Tip #11 in Daniel Coyle’s book The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips For Improving Your Skills is, “Don’t Fall For The Prodigy Myth.” As part of a program I am working through I reread The Little Book of Talent. I am a fan of Daniel Coyle’s work including The Talent Code and The Culture Code and had read The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips For Improving Your Skills a few years ago. We were tasked with identifying the Tip that resonated most and share why.  While there are a lot of great tips in this book the one I chose was, “Don’t Fall For The … [Read more...]

Simple, plain language is usually the best for presentations. This is especially true when you are speaking at conferences, to groups where people are from different agencies and different roles and to groups where there are non-law enforcement people in the audience. You have likely been to presentations, or listened to podcast interviews where it sounds like the speaker was using big words simply to show everyone how smart they are. If people do not understand your message, then it was not smart to use that language. If people have to continually consult a dictionary to know what you are … [Read more...]

“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatsoever about the bird….So let’s look at the birds and see what it’s doing – that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.” Richard P. Feynman It is easy to get caught up knowing and using the buzzwords of the day, but not actually knowing what they mean and how to apply the concepts that underlie the name. Simply dropping terms into a conversation or saying that I employ the principles in my … [Read more...]

VUCA is a term you hear a lot these days, as it has become common lexicon in many fields. VUCA is an acronym for Volatile Uncertain Complex and Ambiguous.  Law enforcement professionals today live and work in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. On his website, John Black DBA, says, “Policing is complexity within complexity, and police use of force is arguably one of the most complex things to understand.” The question for you as a trainer is, “Are you preparing your people for this VUCA world through your training?”  To prepare the heroic men … [Read more...]

No AssholesNo BulliesNo Dickheads No EgosNo Toxic Leaders Take a step back and have a long hard look at the people in all positions in your training section and your training cadre. If you have people that fall into the above listed groups then have a courageous conversation with them and let them know this behavior is unacceptable and if they want to continue in their role as a trainer they need to change their behavior. If they are unwilling to change their behavior, then move them out of training positions. This goes for the leadership group as well as the … [Read more...]

During the Excellence in Training course we engage in a number of conversations about ways to use videos more effectively as a powerful learning tool to teach and enhance decision-making, review policy and law and examine tactics. I am not a fan of showing videos for shock value, or showing videos for pure entertainment value. I occasionally get criticized for not using enough videos.  At a recent Excellence in Training Course one of the participants asked, “How many videos is too many to use in a class?” My answer to that question is the same as it is to so many questions, “It … [Read more...]

Treat everyone you teach, train, coach and lead fairly, but do not treat them all the same. They are all individuals. Each person is unique in his or her life experiences, education, understanding and skill levels. They all have different hopes, dreams, fears, needs, and aspirations, which will vary throughout their training and throughout their career.  It is easy to think you need to treat everyone the same, in order to be fair. Doing so however is a disservice to the student and their development and is actually unfair to them.  While the curriculum and standards are consistent, … [Read more...]

My way is a way, not “The Way”.  “The Way” likely does not actually exist.  There are many ways to teach effectively. Every trainer has their own style, their own personality and their own way. His or her way is not “The Way”; it is just a way.  There are core fundamentals of learning and teaching that should weave their way through my way, and your way, but those fundaments do not dictate “The Way” to teach.  There are many styles and systems of control tactics. Each would likely argue that their way is the best way and should be considered “The Way”. I would … [Read more...]

In a recent blog post titled The revolution in online learning Seth Godin addressed some issues that we need to pay attention to in all of our training, in person and online, in the pre-service academy and with in-service training:  Not education, learning.Education is a model based on scarcity, compliance and accreditation. It trades time, attention and money for a piece of paper that promises value.But we learn in ways that have little to do with how mass education is structured.If you know how to walk, write, read, type, have a conversation, perform surgery or cook an egg, … [Read more...]

Last week I wrote about three myths – The 10,000 Hour Rule, 3,000 to 5,000 Repetitions and Muscle Memory. This week I will address two additional myths I continue to read in articles and hear about in presentations and podcast interviews.  Perfect Practice Makes Perfect – If we want to make the most out of practice then there has to be some struggle, some friction, some mistakes from pushing to the outer edges of our skill level, followed by reflection and inherent (internal) and / or augmented (external) feedback. If you are trying to be perfect in practice then you are … [Read more...]