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May 4, 2005

5:24 pm | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

...We Have a Problem

| posted by Heath Row

In the mail today, I received the May edition of Zingerman's Training Inc.'s promotional newsletter. Chock full of information about the creative company's upcoming workshops, the mailer also includes a brief feature entitled "What Kind of Problem Are Dealing With?" (Awkward structure theirs.)

The piece encourages leaders facing challenges to consider what kind of problem they'r actually facing. Here's their one-two-three:

1. Is there already a system in place for performing the task? If not, you have a systems problem. Training won't help until there's a system in place.

2. Is there a system in place that employees know how to use but don't follow? If so, you have a management problem. Leaders need to ensure that existing systems are being used.

3. Is there a system, but employees don't really know what it is or how to use it? If so, you have a training problem.

Many times, training problems are often confused with systems problems, and managers try to replace the "flawed" system. This quick checklist may be a handy way to respond to challenges.

Tags: Innovation, innovation + creativity
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Recent Comments | 4 Total

May 4, 2005 at 6:23pm

Victoria Baugh
From the world of Performance Consulting - why people don't do what you want them to. They don't know how - training problem They know how but don't - performance problem Performance Problems include - there is no reward for doing the behavior or the syetem is rewarding some other behavior - there are disincentives for doing the behavior(using a system that makes what they are doing difficult and annoying, lack of organizational support (resources, lack of clarity of priorities and importance, unclear roles and responsibilites, lousy processes) etc. - they don't want to or are not interested in doing the behavior In # 2 in your article, There is a system in place and people aren't following it - the question should be, "Why not?" Does the system make it more difficult and take too much effort? Performance problems are often confused with training problems and the questions above and also the ones I have included are just preliminary, its a whole lot more complicated than this but this is a good place to start.
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May 5, 2005 at 2:31am

Sir Psycho Gonzo
Sounds to me like that company has difficulty with the culture that it is breeding. They are concentrating on pointing to blame rather than concentrating on finding the solution. You can have a master "policy and procedure" for just about anything, but you need to have the ability to train and train well to get the results that you want.
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May 5, 2005 at 10:13am

Steve Bojan
The greatest challenge with finding flaws is the difficulty with looking deep within yourself and the organization. Most companies have good systems. They also provide initial training on those systems and often have management dedicated to additional training and updating the systems. What they lack is committment. In essance, the tools are in place but organiztions often want to take the path of least resistance or members are unwilling to admit their own limitations. In the easiest analysis this is a managent issue, but at a philisophical level it is best described by Einsteins quote: "The road to perdition is ever accompanied by lip service to an ideal."
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May 9, 2005 at 10:41pm

super doop
ok ok ok after 3 times I get it. training is for dowgs, and if they do it right they get a treat. employees usually don't get treats, and if they do they are usually lame treats. people only do things because they want to get pleasure or avoid pain. usually management uses the avoid pain method to motivate employees, because it works fast and has short term results. but it also leads to high turnover. for dowgs it's called rollover. then here's your treat. i like your 1, 2, 3 approach, it's enough to sell me on your consulting services. When can you start to turnaround my failing company?
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