| The Art of Business Management Training |
“We’re not calling it training anymore…now it’s called talent development. But the fact is we have to work hard and fast to keep the good people we’ve got!”—ST, Supervisor for Management DevelopmentI
’m hearing this a lot. Just about every training director I talk with says some variation of this theme. The names change, one day it’s training, the next it’s leadership development. The essence is the same. Communication Skills.
Business training for managers, leaders and supervisors is all a waste if communication skills are pushed to the side. In the onslaught of new technology, far too many courses focus on the “How To” skills to help managers utilize technology. That’s important. But the ability to speak, write, and communicate effectively is, I believe the skill that characterizes true leaders.
In training for business management and planning for growth in any organization, it is absolutely essential for more than one person to know how to do the job. This is common sense. You can’t rely on only one person. This is equally true whether you are running a mom and pop store or a global organization. The manager who is hidden off in their office, hard at work is not really managing. He or she may well be working 80 hour weeks. But they are neglecting to facilitate learning and grow their staff. When I was starting out in consulting, I wanted to understand how to tell great stories…and I didn’t want to sit around doing research for 4 years before I got results. I looked first to filmmaking to understand how great ideas went from the wild idea stage all the way to a finished movie. I was curious how Hollywood manages to constantly churn out new movies and make so many blockbusters. And I figured that great writers and script makers were not sitting around like the struggling authors you might meet in your local coffee shop. And I was delighted to find that in the film industry, it’s a common practice to use visual thinking. In fact, in film, TV and most multi-media companies, storyboards to map out the flow from idea to completion. A visual storyboard is a speedy path to designing a blockbuster. These are not just flash-in-the-pan movies that you never hear of again. These creations are well-known…just look on the marquis of any theatre near you. At some stage that movie, either in early writing, planning the script, or getting into production used a storyboard. I was looking for how business leaders could tell winning stories and inspire their teams. I thought that any CEO would be interested in tapping into the creative genius and process that is used to create a Hollywood winner. (At least the CEO should understand his audience…’tho sadly, many of them haven’t got a clue.) But that’s another story…for another time. Back to my research. I knew about storyboards for film…and also that this method is used to plan everything from designing a car to constructing a new building. Possibilities swirled in my mind. I had a gut-feel that this is the right process to jump start creativity…but not stop there. I wanted to kick it up a notch. I had a hunch that I knew the answer…but I didn’t want to commit to it until I looked further. I figured I better shop around and see how other people plan their works in other creative arts. And especially technical design teams. I did my research and talked with design teams in California, Switzerland, New York and Germany. And I found one thing was consistent. Everyone went to the drawing board to figure out how to tell a good story. The story of a product. The story that matches the mind of their customer. The story of an invention. It turned out that I’d hit on a gold mine of insight. If you examine the practices of successful design studios…it’s not just in film…it’s from furniture design to product design, they all have a story board phase. The ideas are laid out. Teams work on the flow and tweak design elements until it’s just right. And then more people are invited in to test-drive the design. This ‘usability’ and testing phase often leads to drawings and storyboards taking on a new life. Blueprints, designs and sketches are translated into 3-dimensional objects. The tangible object is called a ‘prototype’ or ‘model.’ And most often this is when the studio or firm invites super users and consumers to test with their product. This is the process and purpose of a prototype. First, draw a storyboard. Then make it into a dimensional object. This as some firms point out, is like putting drawings on steroids. This tangible object makes it so much easier for people outside the design project to interact with the design. Customers can touch the model product …they respond to the color, shape and feel of the prototype. It’s a whole different dimension than glancing at a sketch. The really big companies have special rapid-prototyping machines to transform a drawing into a sample prototype in a matter of hours. This makes it very easy for a focus group to react and give input into a product. And as the group interacts with the prototype…a story emerges. The story could emerge about the process of building the product, group reaction, the brilliant idea that a team member got…where else…in the shower! So I started putting two and two together. What if the secret to creating a winning story consists of two-steps… Step #1. Create a Story Board. Map out a blueprint of all the elements in the story. Get organized so that all that happens during the writing phase is lightening speed writing. No editing. No second guessing. No trying to figure out the next point. Just writing. A visual blueprint would be the fastest way to anchor a winning story. Step #2. Build a Prototype. Do what the world’s top design firms already do to streamline innovation. Make a model. No matter how rough, a model can be worth 1,000 drawings. Now, I was chomping at the bit. I had to try it out. I got to work on my latest book, The Authentic Message: The 5 Secrets To Presentation Success For Trainers, Presenters, Leaders and YOU! I worked rapidly with my co-author, Milly Sonneman. We planned the story using a story board. We mapped out the flow and the details. Then we stepped back and took a deep sigh. Just seeing the story laid out in one place in a clear flow made it so much easier to imagine a completed book. Next, we built a prototype of the final product. I worked with a graphic designer to create a great cover. It was true. Using this two-step storyboard and prototype process, worked like a creativity magnet. The story boards and the prototype already made our book appear real…as it was taking shape. Plus, this process wasn’t only working to strengthen our creativity. We were able to organize our thoughts, get input from customers, do the research and complete the writing in record time. In addition, the model helped us pre-sell the book to training directors and clients who want to know the best methods for telling a winning story in every presentation. The next time you have a story to tell…whether the story of your product, a sales story, a marketing tale or a strategic vision…use this process. If you are an author of a book, special report, presentation offline or online…use this process. If you need to plan a story that will persuade people and get the results you’re after…from funding to customers to winning a seal of approval…you know just what to do. Use your story board, make a prototype and get winning results! |
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