So I am up EARLY this morning to make icing for my first Red Velvet cake - a confection of fabulous proportions. My fingers are stained with red food coloring from making the batter last night... but I digress. As I was sifting the powdered sugar into the Cuisinart bowl (thinking how much I hate sifting anything), I realized that I was doing this for the beloved daughter, for whom we are running a mission of mercy just a little later. (She’s got a bad cold, feels lousy, has lots of tests and papers, you’ve got the picture. We’ve got the day off and are amenable to making a six hour roundtrip drive with perhaps three or four hours for seeing the kid...maybe not amenable, maybe we’re nuts!) Anyway as I am sifting away I realize, wow, I wouldn’t (probably) do this for me {the sifting part} - making the cake is all about her...which gets me to thinking about my foundational premise for training - it’s all about the learners. It was a short leap to realize the striking parallels between baking and training delivery.
When making a new edible delight I need to begin with the end in mind (what’s it going to look like), read through the recipe, assemble the ingredients and tools (I will spare you the story about not knowing what “mascarpone” is, asking about it at the chichi grocery store, being told the wrong thing and having to go back, return the wrong items - having wisely consulted with the powerful internet {why didn’t I think of that before!}, and buying the right “stuff”...), follow the instructions to the letter (the FIRST time, next time I may get creative), and anticipate an excellent result... mmm, sounds like...
When I take on a new program (of someone else’s design) to deliver (like this weekend at a conference for kids in Upward Bound), I need to think “big picture” about what is to be achieved/how will it look, assess the objectives, and read carefully through the leader’s guide to be certain that I am “on track” with the content knowledge, terminology, and processes, work mindfully through the steps/stick to the plan (no improvising the first time out of the box), and look forward to an awesome experience....
I have to say that the Red Velvet cake is not only gorgeous (okay, red’s my favorite color), it’s texture is both airy and creamy (cake and icing) and the result sublime. Wow! This focus on the recipient really works!
... Just how I feel about focusing on the learners’ needs and wants when training!
Absolutely right on. This also applies to the education field and teaching students, especially in high school. Good teachers go through the same process to deliver and evaluate how they are doing. The cake must be delicious!
Posted by: Steve Weinstock | February 22, 2007 at 02:22 PM