SME: proven training practice

Subject Matter Experts

The old saw: "the best way to learn is to teach" is true. Many things for employees (all members of a team) to learn.

BizBatt T+D suggestion: assign SME's (subject matter experts) within the organization. Haveeach SME give a presentation once/quarter at a training event in order to share their knowledge with the rest of the team/organization. There are many ways to do this. The important thing is that the SME develop their credibility and presentation skills and knowledge (not necessarily in that order) and that they make the entire group collectively smarter; tighter as a team all the while. The training office need not be the holder of all learning...the training office must make sure that all learn and develop and there are MANY dimensions to develop, other than product or process knowledge.

Those SME's will thank you later.

Unloading for knots,

BOOM!
Matt Daniel
visit our leader training wiki:
www.leadertraining.wetpaint.com BizBatt wiki

Lessons-Learned Systems

Here is a real-world (unclassified) application of a Lessons Learned System (central repository of debriefs/After Action Reports) that makes so much sense.

In this case a MCCLL (Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned) "newsletter" called a "QUICKLOOK REPORT" to spread the latest lessons learned. As you can tell, the lessons learned below are not terribly technical, groundbreaking or even seemingly profound, but the value in the PUSHING of this information out to those who may use it is key. This reminds the end-users of the resource's existence and that it is continuously updated. It gives credence to the data that has been input, thus inspiring the participation of more contributors and users...it gives depth. In crimson below is the report...very short, it is truncated for illustration's sake:

MARINE CORPS CENTER FOR LESSONS LEARNED (MCCLL)

UNCLAS

Among key recommendations highlighted in a MCCLL Quick Look report:

. The IRR should have access to the same types of equipment in sufficient
numbers for training purposes that they will employ in theater.
. Driver training should address conditions similar to those encountered in
theater.
. Combat weapons handling, crew served weapons, and Combat Lifesaver
training should be available for all Marines and attached Sailors.
. Mobilizing reserves should receive the same ammunition and logistical
support as active duty units.
. Last minute personnel joins (for both active and reserve units during and
after training) detract from the effectiveness of the training and the
cohesiveness of the unit. Stabilization of the unit should occur prior to
commencing pre-deployment training.
. It is especially important that IRRs filling billets at the battalion
level be assigned to their deployment billets as soon as possible after
arrival at the gaining force command to maximize the benefits of
pre-deployment training events.

UNCLAS

My thought? Perpetuate the mindset of process optimization with your own LLS. Proactively create an LLS, and then creatively, actively PUSH the lessons-learned back to the business keeping them aware, well-honed and read-in to what is working and what is not.
Fox 2,

BOOM!
Matt Daniel
610 704 1232
http://leadertraining.wetpaint.com Leadership Wiki

Good ideas dwell in every corner of every organization.

IMPROVEMENT - INNOVATION - INVENTION= I-3

They exist in the minds of every level of employee and in the minds of engaged and loyal customers. Countless permutations of intraorganization interaction (associate-customer, associate-manager, manager-director etc) reveal areas of rub, or ripe places for improvement or optimization. This does not only apply to, say store and operations personnel, but to workers of all levels and all over the company. Most organizations take pride in hiring smart and capable people. It is in the day to day experiences of these intelligent and capable agents where workarounds, improvement, innovation and maybe even invention may be inspired on a regular basis.

It is not the leaders’ responsibility to dream up new ideas and improvements. But it IS the leaders’ responsibility to ensure that good ideas are allowed to grow and are harvested. It is FURTHER the leaders’ responsibility that the fruits of harvest are then processed to a logical end and in a way that is respectful of those who bore them in the first place. And it is ultimately the leaders’ responsibility that enough of a culture of tolerance exists that those workforce personnel who do have ideas and suggestions freely share them, and consistently. This is not an easy environment to create or maintain.

It is important to transfer these concepts to the leaders and managers within the organization. That is a primary and fundamental step. It is also necessary for these same people to understand what it takes to seed, nourish, grow, harvest and then process innovation within the four walls of the enterprise...and then keep it going as a way-of-working. As importantly, it is crucial to honestly ferret out those things that are culturally counter to this goal (open, experimental and innovative improvement-minded culture) and on the other end of the spectrum, the things that the organization has in place that may be used to facilitate this effort.

In order to keep it real and practical, operational, the fundamental scope and scale for what I-3: improvement, innovation and invention look like on a daily basis, where the workforce touches it, why it is normally needed should be made clear. That we are not primarily looking for a cure to cancer or E=MC2 or the location of the Fountain of Youth, should be transparent. Among other things, we are looking for the little things that help the company optimize on a daily, weekly,quarterly basis.

In the pursuit of a culture of I-3, an organization should seek out real-world low order-of-cost but moderate order–of-impact success stories where an improvement, an innovation, an invention was implemented at a store, within a team, in a district, with/at corporate, across company boundaries and its effect. Share these learnings in a forum that can be heard across the company, open up lines of communications, tolerate risk, take some chances, have some fun and watch your I-3 plant grow.

Let me hear what has worked for YOUR organization.

Check 6 all,

BOOM!

The SECRET to EXECUTION

The secret to high performance and consistent execution is deceptively simple.

Performance in business, competitive or personal life absolutely DEPENDS on the execution and efficiency of the team.

Behaviorally, if the team can think and act in these terms:

+INDIVIDUAL SKILLS/CONTRIBUTION-toward focused team goals

+EFFECTIVE, FOCUSED and DISCIPLINED COMMUNICATIONS-keeping all aligned and pointed to team goals and the status of that pursuit

+SENSE OF URGENCY (but avoiding a sense of panic)-in achieving and encouraging achievement of team goals...

..the team will meet and exceed goals and expectations.

Of course there are many things that subset these major behavior areas, but that may be beyond the scope of this post.

Over the past 7 years, I have enjoyed the profound pleasure of working with high school athletes as the head coach of a varsity boys' lacrosse team. The way I see it, it is the responsibility of the coaches to ensure that they (the players, the team) develop as players, as athletes and as young men. Toward that end our coaching staff spends considerable time and energy in the three areas above. All of these areas are inter-dependent; the player and the team will be less than WHOLE without all three working in tandem, association or partnership.

All that said, what is this big secret?

The secret is, like the martial arts board-breaker, to look beyond the board. Develop your team to think, act and own in these three areas...train your players and team to speak this language and look toward their next, bigger and more life-oriented goals. In doing so, these team members will be able to consistently perform individually and as a team...eventually even without your direct input (ever read "A Message to Garcia"?...I can send it to you if you would like). They will be more prepared and better for it. In other words, your legacy is not built in deals, games or interventions won or lost, but in the people you help to break the code. Think, exhibit and teach these three behaviors and your charge will break the code.

Tell us YOUR , leadership, team or execution story...we'd like to hear it!

Keep the faith and Semper Fi,

Boom!
610 704 1232

...DEBRIEFS or POST MORTEMS they call them in some lines of work. I think that last year I posted something here about debriefs. Yep, I did. But it bears saying again.

In the WEIGHT ROOM, growth of a muscle mass to Schwarzeneggerian proportions comes from the time-tested Joe Weider muscle development principles (like the Weider Muscle Confusion Principle and the Weider Cheating Lift Principle and the much celebrated Weider Eat a Half Gallon of Ice Cream Principle) of BREAK IT DOWN [exercise it, work it out], FEED IT [nutrition, good stuff...protein and what not] and REST IT [give it some nap time...we grow when we sleep]. It is a continuum.

In the SQUADRON spaces, we have FIVE principles of GROWTH (what we might call continuous improvement, safety, operational excellence, lots of names)...sort of OODA Loop-ish. We PREPARE for our mission (which means plan for it, usually using a principle called the MORE THAN TWO EYES PRINCIPLE), we BRIEF IT (so we are all on the same songsheet...easily done if the multiple sets of eyes that planned are also going to DO IT), we DO IT (execute it, per the plan, or at least we start like that), we DEBRIEF IT (post mortem...systematically break down the mission, from order issuance to debrief) and then and most critical, we SHARE IT with those who may benefit from our lessons learned.

A couple of weeks ago we (BizBatt) conducted a 2-day multi-exercise training event with a group of young and newly appointed leaders from an international bank. This was our third straight year providing this LTE (leadership, teamwork and execution) workshop for this class. Every year the program has gotten better. I am convinced that even though we bring in new BizBatt personnel every year, we improve because of our lessons learned system (BizBatt Lessons Learned System...BBLLS) and our culture that encourages us to seek out the "what worked, what did not, and how can we be better this time?" mentality. I am certain that next year will be even better and I cannot wait.

This was a really LONG way of saying that

AARs work, but only if you share them. DO.

Check 6!
BOOM
www.businessbattlefield.com

Welcome Back! It has been a while.

Here is a link that I sent to one of our BizBatt customers:

Click here for a couple of quick audio stories.

It will open to a webpage where their participants (it'll work for you too) will be able to click right into and activate an audio player. It is a couple of stories that we meant to relay to them, but ran out of time. It is abt 10 min long, I believe. Nothing too sexy, just me and my buddy discussing those two stories. Very informal. Check it out if you have a few mikes.

More of this audio stuff to come.

sf,

Boom

The VOICE of Leadership