OUR Art of the Possible #MondayBlogs
Today, our founder and managing member, Ron Slee, takes a broad look at what we do and how we do it in, “OUR Art of the Possible,” a blog post for #MondayBlogs.
We have been busy around here for quite a time now. I am sure it is much the same for most of you. I have been struggling somewhat in trying to put balance in my life. Ideally, we all have some sense of balance within our careers, our families and ourselves. In most cases the first thing we drop is looking after ourselves. Next, we concentrate on keeping our career, so we become consumed at times with work. That is not a good “art of the possible.”
When I left the employment of dealers and went out on my own in 1980 it was a rather meaningful change in my approach to what I wanted to do with my life. I had been married for six years and had a wonderful daughter. We had moved from Quebec because of the political dynamic there and moved across the country to British Columbia. That was quite a change and quite a move. From that initial move we have lived in Denver, Palm Desert and Hawaii.
The first time we were in Hawaii I commented on the fact that I felt completely decompressed when I got off the airplane. We have wanted to live in Hawaii ever since. We had been planning this for what seems like forever and have finally done it. As of December 29, 2016, we became residents of Hawaii.
That is the positive side of things and of course there is a negative side as well. The Ying and Yang of life continues. Our daughter Caroline, her spouse Joanna, and our grandchildren are still in California. Not being able to see them on impulse is not so much fun. We miss them and their growing up and life experiences and their energy. We must adjust our approaches as a family when we are together and really take advantage of every minute, we are able to be together.
Another thing that happened is that I have completely stopped soliciting consulting work. I have clients, to be sure, that continue to want to collaborate with me in their businesses. I am blessed with wonderful clients. We started the consulting business in June 1980 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada not too far from where I was born in Mannville, Alberta.
I am not sure, but I think winding down the business has been more traumatic for me than starting it in the first place. One was challenging work the other was emotional work. You have an identity as a worker that to some degree defines who you are in life. When you stop doing the work you have the potential to lose who you are. I am sure someone could say that much more eloquently than I, perhaps Caroline.
I have been presented wonderful opportunities along the way. Several mentors helped me. David Steele, a consultant with Urwick Curry who taught me how to evaluate business systems. From Bob Kirk and Larry Noe and Roger Fay at Caterpillar Tractor, who put me under their wings. From Rod Boileau, the individual for whom I have unlimited respect. I have truly been lucky with the individuals helping me with my personal development.
It seems that I have always been curious and wondering “why” we did things certain ways. The consulting world is the perfect place for me to have ended up. I have also always been teaching in my life. Starting as a teenager at a Country Club in the summers. Then to be teaching at McGill University. Even in my consulting work I was instructing people about new methods or systems.
In the early 1990’s most manufacturers and associations stopped doing management training. It had become too expensive. Employee Development had become a “discretionary expense.” Well, I disagreed with that and decided that we would get back into teaching. This time in management training. It was 1992 and I sat in my office talking to the computer and created three two-hundred-and-fifty-page training manuals; parts, service as well as selling and marketing.
I sat talking to my computer using voice recognition. IBM had a product called ViaVoice and this was clearly the early days for that technology. I would talk for an hour and then the computer would work for two hours putting it all in a word document. This was the start of our employee development business. We called it Quest, Learning Centers. We incorporated it in Colorado. From there I asked my consulting clients if they would be willing to come and critique the different classes by sitting in for three days and experiencing what I would be teaching. They provided invaluable assistance. We changed a lot about how we were structured and ended up with two-day classes. We offered fifteen hours of learning with each two-day class. That gave us a nice structure for teaching. Four blocks of learning which we split into two specific learning experiences, two hours each. We covered Leadership, Operations, Selling, and Finance. Those two-hour subject specific class segments are with us still today. Quest, Learning Centers became the sole supplier of management training for the Associated Equipment Distributors in 1994 and we continued until 2015 when we chose to take a different direction in delivering our training products.
In the early 2000’s webinars became the new training method. No travel, short sessions and inexpensive was the goal. We created many webinars. Each of them was about an hour of learning. It was slides that everyone could see with me talking to them expanding what was on the slides. I hated it. I am a teacher at heart, and I couldn’t see the students. So, I changed things up and got a high-definition camera and projector and ran the webinars with remote control. This allows me to break the learning into “chunks” of about ten minutes. I would then turn off the slide show, walk in front of the camera, and talk to the audience. They could see me, which helped but I still couldn’t see them. I started to wear Hawaii Shirts, almost like a uniform and people became rather interested in what shirt I was going to be wearing during the webinars.
So, we offered three levels of classroom training with Quest; What It Looks Like When it is Right, Performance Excellence, Reaching Market Potential. We need this for the Parts business, the Service business, the Selling business and Parts and Service Marketing business. We offered over twenty different webinars. I started looking at how we could change our offering and make it more available to more people.
By the year 2000 I was doing training for Komatsu, Volvo, Ditch Witch dealers worldwide. I was conducting training for Caterpillar, Deere, and Bobcat dealers in North America. I was also doing dealer specific training for large dealers across the world. It was a lot of travel and incredibly challenging physically with time zones and being away from home. I started to explore different options for a delivery system.
I have always been involved with technology. Another individual who was very influential in my work life was Ian Sharp. He founded IP Sharp Associates which provided internet-based business systems in the early 1970’s. I was using the internet in 1973 with a “portable” computer. That is a rather interesting description of a “electric” typewrite as the terminal and an acoustic coupler to connect to my telephone. Now don’t laugh, the network speed was 30 BPS. Imagine that? Well, there were very few people on the network, so it was fine.
My first consulting work was with Canadian National Railways, officially sanctioned by my employer at the time, Hewitt Equipment. I designed warehouses using the computer. I got dimensions, usage activity and inventory levels and built virtual warehouses. The system placed every part number in the appropriate location based on size and activity and inventory levels. Created a move list of parts in the old locations and where they were to be placed in the new locations. We also designed the picking and packing and shipping functions and determined the number of people necessary to be employed to satisfy the needs of the users. It was a lot of fun and extremely challenging. I did that type of work with a lot of dealers. That was something that really excited me.
So, I had always had my eye on being able to work independently and Marlene, my wife, and I talked about it often. We did that in 1980 when I started consulting and now, I was looking at the next Possibility and that was taking our training products to the internet.
We created Learning Without Scars in 2015. Well, it is now a Hawaii Corporation, and the California business was closed as of December 2016. But there was a lot of work to do converting everything that we did to the internet.
Caroline was doing the yeoman’s work in converting all our learning products to an internet-based Learning Management System, we now use Litmos and getting all this material fresh copyrights and trademarks. Our training business started with Quest, Learning Centers. We started with Classroom courses with three levels and four modules per level. These management training programs were created in the early 1990’s. We took that material and compressed it into Webinars starting in the early 2000’s. With the internet option, we had to convert these webinars, of which we had developed over ninety different programs, to the Learning Management Software Litmos. This meant a heavy learning curve for Caroline and a lot of work for me. Everything had to be redone. The text content all had to be updated and upgraded. Then we needed to create audio files to go with the text. Then we had to run prototypes so we could have input from actual learners. They wanted to inject me into the program like we had in the webinars so we are working with a Professional, Paul Baumann, from XFINIGEN Media, and creating Vimeo files which we will insert into the learning products.
And finally, Caroline is working with the IACET, The International Association of Continuous Education Training and we are now an Approved Provider of educational products. All our learning programs certified so that they will earn CEU’s, Continuous Education Units credits that would apply to Colleges, Universities and Junior Colleges across the world. That, too, is a big task but one that will bring us, we believe, nice results. We have been and continue to be busy. We keep changing things.
I don’t know how many of you know that my mother was a teacher, a well-recognized teacher in her day as one of the pioneer teachers of the Pittman reading program, which accelerated the ability of young children to read. Kindergarten and Grade one specifically was reading newspapers and comprehending. My grandmother was a teacher. She received her master’s degree from the University of Manitoba in 1915. Granny taught in a one room schoolhouse, and I had the pleasure of meeting several of her students when they attended her eightieth birthday party. I suspect she had an impact on them, don’t you? My daughter Caroline is a teacher. She teaches in the California School System. We must have some teaching chops in the genes. I know I get excited when I see the lights go on in peoples’ eyes when they “GET” something.
But one thing I can tell you is that Learning is HARD. I know we have been told how to learn repeatedly. It is repetition. Do it repeatedly ad nausea. That never really worked for me so that is not how I taught. I wanted people to understand something so that they would remember it. Not memorize it so they could forget it.
It turns out that the instructions from schools and teachers about – highlighting and underlining and sustained reading and rereading notes and texts are not that appropriate. Endel Tulving, a psychologist, at the University of Toronto challenged this traditional model of learning and remembering through his series of investigations starting in the mid-1960’s. Tulving found that the learning curves were statistically indistinguishable between the tried-and-true learning pattern recommended above and random learning models that were not based on repetition. Well, that is how we have designed the internet learning programs. We want you to Learn, to Know, not to memorize.
I am excited about what we are doing, and we are busy releasing innovative programs every month. We have one hundred and eight different subject specific classes and eighteen comprehensive skills assessments.
We have help from Ross Atkinson who has a deep background in IT. He is keeping us on the leading edge of technology. We use software to create audio tracks from word documents. We use software to create closed captions on all our film clips and Podcasts. We are currently testing software which will emulate our teacher with a Customer Character who will deliver instructions in eight or less minutes using an emulation of the teacher’s voice. And we will be able to do this in multiple languages. We are trying to provide the latest technology with the latest in educational deliveries.
We have developed two distinct learning programs. One which is for Technical Schools, students, and the other for Workforce Development, adult learning. We are being helped in this arena by Steve Johnson. Steve has been retired for a few years now and has agreed to help us getting our products into schools across the US and Canada.
Based on what Steve and the schools have concluded each of our classes for the Technical Schools has to cover thirteen hours of face-to-face training and twenty six hours of homework. Our classes consisted of slides with text, audio tracks and film clips. We had to go back to the drawing board once again and redevelop our classes. Each Class for the Technical Schools now has six and a half hours of face-to-face learning and thirteen hours of homework. Two of our classes now qualify as academic credits for technical schools. We also modified our adult education. The conclusion of our students who are full-time employed was that those classes were too long. So, we developed a separate series of learning products for adult education that are five to six hours of learning split up into one-hour chapters. These classes typically are completed in a one-month period.
Well, that is our journey on “OUR Art of the Possible.” What is yours?
The time is now.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Machine Condition Monitoring Roles
Machine Condition Monitoring Roles
Guest writer Ron Wilson writes this week’s blog on the topic of Machine Condition Monitoring Roles as part of a dealer’s product support offerings.
Over the past few years, we have been experiencing a new era emerge around machine condition monitoring.
For the most part dealers didn’t have a major need, or the ability, to apply condition monitoring within their dealership. Today condition monitoring is becoming a core piece of assisting the customers manage their fleet in areas such as:
The equipment industry is moving from a Reactive & Preventive maintenance approach to Predictive and Proactive maintenance program at an extremely fast pace.
Many dealers have implemented roles and responsibilities around the areas of recording, analyzing, reporting, and recommendations based on the results from the various condition monitoring indicators. These roles provide valuable information to the customers and allow them to make decisions based on the data/information received with professional input and experience from the dealership and OEM.
Dealerships have begun integrating three primary roles within condition monitoring to support their customer base. The customers’ expectations will vary based on their own internal strengths and expertise, while utilizing the variety of information available from each machine and applied across their fleet.
The three roles that have emerged relating to the management, interpreting, and communication of the data/information relating to condition monitoring, in support the Product Support Sales Representatives are:
The role of condition monitoring has come a long way from the early days described at the beginning of this article, and the roles are early in their development.
It will be important for the dealerships to keep abreast of the technology introduction of the future, how to apply the data/information in making decisions that not only support the dealership but also supports the customers fleet management expectations and developing the internal skills of the dealership relating to the ever-evolving condition monitoring and fleet management.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
The Importance of Mindset
The Importance of Mindset
Guest writer Alex Kraft addresses the challenges of starting a company in “The Importance of Mindset.”
As we hit year 3 of Heave, I wanted to share my biggest challenge starting a company because it’s not what I thought it would be back in July 2020. In the early days, I thought the biggest challenge starting a company was building a product. Finding talent to build technology, supervising the build, and getting the product to market was all brand new to me. This certainly wasn’t easy (and the continual product improvements we’ve made since), but I’ve learned that managing my mindset is the hardest part.
Starting a company is an exciting time. You’re full of passion, belief, and energy. You go into it understanding the odds are against you and that you’re fighting every day to gain relevance. But you believe that at some point (soon) others are going to see what you see: your product is ten times better. than what’s out there or that others are going to recognize the great idea and want to partner with you. What I wasn’t prepared for and has proved the biggest impediment is the avalanche of “No’s.” No’s come from everywhere. Potential customers tell you ‘No,’ investors dismiss the idea within 5 minutes, even those who you were sure would help you, say NO. Plenty of people laugh and ignore you. This is where the reality check happens. This is why entrepreneurship is so hard. How do you stay motivated and keep pushing forward when the world says NO? Small wins help but most of us are wired to focus on the negatives. For the past 30 months, I’ve been engaged in a battle with my mind.
I found two things helpful over the past 3 years. First, I tried to read as much content as possible on other companies’ origin stories. We tend to view successful companies today through the lens that they’re an overnight success story. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every company faces crucial life or death challenges along their journey, many times in the early days. It’s these decisions that make or break the company. Things that seem common sense today aren’t so obvious early on. It’s also reassuring that talented people behind iconic companies didn’t have all the answers from the jump. They learned over time and listened to the market. This research helped our team determine ‘pivots’ along the way and necessary tweaks to keep us breathing. Time is a precious asset for a start-up.
The opposite can also provide context: researching companies that failed. Finding out where they made critical missteps can help someone anticipate issues within your own business. I’ve learned one of the most critical CEO functions is to determine what’s around the corner and to have a plan. Unforeseen circumstances can create panic, which is the worst thing to happen to a company. Employees look to leadership in challenging times for the confidence that the team is prepared and will have the answers for whatever comes their way.
Perspective is important, but the battle comes when human nature kicks in. We all want to be liked. We seek consensus and to be part of a group. I was listening recently to a podcast with famed investor Mike Maples Jr. and Daniel Ek (Spotify founder) when it clicked for me. They were discussing how breakthroughs happen. Mike Maples Jr. mentioned that breakthroughs only come from a contrarian perspective. The people who aren’t afraid to say, “nope, the current way isn’t the right way. Here’s a new way….” The lightbulb went on for me.
To accomplish something great or to achieve a breakthrough, one must be comfortable as the outsider. These individuals don’t expect others to agree with their viewpoint or embrace their idea. This is what I didn’t understand or appreciate. The breakthrough builders focus on making an impact—rejection comes with the territory. They put the customer at the center of everything and work towards solving a problem. The customer’s opinion is the only one that matters. If you deliver an A+ in customer experience and deliver results, everything else takes care of itself.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
OUR Art of the Possible #MondayBlogs
OUR Art of the Possible #MondayBlogs
Today, our founder and managing member, Ron Slee, takes a broad look at what we do and how we do it in, “OUR Art of the Possible,” a blog post for #MondayBlogs.
We have been busy around here for quite a time now. I am sure it is much the same for most of you. I have been struggling somewhat in trying to put balance in my life. Ideally, we all have some sense of balance within our careers, our families and ourselves. In most cases the first thing we drop is looking after ourselves. Next, we concentrate on keeping our career, so we become consumed at times with work. That is not a good “art of the possible.”
When I left the employment of dealers and went out on my own in 1980 it was a rather meaningful change in my approach to what I wanted to do with my life. I had been married for six years and had a wonderful daughter. We had moved from Quebec because of the political dynamic there and moved across the country to British Columbia. That was quite a change and quite a move. From that initial move we have lived in Denver, Palm Desert and Hawaii.
The first time we were in Hawaii I commented on the fact that I felt completely decompressed when I got off the airplane. We have wanted to live in Hawaii ever since. We had been planning this for what seems like forever and have finally done it. As of December 29, 2016, we became residents of Hawaii.
That is the positive side of things and of course there is a negative side as well. The Ying and Yang of life continues. Our daughter Caroline, her spouse Joanna, and our grandchildren are still in California. Not being able to see them on impulse is not so much fun. We miss them and their growing up and life experiences and their energy. We must adjust our approaches as a family when we are together and really take advantage of every minute, we are able to be together.
Another thing that happened is that I have completely stopped soliciting consulting work. I have clients, to be sure, that continue to want to collaborate with me in their businesses. I am blessed with wonderful clients. We started the consulting business in June 1980 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada not too far from where I was born in Mannville, Alberta.
I am not sure, but I think winding down the business has been more traumatic for me than starting it in the first place. One was challenging work the other was emotional work. You have an identity as a worker that to some degree defines who you are in life. When you stop doing the work you have the potential to lose who you are. I am sure someone could say that much more eloquently than I, perhaps Caroline.
I have been presented wonderful opportunities along the way. Several mentors helped me. David Steele, a consultant with Urwick Curry who taught me how to evaluate business systems. From Bob Kirk and Larry Noe and Roger Fay at Caterpillar Tractor, who put me under their wings. From Rod Boileau, the individual for whom I have unlimited respect. I have truly been lucky with the individuals helping me with my personal development.
It seems that I have always been curious and wondering “why” we did things certain ways. The consulting world is the perfect place for me to have ended up. I have also always been teaching in my life. Starting as a teenager at a Country Club in the summers. Then to be teaching at McGill University. Even in my consulting work I was instructing people about new methods or systems.
In the early 1990’s most manufacturers and associations stopped doing management training. It had become too expensive. Employee Development had become a “discretionary expense.” Well, I disagreed with that and decided that we would get back into teaching. This time in management training. It was 1992 and I sat in my office talking to the computer and created three two-hundred-and-fifty-page training manuals; parts, service as well as selling and marketing.
I sat talking to my computer using voice recognition. IBM had a product called ViaVoice and this was clearly the early days for that technology. I would talk for an hour and then the computer would work for two hours putting it all in a word document. This was the start of our employee development business. We called it Quest, Learning Centers. We incorporated it in Colorado. From there I asked my consulting clients if they would be willing to come and critique the different classes by sitting in for three days and experiencing what I would be teaching. They provided invaluable assistance. We changed a lot about how we were structured and ended up with two-day classes. We offered fifteen hours of learning with each two-day class. That gave us a nice structure for teaching. Four blocks of learning which we split into two specific learning experiences, two hours each. We covered Leadership, Operations, Selling, and Finance. Those two-hour subject specific class segments are with us still today. Quest, Learning Centers became the sole supplier of management training for the Associated Equipment Distributors in 1994 and we continued until 2015 when we chose to take a different direction in delivering our training products.
In the early 2000’s webinars became the new training method. No travel, short sessions and inexpensive was the goal. We created many webinars. Each of them was about an hour of learning. It was slides that everyone could see with me talking to them expanding what was on the slides. I hated it. I am a teacher at heart, and I couldn’t see the students. So, I changed things up and got a high-definition camera and projector and ran the webinars with remote control. This allows me to break the learning into “chunks” of about ten minutes. I would then turn off the slide show, walk in front of the camera, and talk to the audience. They could see me, which helped but I still couldn’t see them. I started to wear Hawaii Shirts, almost like a uniform and people became rather interested in what shirt I was going to be wearing during the webinars.
So, we offered three levels of classroom training with Quest; What It Looks Like When it is Right, Performance Excellence, Reaching Market Potential. We need this for the Parts business, the Service business, the Selling business and Parts and Service Marketing business. We offered over twenty different webinars. I started looking at how we could change our offering and make it more available to more people.
By the year 2000 I was doing training for Komatsu, Volvo, Ditch Witch dealers worldwide. I was conducting training for Caterpillar, Deere, and Bobcat dealers in North America. I was also doing dealer specific training for large dealers across the world. It was a lot of travel and incredibly challenging physically with time zones and being away from home. I started to explore different options for a delivery system.
I have always been involved with technology. Another individual who was very influential in my work life was Ian Sharp. He founded IP Sharp Associates which provided internet-based business systems in the early 1970’s. I was using the internet in 1973 with a “portable” computer. That is a rather interesting description of a “electric” typewrite as the terminal and an acoustic coupler to connect to my telephone. Now don’t laugh, the network speed was 30 BPS. Imagine that? Well, there were very few people on the network, so it was fine.
My first consulting work was with Canadian National Railways, officially sanctioned by my employer at the time, Hewitt Equipment. I designed warehouses using the computer. I got dimensions, usage activity and inventory levels and built virtual warehouses. The system placed every part number in the appropriate location based on size and activity and inventory levels. Created a move list of parts in the old locations and where they were to be placed in the new locations. We also designed the picking and packing and shipping functions and determined the number of people necessary to be employed to satisfy the needs of the users. It was a lot of fun and extremely challenging. I did that type of work with a lot of dealers. That was something that really excited me.
So, I had always had my eye on being able to work independently and Marlene, my wife, and I talked about it often. We did that in 1980 when I started consulting and now, I was looking at the next Possibility and that was taking our training products to the internet.
We created Learning Without Scars in 2015. Well, it is now a Hawaii Corporation, and the California business was closed as of December 2016. But there was a lot of work to do converting everything that we did to the internet.
Caroline was doing the yeoman’s work in converting all our learning products to an internet-based Learning Management System, we now use Litmos and getting all this material fresh copyrights and trademarks. Our training business started with Quest, Learning Centers. We started with Classroom courses with three levels and four modules per level. These management training programs were created in the early 1990’s. We took that material and compressed it into Webinars starting in the early 2000’s. With the internet option, we had to convert these webinars, of which we had developed over ninety different programs, to the Learning Management Software Litmos. This meant a heavy learning curve for Caroline and a lot of work for me. Everything had to be redone. The text content all had to be updated and upgraded. Then we needed to create audio files to go with the text. Then we had to run prototypes so we could have input from actual learners. They wanted to inject me into the program like we had in the webinars so we are working with a Professional, Paul Baumann, from XFINIGEN Media, and creating Vimeo files which we will insert into the learning products.
And finally, Caroline is working with the IACET, The International Association of Continuous Education Training and we are now an Approved Provider of educational products. All our learning programs certified so that they will earn CEU’s, Continuous Education Units credits that would apply to Colleges, Universities and Junior Colleges across the world. That, too, is a big task but one that will bring us, we believe, nice results. We have been and continue to be busy. We keep changing things.
I don’t know how many of you know that my mother was a teacher, a well-recognized teacher in her day as one of the pioneer teachers of the Pittman reading program, which accelerated the ability of young children to read. Kindergarten and Grade one specifically was reading newspapers and comprehending. My grandmother was a teacher. She received her master’s degree from the University of Manitoba in 1915. Granny taught in a one room schoolhouse, and I had the pleasure of meeting several of her students when they attended her eightieth birthday party. I suspect she had an impact on them, don’t you? My daughter Caroline is a teacher. She teaches in the California School System. We must have some teaching chops in the genes. I know I get excited when I see the lights go on in peoples’ eyes when they “GET” something.
But one thing I can tell you is that Learning is HARD. I know we have been told how to learn repeatedly. It is repetition. Do it repeatedly ad nausea. That never really worked for me so that is not how I taught. I wanted people to understand something so that they would remember it. Not memorize it so they could forget it.
It turns out that the instructions from schools and teachers about – highlighting and underlining and sustained reading and rereading notes and texts are not that appropriate. Endel Tulving, a psychologist, at the University of Toronto challenged this traditional model of learning and remembering through his series of investigations starting in the mid-1960’s. Tulving found that the learning curves were statistically indistinguishable between the tried-and-true learning pattern recommended above and random learning models that were not based on repetition. Well, that is how we have designed the internet learning programs. We want you to Learn, to Know, not to memorize.
I am excited about what we are doing, and we are busy releasing innovative programs every month. We have one hundred and eight different subject specific classes and eighteen comprehensive skills assessments.
We have help from Ross Atkinson who has a deep background in IT. He is keeping us on the leading edge of technology. We use software to create audio tracks from word documents. We use software to create closed captions on all our film clips and Podcasts. We are currently testing software which will emulate our teacher with a Customer Character who will deliver instructions in eight or less minutes using an emulation of the teacher’s voice. And we will be able to do this in multiple languages. We are trying to provide the latest technology with the latest in educational deliveries.
We have developed two distinct learning programs. One which is for Technical Schools, students, and the other for Workforce Development, adult learning. We are being helped in this arena by Steve Johnson. Steve has been retired for a few years now and has agreed to help us getting our products into schools across the US and Canada.
Based on what Steve and the schools have concluded each of our classes for the Technical Schools has to cover thirteen hours of face-to-face training and twenty six hours of homework. Our classes consisted of slides with text, audio tracks and film clips. We had to go back to the drawing board once again and redevelop our classes. Each Class for the Technical Schools now has six and a half hours of face-to-face learning and thirteen hours of homework. Two of our classes now qualify as academic credits for technical schools. We also modified our adult education. The conclusion of our students who are full-time employed was that those classes were too long. So, we developed a separate series of learning products for adult education that are five to six hours of learning split up into one-hour chapters. These classes typically are completed in a one-month period.
Well, that is our journey on “OUR Art of the Possible.” What is yours?
The time is now.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
Unidentified but Personalized Content for Account-Based B2B Purchasing Groups. Interlacing the customer buyer stages utilizing Patrick Lencioni’s Six Types of Working Genius styles.
Unidentified but Personalized Content for Account-Based B2B Purchasing Groups. Interlacing the customer buyer stages utilizing Patrick Lencioni’s Six Types of Working Genius styles.
Guest writer Roy Lapa uses Lencioni as his benchmark in “Unidentified but Personalized Content for Account-Based B2B Purchasing Groups. Interlacing the customer buyer stages utilizing Patrick Lencioni’s Six Types of Working Genius styles.”
A content journey map may help you create and share relevant messaging with your target audience at each stage of the buyer’s journey. Further, by aligning your content journey map with Patrick Lencioni’s working genius styles, you provide interesting and effective media to guide and convert unidentifiable decision influencers. Although different types of working genius styles exist among various roles throughout your customer’s company, one needs to remember that the working genius style remains focused on an individual rather than their positional title. Hence, the material created with the working genius style in mind will appeal directly to the individual. In the likely event that account-based marketers do not know all the key decision-makers within a B2B buying committee, this method provides a workaround for reaching the right individuals.
The following table contains a brief overview of the 6 working genius types.
Everyone has two strong geniuses based on what comes naturally to them and what brings them joy. When developing content, I suggest focusing on one working genius style, or perhaps two when located adjacent to each other. For example, to write a white paper for your customers about acquiring the most out of a semi-automatic intelligent machine, tailor it to appeal to the enablement and tenacity types.
Why produce B2B content according to a person’s working genius type?
The following illustration shows the first two stages of the buyer journey and the aligned persona types corresponding with Patrick Lencioni’s working genius styles. Keep in mind the importance of positioning the content to appeal to the individual’s natural working styles, not their title.
This approach will provide you, the service provider, insight regarding the type of story to produce and consequently the type of media channels to focus on. Irrespective of the buyer stage, various types of media production (video, written, digital, social, whitepapers, case studies) may be appropriate.
ABM marketers can create content that synchronizes their messaging with the working genius type (or persona) and the corresponding buyer stage.
Conclusion
Works Cited
Lencioni, Patrick M. “The 6 Types of Working Genius.” A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team, Matt Holt, 2022.
Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.
It Has Been One Hundred Days Since We Last Talked
It Has Been One Hundred Days Since We Last Talked
Guest writer John Andersen brings readers up to date on the challenge he levied against the industry when it comes to innovation. Read his follow-up to see the outcome in “It Has Been One Hundred Days Since We Last Talked.”
The expression one hundred days is often used as measure of the time it takes for impactful change. One hundred days ago, in a blog post with Ron Slee we lamented the complete lack of innovation in the heavy equipment industry. In a subsequent podcast we called out the suppliers of business systems and dealership management software for not delivering or at very least promising anything new. We openly challenged these same suppliers to deliver, to prove us wrong, to at very least explain what was coming. Of course, this could be done under an NDA and there was no need to spill company secrets. The response was, well…Crickets! There was one bright exception, one supplier approached me in confidence. They shared strategic developments and some specific product direction. While not groundbreaking it was certainly refreshing to see a company investing in their products and services beyond APIs, interfaces, and otherwise just moving the same old furniture around the same old house. Despite being part of a much larger portfolio, they understood the value of growing the business not just growing the base.
At the critical halfway point e-Emphasys announced the acquisition of competitor CDK Global Heavy Equipment. After 45 days the only noticeable development has been a couple of web page banners and a new list of executives. Arguably the combined company may have more customer locations and a larger development team than any other supplier and should be the industry leader in innovation and innovative ideas.
In the last one hundred days ChatGPT has released three more versions, an iPhone app and integrated AI services into no less than one thousand service providers. Bing has now fully integrated the AI module and become the front runner in the new search, answer, response, and chat market. Google continues to develop and deploy bard as their AI solution and is quietly trying to catch up. Travel companies are leaning on AI for trip planning, Advertisers are using it build mega million-dollar brands, and even education is now embracing the virtual classroom and ai based professors.
In the last one hundred days one major OEM has announced a new electronic warranty system. Another OEM has announced a virtual service assistant already in prototype. A new company in Europe is working with telematics information to offer predictive analytics and prescribed consumables to operators of lift trucks guaranteeing minimal downtime and reducing the need for redundant equipment. Even I have left my home automation “Alexa” for my new AI based assistant who handles everything from ordering meds, suggesting dinner based on what’s in my fridge, to reminding me to write a blog post.
In the last 100 days what have you done to advance, innovate or otherwise energize your business? Share them with your team or your suppliers. Share them with me or Ron. Before you renew with your existing suppliers ask the critical question, “What have you done with last 100 days”. If they can’t tell you how they are impacting your business in the short term, then don’t trust them to deliver in the long term.
The days of waiting it out or planning for next year are over. Everything operates at the speed of technology. Whether it’s quarterly or everyone hundred days, someone or something is coming to challenge the way you operate. Do nothing, wait, fatten up and you will be someone’s lunch. Plan your one hundred days. A swing and a miss will help you prepare for the next one hundred days. You can’t plan in a vacuum, start getting updates from your employees about their one hundred days. Ask your customers about their one hundred days. Demand the 100-day plan from your technology partners. Lead or follow but don’t wait for someone else.
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Embracing the Elements: My Icelandic Adventure
Embracing the Elements: My Icelandic Adventure
Guest writer Sara Hanks brings us the lessons she learned through vacation in “Embracing the Elements: My Icelandic Adventure.”
As I was unpacking after returning from my journey to Iceland, a quote on the hiking shoe box caught my eye, “It can be easy to forget how much beauty surrounds us, but <Insert Shoe Company> gets you to a place where you can enjoy the world around you.” The words struck a chord, as a beautiful summary of my experience and reflection of the lessons I had learned throughout the vacation.
Be Prepared
The first key takeaway was to Be Prepared. The 10-day forecast on the weather app on my phone, would not have prepared me for the elements we encountered. Several days were met with heavy winds and rains. At one point, the road closed due to high winds. When the road opened and we could drive through, there were several vans and trucks destroyed from being blown off the road. I’m grateful that my sister is always cold and warned me to pack with the worst weather in mind. The treacherous winds and heavy rains were no match for my waterproof hiking shoes, rain pants and layers of jackets. I enjoyed each moment because I was prepared.
Be Silly and Have Fun.
Be Silly and Have Fun, was a lesson I encountered in surprising ways. From running to see what treasures hid around the bend in the trail to being up close and personal to farm animals, I found pure joy. Trying to keep my balance in the wind, watching sheep being born, and petting the friendly Icelandic cows brought out a childlike sense of wonder and giggles. One cow decided to put my foot into its mouth. The small, whimsical moments made me realize the satisfaction of embracing the unexpected and amusing things in life.
Be Present in the Moment
Nothing taught me to Be Present in the Moment better than my hike up the stairs to the top of Skogafoss. With each step up the steep staircase, I was fully engrossed in the task at hand… get to the top, safely. When I reached the top, the view was amazing, as were the winds. Traveling back down the stairs was one of the most terrifying experiences of the vacation. Railings only existed on one side of the staircase, and they switched sides randomly. I found myself competing with the people climbing the stairs, especially when the wind gusts were greater than 30 MPH. All thoughts of work, LinkedIn notifications, and the incomplete chores were non-existent.
Get Outside
The lesson to Get Outside was driven home by a multitude of experiences. From riding an Icelandic horse to the stone beach, to boating around bright blue icebergs, each moment spent outdoors was a refreshing escape from the digital confines of everyday life. Oddly enough, I felt no knee pain during this vacation; I could run pain-free for the first time in years. I believe the constant movement in the fresh air was a big contributor. Now that I have all-weather gear, there is no excuse to avoid being outside.
Prioritize What You Love to Do.
Lastly, this trip reminded me to Prioritize What You Love to Do. I’m flexible and adaptable, so going along with others to do whatever, is not a problem. In Iceland, I rediscovered my love for adventure in the outdoors. Seeing geysers, making snow angels at the base of snow-covered mountains, hiking through a farm to a secluded waterfall, and being chased by a herd of Reindeer brought complete joy. It was a strong reminder that investing time in my passions brings both pleasure and a sense of fulfilment.
The quote on my shoebox perfectly described my Icelandic journey. Amidst the wild landscapes and memorable experiences, I had not just traveled across a country, but traveled on a journey of self-discovery. The joy, serenity, and renewal I found in Iceland shall be continued through these lessons.
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Developing Your Personal and Employee Persona
Developing Your Personal and Employee Persona
Guest writer Ron Wilson explores the skills that we use in developing our personal and employee persona.
Over our work life a great deal of effort, education, time, and energy is spent on developing the “technical skills” relating to our careers. Technical skills relate to the technical part of any career. An accountant has technical skills relating to the specific role, just as an equipment technician has technical skills to perform repairs/rebuilds, troubleshooting and diagnostics of their career.
During our careers we develop a personal persona that is applied in our actions, roles, and responsibilities. As we progress through our career the types of information, skills, action needed changes and requires an ongoing balance of various skills development.
The skills needing to be developed can be placed into four areas:
Below is a diagram that shows an example of an employee’s personal and career persona. It is important to balance the skills developed in each of the areas. During a visiting with a Human Resource team, we discussed the most common reasons employees are terminated, or resign, and in most cases, it is not due to a lack of technical skills. The cause is usually related to one of the other three categories.
The diagram above really shows the importance of balancing the skills development of our teams. Making sure training and development opportunities are provided in each of the areas, and time is spent with the employee discussing the strengths and opportunities that will provide continued growth relating to the overall personal development.
The diagram below shows that our “Personal Persona” is identified in what we “say and think.” The “Employee Persona” is often seen in what do (our performance) and our relationships with others. In our everyday work we combine and exhibit all four areas.
While serving on the board of directors at SkillsUSA Arizona I was introduced to the following diagram. I took this diagram and applied it to the equipment dealer work environment. SkillsUSA does an excellent job of developing the students’ work and persona to prepare them for future employment.
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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Training & Development
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Training & Development
Guest writer Ron Wilson explores using the Kirkpatrick method as a way of evaluating the effectiveness of training & development.
Within the dealership the owner, CFO, Training Manager, Department Manager, and Supervisors all ask if the training and development are effective and worth the time and investment being provided. Many articles, lectures, and books have been written on this very topic. The following are some examples that have been applied utilizing the “Four Levels of Training Evaluation” utilizing the Kirkpatrick model.
The Kirkpatrick Model includes the evaluations into the following areas:
Below are examples of how the information can be utilized and some comments on the implementation of the Kirkpatrick Model.
Reaction– This has also been called the “Smiley Face” survey. The survey is a recap of the student’s evaluation of the course material and the instructor. It is important to separate and review each individually.
The information below shows the responses from twenty-nine students relating to the course content and firsthand experience provided in the identified class. % E & VG combines the Excellent and Very Good score percentages. The comments provide valuable input to be collected and utilized for future improvements.
The information below shows a summary of the evaluation relating to the instructor leading the class and the comments provided. It is not uncommon to receive contradictory comments from a class. The class may have a wide variety of skill levels within the students attending the class.
Over time this information can be extremely helpful in evaluating the content and the individual instructors.
Learning- The level of learning obtained during the class provides a view of the knowledge level the student came into the class and a view of the knowledge the student is leaving the class. This is accomplished with a pre and post assessment. Below is an example:
Over time it can be determined that if a student came in with a low pre-test score the likelihood of not successfully completing the class. In this example 80% or higher is a passing score. The number of students passing, or not passing, the class can be a great tool for additional reviewing of content, instructor, and pre-requisites requirements.
Behavior– Level Three Evaluation reviews the application of the course material within the work environment based on input from the student and the supervisor. Utilizing a pre-determined time, the students and the supervisors evaluate if the behaviors are being utilized in the employee’s role. The evaluation is conducted by a survey of the students and the supervisors. These are specific tasks included in the class the student is expected to perform once returning to work.
Below is a list of tasks the student should be able to perform once returning to the shop area. The number of students and supervisors represents the ability of the students performing the tasks that was taught in the classroom. In this case there were more students that expressed their ability to perform the tasks as compared to the supervisors rating the employee’s performance of the task. Drilling down into the individual shops and supervisors, it can provide a little more detail of understanding the gap between the student’s score and their supervisor. Two items that may arise from the survey:
Results – The level of the results identified from attending the training class can be identified from expected business performance indicators such as:
All four of the levels require an elevated level of communication between the operating departments, the Training Department, and the students.
A couple of key points on the implementation of the Kirkpatrick Training Evaluation Model:
There are several resources to assist with understanding the model. James Kirkpatrick’s book “The Four Levels of Training Evaluation” is a great resource.
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Testimonials
Testimonials
Guest writer Joanne Costin writes her blog post this week about the importance of testimonials. In your business, testimonials from your employees are key to attracting and retaining staff.
Harness the power of employee testimonials.
I’ve been writing a lot about tight labor markets and various strategies to attract and retain workers. It has me thinking about employee testimonials. While you may be familiar with using testimonials to sell customers on the value of your dealership, you may be overlooking an opportunity to use them in your recruitment efforts.
When I recently spoke with Dick Finnegan, an expert in reducing employee turnover, he talked about “the stay interview.” The interview is a way to improve trust between employees and supervisors because the No.1 reason employees leave or stay is the relationship with their boss. Five questions are at the heart of his method to improve retention 20-50% among a wide range of clients. I love these questions, but not just for the value they bring to the employee/supervisor relationship. Answers to the first three questions could be the foundation for a strong employee testimonial.
The questions to ask:
Even if an employee has a positive view of their job and their company, if you ask them for a testimonial without providing any direction, chances are the final product be lacking. However, if you ask questions that nurture a conversation and require employees to think, the results will be more powerful.
The case for employee testimonials or employee stories
Employee testimonials are underutilized in recruitment campaigns. Candidates today want an honest look at the daily responsibilities of the job and insight into the company culture. Who would be better to offer that than your employees? The power of a testimonial comes from its authenticity. When the language is real, the faces are real, and the messages are real, testimonials provide that insider viewpoint that is often missing from other sources.
The first focuses on the day-to-day responsibilities of the employee and the elements of the job that bring satisfaction. In a 2022 Jobseeker Report from Employ, 41% said they left a job within 90 days because their day-to-day role wasn’t what they expected. Presenting an accurate picture of the role is a key step in improving retention. If applicants understand the role and can see themselves in the role, they are more likely to stay and be successful. This video from Wagner Equipment Co. highlights the role of the technician.
The second question focuses on learning. With 20% of jobseekers leaving for growth opportunities, having your employees discuss what they have learned on the job can help you showcase your commitment to personal development. Candidates also want to hear about potential career paths. If your employee’s story includes a promotion from technician to technical support or management, it’s one that prospective job candidates will notice.
The third question, “Why do you stay here?” speaks to company culture, to trust and a feeling of belonging. Unlike health insurance, higher wages, or other benefits, trust is something employees can’t be sure they will get at a new company. Whether it’s exemplified in the way the company treats workers dealing with an illness or the way managers respond to employee suggestions, the reasons why employees stay reveals the culture of your organization. RDO’s conveys this effectively through its Why Work Here video. In an effective testimonial it’s the details that matter and make each story personal.
Does it look like I belong here?
Dealerships and construction companies alike continue to struggle with attracting women and minorities to roles. One of the reasons is that applicants just don’t see themselves fitting in. Testimonials and other imagery on your website can go along way to showcase an inclusive environment. John Deere makes a powerful statement about inclusiveness to women through a collection of stories about women in construction on its website.
Focusing on the needs of military has helped Southern Company earn recognition as a best place to work for veterans. Testimonials on their website convey the aspects of working at Southern Company that appeal to veterans as well as military spouses.
Where to reach prospective employees
You may think placing your testimonials on LinkedIn is the only way to go, but Zippia reports that while 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn, 55% use Facebook, 47% are using twitter and 14% use Instagram to reach prospective employees. Because 37% of all job seekers are passive, the company reports that social media can be a useful source of hidden talent.
Zippia reports that 79% of job seekers use social media when searching for jobs. Job seekers use social media to vet potential companies in the same way employers use it to vet candidates. Instead of a “We’re hiring” message, a post that speaks to what the role is about or why people stay in their job will differentiate your dealership.
Similarly, your career page should be more than a list of job openings. Employee testimonials clearly belong here, along with other essentials such as benefits.
In a tight labor market. employee testimonials are a powerful tool to help dealers recruit prospective employees. Asking the right questions will help solicit the responses that will accurately convey the day-to-day rewards of the work, the learning opportunities, and your company culture.
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How to Repair America’s Talent Pipelines
How to Repair America’s Talent Pipelines
In his May Report, Edward Gordon writes on the crucial topic of how to repair America’s talent pipelines.
Micron Technology Inc., based in Boise, Idaho, plans to invest $100 billion in a semiconductor-manufacturing campus in a suburb of Syracuse, New York. Once fully built this campus will employ 9,000 workers and possibly support 41,000 jobs for contractors and suppliers, Yet the highly skilled engineers and technicians needed for advanced chip manufacturing are in short supply across the United States. What steps are they and local community leaders taking for solving these critical talent shortages?
Micron is seeking to develop a regional talent-creation pipeline through partnerships with K-12 schools and local colleges and universities. It is providing $10 million to local K-12 schools to bolster STEM education. Macron is cooperating with Onondaga Community College to develop a new degree program for chip technicians. Syracuse University is developing plans to increase enrollments in its undergraduate and graduate engineering programs.
The extent of Macron’s education partnerships is particularly notable. Education is a continuum. Even before the educational setbacks caused by COVID-19 restrictions, it was clear that K-12 education in the United States has not been providing a significant proportion of our students with the educational foundations needed for their future development The challenge we now face is that only about one-third of our high school graduates leave school with reading and math comprehension at the twelfth-grade level. These skill levels are needed for the successful completion of post-secondary certificates, apprenticeships, community college two-year degrees, or four-year degrees.
Cascading Challenges
It seems likely that Micron will be affected by other types of skilled worker shortages. Micron’s Syracuse area expansion plans were spurred by the federal incentives offered by the Chips Act that was signed by President Biden in August 2022. Other companies have announced plans to build semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Arizona, Texas, and Ohio. Chip manufacturing plants have highly exacting construction specifications requiring specialized training.
At the same time, growing international tensions and supply chain disruptions precipitated by the COVID pandemic are leading to the in-shoring of all types of manufacturing to the United States. Construction spending for manufacturing projects was the highest on record last year and is expected to remain elevated as there is a considerable backlog of nonresidential projects across the United States. A major reason for construction delays is worker skills shortages. In a recent survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America, 80 percent of the respondent’s reported difficulty in finding qualified workers.
Last year U.S. businesses lost $2 trillion in productivity and profit due to skills-jobs disconnects. We estimate that there are over twenty-seven million skilled and semi-skilled Americans who are not participating in today’s labor force. If their skills were updated through entry-level training, the impact on U.S. productivity would be substantial due to the magnitude of this hidden population.
By 2030 Korn Ferry predicts that up to ninety million jobs worldwide could be unfilled. This could cost employers $8.5 trillion in profits. To meet the steeply escalating skill demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, more regions across the United States must develop a comprehensive approach to workforce development for a wide range of occupations in which employers and educational institutions cooperate in education and training programs that keep pace with technological advances.
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