Training to be a Better Dinosaur
Are you training to be a better dinosaur? Most training programs today are doing
just that - preparing us to do jurassic stuff better - things which maybe work
okay today, but will be useless tomorrow.
If you slavishly buy into training programs without asking the key questions
for relevance to your needs for success tomorrow, you risk being sold a package
of redundant goods.. You will get the results you deserve: training dinosauritis.
Trainers are basically nice people with a genuine desire to help others to be better. The scout troop leaders of the corporate pack. In Australia, our trainers are right up there with the best, using all the latest multimedia interactive techno bells and whistles which rival only timezone for the range of cybergames and fun we can all have learning together.
The problem of training better dinosaurs is not that trainers cannot train. The problem is that most trainers no longer really know what they are training managers to do for the leading edge of tomorrow. With the speeding up of time and the velocity of redundancy, we are experiencing the on rush of uselessness.
Trainers do not intentionally offer you redundant goods; they are working on out of date Jurassic information.
Most senior executives confidently believe they are progressing smoothly down the right track toward continued profits and healthy survival. But they are moving so slowly, relative to the speed of the Big Picture, that they are in fact sitting still. And as Will Rogers said, even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.
So here are six simple questions to ask of your training program to avoid Training Dinosauritis:
1. Is this training program offering a single training solution? It is no longer possible for one neat already-designed training package to be totally relevant to you and others at the same time. Avoid pre-packaged glossy programs except those providing the most generic information, such as for changes to tax or HR laws, news about new technology, and so on.
2. Is this training program based on a single management concept? The single-focus or single-theory management programs, such as Total Quality Management or Total Quality Control, are formula programs which force you to fit their mould, rather than help you to excel in your own style. YOU must work that out for yourself by looking at all the options and adapting to your team needs just what your gut tells you is right for you.
3. Is this training program offering skills or knowledge? Skills are to do with how you do things. Knowledge is about what you do. We all know the armchair experts who tell us what we should do but cannot do it themselves. As Peter Drucker and others continue to point out, the acquisition of wealth in the future is based on knowledge, not capital assets. Look at your organisation to see what knowledge it has and needs, and then ask , what skills does it need to further the use of that knowledge.
4. Is this training program providing the knowledge I need ? Tricky question, because how do we know what we don’t know? Tune in to what you sense is right, what your gut instinct is telling you your organisation will need to continue to excel. Then look for the most appropriate and absolutely best source of that knowledge - increasingly not in the training industry but in the doing industry. Look for who is doing it best, and start trading - trading bits of knowledge, skills, whatever works for both of you. Cooperate. Look at General Motors, Ford & Chrysler who are now sharing R&D as well as production facilities.
5. Is this training program offering the skills I need ? Knowledge isn’t
very useful in the business world unless it can be skilfully applied to do
something. Once you have the knowledge bits worked out, professional skill
trainers can do a great job of assessing and designing the iideal training
package for your team members. Be prepared to pay well for this individualised
service. You will recoup the cost tenfold by continuing to excel in the marketplace.
6. Is this training program focusing on tasks or people? While your team members
are the most important asset your organisation has, your upskilling decisions
should be based on what skills are needed to get specific tasks done superbly
- now. Knowledge training, on the other hand, is both task and person oriented.
Your team needs a wider pool of knowledge for creative functioning than just
the knowledge needed to perform the current tasks.
Skill train people for tasks today and knowledge train people to prepare your organisation for the challenges of the future. Don’t expect Jurassic training programs or trainers to do either. Only you know what you need. Make it happen.
Business Directions 24 February 1997
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