Did You Know?

Thoughts That Make You Think Twice

Below is a collection of our "Friday Facts". Think you know the answers? Click on the arrows to find out!

This Week's Fact

Answer: D. 8 billion

Have you seen Merit Career Development's Facebook Page? Check it for the latest news about our always-expanding course offerings.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/miketempleman/2017/09/06/17-stats-about-video-marketing/#27332fd6567f

Friday Facts from previous weeks

Answer: C. 360

Have you seen Merit Career Development's YouTube Channel? Check it out to learn details about our always-expanding course offerings.

Answer: Chess

To learn more, check out "Learning Through Play Enhances Employee Engagement" from our blog.

Answer: E. All of the above

For more information on the CAPM or PMP certifications and effective test preparation, see our Project Management Courses or contact Jim Wynne at . For additional information, read our blog article.

Answer: D. 50%

To learn more about adaptive learning, visit the Adaptive Learning section of this website or check out:

Our blog article on what it is and why you want it
Our Infographic

Answer: A quote from Kristian Villumsen, Senior Vice President, Coloplast, a very satisfied adaptive learning customer:

"In healthcare, accurate knowledge is crucial for an effective sales team. Adaptive learning ensures our team builds the knowledge and confidence they need, in the most optimal way."

Want to bring this transformative approach to your organization? Contact Jim Wynne at or at (610) 225-0449. Or read more on our blog.

Answer: Adaptive Learning is truly personalized instruction; the kind that feels one-on-one training because it immediately and continually adapts as it recognizes what the learner already knows - and prevents redundant, boring content from being delivered. And it is a convenient-to-use, online platform.

What to learn more? Check out this 3 minute video to learn the benefits of adaptive learning for Business, the Training Function, and the Learner.

We are re-formatting our popular course content for adaptive learning using the Area9 platform. Want to bring this transformative approach to your organization? Contact Jim Wynne at or at (610) 225-0449. Or read more on our blog.

Answer: D. All of the above

Merit is so committed to providing the most effective training experiences, that we have partnered with Area9, a company that developed a technology platform for Adaptive Learning, and we actively transforming many of our programs into this format.

To learn more about adaptive learning, visit the Adaptive Learning section of this website or check out:

Our blog article on what it is and why you want it
Our Infographic

Answer: Because in this type of leadership environment, the blurred lines between boss and worker enables increased creativity, more ownership of work and outcomes, and greater cultural sharing.

To learn more about leadership, decision-making and problem solving, consider bringing one of these courses to your organization, either virtually or in-person:

Answer: B. Poor work / life balance.

Research shows that high Emotional Intelligence (EQ), studied for over 30 years, predicts success beyond an individual's knowledge, skills and abilities. Emotionally intelligent leaders have significantly greater annual profit growth, increased customer satisfaction, and higher personnel retention. Studies show that lack of EQ may limit

Answer: According to a Smartsheet.com comparison of PMP Salaries vs. PM Salaries, the PMP certification is realy worth the effort. Of course it varies by industry, years' experience and geographical location, but the PMP is a real differentiator that translates into increased compensation. Smartsheet aggregated the salary information for project managers from companies including PMI®, PayScale, Glassdoor, Indeed, Salary.com, Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, the Robert Half Company and Angel List (a website focused on startups.) Their findings indicate that it is usually worth a 20% higher salary, with ranges from 10 - 22%. Read here for more information.

Source: https://www.smartsheet.com/2017-comparison-pmp-salary-sources-and-surveys

Almost every Merit Career Development course is accredited by the Project Management Institute and earns participnts 7 credits per day of training towards their PMP. Click here to view the course selections.

Answer: The principal advantage of the pre-mortem technique is that it legitimizes doubts and encourages everyone, even supporters of the decision, to search for possible threats not considered in the decision-making process.

Answer: The way a question is worded, or framed, impacts our thought processing and can sway our openness or aversion to risk when making decisions. Research by Kahneman and Taversky shows that when we use "get" in the question, we will almost always take the safer option. If the question is phrased with "lose", we choose the riskier one.

For example, if we were told that we have a 50% chance of getting free tickets to the concert if we attend an information session, we are less likely to do this than if we are told we have a 50% of losing the concert tickets.

Relevant courses where we teach risk management techniques include:

Answer: Active listening involves both non-verbal and verbal skills. "Following" is a useful verbal skill and is demonstrated by focusing on the speaker and simply showing neutral encouragement by saying things at appropriate points, such as: I see, I understand, explain this further, please, and so on.

Experiential learning from first-hand experience increases retention of knowledge.
Integration of concepts because experiential learning increases understanding, participants learn to link knowledge areas and apply concepts broadly.
Risk-free learning enables participants to earn from their mistakes in a safe environment.
Adjustable difficulty controls allow instructors to increase competency by matching learners experience to their content and pace of learning.

Learn more about active listening in these courses:

Answer: The advantages of simulation learning include:

Experiential learning from first-hand experience increases retention of knowledge.
Integration of concepts because experiential learning increases understanding, participants learn to link knowledge areas and apply concepts broadly.
Risk-free learning enables participants to earn from their mistakes in a safe environment.
Adjustable difficulty controls allow instructors to increase competency by matching learners experience to their content and pace of learning.

See first-hand how simulation tools like SimulTrain® aid learning in these courses:

Answer: Bounded Rationality

Bounded rationality is the concept that explains why we are limited in our ability to make the best decision possible. It refers to our cognitive limitations of the mind and the time available to make the decision. The short answer is that we are seeking a satisfactory solution rather than an optimal one.

Learn more about the influencers that affect our decision-making and tools we can learn to optimize them in our courses...

Answer: 12 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Giving Feedback

Judging individuals, not their actions, behaviors or the outcomes of these
Being vague; not providing evidence-based feedback
Speaking for others instead of your own observation
Using "sandwich" technique where the meat of your message is hidden
Exaggerated feedback reduces credibility
Attempt to psychoanalyze the other person's behavior
The feedback drags on too long, is redundant, or just overly detailed
Threatening tone or message put people on the defensive and has less of a chance of "getting through"
Given infrequently, especially if positive feedback is not given
Giving only negative or "constructive" feedback
Discussed too late; feedback must be timely in relation to the event
Delivered as a monologue, not dialogue - Should be solicited or offered, not imposed

This content or related information is covered in the following courses:

Answer: The answer is d. We make about 35,000 decisions a day!

This content or related information is covered in the following courses:

LD201 - Strategic Thinking and Decision-Making

Did You Know?

Thoughts That Make You Think Twice

This Week's Fact

Friday Facts from previous weeks

Question: We've been talking about the Digital Age all week, so now's your chance to test your knowledge! Every five minutes, ______ hours of new video are uploaded to YouTube. 110 250 360 540

Question: What game was used throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to teach noblemen war strategies?

Question: By what percentage is learning time shortened with adaptive learning as reported by both Hitachi Vantara and the National Safety Council? Up to: 20% 30% 40% 50%

Question: Why is adaptive learning so critical for people working in healthcare?

Question: Here's a pop-up quiz about a topic that is transforming the learning field, from scientific, biological, and psychological research. What is Adaptive Learning?

Question: What is Unconscious Incompetence? What you don't know you don't know Skipping a learning opportunity because we think we know it already Often up to 40% of a person's knowledge of a topic All of the above None of the above

Question: We've been posting all week about the Collective Leadership approach. Why has Collective Leadership, where all employees are involved in setting and reaching company goals, increased in value?

Question: Research shows that lower Emotional Intelligence (EQ) scores correlate with the following, except for one: Lower merit pay increases Poor work/life balance Lower job satisfaction More burnout

Question: What is the increase of value of having a PMP® credential vs. being a PM with one? (PMP = Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute and PM = Project Manager)

Question: How does "Framing" impact our management of risk?

Question: Did you know that people judge you on how well they think you listen? In fact, in 25 studies of critical employment skills, "listening" was cited most frequently. Employ "Active Listening" to assure to assure that others konw you are genuinely interested. How do you do this?

Question: Simulation teaching tools like SimulTrain®, have at least 4 documented advantages over classroom-style professional training in learning how to resolve practical dilemmas. How many do you know?

Question:"We all have limitations in mental data and memory storage, intelligence, and experiences that can lead us to making poor decisions." This phenomena has a name, according to Herbert A. Simon, who won a Nobel Prize for this. It is called _________ __________?

Question: How many of the 12 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Giving Feedback can you think of?

Question: How many decisions do we make in a day? About 10 Between 20-50 Hundreds About 35,000 Millions