When a great business idea fails to pan out, often the short circuit occurs in the execution of the plan. Someone has a vision and compelling ideas attract attention; the excitement builds! Soon plans are coming together. A team spirit builds a sense of excitement and everyone’s going gangbusters. That is until the business hits a common roadblock: A dearth of staff training.
You may have developed the best new idea since Colonel Harland Sanders stuffed his station wagon full of feathered hens destined for the fryer. Yet if training fails to transmit vital information to other workers, you’ll suffer the equivalent of a business coronary in short order.
Ben Horowitz, a former director of product management at Netscape, recounts what occurred in 1996 when he trained his team on “basic expectations.” He was initially skeptical of the return the company would gain through investing in staff training.
All that changed when Horowitz composed a short document, “Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager,” which was used to communicate basic expectations to staff. Horowitz recounts his shock at the ensuing transformation. Managers he had considered hopeless suddenly rose to high levels of performance. Soon he was “managing the highest performing team in the company.” Apparently clearly communicating expectations through training had an astounding effect on those workers.
Don’t underestimate how important continual improvement is to a business. Training will be crucial to your success as your company grows. We can help determine and fulfill your training needs as your company grows into the future!