Training Discovery

Marketing is an important business investment. How much you budget for marketing will directly impact your growth and profitability. Marketing expert Luan Wise walks through the cost of marketing and the different ways a marketing budget can be set. Learn how to price products, find the lifetime value of your customers, and know the costs of various marketing activities. Plus, get budgeting and cost management tips, and find out how to measure your success.

Employee goals should be driven by the organization's needs—whether it's to cut costs, drive revenue, or build skills—and keep employees motivated to succeed. Mike Figliuolo, managing director of thoughtLEADERS and former McKinsey consultant, helps you set employee goals that are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Using the SMART framework, he shows you how to develop goals that are achievable and appropriate to your employees' roles.

Along with providing guidance on how to link individual employee goals to organizational strategy, Mike walks you through the different types of goals, including bottom-up, zero-based, commit, and stretch goals. He also helps you use goals to change behaviors, build new skills among employees, and make goals actionable by using incentives and tying them to specific activities. He concludes with a comprehensive plan for setting and implementing goals, and some tips on dealing with challenges such as conflicting goals.

In SharePoint 2010 Essential Training, author Simon Allardice demonstrates the full feature set in SharePoint 2010 and the necessary skills to be a SharePoint site administrator. The course shows how to use SharePoint, create sites and site collections, and plan and design sites and portals. It also covers Office integration, security and permissions, and advanced features such as document management and business intelligence.

Maintaining a secure server environment is one of the most crucial tasks for professionals charged with administering enterprise networks. In this course, learn about server hardening solutions for Windows Server 2016. Ed Liberman explains how to configure file and disk encryption, as well as how to configure patches and updates. Plus, he covers implementing antimalware.

Picking up where Modeling an F1 Wheel in Maya left off, in this course Veejay Gahir walks through the steps required to surface a Formula 1 wheel in Alias. With assets from the previous course, you'll be able to complete the entire project, from setting up your Alias model and building high-quality surfaces for the different wheel components, to exporting data for use in rapid prototype physical models and rendering the final product.

Get started with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, a secure, open source server operating system designed to tackle mission-critical workloads. In this course, learn essential SUSE Linux Enterprise Server administration concepts. Chaim Krause explains how to use YaST, set up a server to use Secure Boot, manage users and groups, and administer the most common network services. Plus, he covers various file systems, and using logical volume management to optimize your storage.

Given that programmers are constantly modifying their code—and that other developers often touch the very same code—it's crucial to keep track of your changes. By leveraging software version control systems such as Apache Subversion (SVN), you can help your team stay on the same page. In this course, learn how to use SVN to keep track of your code changes and merge conflicting changes. Julian Robichaux covers key concepts and terminology such as trunks, commits, and revisions, and explains how to create a new Java project, make changes, and create branches. He also covers how to find and fix conflicts using Eclipse, create a release, and use SVN and Git together.

If you plan on designing and implementing software using Swift, you need to understand the protocol-oriented programming (POP) paradigm. In this course, take a closer look at POP, and learn how to work with it to more efficiently approach app development. First, review what POP is, exactly, and how it differs from the classical object-oriented programming approach. Next, learn about the pillars of this new paradigm: protocol extensions, protocol inheritance, and protocol composition. Protocol extensions let you define default behavior for conforming types without defining a base class. Protocol inheritance is a powerful feature that lets you create more granular designs. Swift does not allow multiple inheritance for classes—but with protocol composition, Swift types can adopt multiple protocols. Plus, explore generics, and see how to implement a fully functional app using a protocol-oriented approach.

3D tracking is the foundation for advanced visual effects in films and commercials seen all over the world. SynthEyes is one of the most popular software packages for 3D tracking, capable of complex camera moves and object tracking. Join Brian Morse as he reviews essential tools and techniques in SynthEyes, beginning with a quick start guide to help you create accurate 3D solves quickly. He shows how to analyze a shot, compensate for lens distortion, and use both the manual and automatic features in SynthEyes to help you get the best solve for your camera. Plus, learn about more advanced techniques, like object tracking with a moving camera. The course closes with a look at exporting to a variety of animation packages: After Effects, NUKE, Maya, and CINEMA 4D.

SmugMug is a popular photo-sharing site that also enables photographers to create online portfolios with customizable, drag-and-drop design templates and provides the option for selling prints. In this course, photographer and educator Justin Reznick shares tips for getting the most out of SmugMug. Justin shows how to choose the right SmugMug plan for your needs, set up and design a site, and customize the look and feel of your portfolio. Plus, he covers how to set up services on your site, sell prints, and look under the hood on a live site.

Social media is having a dramatic impact on the professional photography and video industry. This course shows how to use social media to its full potential and leverage the unique benefits it offers photographers and filmmakers. Rich Harrington presents strategies for being more effective on sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, and more. From scheduling to posting and connecting, learn the building blocks to increase your social media reputation.

Small businesses can't afford not to be active on social media. Having a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account keeps you tuned into your customer base and helps drive traffic to your website or brick-and-mortar store. Learn what it takes to be successful at social media marketing, without a lot of resources or dedicated marketing staff. Digital and social media strategist Martin Waxman explains the key terms and definitions (everything from SEO to hashtags) and tells you how to start finding your customers online. Learn how to make an action plan that outlines your goals, team, and budget, and find time to implement your ideas. He'll also talk about what content to publish where and the tools you need to measure the success of your efforts.

Proving social media return on investment (ROI) is one of the toughest challenges facing marketers. This course helps you transcend vanity metrics, such as number of likes, to demonstrate precisely how social media creates value for your organization. Instructor Luan Wise covers the measurements that really matter, how to use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram analytics to define and track measurements, and how to use this information to produce actionable insights and drive continuous improvement for your business.

In this course, Jen Kramer shows how to build a custom Joomla! template that automatically tailors and sizes content for a wide range of displays, from desktops to mobile devices. This course covers using Joomla! 3 with its built-in Bootstrap framework, and a start-to-finish development strategy that covers everything from converting the wireframe to HTML, to styling the headers and footers. Jen also shows how to incorporate Dreamweaver and the Firefox developer tools into your workflow, and accommodate multiple layouts and color variations in a single template.

How can you be a successful UX freelancer? This course provides guidance to both experienced freelancers and those who have recently entered the world of freelancing, helping you to scale up your projects and clients. Cory Lebson explains what critical skills can enhance your workflow and help make you more successful. He discusses how to manage your workload, keep your pipeline full, and reliably produce high-quality deliverables as you effectively work with stakeholders and extended teams.

Habits have been identified as the key to success over the long term. Take a short break for learning and learn a new success habit each week. Join experienced and insightful instructor Chris Croft as he delivers valuable and practical success tips once a week. He covers topics such as the relationship between success, money, and happiness; emotional intelligence; goal setting; organization; purpose; and creativity.

Supply chain and operations management is a profession that evolves quickly. Investing in your professional development will pay for itself in time and money. This weekly series helps you review the latest in supply chain and operations management in bite-sized chunks. Logistics expert Daniel Stanton covers one new topic each week to improve your knowledge in operations and supply chain management. Learn about adopting strategic sourcing, enforcing supply chain security, minimizing the Bullwhip Effect, and more. You should leave each video knowing how to immediately apply your newfound knowledge to your role in operations-and directly increase the value you deliver to the customer. Tune in every Tuesday for a new tutorial.

SOLIDWORKS users who contend with hang-ups and slow load times can miss deadlines and lose productivity. In this course, discover how to improve SOLIDWORKS performance and tune your workstation for optimal performance. Instructor David Antanavige teaches a variety of methods for tuning workstation and SOLIDWORKS performance, beginning with basic system updates, and moving on to tweaks and adjustments to SOLIDWORKS itself. Explore how various SOLIDWORKS options affect performance, and learn tips and tricks for avoiding performance problems in the first place. Plus, discover how to squeeze more performance out of SOLIDWORKS using tuning options.

The SOLIDWORKS Premium package contains more complex piping and routing features, which enable designers to integrate piping and tubing early on, ensuring operability and serviceability and avoiding extra costs. This course teaches how to use the SOLIDWORKS Premium routing tools for piping and tubing applications. Start by learning exactly what routing is and how it is used. Instructor Erin Winick then explores making routes, sketching pipes, auto-routing, and editing piping. She adds coverings and features such as weld gaps and valves, and creates pipe drawings. She also covers designing with flexible tubing, which is measured, assembled, and routed differently than pipes. After completion of this course, users should understand all basic functionality of piping and routing in SOLIDWORKS, including the related parts libraries.

Do you have a business problem that you are having trouble solving? Mike Figliuolo has a simple five-step process for solving problems and leading your business through everyday uncertainty and larger change initiatives. Learn to pin the problem down and define it, generate possible solutions, determine the best solution, and create a clear recommendation to solve your particular challenge. This is the same process Mike has taught multibillion-dollar companies to solve their business problems. Learn how to use it to solve your own.

What do Tata Group, Walmart, Samsung, and Porsche have in common? These companies are all examples of a successful family business. With the right idea and a good business plan, you too can start your own family-run business. In this course, entrepreneur Bob McGannon shares his insight and advice on starting a business with family and friends (drawing from experience with his own 14+ year business). He begins with the importance of having an exit strategy and clear roles, governance, and ownership before you start the business. He also covers critical topics such as setting up business finances and managing working relationships, and provides troubleshooting tips and advice for keeping everything running smoothly.

"Storytelling" has become an agency buzzword. From creative directors to copywriters, it seems everyone is a storyteller these days. And the fact is, they're right. We are all storytellers. But few of us are story builders, capable of not only understanding the structure of story but able to use it to connect the character of a brand to the people that consume it.

In this course, Stefan Mumaw lays out the structure of story and uses the development of a real-world campaign to show how each story component builds an emotional bridge between brand and consumer. He breaks down how that story translates to the various advertising components that creatives often use in a real-world campaign, like TV spots, print ads, websites, and social content.

When we want to communicate information that's meaningful to us, we usually tell a story. Human beings are storytelling animals. So if you want to communicate a message about your business, your product, or service via video, go the natural route: tell a story.

In Storytelling for Business Video, Roger S.H. Schulman shows the tools and techniques authors and screenwriters can use to make any business video clearer, more compelling, and more persuasive. These tips work equally well whether you're trying to sell a product or service or to simply establish brand awareness.

Roger examines the specific steps it takes to build an entertaining and memorable story, first looking at the various intersections between creative storytelling and marketing. Learn how to find the heroes (and maybe even the villains) of your story and use the three-act structure of Hollywood films to communicate the message of your business in a compelling way. Along the way, Roger builds a video script for a fictitious company step-by-step, and shows how storytelling techniques make the final script better in every way.

Unconventional music requires unconventional recording techniques. Sylvia Massy has helped artists such as Tool and Prince realize their own unique sound and vision, using an engineer's mainstays—a recording studio and mixing board—along with some extraordinary gear. In this short documentary, Sylvia shares some of her most infamous recording experiments, from piano demolition to potato filters, and her new favorite tools, including the custom plugins she's developing for Waves.

Move beyond administrative HR with its focus on payroll, forms, and policies to develop a strategic focus on your most important asset: people. HR expert Catherine Mattice defines the components of strategic HR planning, including assessing current needs, forecasting the future, and supporting the overall organizational strategy and vision. She helps you define your talent needs, and provide guidance on how to recruit, onboard, train, compensate, manage, and engage employees. She also helps you tie training and other HR activities to business results and ROI—to show your leaders the true value of your HR programs.