Jack Shaw – Page 3 – Management Library

September 18, 2013June 25, 2022

3 Keys to Organizational Development Training Strategies

“Where the hell have you men been,” asks the colonel in a 1981 Bill Murray comedy film, Stripes. (video)

“Training, Sir,” he answers, drawing out the word “training” until it sounds ridiculous. And funny, of course. The troops, feeling responsible for their sergeant’s hospitalization and under the “emergent” leadership of Murray, had worked all night preparing for the training competition. The Colonel allows a demonstration of this undisciplined training. The comic result is that it “ain’t half bad.” In fact, the Colonel wants these men on a special mission because they have shown such initiative in training themselves.

All that was needed were the three keys steps of organizational development training strategies to move them along and, of course, leadership, attitude, and desire.

It’s easier than you think. Most employers and employees consider training itself bothersome, even unnecessary, while the opposite is true. Yes, it seems the awesome, yet tedious task to planning out organizational development training strategies, while there is real work to be done. This returns to a necessary foundation–a re-start–a re-group–a rethink of how an organization reaches its goals and achieves its mission, often a long time after it was conceived.

That being said, since planning organizational development strategies consist of only three simple things, let’s get started. Knowing that it has to be done, leaders have to use all the charisma with which they are endowed to ease pain.

We all know how important learning and training is for the organization, and if that organization is growing and evolving, even more so. So, how do you deal with organizational growing pains? Expansion isn’t always the answer in order to keep the company functioning at optimum level; in fact, there is a point where the company gets too big. We talk about “red-tape” in government. Same here.

We go back to the company vision and goals to kick-start organizational development strategies. Our simple keys are tactical in nature. Smaller bites to create the Strategic system.

Remember that company vision and those goals to make it a reality? What are the company goals? Now that there are more people involved, what steps must be taken to optimize learning, the current amount of knowledge held now and the rate of usage? How much time will you have to accomplish what has to be done and how many people are needed per unit to accomplish a single goal.
What is the company division of labor or how does it divide the work? You aren’t really starting over–although sometimes it might be easier. I suggest have someone do just that. Working alone or with a partner, draw up an organizational plan based on what they know so far. Everyone else work with the current division of labor, departments and divisions achieving the goals now. Naturally, you have to look at relevancy and experience to the work being done, but also at rates of success. Ask questions like would training help or is a re-organization needed. Which would be best over time. Finally, remember the two-person team working on organizational plan on their own? Compare the two plans. Any insight? With key staff members looking at protecting turf sometimes the information is skewed and a fresh look brings a reality into play. Now, the units should be assigned the work that is most relevant, making the total operation more efficient. Over time backups and redundancies will happen as people are transferred and promoted.
What is the company flexibility factor? Can you tell the difference between someone who is having trouble learning or is learning at a different rate with someone who needs an attitude adjustment? That’s a tough call if it gets that bad, but with the degree of flexibility allowed in a large company, bad attitudes should not be a problem if they weren’t already. A certain amount of flexibility by management over this period and stated as such will show the employees that management cares about them, and that is always a plus. Convinced it will be good for the company overall and good for them because they will be doing work that is best suited to the job they do, you can’t go wrong.

Whenever people are involved, it’s always best to involve them in the decision-making process, or at least gain buy-in. The employees will be forced to take time out of their work schedule and managers who write their evaluations will have to let them, hopefully, with positive reflection. And, everyone is closer to success. The next steps of implementing the training should come easier.

*Just a short note to let you know I have shut down my website and re-named my Acting Smarts blog to Shaw’s Reality, which reflects my more eclectic writing these days and I use in place of my website. Still doing some acting, directing and performance criticism; however, I am more involved in writing these days and want to focus there. I promise straight talk and not to encrypt or decrypt, or be cryptic about anything on my site, which is meant to enlighten those who read between the lines. Harry’s Reality is still on sale at Amazon will be available through all other ebook distributors and directly through Smashwords after September 30th.

Happy training.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

September 12, 2013May 1, 2022

How Many Training Toys in Your Closet? Or what constitutes customized training?

a-trainer-in-an-organization-having-a-session-with-trainees

(By the way, I know some trainers use toys in icebreakers and throughout their training, but I’m not going to address that here. Maybe later.)

Some trainers and some employers expect these toys: stacks of pre-packaged company-tested programs. Other trainers and employers expect a personalized, yet professional assessment and work experience, which may or may not include toys. It doesn’t matter how they receive it. You probably know where I stand.

However, you have me asking, “What is the trainer good for? Telling the employer what program he needs” Or, is he or she using the well-known programs (the toys) to impress the employer as a way of gaining entry to the company?

That trainer still has the nerve to call it “customized training.” Here’s where we part ways. I remember receiving correspondence from a company planning a convention that wanted me to put together an entire day of various sessions centered around the topic of return on investment. That’s great! Can do topic! Exotic locale. Luxury hotel and airfare on them.

Here’s the problem for the “Cave Man:” the planning company wanted me there in two weeks. In the letter, it said literally to “pull my training off the shelf.” Since I customize or become terribly creative at times like this I don’t keep much on the shelf, I did a lot of pacing and wondering–for a few minutes–if I should find some off the shelf programs.

That exercise lasted just a few minutes. I’m a customize training kind of guy.

That is not to say, others that use these “toy” don’t have success. I’m sure they have some measure of success or they wouldn’t make a living or be recommended by others. I live outside the “cave.” I see change everywhere. Big change is happening everywhere and in every industry. People are changing, too. Change can mean success–often super success; however, some things never change. Like trust. Like understanding from the companies point of view. Like becoming accepted as one of them. It takes patience, but it’s worth it.

Like the coaches I talked about in last two articles, as I establish a relationship and trust with the company I discover what it needs. I become accepted; there is hope and optimism. A morale boost. Good things. I concentrate with a positive crew by my side anxious to achieve the same goal: positive return on the investment–the company way.

Had the overseas company given me more than a couple of weeks and a contact to give me more information, I would have loved to have accepted its offer. I could have my “dynamic” (he blushes) self given my audience the training it deserved on my terms. It was the only way. My way.

I know this story could have had a better ending, but sometimes we are fixed in how and why we do things. We do what works for us. We defend it to the death as the right thing to do. But this is commentary. As the “great Forrest Gump” would have said, “Life is a box of chocolates. You don’t know what ya git but ya always like the same one.” Or… “Custom is as custom does.” And, I’m not even from the South. Well, Southern California, but that doesn’t count.

This blog came about because I joined with a trainer on LinkedIn and upon looking at his credentials, I noticed that he listed all the pre-packaged training that he used as well as the training he received to allow him to deliver it. So, that’s a different kind of trainer. By listing his number of packages, he was quite impressive–a good selling point. I always hated the selling. Isn’t that ironic? I depended on word-of-mouth recommendations, my website, and my commentary to sell my training. Even later as a speech coach.

Then, I worked most often with companies (not corporate giants that have in-house staff to do what I do) that generally wanted their company name and senior management kept secret. With a few exceptions, for example, when an executive came to me personally and wanted to improve on his own. If you happen to look at my webpage you will not see the Fortune 500 companies or other privately owned well-known companies, or non-profits where I assisted high-level executives with their speeches or assisted in training efforts. By then it was habit I think.

Most training organizations or individuals want a list of companies to show employers as a demonstration of credibility. The companies I worked with, however, didn’t want anyone to know that the “big guys” had a professional speech coach giving them pointers on most of their speeches.

So, what do you do when you have a confidential client list? You give a fair amount of free time to the client first to see if their is a fit…until the client sees value in your work and wants to draw up a contract. Risky, I know, but my earlier life as an actor was even riskier so what the heck.

As always, an acknowledgement to all, please don’t force yourself on a company as the only way to do things. As you see here, I do try to point out the differences. I welcome guest writers anytime. Keep it generic so you talk about all others like you and not just your company (you don’t have to name names) and your name and link will appear. All we ask is that you link back to us.

A disclaimer. This commentary is mine and mine alone, and the opinion expressed here is not influenced by The Free Management Library in any way.

As the Host of the Blog site, I do get to ask that you take a look at my new blog that focuses on other topics than training. My training/speech blog is still out there, but I’m letting it die in cyber space. My best selling e-book, The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development is out. I need to tell you that I know Cave Man is not spelled that way and that is on purpose. The Cave is where we work, play and live. Read the book and you’ll get it. I hope to have two more following it soon. I also have a futuristic e-novel, Harry’s Reality, a look at what happens when society gives up control of the mismanaged dying planet to an evolving artificial intelligence.

Happy training.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

September 10, 2013March 27, 2023

How to Find the Right Coach, Part II

A-dark-skinned-girl-having-an-exercise-with-a-fitness-coach

Visiting Voiceover Artist Meredith Peirick

Website Demo.

People who do voiceovers–hereafter known as VO–come from a variety of places, wherever good voices are found. Think about how many products you use everyday that has a voice attached to it, for example, a customer service automated voice on the telephone, the voice on your Global Positioning System (GPS), and all the other obvious devices like television and radio commercials, video games, etc. Who does the cartoon voices? Some are famous, but many aren’t. Audio books are big now.

So the market is exploding with voiceover wannabees. Not really a problem, except with that explosion come some “entrepreneurs” who while they themselves may be good at the craft have figured out how to sell what they know. Since it is an art to be sure, and being “cast” in a voice role is like being cast in any kind of acting role–not at all guaranteed. When radio first came to everyone’s home, then television, there were schools everywhere to teach you to be a glamorous announcer and train you for your all-important radiotelephone third-class license, which made it “official” and you could be on the air. But first there had to be a job, then an audition… It didn’t happen as easily as people thought. Without the benefit of today’s technology, many of the radio/tv announcing schools closed down. By the way, the “third ‘phone” is no longer required to be on the air.

When I came back from the Marines and assorted acting jobs in California, I was determined to have a sensible job like something in radio or television. I sent out resumes and a demo tape a friend helped me make at the base radio station. Through a local station that had no openings I learned about a small radio station outside of town that was the perfect place for a college student to work. I had flexible hours because the other part-time DJ and commercial announcer was a student from another college, which meant we had different test days and schedules. This was my training ground to apply my acting and mixing skills to create a commercial until I got the result I wanted (or the client wanted). No pressure though. I even found over time that I could do a commercial off air, while I played music on-air and not miss the end of the song. Later, I would work at different stations, including one where I was the news director and another where I had a talk show–all very different forms of “narrating” or communicating, depending on your context. I had time, facility and guidance to start. I even found time for some theatre.

29488_1273485685956_1494340901_30562861_6047547_n — That’s my friend and colleague, Joy Blatherwick and me, of course, in PLAY ON! Photo by Dave Gold.

So that’s my story. Everyone has a “how they got there.” How they learned to mouth the words correctly, find the rhythm, read phrases instead of words, emphasize this or that, add variety and color to your voice, sell the product, and I might say act the script given to you. Some of that I knew already. I was taking acting classes, but even then, voiceover acting is a different medium and there are things to unlearn as well as learn.

Many coaches are accused of wanting money up front. That’s plain wrong for any coach. I don’t even pay my personal trainer (when I had one) until after the workout. As a speech coach, I would wait until my clients announced we were a good fit and were ready to draw up some kind of contract. They might ask what I usually charge and I would tell them; naturally some asked before we started, but I assured each client, no money would exchange hands unless we both thought my services would be helpful. Sometimes it took a few weekly meetings. Chemistry.

Coaches aren’t there at the beginning like radio/tv schools of the past; however, I suppose there are some broadcasting schools still around; there has to be. I know Defense Information School still trains radio and tv on-air people for the Department of Defense and “DeeJays” pop up all over the place. Not all of them stay DJs. Not all of them want to be. Not all of them want to move around station to station to get a raise until they make major market, but it is good experience. If you’re into acting, all the better; however, you may find you have to overcome “mic fright” like I did. Ever wonder what the mirror in the control room is for. It’s not because DJs are “so vain.” It’s so the DJ feels he’s really talking to someone. It’s an eerie feeling at first. It was fun, but as many who start in radio, some for love of music and some for other reasons, we take different roads.

My road was military and government, and then corporate speech coaching and training. I still get the occasional question or job offer–usually from overseas, but I came to a point where family was more important than moving around. I still love the art of speaking, of acting, of writing and so I do it when I can. I’m previewing (not reviewing) a musical tomorrow. Smart of the director to ask for that while there is time to make changes, but if she’s that savvy she’ll probably won’t have to.

Voiceover actors or artists as some prefer (and some are on those sound boards) must have the voice and someone said to them, you should be doing this. If someone said it to you, and you aren’t doing community theatre or practicing a lot of commercial scripts, you should be. Find out if you can quickly analyze copy, memorize it and act entire phrases, create characters and sell the products. And, make it bigger than life!

Other actors will be willing to listen offer advice, even direct you or tell you where to go for help in developing your vocal artistry. Actors even take lessons from acting or on-camera coaches to sharpen those particular acting skills. You may even find you like stage acting; however, if voiceover work is still your passion, I would bet there are actors there, some who have worked in L.A., N.Y., or Chicago, and done the commercials and voice-overs who may be willing to coach you personally. This is all for free–except for the professional lessons the others take as well. Of course, that’s up to you.

dj equip — A voice-over coach who coaches beginners on equipment will be a great help.

I found a casting director in my area that charged newcomers to the area a $100 session to sit down and she would give you an assessment of where you were in the market. Every market is different. She told me the types of characters she would recommend for me, agents to whom I should send headshots and resumes, a photographer for headshots, and a production studio to make my demo. Don’t worry no kick-back. Each session is tailored to the individual. I was told to use her name when contacting the agents and I had two immediate offers.

The hard part is either buying studio time with producer on a regular basis to make it worth your while or building the mostly soundproof, recording system somewhere in your house or garage. For that you will need a professional.

At this point, a voice-over coach who coaches beginners on equipment will be a great help. There are some who sell or recommend equipment themselves; the equipment is probably what you need. What you really need is how to use the equipment to make the best sound and market it. That’s what the voice-over artist coaches know best. Find a reputable one and a good fit as discussed above and check references. No guarantees.

I am willing to listen to you read and give you feedback for free as I noticed others were in these comments. I’m on the East Coast now (Philadelphia area), but I am a Southern California guy. Good luck.

For the voiceover folks who became offended. I recognize experience as a great factor and I don’t think any of my voiceover work would have happened without my experience in radio and television. I have over 40 years professional stage and commercial voiceover and on-camera acting experience. I have an interdisciplinary dual Master’s degree in Performance Criticism (English, Speech and Theatre) and am a working theatre critic.

Bottom line here. Coaches are not for novices. They are for someone who has pretty much to offer no matter the field. When I was a professional speaker, it was a common practice to have a coach watch your delivery and evaluate your work. Smart people do it no matter how good they are. One slip can bring that reputation down.

What does this have to do with business coaches? Absolutely everything. Don’t try to bullshit your way into the boardroom; you’ll just embarrass yourself. If you are in a position of giving advice to a contact, make sure it is good advice. Don’t shove coaching down his or her throat if it’s training they need or a consultant, or a motivator to raise morale. You’ll raise points and gain credibility by doing the right thing. It’s a code all coaches should follow. Give potential students the advice they need before giving them a class that should be down the road.

Happy training.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

September 8, 2013March 27, 2023

How to Find the Right Coach, Part I

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Website Demo

Realistic expectations.

Is it the same for finding the right business coach as it is for any other kind of coach? Only if you want one that will work.

I just came from the world of a voice over (VO) coaching professional group on LinkedIn. The social network for professionals seem to give me a lot of ideas. I happened to look into one of my groups: Voiceover Coaching Professionals. As a former actor and voiceover artist, I am familiar with media; however, not ever having used a VO coach, I am a little befuddled as to their real purpose. I suppose it is to supplement income, while they profess to be quite successful; or, they are quite successful and they want to be more successful and richer, too.

At any rate, they may be like the writers who edit books to pay the bills or actors who wait on tables until their next job. Or, they are the lucky ones, doing what they love, and in their spare time teaching how they do it to novices–a noble undertaking. I’m sure everyone likes the last, but while I covered almost everyone some variations remain. However, I do suggest that no one get uppity when someone asks the question: “what makes you the one I should use as my coach?”

To clarify: a VO artist does voiceovers for commercials, PSAs, automated services, training films, e-learning and other online training products as well as ebooks. I won’t quote any of the comments. Allie (not her real name) asked the question, since she was new to the business, how to find the right VO coach for her. I should mention that Allie is one of us, a trainer, who I will presume to be a communicator already. She felt she needed her VO coach to be dependable; he didn’t have to be on her schedule everyday, but because she worked, appointments were important to keep. She wanted to know what she should expect from such a coach.

Doesn’t her scenario work for any client? Are her expectations reasonable? There are some differences with business coaches or consultants granted.

Most of what you will be reading here are my responses to the VO coaches who to responded to a newby who wanted to be a VO artist. She had the “voice for VO and nothing else,” she said. (I would never buy that and neither should she, but that’s for later.)

I didn’t copy the coaches’ responses, just mine. I’ll try to give you the jist of their comments, but they may be obvious to you and you will be able to make connections. The early comments were several coaches jumping in offering their programs, through Skype, without mentioning cost, of course. So I asked:

“I’m just curious,” I said. “Having gotten into the business without a coach: where did you all come from? What is your background? Education? Training? Acting experience outside of voiceovers?”

I thought it was an innocent question. Instead I received a rant on how qualified this man was in something else, but had experience in VO.

What? You can’t ask for qualifications? Even actors’ coaches know training alone is not going to get you the customers you need to survive. Your bonafides have to include professional roles, especially on Broadway–especially if you are located on the East Coast.

Bonafides of some sort give people a place to start. Why does that strike a nerve here? When it does, that is cause to rethink this particular coach. A professional knows that qualifications can be simply a client list at least (or if it has to confidential, say so), years of experience, or tons of the right credentials. Push back is a con artist ploy.

js-beard — I studied with an acting pro in LA in the beginning, but I knew the basics.

My general suspicion lies with a guy I met whose only claim to fame as a professional speaker was that he was the TV weatherman. He made his living “teaching Public Speaking 101” to the general public. I could only shake my head when I saw a video of his where he was telling the group to relax and he takes up what I point out to my students as “the fig leaf pose,” a nice relaxed pose with your hands crossed over your groin, the mark of an amateur.

I suspect though push back in the VO area is because it involves voice talent, and not necessarily if you went to college at all or what you majored in if you did. Acting training outside of voice overs was probably the spark to unnerve them. These VO coaches should learn how to handle…

…the competition. The actors who do voiceovers and do not use voiceover coaches. They have agents who send them to auditions or directly to clients. Most are hired by the client and go to a studio. I know several who have a small studio at home and do both stage acting, commercial on-camera and voice over work, including audio books. I’ve had client’s themselves call me back for work, and I would then call my agent so we got the numbers right.

I studied with an acting pro in LA in the beginning, but I knew the basics. Every actor needs to stay sharp so actors see “coaches” along the way if they do this for a living. I’ve written several articles on education, training vs experience. I do voiceovers among other kinds of acting, and I do teach. My pro career in acting was full early on and sporadic later on with family, and I liked my day job. Retired from government, I pursued a position related to both acting/speaking and my day job: coaching corporate executives in speech. I made my living. A couple years I was unemployed from my day job and I made more in acting. Scared me. Now I do other things.

Still, it is a matter of experience and references in many cases. That’s all I was asking these coaches. I have coached stage acting, voiceover acting (not the technical side), commercial acting, and speech. That does not make me better or worse as a VO coach; however, because of my diverse background I can offer options, something beyond what they initially ask for. I am qualified to send them off in another direction.

People seldom ask for money-back in a service-oriented position–especially one that depends on your talent to succeed as well.

Asking for some kind of qualification to hire anyone is not irrelevant–be it education, training or experience: they are all valid. So is asking for references.

Here’s the bottom line, find out how much risk the coach is willing to take. Don’t abuse the risk he or she is willing to take to get the job. If it feels like a fit and he or she seems consistently right in the course of action, then draw up the contract and welcome him or her aboard. In a talent-oriented business, acting or voice overs, it’s about trust. If you and your coach work well, and you are doing your best, there will be no question of value for the money. If you want to set yourself a time-limit for success, that’s your business, and it’s also how you define success. Is it all you thought it would be? Constantly marketing and sending demos–exciting or a pain. But if it’s truly your path, go for it!

Always remember there are always other ways to get the same information. To keep your body fit, there’s Wii Fitness, Jane Fonda videos, the local gym or a personal trainer–each in its own way helps to do the job, but with varying costs and various amounts of commitment by you.

As with a VO or a Personal Trainer or Business Coach, a lot may be at stake here. Venture off the internet and find other ways that what you want can be done. In business, a trainer may be what you really need, or a consultant in the short term to get you on track, or a motivational specialist. People will tell you what you want to hear. There are some of us who have nothing to gain, who you can ask for feedback anytime.

Be sure to read Part II. Happy training.

This commentary is my opinion alone and The Free Management Library is not in anyway responsible for its content. I have written several articles of a similar nature. I tend to look at training, the workforce, business management, leadership and communication from a slightly different perspective than you might expect. I published an e-book called The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development in which I explain my reasons for looking at training and development in a different way. I look at it from the outside looking in, from the worker side, from the management side, from the trainer’s, and sometimes from the psychological side. I encourage you to talk about what you think about certain aspects of training on this website as long as you keep it generic. We’ll link to your site, and I hope you will comment here.

Please take a peek at my blog site, Shaw’s Reality, and you’ll find out more. By the way, I have an e-novel, Harry’s Reality, published by Amazon. It’s a scary look at what the future could be like if we stopped talking to one another and let the devices take over.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

September 4, 2013July 14, 2022

How to Protect Employees from the Anti-Leader

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leaderw — This is a tale of the anti-leader…

If only this were a fairy tale, it would begin “Once upon a time…” but it is not and has to begin and end differently. Hopefully, with some proactive training we can help employees to not get into this situation, and provide help if they do.

Keep in mind that no matter how dreary this sounds, there is hope. Of course, timing is everything, I know, and I’ll get to that.

I have recounted this view in other blogs, probably in snippets, most likely incognito, but let’s look at leadership (and its antithesis) and the training of an outgoing employing. It’s impossible to know, no matter how much human resources and leadership on this end know what lies in the position ahead.

Leadership may even know the other leadership where the transfer is taking place and are personal friends; he or she may trust the other implicitly. Even if it is a shift from headquarters to a regional office or vice versa, regional to another regional office or to another company, it may not matter. Why?

Because dyads aren’t always successful.
Because personal agendas exist.
Because the leader’s vision has become disrupted.
Because the newcomer is perceived as a spy.
Because the newcomer doesn’t fit exactly now as the leader’s “opposite” thinks he or she should be.

This is a tale of the anti-leader, and as horrible as it sounds, he or she is the worst a leader can be to this one employee, assuming the leader is fair and reasonable to the other employees and doesn’t set them up to fail, but rather to succeed.

All fairy tales begin once upon on a time, but how do nightmares begin. With a leader in charge, your heart soars and you feel like you can do anything. In business and military terms: “someone has your back.” With the anti-leader, the opposite is true. You feel that the person who should be supporting you, even mentoring you, grooming you for better things, is undermining you. So, it’s once upon a horror–a long harrowing tale–especially if you aren’t independently wealthy with a family and you need the job.

Unfortunately, there may be nothing you can do unless you have made friends and in-roads in other agencies. So, the best bet is to find another job where the leadership does see you as part of his or her vision, but that, too, is harder than you think. At first thought, you would think the anti-leader would want to get rid of you. The anti-leader is in your eyes–not his or hers. The anti-leader may feel in all honesty that you do not fit in, that you are incompetent based on his or her preconceived notions (the vision or future hiring plans), but as a leader refuses to dump you on some other agency by saying you have “a personality conflict, but that you are capable.”

leader-creative — You become ostracized in the unit. No one will talk to you–at least no one you can trust.

No, remember the anti-leader sees him or herself as a real leader who would tell the “truth” as he or she sees it, insisting on working it out in his or her unit, per HR and Union directions. Pardon the cliche: you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Essentially, if you have not made those earlier in-roads I talked about earlier, you will face re-training, demotion, humiliation and any other form of redress the anti-leader can do, consciously or subconsciously, to force you to leave on your own, but at no expense to his or her own reputation.

Sometimes, private calls or office visits, become very personal with no witnesses present, where his or her fears of your reaction to her actions or his or her sentiments about not wanting to supervise you become blatantly clear only to you. You become ostracized in the unit. Either intentionally or not, the word leaks out that you are persona non grata. No one will talk to you–at least no one you can trust. You continue down the road to despair. If you stay too long your health suffers–depression, psychosomatic illness, a weakened immune system, predisposition to other illnesses, etc. It’s the same with any stressful situation over time. If you’re young enough, you quit and take your chances; it may be too late for your family anyway. If you’re old enough or have resources enough, you retire. For employee health reasons, it is a serious problem.

It may not be a great move for the transferred employees financially (the employee already has questionable side), but the right of return to the previous station upon request would remove a tremendous burden from the employees. Initially, they won’t feel the need for a return and they’ll fight to fit it, but it is oftentimes a losing battle, and that employee could be an asset elsewhere, and by no means should that be not an option to save the company money. The idea of preventing an employee going “postal” aside, the company is better served offering an escape plan to the employee; keeping a disgruntled employee in a place that only magnifies an issue of alienation and distrust is not good for the company or organization, its mission or the people involved. For both parties, antagonist and protagonist.

What can we as trainers do?

Educate Human Resources on this issue. Then HR can help during the checkout process. There should be an escape hatch.
Include in the exit instructions or training, information about this particular phenomenon, emphasizing, of course, that the escape clause isn’t always needed, but to ensure unity and human dignity is necessary. It seems to happen more often when the employee is reassigned rather than recruited. How rare is the phenomenon? I don’t have statistics. They would be difficult to compile with any accuracy, but it seems to me even one employee caught in this phenomenon is bad enough.
We need, of course, to make our leaders aware of this so they don’t become so wrapped up in their vision or possibly their egos that they fall into this category with even one employee. Not all employees are stellar, but there is a place for everyone. Leaders help employees succeed, and when they get off-track they get them back on. Great leaders don’t assume at the beginning their workforce is flawed.

This commentary is my opinion alone and The Free Management Library is not in anyway responsible for its content. I have written several articles of a similar nature. I tend to look at training, the workforce, business management, leadership and communication from a slightly different perspective than you might expect. I published an ebook called The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development in which I explain my reasons for looking at training and development in a different way. I look at it from the outside looking in, from the worker side, from the management side, from the trainer’s, and sometimes from the psychological side. I encourage others to talk about what they think about certain aspects of training on this website as long as they keep it generic. We’ll link to their site, and I hope you will comment here.

Take a peek at my site and you’ll find out more. By the way, I have an e-novel, In Makr’s Shadow, published by Amazon. It’s a scary look at what the future could be like if we stopped talking to one another and let the devices take over.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

August 18, 2013May 1, 2022

Training in a Truly Foreign Country, Part II

What would you consider training in a truly foreign country to be? One where you neither speak nor write or read the language, right? I’m not going to make you guess. If you read Part I, you know that I’m talking about Japan. The Japanese actually have three kinds of writing, but I suppose if you were fortunate enough to read one of them you could get along without too much culture shock.

This is about training in Japan. In my case I was there to train high-level executives, including CEOs of huge corporations about American culture or how to do business the American way. Had I been younger, I would have been teaching English as a native speaker to the junior and middle staff. Japanese business executives, for the most part, don’t get where they are, without learning English in school prior to our arrival. At this time, Japan was leading the way for Pacific Rim countries in trade. Although this is no longer the case, Japan is still a primary player and provides a good example to talk about for training purposes.

In Part I, I jumped ahead to some experiences in Tokyo, but here we’ll back up to the research and go from there.

***

Since it would be awhile before I actually went to Japan, I did some homework. My employer stressed that I didn’t need to speak Japanese; however, I wanted to immerse myself in Japanese culture. I began by eating sushi and tried very hard to appreciate the delicate flavors. (Actors dig very deep into their roles and that’s the way I approached this fantastic foreign opportunity.) I looked at every book I could find on Japanese culture; I even read cover-to-cover James Clavell’s huge novels that embrace Japanese culture. As I self-educated myself in Japanese culture, I tried to learn some Japanese as well.

I learned some simple things, too, that every tourist should know like how to use the pay phone. (I suppose now the company would send us a phone with numbers already in the contact list. I would hope.) I learned about bowing. How to present myself. How the rank structure works. I learned that if I got into trouble–got lost, for example, find a young woman dressed in a business suit and ask her to help you. There is a good chance she will be liberated enough and savvy enough to help a foreigner out. If you read Part I, you know that this did happen and it didn’t turn out as planned. It’s funny now when I think of it, but at the time, not so much.

One of the important things I learned was that my clothing called too much attention to itself. I don’t suppose much has changed since then. The Japanese are still conservative in business dress and I still have very little in my wardrobe conservative enough. I’ll just have to tone it down. And that’s what I did then. Still in comparison, I felt garish compared to the Japanese I met with. On the other hand, the club scene and casual dress are different matters entirely.

The older we are the harder we fall. Rule number one: Culture Shock.

I was offered, by mail, my first city: Hiroshima. The hair on the back of neck rose up. All I could think about was my Air Force uniform and the atomic bomb. Then I noticed something else. My work card was filled out with the CEOs of huge Japanese corporations and banks! No, this couldn’t be! They could all speak English so what did they want of me? I was not there to teach them English, but rather American business culture. I was numb. A thought kept repeating in my head: flip it, flip flip it. What did that mean?

Don’t let the details bother you. Rule number two: Culture Shock.

When I calmed down and accepted my new role, I saw the future in training Japanese business culture to American businessmen and women. Then, I received some more mail from my new employers, this time asking my preference for a roommate and such. Also listed was a native speaker contact. I called her immediately and explained my distress. The new assignment for Nagoya came along with my Japanese work visa and a letter from the president of the company, whom I would call upon arrival.

I don’t think I would have ever felt right in Hiroshima. With that stressful item out of the scenario, I had to find something else to worry about so I began questioning my competency. (I never did that in acting; either I was cast or I wasn’t. But here I was.) What did I know about “culture?” About business? What did the Japanese want from me? Thinking about it now, the only way I could have been more qualified might have been a degree in art and music; I had the rest covered. In the Air Force, I worked with small business owners to large corporations, but I was too worried to take care of my own business at the time–acting. All I did was wait and question. I went over and over my “homework.” I needed to be prepared. Sometimes, enough is enough. Get some rest. Relax.

Sometimes it pays to be cavalier like the kid with the backpack. Rule number three: Culture Shock.

The rest of my orders came in. I was to fly to Tokyo for training before taking the superfast train to Nagoya. Sounded easy enough. I changed dollars I had saved to Yen at the bank, packed three big bags and flew Japan Airlines to Tokyo. The ten-hour flight was pleasant enough. I felt relaxed, like I had finally come to accept this new and exciting role. I was used to flying. Planes are planes. Airports are airports. We landed at Narita International Airport. The airport was familiar. The plan was to retrieve one bag and ship the rest ahead to the Nagoya office. Up ’til now everyone I met spoke some English, but the guy behind the desk did not understand what I wanted to do and I couldn’t read the paper in my hands that told him what I needed to do. After some wild gesturing, I was finally able to make him understand what I needed him to do. Should have taken more improvisational classes. Now just one bag to wrestle around and to make a phone call.

The phone call! There I was. There was the phone. Didn’t look like any of our pay phones. I was catatonic. I forgot how to use the phone… My first rescuer, a young woman, didn’t seem to speak any English at all, but saw me petrified before the phone and offered her help. At least, that’s what it seemed she was doing. As if in a trance, I handed her the letter and my change. She giggled a little at the culture-shocked American, but quickly went to business. She dialed and continually put coins in.

“Ohio, Sato-san?” Then she asked me, “You na…nama.” I told her. She spoke into the phone again, then handed it to me.

“Mr. Sato-san? This is Jack Shaw. I’m at the Airport.”

“You stay there. Someone come for you. You will know. ‘Kay?”

“Hai,” I answered proudly, but had forgotten the word for thank you.

He said a very accent-free, good-bye and hung up. I turned and looked for the young woman to thank her, but she was gone.

I never made it to Nagoya, because the company was just as happy to have me in Tokyo, although I’m not totally sure on that one. It was the same type of client base. Over-thinking? Cost some money to get my bags back. Was teased a bit for saying I prefered a female roommate (they asked) and for being culture shocked, but heard worse. One guy who never ate anywhere but Denny’s. Others who fled couldn’t take the independent nature of the job. The alone time. Meetings with execs were in the morning and evening; the day was yours to continue to be culture shocked or enjoy the adventure. The point of all this: don’t go it alone unless you’re young like the backpack kid or want lessons-learned etched in your brain about culture shock. Happy training.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

August 18, 2013March 27, 2023

Training in a Truly Foreign Country, Part I

Training in another country is not like training in Cincinnati when you live in Florida. Even when that training is simple. There are some other considerations. In the Far East, or Middle East for that matter, there may not be many signs in English or anything close to English unless it is a picture of something. If you are training, you can’t hide behind your training platform forever–especially if you are alone. Unless you speak and read the language, it’s a rough beginning especially in the Asian Pacific Rim countries. Europe and the Americas are easier even when you don’t speak the language; you can still have most of your needs met. Still sound a bit cryptic? Read on.

When I was younger, apparently not young enough (I’ll explain later), and living in Portland, Oregon, I was fascinated with the Pacific Rim countries. I was interested in Japan, which at that time was the most booming of the Pacific Rim countries; although that has since changed, Japan remains a powerful player.

I was born on the West Coast–Los Angeles, but left as a young teen and went to the Midwest. Of course, I wasn’t given a say in the matter. Later, I spent several adult years in Southern California, but most of the time the only business I was interested in was in acting or in playing on the beach. So, this story I’m about to tell you happened after I had gained tons of confidence–or to put it another way I was rather cocky with the attention I had received from doing theatre and commercial acting. Subtle differences.

My resume didn’t impress in Portland so I had to audition for an agent. I had to get new headshots, going from “open jacket, sexy” guy to “rugged, often bearded” northwestern gentleman. I swear that’s what the agent told me. Believe it or not, this is all pertinent information. Actors have to fit in differently in different parts of the country. Even within the look, there are differences. Subtle differences. In commercials shot in a two-day period, I wore rugged clothes as one might expect and carried a chainsaw in one hand; however, in the commercial the next day, I wore a tux and held a martini to my lips with one hand, sipped elegantly and spoke in clipped tones about the gin I gestured to with my other hand. During that commercial shoot, I met a fellow actor who had just come back from Japan, where he had been teaching English, and in his spare time, did a few Japanese commercials.

As if my world wasn’t complicated enough with moving to a new area, I decided at that very moment that I wanted to do that, too. One look at the newspapers told me there were a plethora of opportunities. I interviewed with three companies before I was hired by the largest English training company in Japan. The number of native speakers outnumbered the number of administrative staff and sales. As it turned out all the administrative jobs were held by women (and I don’t mean this in a negative way) who all look 13 by American standards, and it is the men who handle anything to do with money. It was a fact I didn’t see anywhere in the brochures, travel guides or other culture books I reviewed.

In any large city it’s easy to get turned around. Now imagine one where you can’t read a single sign except the foreign logos you recognize atop some skyscrapers or a Seven-Eleven, McDonalds, or KFC.

Here’s what I didn’t know, or what didn’t sink in with my research. Japan is a very conservative country. Women in most cases are still regarded subservient to men. It is not spoken about in public. It just is.

Despite being told by my hosts to ask a young woman in a business suit for assistance should I get lost or need help translating–that she would more accommodating than a businessman, I found that wisdom to be somewhat flawed. I must have been terribly scary because the young woman took off running down the street when I spoke to her. I spoke to her gently, I swear. Since I worked for a Japanese company, a small businessman’s hotel was also a good place to get information.

If you think we have a large subway system…think again. Tokyo station has 27 exits; Ikebukuro, where I stayed, has 23. I had taken the wrong exit out of the station and ended up completely on the other side of it. And, it still looked the same! This wouldn’t have bothered a 23 or 25-year-old. Life is still an adventure at that age. By the way, the Japanese businessman’s hotel desk pulled out a larger map, showed me the error of my ways, and at least got me back into the station. That’s when my head began to spin again… And it began to rain…hard rain. A good Samaritan came (I could see his halo or was that his umbrella) and asked for my map. Every foreigner has one. He led me by hand to my hotel, invited me to his Christian church, and disappeared in the mist. I’m pretty sure that really happened.

Since I was staying in bonsaied Japanese hotel, I did everything the Japanese way–everything–except when I got back to my room the first thing I did was take off a soaked shirt. A gentle rap on the door. The lady of the house or hostess appeared with a pot of tea, then furiously backed away and shook her head, gesturing to my bare chest with her eyes closed. I got it. I closed the door and put on the robe, and re-opened the door to a smiling lady who brought the tea into the room set it down and bowed on the way out. Any Seven-Eleven will show you that skin is not taboo in Japan, but apparently body hair is. Subtle differences.

Not wanting to get lost again, I bought a ham and cheese sandwich at the Seven-Eleven to take back to my room. As a Californian, I had experienced earthquakes before, but never where I couldn’t understand the news following it. It was a bit discomforting. The 23 or 25-year-old would say, “Cool.” Yeah, real cool. For once, I thought it would have been nice to know someone here and not be so independent. My confidence or cockiness was shot; I was humbled.

So, if you get anything out of Part I, take this: it is always best to share in the adventure and don’t leave a man or woman behind.

A final thought. When I started talking about getting lost, you thought I was going to talk about a sea of people or waves of people…and I didn’t. It’s because those waves didn’t involve me. From my perspective, I saw the “waves of people” being pushed on the train; I didn’t know where they were going and that “big hand” seemed bigger than “big brother” invading my personal space, too. I felt trapped. Truly trapped. Held prisoner by my ignorance.

When a foreigner walks down the street or stands in a elevator or on a train or a bus, there is space made for him or her. Foreigners like us. The Japanese are a proud people; some might call it being racist. It’s not really. In their country, they don’t see as many “foreigners” as we do in ours. They make space; it’s polite. It’s not that they hate us; they are genuinely concerned and helpful, but you need to approach the right way, the Japanese way. We expect everyone in the world to act American. Why shouldn’t they expect everyone that comes to their country not do the same? Subtle differences.

In America, we talk about safety in numbers; in Japan, it’s more a matter of comfort in numbers. Better to befuddled in a group than befuddled all by yourself. At least in a group, you can have a good laugh and go on about your business. Stay tuned for…

…another American Training in a Truly Foreign Country, Part II.

—————————————————————-

This commentary is my opinion alone and The Free Management Library is not in anyway responsible for its content. I have written several articles of a similar nature. I tend to look at training, the workforce, business management, leadership and communication from a slightly different perspective than you might expect. I published an e-book called The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development in which I explain my reasons for looking at training and development in a different way. I look at it from the outside looking in, from the worker side, from the management side, from the trainer’s, and sometimes from the psychological side. I encourage others to talk about what they think about certain aspects of training on this website as long as they keep it generic. We’ll link to their site, and I hope you will comment here.

Take a peek at my site and you’ll find out more. By the way, I have an e-novel, Harry’s Reality, published by Amazon. It’s a scary look at what the future could be like if we stopped talking to one another and let the devices take over.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

August 15, 2013February 8, 2022

Factoring Education for Job Applicants

Job applicant presenting resume to hiring manager

Smiling Cashier — There are exceptions to every generalization…

As I perused some of my older blogs to ensure they are still up-to-date, I discovered an article I wrote awhile back discussing the question: are condensed progams, hybrid and online classes the answer for students in education today or even trainees in a part online/part classroom session? I suppose today I might have come to one or two different conclusions. And, my focus was a little different then. Check them both if you have time.

In that other article I talked about the results as if, all things being equal, that the students who come from hybrid or online programs would be perceived as “educated” as those who came from a traditional program. So that is one factor we’re going to consider here, but also a few others.

And, not to be considered biased, I have to ask, were the students who came from the traditional programs up to the maturity level of those who waited to go to school later and balanced work, family and studies to get a degree? I can remember teaching at one of these proprietary schools, “night schools,” or hybrid schools and discovering students so far above the rest academically, I wanted to ask them and I confess at that phase of my early college teaching career I did ask, “Why aren’t you at such and such university.” The answer usually made sense, certainly to them, and made me feel a little foolish. I don’t ask anymore.

Everyone has their reasons. By the same token, I have seen students who wandered in and out, called themselves adults who didn’t have to come to class, and simply refused to do anything they didn’t have to do to pass or hold onto their grant. They were full of excuses. Full of themselves. Full of attitude. Even in the condensed hybrid classes, which consists of only eight or fewer classroom meetings. The students read some chapters, do some a few activities, and use some kind of thread to stay connected to each other and the professor two or three times a week. At that time, the students are usually required to answer specific open-ended questions twice a week. The idea is for the students to stay involved and thinking during the week when not in class. Some students easily managed to miss two classes and be dis-enrolled from the class. Somehow I manage to make all eight classes and rarely leave the room beyond breaks to answer my cell phone. Most students are deserving, some just hard to get through to, which is why I teach in such an environment. You have to learn the way the world works somehow and the college classroom is a much better environment than on the streets.

My students are getting the idea now that it is a good idea to go to college. What makes the most sense to them? Getting the degree in the shortest amount of time. To some, unfortunately, it means a minimum of effort as well.

Again, as a professor myself, I discovered I had to work harder to ensure the students were pulling for themselves, propping them up, and encouraging them. The traditional schools don’t do that. Some say they do, but I don’t recall it happening at any of my schools. But I can tell you this: the students were ready to learn. Teaching at a school where students want to be there (and it’s not an afterthought or a move of desperation) you don’t have to over-perform, and you don’t have to feel badly if someone doesn’t do an assignment or misses class. I realize there are always exceptions to every generalization and that’s my point.

Not everyone at a traditional college or university is worth hiring anymore than someone who gets their degree online or non-traditionally. What is true is that the person who sits there actively listening, treating you and everyone around you respectively, and seems honestly interested in the company is someone who is worthy of being employed. If not by your company, by another.

flip — I can’t think of any traditional college or university, state or private, that doesn’t offer evening classes, condensed or hybrid or online classes.

Look carefully at the student/employee in front of you. Technically, I teach speech, but with it I’m also teaching or training confidence and credibility. If that person sitting in front of you seems right (comfortable and together), maybe he or she is. If Human Relations sent you his or her file, that person made the cut. See if you can’t connect with that person without knowing or caring what school or what kind of education he or she received. Is that really important to the job? Try it at least once. I promise you, there’s always a gem.

How can I say this? I know in my classes my standards remain high and I work hard with my students to meet them. They don’t all make “A”s and “B”s, but they know where they stand and what they need to do. Sometimes the challenge is so great they all get the grades they want and deserve. I like that.

We are all so busy these days and the entire world so electronic it makes sense for schools to change with it. Libraries are loaning electronic books. Schools are assigning students books that the students can buy less expensively as an e-book. Yes, there’s an app for that. For that matter, I can’t think of any traditional college or university, state or private, that doesn’t offer evening classes, condensed or hybrid or online classes. Our students are changing before our eyes. For the trainers among us the same could be said of our younger trainees; they come from a different place–it’s still Earth, but more electronic than we remember.

Happy Training…and Teaching

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

For a look at the human side of training from my Cave Man perspective, please check out my book, The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development. Happy training.

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/training-and-development/2011/05/18/using-the-turn-over-training-guide/#sthash.uParCHgr.dpuf

August 12, 2013July 16, 2022

Vampire Energy Makes You Stronger!

A-business-man-posing-with-fake-muscle-arms

I wanted to get your attention with that metaphor: a vampire sucking blood for speakers, presenters and trainers sucking the energy out their audience or trainees and using it by transforming that “blood” energy into life giving nervous energy.

University speech students always want to take on the audience that’s already on their side when they should know it’s the audience that’s against them that will make them stronger.

If you’ve never heard of it before… When giving a speech you want the audience that is against you, (1) so you have someone to oppose you, and (2) to suck the opposition’s energy out.

It’s true. Any stressful situation that doesn’t leave you sitting in a pool of…sweat in the corner will make you rise to the occasion. Seasoned speakers know this.

Actors on stage know this. Stage fright, notwithstanding, they crave a full house. For them, this is not less is more. Why do you think actors are always peeking out from the curtain? They want, they need the energy. For they are vampires in need of blood energy, but not so gory. And, they aren’t particular; they’ll take anyone who’ll listen. For actors though, it’s a one-sided argument in their favor. It’s the fear of the many versus the lessor fear of a few. The reward is the heightened with more people watching. There is more stress.

It’s a matter of energy.

Now, I don’t know the physics of it; maybe the energy factor is just a myth or something I made up, but it seems to work. Let’s say the audience is in favor of whatever it is you are selling. “Now, wait,” they say, “that was too easy.” And, then they begin to question every word you say. These were the people on your side, remember.

Those against are going to wait to hear what you have to say until you prove them wrong, which is what you plan to do. They are already second guessing you, but then they did that a long time ago. Now, the situation’s new. You’re a new face. Maybe you have new ideas. They’re beginning to listen. Who knows? You’re a little nervous. Use that nervous energy as you’ve been taught to make yourself stronger.

Felt something a little different was in order for those who still do face-to-face training. Happy Training

July 29, 2013July 16, 2022

“I’m Going to Kill Myself?” To Relieve Stress?

a-woman-stressed-and-frustrated-after-an-internet-crisis

perf7 — Acting can be a healthy release of pent-up emotions.

– It may be the Easiest Way to Relieve Stress and Frustration on the “bloody job”or even at home, but probably not the best way. Ya think?

This is not a training exercise–not yet anyway, but maybe it should be. Killing ourselves would not be a bad idea as dark and foreboding as it seems in the right place and time. Theoretically. What if you could do any thing you wanted painlessly, without consequences? Would that help relinquish our frustration with life? However, the idea of ridding ourselves of stress, if not for others, is a good one. Great art in its many forms can be cathartic. So why not acting? Haven’t you ever wanted to be someone else?

This is real life or is it, according to, Tracy Kathleen in her blog, “Finding the ‘Method’ to my Madness: An Actress Prepares.” The title of her particular post is “I’m Going to Kill Myself.”

Life is too hard. I am at the end of my rope. I am alone. I will have a bottle of vodka and a loaded gun and I am determined to put an end to my misery. I have done bad things in my life. I have been hurt and I have hurt people. I have cheated and been cheated. I no longer feel like I have the capacity to love and be loved…

…But most importantly, I have played many a character, which is exactly what I am doing now. So please, put down the phone, don’t call for help…I, Tracy, am not going to kill myself. But tomorrow, “Maggie” is going to end it all.

“Playing a character, otherwise known as “acting,” allows me to do all the things I just said. I can kill myself. I can kill someone else. I can cheat. I can be a sinner or a saint. I can be happy, sad, funny, and mad. I can be anyone else other than myself. And although I love myself, I do not exactly have the life I dreamed of. But on stage, I am no longer me. I am not in chronic pain. I do not feel like my life is passing me by and taking with it a thousand missed opportunities. I am not responsible for my actions, only my emotions. When I am on stage, I am someone else. And, when it comes to acting, I am pretty darn good, probably due to the fact that I have been pretending to be someone else for most of my life.

“If you look at an acting class from a psychological perspective, it can be very beneficial for people who are in pain, be it physical or emotional. Acting is a safe haven, a place to express every emotion, reaction and feeling that is not acceptable in society. For example, I can’t scream, yell and cry in public without being looked at as crazy and possibly being locked up. I can’t express my anger, hurt or frustration by throwing things around or having a fist fight. I can’t have a laughing fit in the middle of a store. So many of the emotions I (and others in similar circumstances) have are socially unacceptable. The rules of our society dictate that it is not okay to express your every emotion…but on stage, I can let out every single emotion I have built up inside me…and it’s safe. There is no judgment. As a matter of fact it is the one place where the more emotion I bring to my character, the better I am!

“Many local community theaters offer inexpensive classes. When I was a practicing social worker, I actually utilized some of the exercises we do in class as a way to help people get in touch with their real emotions and express them in a safe way. I also used improvisational comedy exercises to help people both release emotion and LAUGH. Laughter truly is the best medicine (not to mention the adrenaline of performing acts as a potent, temporary pain blocker). Try an acting class and I guarantee, you will not only find a healthy release for those pent-up emotions, but you will probably bust a gut doing so. It doesn’t matter if you do it as a psychological exercise, a hobby, or you are Broadway-bound, acting is a healthy, safe release.

“My acting class is the one place where I can be someone else and at the same time, really be me.”

***

I couldn’t have said it better. I have said similar things about the relationships in areas outside the familiar–outside the cave–or outside the box. I talk about using whatever works no matter where it comes from to make a point. I talk about acting, communicating, problem-solving using various approaches including psychology, karate lessons, and even military basic training.

It all boils down to something as simple as getting someone outside of the office, literally or not, to take an acting class or to bring the acting class to them, in this case. That is what we do, isn’t it? Ever given a class dealing with change in the workplace or use role playing as part of a training exercise? Same thing. In those cases, we are taking the client/trainee out of his or her world and helping them see a better place without the stress. You may recall the different methods of problem solving I talked about in an earlier blog. My old psychology professor said that you used what worked to solve a problem; it didn’t matter if you slept on it, meditated about it, prayed about it, cogitated about it, the result was the same. You were still doing the same thing–just calling it something else. You were letting ideas bounce around in your head while you were in a relaxed state of mind.

What Tracy has written is what we all have in common: a need to release of frustration and stress as well as other emotions that affect us daily. We send our company leaders on retreats to help them refresh, but everyone needs this. It proves even more the value of role-playing in training as an icebreaker or as a way to break the tension between co-workers brought upon by stress in the workplace. As Tracy says, when you are someone else, you can do anything. Well, you can’t hurt anyone or yourself, but you know what I mean.

I was about to say something about developing training about this, but I changed my mind. Why do we have to control that moment? We don’t. Do we have to analyze and assess the result? Only in so far as the employees enjoy it and feel a release of stress. There is only issue that comes to mind: I wouldn’t try this with my most conservative companies until I have several of the more adventurous companies to to try it and back my claims that taking an acting class did indeed release stress, etc. The companies we talk to are often a bottom line bunch as you know who may think that “acting” is “frivolous” or “just pretending,” but we can work with that.

That’s all for now. I’m not even going to spend time promoting my books or website. My thanks to Tracy for providing us some great ideas to ponder. Check out Tracy’s blog and her interesting posts. Heck, check out other interesting posts that have nothing to do with training. You may surprise yourself and find connections where you least expect them.

Happy training ’til next time.