Excellence in Training – 4 Rules From a Comic Book Dude

I recently watched Scott McLoud’s 2005 TED talk on Presenting comics in a new (media) world. While I have to admit that I did not get a lot out of his talk I did get a few powerful nuggets of wisdom. The one that resonated most with me was his 4 Rules:

1. Learn from everyone.
2. Follow no one.
3. Watch for patterns.
4. Work like hell.

It struck me that these 4 Rules could serve as sound guidelines for law enforcement trainers.

1. Learn from everyone.

• Learn from your students.
• Learn from other trainers.
• Learn from people outside the world of law enforcement.
• Learn from the criminals we arrest. They are learning from us and adapting to defeat us.
• Learn from yourself; your successes and failures.

2. Follow no one.

• Follow no one blindly.
• Beware of hero worship. It creates blinders and stops you from fulfilling rule #1.
• No one person, or single system has all the pieces to the puzzle so always remember Rule #1.

3. Watch for patterns.

• Watch for what works, and do more of it.
• Watch for what does not work, and do less of it.
• Watch for patterns of behaviours of the criminal element and develop tactics and strategies to overcome that.
• Watch for patterns in behaviour of people attending training and ask yourself, “What can I learn from this and how can I use it to improve my training?”

4. Work like hell.

• Hard work is at the root of all success.
• Work like hell on your own personal growth and development.
• Work like hell on your physical skills and tactics.
• Work like hell on your fitness.
• Work like hell on your presentation skills.
• Work like hell to create awesome training experiences for your officers. They deserve to experience awesome training.

Scott McLoud, the comic book dude, was very intelligent and very articulate but, I am afraid I cannot tell you what he was talking about. Sorry Scott. I do however, believe there is great value in his 4 Rules and would encourage you to use them as a guide.

Take care.

Brian Willis – A Man With Many Questions

At Winning Mind Training we are driven by our dedication to inspiring the pursuit of personal excellence and our belief that every law enforcement officer deserves to experience awesome training.

Has watching the Olympics has peaked your interest in imagery and you find yourself wondering exactly what imagery is, how it works and how you could build it into your training programs? If you attended an Excellence in Training Course you would learn that and many more ways to take your training to the next level. Check out our website at www.winningmindtraining.com for a list of upcoming dates and locations for the Excellence in Training Course.

To book Brian to speak at your event or to your officers contact him at winningmind@mac.com.