Training Doesn't Work! Take two.

Training doesn't work in organizations either!

Did I just say that?

In organizations the problems aren't just with the motivation of person trained but with peers, managers, systems, procedures, processes, tools... Shall I go on?

Many problems need to be addressed before training can work in an organization. Most have to do with support after the training. Will there be anyone to encourage and coach you after you are trained?

Imagine a high school marching band trained like most organizational employees or volunteers are trained. There would be the training session, say, 1/2 or full day. Much of that day would be an overview of bands. In the interest of producing well rounded band members, each musician would get information on all the instruments. Near the end there would be a brief, usually hurried, role-play of a musical piece. Then everyone would be left on their own with no further practice as a group, rehearsal or coaching.

Imagine the result.

Every training session an organization schedules is an attempt to change that enterprise. Organizations need to get real and provide the support each learner will need after the training session is over.

Halloween Creativity

Halloween brings out the creativity in people. Amazing is the only word to describe what some people come up with for costumes and decorations.

Do you suppose the organizations these folks work for, or volunteer for, tap into their creativity?

Most of the time the answer would be no.

People are motivated to work most successfully and intensely on undertakings they choose themselves. How many organizations authorize that?

The answer? The very best and most creative organizations.

It isn't just big-C creativity that suffers. Getting better at anything involves a certain amount of creativity. Let's call it little-c creativity.

Creativity is one component of improvement. You need coaching, support, and deep practice as well. How well does you organization support these practices? How well do you do them yourself?

Channel the spirit of Halloween. It's not so scary.

Do Something Different!

Do the obvious!

A recent news report on a diet study made a blinding flash of the obvious. If you want to lose weight - get this - eat less and move more.

NO WAY! GET OUT!

The report stated it didn't matter which diet you used. Just consume fewer calories. Do even better by getting more exercise. Oh, and to sustain your efforts, have a support system with other people.

We also know, to get better at something - anything - we need to practice. Not just practice, but practice those aspects of what we wish to improve that are difficult, if not impossible for us. It is important in those improvement efforts to have some expert guidance and the support of others.

Hey, that sounds like the dieting study.

But few people actually DO the obvious. Most people look for shortcuts. Most people do what's comfortable. Most people do the same thing over and over and expect different results. It has been pointed out that this is a form of insanity.

So because most people don't DO the obvious, few people get really, really good at anything. Most people ignore the obvious and do what's comfortable but ineffective.

Do something different! Do the obvious!

Mackinac Bridge 50th Anniversary Walk

On Monday my wife Sharon & I walked the Mackinac Bridge with about 80,000 other people from all over the world. It is an annual event held every Labor Day (the only day pedestrians are allowed on the bridge). It is the quintessential Michigan occasion. This year is the Mighty Mac's 50th anniversary.

Back before the bridge was completed in 1957 a fleet of ferries took people and their vehicles across the straits of Mackinac between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

The ferry trip took about an hour and the average wait time for a ferry was 2 hours. There were longer waits than that during times like deer season (another big Michigan event). Many times no one could cross because of bad weather or ice, which stopped ferry service in the winter.

After the bridge, the entire crossing took only about 10 minutes with only rare closings due to weather.

No matter how many ferries, no matter how efficient the process, the ferry crossing would never have gotten as short as 10 minutes.

It took a completely new approach. A bridge.

There was a need to Do Something...Different!....to get radically different results.