Product Training for the Technical Expert

6From Good to Great: Defining the Focus of Effective Product Training

Everybody wants to provide great training. I know you do, or you wouldn’t be reading this book. You instinctively know that bad training is worse than no training and that you are better off not training your customers than to provide them training that is either ineffective or incorrect. The issue is not about separating bad training from good training. Usually, that is not too difficult to determine. What is harder for most people to define are the nuances that differentiate good (or adequate) training from great training.

The first few chapters covered learning strategies and philosophies that will help create a productive learning environment. Those foundational principles are important to get right. The details are also important to get right. Having good educational and business philosophies is important, but can be wasted if the details are not addressed. This chapter will address nine contrasting areas that you should consider when progressing your training from good to great. There is no particular order to these nine items nor are they all equal. Your specific circumstances may require you to come up with your own contrasts, as they apply to you and your industry.

Aim at the Right Target: Doing Versus Knowing

Remember: You are valuable for what you do, not what you know. The smartest person in your company can be let go tomorrow if they either do something stupid or fail to do anything of value. ...