Within the past few months, I've visited dozens of wholesalers and vendors at regional conventions, pilot courses and buying group meetings. Participants in the meetings have shared with me the challenges they face implementing training and technology. Sometimes it's worthwhile to adjust a few common perceptions, or possibly misperceptions, concerning training and technology. Here are a few of my favorites.
Misperception One: The expectation that training and technology are solutions to problems.
Training and technology are just tools. They help implement or improve an operating system and reach business objectives. They carry no inherent value on their own. Without a business system, strategies and clear business objectives, training and technology investments just wander around looking for a job to do. The most profitable operators not only train the most, but they also train the smartest. They first invest in the most efficient and effective operating systems, identify the knowledge and skills needed to operate those systems with ruthless efficiency, and then train to exacting performance standards. They then support training with the tools needed to do the job, as well as compensation packages and performance reviews.