My son noticed it first. As he scooped way too much ice cream into his bowl, he asked: “Mom? Why do you call this a half-gallon of ice cream?”
I gave my husband that glance that can only say, “Honestly, what kind of child are we raising here?” I exhaled, and shook my head in disappointment as I quietly wondered which shore of our collective gene pool I could blame for this kid. I can see why the boy didn’t want to read his science book, but who doesn’t love to read food containers? Obviously, we still had some parenting to do here.
I answered, “Thomas, we call it a half-gallon of ice cream…because there’s a half-gallon of ice cream in the container.” Cue my eye rolling.
“But there’s only 1.75 quarts in it. See? It says so right at the bottom.”
I was relieved to see that the kid could read. To boot, he was right. And it got worse. In the ensuing months, my low-fat ice cream lost even more weight. My so-called half-gallon now weighs in at 1.5 quarts. Oh, the humanity.
I wondered where else my assumptions about life were being challenged. Bring on my bag of chocolate chips. My 16-ounce bag now holds a mere 12 ounces. My half-gallon of orange juice is light by 5 ounces. They didn’t even create a new carton. They just left two inches of air space at the top. Perhaps they want my orange juice to breathe.
These thoughts of quiet change brought me to our world of training. Things change all the time, yes. But that’s really the stuff that happens to other people. Those changes are happening in someone else’s world. My world surely is intact. My world surely is not shifting its orbit without me. Yet subtly, almost imperceptibly, things may be changing in your world, too. I submit that the subtle shifts can be the most dangerous for us as educators. The Big Bang shifts are noticed by all of us. Easy…and loud…and noticeable. The devil is in the details, as they say.
THERE’S ANOTHER PLATE
We work hard to improve our delivery and timing, to create new ways to engage learners and provide activities that illustrate our point and keep it fun, and to secure measurement tools that… well…actually measure something. It feels like those spinning plates at the circus. The problem is, there’s another plate. Perhaps the circus guy didn’t make it down to the end of that table, and the plate, like our material, has gone flat. While we’ve been busy creating ways to engage learners, the stuff we’re teaching may have shifted. I work in insurance. Since most of us have a car and a house, I can use my own industry as an illustration.
While I am offering neither insurance nor legal advice, I discovered a few subtle shifts in insurance forms while kicking around on the World Wide Web that furrowed my brow and bugged out my eyes. Some industry homeowner deductibles are moving from flat dollar amounts to a percentage of the loss. That may increase my deductible outlay.
In one trade journal article, I discovered an HO-8 home form, a form with which I was not even familiar. Yes, I researched that one. It’s named perils for both the house and the stuff. In an attempt to limit a premium increase, some carriers now have a new twist called a cosmetic roof endorsement. In my opinion, the endorsement is a great idea. Yes, I can remove it if I choose. Basically, it says if a roof still has its structural integrity after a hail or wind event—meaning it still keeps out the weather even if it looks a little beat up—it doesn’t need to be replaced. I get it. It makes total sense. But if I forget to mention it to an agent…who forgets to mention it to a member…who feels his policy has this non-existent form known as “full coverage,” then confusion at claim time can be followed by sadness, frustration, and anger. None among us wants to be referenced in any sentence that includes the phrase, “you people in insurance…” That sentence will never end well.
KEEPING THE PLATES IN THE AIR
Here’s one solution. Be a lifelong learner. Enjoying a conference event such as Training 2015 Conference & Expo is valuable for learning needs analysis, how to say stuff, what activities to include, and how to support the learning. I met amazing people and learned cool tools. Here’s the hook: I need to come equipped with what actually comes out of my mouth. The material? Well, it’s on me.
Here are three suggestions to keep your planet from tilting and your plates from falling:
1. Return to your subject matter experts (SMEs). For many of us, SMEs are only offering opinions when we ask them. That’s usually at the creation of a program or project. I can be guilty of not revisiting the facts of my materials once they’re created, too. Start at the beginning of your course and try to see it through the eyes of a question-asking 3-year-old. You know the kid. He’s the one who keeps saying, “Why?” or “Says who?” These are all great questions. Every time a fact appears in the work, double check it. Break it up into chunks and give each team member a piece to manage and maintain. Of course, it takes a while; if training were easy, everyone would do it.
2. Stay current through industry news and industry associations. Get out your spade and dig. Here are a few key Internet search phrases to consider:
- Changes in the (fill in the blank) sector
- Court cases in (fill in the blank)
- The future of (fill in the blank) industry
- (Fill in the blank) industry groups
Cool things are happening every day, and staying current adds to our credibility as educators. Imagine the increased credibility when we can mention a term or fact in class and then be able to illustrate it using an historic fact, a recent court case, or an upcoming change.
3. Attend an industry event or get a new designation. Whether you are in insurance, health care, or government, there always will be a work group nearby. There’s a local association chapter or an upcoming symposium. In my industry, there are several educational designations that not only keep me smart, they garner immediate credibility with students. There’s always something to learn. Go learn it.
Christine Nilsen Marciano, CIC, ITP, CLCS, SBCS, is a Commercial Lines training consultant at Training Top 125 winner Nationwide. Marciano is a 2014 Top 5 Emerging Training Leader and a recent Nationwide CEO Award winner.