The OneSmartWorld® Story

Four years ago, we embarked on a journey to change the landscape of training and performance improvement. Our strategic intent was to design, develop and execute an original, made in Canada solution that would make a positive difference in the lives and work of people, teams and organizations everywhere. With 30 years of experience, over a million end users of programs and products that we had brought to the marketplace and more than 1500 private sector and public sector organizational clients, we set out to develop what we hope will become a new standard of excellence in our industry.

We conducted environmental scans of the challenges organizations are dealing with in the global, knowledge-based economy. We assessed the current solutions provided by the training/performance improvement industry. Leading edge clients told us that there was a sense of market saturation and to some degree stagnation, with the persistent use of the conventional, tried and true, four quadrant models like the MBTI, Social Styles and their various line extensions and iterations. Profiles left people wanting more – and the HR leaders told us their clients needed an answer to the ‘so what?’ question. Innovative organizations wanted a system, an end to end solution that was user friendly, quick to learn and practical to apply in the workplace. They wanted a solution that had electronic support embedded in it. They wanted to find better ways to optimize the intelligence of their people. We saw an opportunity. As a Canadian company, we felt that we brought a broader perspective to people development and to the importance of diversity as a key to success.

After a thorough literature review of over 150 sources the decision was made to focus on intelligence, not personality, as ultimately a more useful construct for organizations and the people that work for them. In creating the OneSmartWorld^® system, the challenge we set for ourselves was to integrate mind, heart and spirit into an all-in-one model of human performance. We wanted to create a system that went beyond psychological type into learnable strategies that have a direct impact on performance. Our goal was to identify the core skills people can learn and use to achieve the success they want. Our focus was on developing a scaleable solution for three levels of performance impact: personal success, team performance and enterprise wide human capital management.

Our first task was to develop a new and original model of human performance - one that shifted the performance focus to the essential underlying thinking and emotional strategies of successful, intelligent behaviour. Our model was the first in the world to incorporate mind, heart and spirit into one integrated framework of learnable behaviours. After months of in-depth research and testing with experts in the field of human performance, we developed a four dimensional model that incorporates creativity, understanding, decision-making and personal spirit. The model is based on our unique portfolio of 21 essential skills for success that underpin intelligent performance at work and in life.

Our second task was to develop a scientifically reliable and valid assessment instrument to measure the preferred use of the 21 essential skills. We engaged Jackson Leaderships Systems (JLS), a leading firm of Canadian based organizational psychologists and professor Kevin Kelloway, Ph.D. from St. Mary’s University, to help us test out our model of human performance and to design the instrument.  JLS did original empirical research in the item development and the instrument design. The instrument, subsequently named the 4D-i^®, was normed by JLS, on data collected on 1300 people from 11 countries.

The third task was twofold: first to develop a universal language using colours and symbols to make the system easier to learn and use in the global workplace; second to convert the universal language from a focus on person and expand it into task applications that would accelerate business results in team planning, problem solving and decision-making. Using the dimensions from our framework and the coloured symbols of the universal language, we identified 8 core, generic colour-coded processes to use in such situations as personal problem solving, one-to-one presentations, team meetings and project management. These generic processes are designed as a definable, consistent, repeatable set of methods for dealing with complex issues.

The fourth task was to develop a leading edge, blended learning suite of print, program and online web tools to support the use of the 21 essential skills for personal success, team performance and enterprise-wide, human capital management. The ultimate focus was on developing a solution that would sustain learning and support use in the workplace, after the training intervention was over. We developed the interactive online 4D-i^® personal coaching system, available 24/7 to the end user. We developed the participant controlled, 34-page 4D-i^® Professional Development Edition report and personal learning plan. We developed four new learning modules focusing on the practical, business applications of our system: Smart for Life^®, Smart Problem Solving, Smart Communication and Smart Meetings. We wrote four books, one for each module. We developed four facilitator guides. We developed six web-based online e-tools again to increase retention, sustain learning and enhance performance improvement in the workplace.

After three years of market testing and design/redesign, we launched the current version of OneSmartWorld^® in late 2003, publishing four new books and four new trainer resource kits. Our 4D-i^® won an international competition for best assessment instrument, for the leadership development program of the government of BC.  In March 2004, we completed our revised 4D-i^® online instrument, Version 1.5, under the guidance of Lyz Sayer, Ph.D., Sayer and Associates, and launched the personal PDF based, 4D-i^® Professional Development Edition profile.

Training Design

We put the learner at the centre of the OneSmartWorld^® solution in all our program design work. Our starting assumption was that people are smart. The training design was laid out over three discrete time frames:

• Pre-Program: focus on learning tasks that can be accomplished to engage the learner before the program, to save in-class time. The 4D-i^® is completed and reviewed by the learner before class.
• In-Class Program: focus on engaging the learner to develop self-awareness, acquire skills, and plan for application and transfer. Our in-class approach incorporates of a variety of learning methods including experiential learning, simulations, key concept lecturettes, action-reflection exercises, peer feedback and application planning tasks for transfer of learning to the workplace. Our new partnership with The Thiagi Group will produce more game type exercises this summer.
• Post-Program: focus on improving retention, enhancing transfer and sustaining use in the workplace. The training design uses a suite of job-aids, e-tools and course materials to focus on successful use of the learning, on the job, after the program is over. We developed program modules as well as practical, easy to use print and electronic performance management tools. The electronic tools are all web-based and available 24/7 after the program is over.

We identified three key performance settings in the training design and the value proposition. We built our OneSmartWorld solution to scale from one setting to another, all off the same platform:

1. Self-management and personal success: improve personal performance by using one’s 4D-i^® results to select from a broad range of thinking and emotional strategies to use in managing relationships, in dealing more effectively with tasks and for increasing self-efficacy by tapping into personal spirit. The Smart for Life^® program module was designed to increase self-awareness, teach the universal language and develop personal learning plans for application at work and in life. Two e-tools were designed for personal success – the 24/7 4D-i^® and the Smart Day Planner.
2. Team and meeting management: save time and maximize the use of talent in teams and meetings by zeroing in specifically on what outcome is desired and then selecting the right process to help the team achieve the outcome faster. Build stronger relationships. Skill building modules include Smart Problem Solving, Smart Communication, and Smart Meetings. Each of these has a job-aid and e-tools to support ease of learner use in the workplace.
3. Enterprise-wide, human capital management: assemble teams with the right mix of diversity to ensure the team has the right mix of resources to tackle the task. Retain top talent by monitoring the pool of human capital. Track and audit the operating styles of those who leave the organization. A suite of three e-tools are embedded in the system to support the strategic HR management of human capital.

Our training design also had three access points for the learner, the trainer, and facilitator:

• Directly to the learner without intermediation – the 4D-i^® can be bought online
• Classroom programs for trainers, using the OneSmartWorld^® modules 
• As a performance and productivity toolkit for skilled OD consultants, facilitators and team leaders

  Communication Style

Simplicity and ease of use are essential to communications success. Our aim was to create simple, easy to remember communication methods for individuals and teams with diverse cultural backgrounds and learning styles, for use in Canada and around the world. We had three communication building blocks.

The first building block of the OneSmartWorld^® communication style is the common platform of our universal language of colours, symbols and colour-coded processes. These are used as a unifying theme throughout all OneSmartWorld print, electronic and classroom materials. We selected the colours of red, yellow and green, which match the colours of a traffic signal light, as an easy to remember metaphor. White, the fourth colour selected, in the shape of a diamond, symbolizes personal spirit. The diamond is the hardest substance in the universe and represents the deep source of one’s life view, personal power and commitment. For example, the Conference Board of Canada’s Employability Skills have all been analyzed and colour coded with our system to make them easier to access and use.

The second building block of the OneSmartWorld^® communications style was to focus all language, coaching tips and 4D-i^® interpretations on what’s right and good about the person. We believe in a strengths-based focus. We believe that everyone is smart in their own unique way. We believe that everyone wants to make a meaningful difference in whatever they do. We focus on helping learners capitalize on their personal strengths and harness their talents to achieve their goals. For example, the 4D-i^® profiling tool looks at the way you approach people and situations in the world around you. The communication style is non-judgmental. We provide a positive framework for increasing self-awareness. The language style supports improving personal performance by leveraging strengths and working smarter by expanding one’s capabilities. Results throughout the profile are displayed in percentiles. This enables the learner to compare themselves to the rest of the population. Coaching tips are personalized to the learner’s own unique results. They are written in a positive, motivational tone. Each and every profile is intended to celebrate the strongest preferences of the learner. The online and print resources give the learner practical tips to improve their results by leveraging strengths or expanding their capabilities.

The OneSmartWorld^® Value Proposition

We believe that the OneSmartWorld^® system offers an outstanding value proposition for the learner. We believe that OneSmartWorld^® delivers a new powerful, cost effective, multi-use business-based offering for the training profession.  Our value proposition uses a matrix for all our clients. It is a scaleable model that moves across three levels that match the training design: personal success team performance and enterprise success. We also divided the value proposition into three measurable time frames:  immediate outcomes, short term benefits and long term value. It pinpoints both tangible and intangible benefits. This allows the client and trainer to select the level of intervention they want and to target the type of value they are seeking. From there, they can design the appropriate evaluation metrics.

Clients

Our clients include a broad cross-section of corporate, government and educational organizations including Magna, Honda, CIBC, Bell Canada, Georgian College, Sheridan College, and the Government of Canada.

Contact Us

For more information on OSW performance improvement solutions, please contact us at 1-800-387-6278 or info@onesmartworld.com