Watching the news on the latest domestic terror attack has become an exercise in self-control. Forgetting your political views, FOX is anything but “fair and balanced” and CNN has proven (thank you John King) that they are not really “the most trusted name in news.”  How ironic is it that the most accurate reporting is now done on late night comedy with Jon Stewart highlighting the numerous errors and inconsistencies from news agencies across the country?  

I read someone’s rant this morning (not mine – other people DO rant) about how upset he was that a national restaurant chain placed tablet devices at each table with games (for a charge of course) geared towards children. He was very upset about this being forced upon him and evidently forgot that he had the ability to form the word and sound of a “no” if he didn’t want his child to use the device. His rant centered around a generation of entitlement where we coddle our young and there are awards for just finishing something.

I’ve been a big proponent of how using a LMS can help a Learning Department deliver on its goals. Actually, I’ve been such a supporter that I left an iconic brand to gain experience with LMS administration. So I speak with some amount of experience when I pose the following question to all of you considering the purchase of a Learning Management System… are you sure you really need one?

Truth be told – limiting me to 5 of anything is like telling a junkie that he has can only have 1 fix this week. I’m getting the shakes just thinking about which 5 to list. The most important? The most often overlooked? Alphabetically? I’ll go with my gut and just list the first 5 that happen to pop into my head – so feel free to add to this list based on your own method of organizing your thoughts.

1. They are a reflection of your performance too – that’s right… is your team underperforming? Hmmmmmm, who is the common denominator I wonder? Perhaps someone threw you in the deep end of the management pool and never bothered to teach you, oh I don’t know…how to manage people? Maybe the lack of performance or your inability to accurately assess stems from you? Ouch – that had to leave a mark.

It's been brought to my attention that I am now a vendor and not a true internal practitioner. In one career move all my experience, opinions and knowledge have suddenly become irrelevant as I have been “downsized” from several social networking communities. I didn’t realize how quickly I would go from colleague to vendor or that the moniker of vendor held such a terrible stigma. Well – I mean for me anyway.

Admittedly I've always "disliked" vendors, more for their stereotypical "pushiness" than anything else. And I've always enjoyed the safe zone of various communities that ban these (now me) folks from selling their wares. Now, with the tables turned - I didn't realize that I would no longer be able to share my lessons learned or my industry knowledge within various communities. Call it Karma or Payback - I know the irony is palpable.