Once upon a time, in the “old days” of management development (it wasn’t even called leadership development), management training videos were often used in our programs. While some of them were good (classics like Meetings Bloody Meetings, The Abilene Paradox, Joel Barker’s Paradigms, anything Tom Peters, and of course the Muppet’s meeting openers), most of them were absolutely horrible.The worst ones were the cheesy HR or OSHA compliance videos (i.e., harassment, office safety) featuring bad actors and completely unrealistic scenarios. It was hard not to laugh along with the audience. Although, I have to give Wendy's credit for at least trying to get creative with this 1989 training video called "Grill Skills".
They were also quite expensive, and still are. These aren’t the DVDs you purchase at Wal-Mart in the $5.00 bin - they can cost over $1000! But then again, you also get a facilitator guide and job aids so you can turn a 20 minute video into a 4 hour training program. (-:
Fast forward the wild and wacky world of Web 2.0 and free content. Sure, there’s still a lot of junk out there on Youtube, but there’s some pretty good stuff too. I tend to favor leadership videos that feature real leaders sharing their secrets, lessons learned, and best practices. Here are a few sites I’ve discovered and use now and then:
1. The Washington Post’s “On Leadership” videos
Well over a hundred good interviews with private and public sector leaders; about 4-6 minutes in length each.
2. The Wall Street Journal’s Lesson’s in Leadership
Similar to the Post’s platform, although many are less than 2 minutes.
3. BNETs’ videos
More of a “how to” collection, by trainers and consultants.
4. The Marshall Goldsmith Library Athena Online SmartBytes
While Athena is a fee based site, Marshall offers up his for free. Great for coaching!
5. Success Television
Hosted on YouTube, a lot of personal development, with some leadership.
6. American Express’s Open Forum
For business owners, lot’s of cutting edge expert interviews.
7. Harvard Business Review on YouTube
No need to spend $50,000 for a Harvard MBA… you can watch their star faculty for free!
8. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading
Very cool. Hi-tech, science, and business.
9. Fast Company TV
It’s, well, Fast Company… via video.
10. The Leadership Hub’s Hub TV
A leadership social networking site’s collection of leadership videos.
While I wouldn’t recommend any of these for a date night, they’re a great way to kill a little time at work, expand your own leadership horizons, or train and coach others.
Are there others that you would recommend? Or, what are some of the worst corporate training videos of all time?
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