Welcome to the Excellence in Training Blog. The purpose of this blog is to share thoughts, ideas, observations and experiences designed to enhance training practices. Excellence in Training is a philosophy that has been developed over time. It is also a commitment that must be made by all parties involved in training.
- Always Remember W.I.N. (A simple but powerful acronym that stands for life’s most powerful question: What’s Important Now.) – What’s Important Now is a question we must all ask ourselves numerous times throughout the day as we are faced with a series of choices and decisions. From a training perspective it is critical to Excellence in Training. What’s Important Now should be at the forefront of our mind when developing learning objectives, training standards and lesson plans. What’s Important Now is developing the most relevant programs, most effective delivery methods and a learning environment all focused on the learner, not the trainer.
- You Haven’t Taught Until They Have Learned – This was a philosophy of Coach John Wooden who is arguably the most successful U.S. college basketball coach in history. Under Wooden’s leadership the UCLA Bruins won 10 National Championships in 12 years including 7 consecutive championships. Wooden’s philosophy is that if the players/students/officers are not getting what is being taught the teacher must look in the mirror and take responsibility. If we combine that look in the mirror with the question What’s Important Now we will begin to explore new and more effective ways to deliver the material so all the students can learn.
- Excellence in Training is a shared responsibility. – The responsibility for excellence in training is shared at all levels from the Training Commander to the individual officer attending training.
- To be an effective trainer you must be a life long learner. – As john Wooden says “If you are through learning, your through.” The fact is that if you are not continually learning then you will never be an excellent trainer.
- Those Who Teach; Learn – This is the motto of the former training organization ALSLET and reflects the philosophy that as trainers WE should learn from every class we teach. We should learn from our students and from our experiences. As a result every class should be better than the one before it.
- Words have Power – Too often we hear “It’s just semantics. They know what I mean.” This is a very dangerous attitude and can set students up for failure.
We will continue to explore and expand on these philosophies every week. I will share my experiences and the experiences of others. At times I will go on a bit of a rant about some of those things that really bother me. If I go on a rant or talk about something that is less desirable in training and you are offended (not disagree but outright offended) by what I say then step back and have a look in the mirror and think about why you are offended. As Tom Earnhardt says “It only hurts if it oughta.”