Finding Time... LO4032

Rol Fessenden (76234.3636@compuserve.com)
03 Dec 95 17:21:27 EST

Replying to LO3992 --

Ted Forbes said:

I often wonder if this is why it currently seems so difficult to "bring
back home" what goes on in training or educational experiences. Having
been thrown back into the fire, survival is the only reasonable mode to
adopt.

So here is a question - how should/do organizations address the tension
created by the need for maximum work efficiency and productivity with the
need to allow learning to "sink in?" And how do we recognize this
learning once it has occurred?

*** End of Quote ***

This is a profound question. Is it possible that the difficulty is the
expectation that we must "bring back home" learnings from elsewhere rather
than gain those learnings "at home" so to speak? At least in business,
there is an expectation that most higher level trainig will occur by
attending outside seminars and so forth, rather than conducting these
seminars "within the four walls" among a group of peers who can learn and
then practice together.

It is tough to come back from any class with your mind full of wonderful
ideas, only to walk back into the building where all your peers are
exactly where they were when you left. No wonder it is so difficult to
change anything. Almost nothing of consequence can happen through the
efforts of one person single-handedly. Therefore, when 100 people have
only one mental model, and one person has just gained a new one, there is
a powerful gravitational force pulling that one back into the tried and
true ways.

The only solution is to have the training occur among people who work
together day in and day out so they can _consciously_ incorporate the
results of the training into their daily interactions. I think there is
also a second phase to the training whose task it is to ensure that
incorporation into the daily work occurs, and to support, facilitate, and
mentor those who are making the change.

If this is a correct model, then training is part of the regular work of
an employee. Every organization decides how much to invest, but the
training must come primarily from within the organization, and be given to
cohorts of peers so they can practice and learn from each other.

--
Rol
Rol Fessenden <76234.3636@compuserve.com>