Effective Vertical Slice Training

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Effective Vertical Slice Training.

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Greetings!

Great seeing you refreshed after the Christmas break, and gearing up towards 2012! In this issue, I'd like to talk about Vertical Slice Training, what it is, and the main objectives of such a training intervention. You might like to consider this approach as one way to prepare your organization for the postures you adopt. First, however, I would like to recall an old poem by Sam Walter Foss. Do read it and reflect. You can find this poem with nice illustrations from the Ben Graham Corporation here.

One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.

Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.
The trail was taken up next day,
By a lone dog that passed that way.
And then a wise bell-wether sheep,
Pursued the trail o'er vale and steep;
And drew the flock behind him too,
As good bell-wethers always do.
And from that day, o'er hill and glade.
Through those old woods a path was made.
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged, and turned, and bent about;
And uttered words of righteous wrath,
Because 'twas such a crooked path.
But still they followed - do not laugh -
The first migrations of that calf.
This forest path became a lane,
that bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load,
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half,
They trod the footsteps of that calf.
The years passed on in swiftness fleet,
The road became a village street;
And this, before men were aware,
A city's crowded thoroughfare;
And soon the central street was this,
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half,
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.
A Hundred thousand men were led,
By one calf near three centuries dead.
For men are prone to go it blind,
Along the calf-paths of the mind;
And work away from sun to sun,
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.
They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move.
But how the wise old wood gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf!

Did you like the poem? It certainly tickled me when I first saw it! Something for all of us to be wary of as we continue along our own paths in business and in life. With that said, let's begin looking at Vertical Slice Training.

Vertical Slice Training takes representative components of business units from all levels of a hierarchical organization and conducts a realistic, simulated exercise with them in order to assess the degrees of interoperability between the business units at all levels. The inclusion of "live" components injects a degree of "friction" from "real world" interactions that might not otherwise be present in a totally simulated environment. Vertical Slice Training is also used when it is not feasible to train everyone in an organization within a reasonable time frame. What happens then is that each component of a "level" in the organization is given the training appropriate to that level and/ or function. Then, the chosen "Vertical Slice" is put through its paces in a simulated environment, with the "live" components providing "live" feedback. The value of such training is that it helps to identify kinks or rough spots in the web of operations which can then be smoothened for greater operational efficiency from top to bottom, and vice versa. Lessons are then disseminated throughout the organization by each level via "horizontal slice" and/ or workgroups.

Another possible use of such an approach might be when executing pilot runs of proposed projects or ventures. This, of course, has to be done after conceptualization and initial planning for the said projects or ventures have already taken place.

So, for 2012, embark on a path other than the Calf Path. Refuse to participate in a recession and blaze a trail for others to follow. People development and organizational development are one and the same. Remember that training for all personnel is still conducted in times of war, perhaps even more so than in times of peace. Although I would rather we all start thinking in terms of a benign enterprise space instead of thinking of business along the lines of conducting a war, the posturing, reframing, flexing and refocusing actions remain the same. Determine to do something better with your human capital development programs in 2012! Go well!

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Business associate this week

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Seng Chia Heng

I have worked with "Tiger" Seng over many team building batches, and I must say that it has indeed been a privilege for me. Dedicated, with tons of practical know-how, a "can-do" attitude and a self-effacing manner make him someone highly prized as a team member.
Get to know Seng Chia Heng more on Facebook!

Elijah Lim
Principal Consultant
Shining Arrow Consulting Pte Ltd
www.shiningarrow.com
65-97119005
60-19-3385138

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