I had set myself up to work was actually holding me back from my goal. I simply was not aware and only the day before I would have told you that I was prepared and I could capture all that I would experience.

When I think back on these two experiences I believe what I was really trying to capture was the experience. The tool that I chose to do this with was a camera and a specific lens. Even now it seems to have been a logical choice as I’m generally a very visual person. However my results pointed out that I hadn’t clearly defined my goal which led me to fall back on a tool that was handy, comfortable and familiar to me.

OK, so now I know that I needed more than one lens – more than one way to look at something. But I’m getting smarter too. I realized that my intent wasn’t (as I had thought it was) to capture the rainforest, but rather it was to capture the experience of being there. I’m finally beginning to understand the difference and how it affected my results. I’m seeing how critical it is to clearly define your goal.

My San Diego trip supplied the rest of the missing details for me. My experience wasn’t captured completely with just how I saw things to be, I also needed to see how they were seen by someone else. As I stood and looked at all the details that made up that wondrous experience, I realized that even though I couldn’t consciously take them all in they were still all a part of my overall experience. I needed help gathering the details and that’s where my friend came in. Through his photos I began to see more of the amazing details that I had missed through my lens and the memory of my experience became richer. I might not be able to define how, but I could feel it and that’s what I was looking for – to somehow see the photos and relive the experience.

I had two of the pieces I needed. First, I found that I needed context. I needed to be aware of how I prepared myself to take on the task. And it was how I choose to prepare that would frame how I saw the world, which elements I chose to pay attention to and capture with my camera.

I also realized that I needed more than just my perspective. I needed the input of my friend and how he saw the world to give me a more complete memory of what I had experienced. I discovered that what I did only with my own view and lenses was incomplete – no matter how well prepared I thought I was to capture the moment. And lastly I discovered that without the relationship I had with my friend I could not have experienced those moments through photos as I wanted to do. It was my knowing something about him and his strengths and perspectives that added to the mix in helping to recreate those experiences from the photos. And it couldn’t have been just anyone, it needed to be someone I trusted and valued as a teammate. So I found the third piece that I was looking for – relationship.

Working Together

I discovered that there are three elements required to capture any experience with photographs; 1) context, 2) lenses and 3) relationships. And when we need our experience to be particularly clear, powerful or effective, it is critical to balance the mix of these three.

These three elements must be a carefully blended and balanced set of ingredients. Ignore or leave out one element or lose trust in your relationship and this will change their combined potential – perhaps dramatically. When considering the infinite outcomes of mixing only two people’s life experiences, it’s not surprising that so many people struggle for years to make their relationship work.

Now consider the recipe that is going to be required to create a healthy, sustainable and powerfully directed group of individuals. Take each member with their own set of lenses, contexts and relationships and set them to creating a meaningful total relationship centered on achieving a single purpose. It seems incredible that movement in any one single direction by the entire team is even possible and experience has shown us time after time that indeed it almost isn’t. There are, however, three leveraging factors that can move even the largest of teams, groups, troops or nations forward with one mind and purpose.

One factor is crisis– not a recommended intervention however effective it might be. The toll on the team is generally too great in contrast to the impact or gain of any movement forward. While moving the team in unison the stress can tear them apart resulting in a gain fraught with panic, fear, turmoil and eventually disintegration and the collapse of power and direction.

Another similar factor with different overtones is threat. Gains can be made under direct or indirect threat, but the gains must come quickly. Threat is only effective in the short run until the willpower to hold the threat at bay is lost in overwhelming depression and the team gives up. And in most cases when the threat disappears, motivation disappears with it.

The third factor is a common goal. It’s more than just running a single direction up a flag pole and waiting for everyone to salute. It actually becomes more than just a goal. In its most effective form it’s a desire, a deep need, a thirst. It’s a culture, a way of life, the way we do business, the way we treat people. It’s our core respect, our automatic response and it’s never an exception to the rule.

When it all comes together

Whether it’s a team of 2 or 20, when it all comes together it almost appears magic. The mood heightens, actions come quickly and deliberately, decisions are spot on and the goal is in constant focus. It truly is one for all and all for one. A team becomes the launching pad for the individuals to grow and contribute and the team moves purposefully forward with each measured step counting along their journey.

1. A team’s power is gained when everyone on the team is truly aligned and cognizant of all efforts required to attain the common goal. (Context)

Solutions born in a vacuum often don’t survive and solutions created to stand-alone don’t.

The work of any team is to create something that is part of a larger solution. In some fashion it is designed to work and play well with other parts and pieces. Every project, process or application has a customer. That customer often is part of another solution which is supporting yet another part of the system. There really seems to be no end to the chain of customers because if there were, we wouldn’t have a business.

“Customer in” or “customer focus” is the beginning to understanding context. It’s nothing more, from a team’s perspective, than understanding the playing field they are on. While that sounds simple and direct, often times it isn’t. The playing field can be very large and complex with dozens, hundreds or hundreds of thousands of players. It can be layered with processes, history, patches, fixes and fires.

Understanding context for a team means to understand who they are connecting with, how they are connected to them and the impact of their connection. It means to understand the forces that are, that are to be and the forces that have been and have left a legacy behind – good, bad or indifferent.

Context means not just seeing how your solution will be used, but how it might be misused or misplaced and the potential hazards or impacts of that happening. It is recognizing how it will be foundational for some, transactional for others and yet transparent so as not to get in the way of progress and productivity while adding solid overall value to the business.

2. The team’s efforts become powerful when each person’s experience and perspective is acknowledged, respected and valued as necessary to attain the goal. (Lenses)

We often hear that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, yet we have been taught that to solve any problem with the whole we need to break it down into its individual parts. The lesson goes that we then fix the part and replace it back into the whole. The problem with this is that then you have a different whole – not necessarily a “fixed” whole. The world of systems thinking has demonstrated many times that fixing the part may not fix the problem and in fact can even make it worse. Why is that?

Parts have a dependency upon each other, just like the members of a team have a interdependency which is necessary to reach their goal. Many times attempts to alter a part of a system don’t result in the overall system performing as intended. One thing to recognize is that team members are subject to change over time. New information, connections with new people and experiences can cause team members to begin to see things differently which can change the dynamics of the team and their ability to attain their goal. This can be a very positive experience and it can also create uneasiness in the team when members change at different rates.

There is a simple method available so that the whole can better understand the part and see it as a possible means to the solution and not a problem. It’s called “curiosity.” It’s often easy to see the distraction that a team member may have, but when you can change lenses and see what they are bringing to the table you may find a better path to the solution. The team’s ability to be curious in strenuous situations is a key to enabling the team to remain on course. It is recognizing the different lenses that team members are looking through that may provide a better, more well-rounded solution.

Simply put, we are not harmonious members with one goal just because we are on a team. We are each complex individuals with great variance in our personal experience and knowledge which feed, sometimes indirectly and distractingly, into our team’s efforts. It’s important to recognize when discord happens and stand down for a moment to allow curiosity to bring new insights to the team.

3. The team forms a single voice around the common goal that amplifies and supports their understanding, direction and movements. (Relationship)

The evidence is piling up on how critical relationships are in business. Our Generation Y population is growing up with an appreciation for relationships that most of us have never experienced. In today’s world, before many youth ever leave their home, they have had working – yes, working – relationships with not only neighbors or school friends, but through the internet they’ve established working relationships with others around the globe in the world of on-line game playing. These are relationships crossing age, gender, language, culture and time zones; relationships that require that they work together to attain a single goal.

We often read how relationships are the most important factor when it comes to retaining employees in the workplace. The state of relationships in a family, a community, a team or a business can be the sign of both personal and team/business success. It’s not one star that makes a winning sports team – it’s the individuals working together to make each other stars in their own rights.

When a team comes together so that their goal is crystal clear, their individual contributions are collectively working in unison and there are no “I’s”, only “we’s” then we hear only one voice from the team. It is clear, defensible, and repeatable and dominates. Every time a team member speaks of their team’s goals and purposes it accurately reflects what any other team member would say. When an individual team member wins with their contribution, the team as a whole wins. Teams realize that their relationships with each other are not a 50/50 proposition – to have one voice they need to be a 100/100 percent effort.

It is the collaboration of these three elements that brings the unity and strength of individuals together to conquer the most challenging of tasks. These elements bring agility and creativity to the table where, through curiosity and common understanding, they are transformed into power and ability far greater than the sum of the individuals.

Capturing an experience within the rainforest takes more than one view through one lens by one person… …and so does enabling the power and energy of a team in capturing a goal.

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Learning About Social Learning

There has been a lot of controversy/commotion brought about by ASTD President Tony Bingham's recent article - Learning Gets Social.

Mostly the controvery is that the whole Social Learning/Social Media "movement" is without any data to justify all of the enthusiasm/hype about the impacts to Learning. When shared with other ISPIers there were similar reactions.

Here are some thoughts by Don Tosti:

Wow how many "truths" can you pack in one article. Did this guy get a degree in platitudes? I particularly like the following insight of the digital generations preferences

· They want customization—this is what they're used to.
· They want to be managed as individuals, not as a big group. This means individualized learning and development opportunities, project-based role descriptions, a lot of feedback on their performance, and open and regular dialogues with their manager.
· Integrity and transparency are essential to this generation. This is how their communities operate.
· They value collaboration. They are not turned on by climbing the corporate ladder. They demand challenging work and want to achieve with other people. This is how they get things done.
· Entertainment is very important. They want work to be fun, and they see work and fun as the same thing.

I'll bet my great grandfather who came over from Italy and worked on the railroad in Montana in 1890 would have liked these things too. ( Just test these 5 items against a railroad worker of the time. There is an almost perfect fit) Too bad ASTD wasn't around to tell the railroad generation what they valued.

- Don Tosti

**** **** **** ****

Here is the site of another who is reacting to the hype: http://www.thetrainingworld.com/wp

Thanks Don!

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Joe Harless Video Interview: HPT Legacy Series

This past March I visited with Brother Joe Harless at his home in Newnan Georgia and we conducted a couple of video interviews. Here is the longer of the two interviews - just under 33 minutes:



He also shared with me a video (poor production qualities - but it's all we have) of his Wizard of Newnan NSPI Banquest Speech during Roger Addison's presidency in 1993 that I've posted online.

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HPT Legacy Series Video Podcast of Ray Svenson - 2009

Here is the HPT Legacy Series video podcast of Ray Svenson at the 2009 ISPI Conference:

Click To Play

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What do YOU know about MBTI - and WHERE do you stand?

I posted a link and comment about MBTI on Twitter and got a little heat.

Where do YOU stand on MBTI and its validity - and can you provide any links to your View and/or the research that informs your view?

Guy

Free Audio and Video Podcasts at "Learn Out Loud"

Today Siddhartha is available. Click on that link - and you can also sign up for their free email list - that'll inform you daily as to what is available for free! Load up that iPod or Zune!

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