I'm about to spend six weeks training new advisors in Winston Salem, North Carolina. I'm excited about this because it's an opportunity to help new advisors to be successful in any role they take on, not just in their new role.

Typical training is about learning how to do tasks. Good companies also try to explain the culture of the company. What I've found over the years is that is takes from six months to a year for a new employee to absorb the culture and objectives of an organization, to understand the Vision and the Mission. That's a period when a company is depending on employees to do a job they don't fully understand. It's risky.

My approach to training is to teach the skills required, but to supplement that with the stories of every day experiences - theory vs. practice. My goal is to help people develop the problem-solving skills they will need to succeed. Real life isn't scripted, it doesn't follow rules or logic. If someone understands what the objectives are, they can better negotiate the maze of life and operate independently. They can then use the skills we taught to solve problems and court customers.

In the end it's not about doing the work, it's about taking responsibility for the results - even when you can't control what happens. For most people there will be a day when that suddenly becomes clear. It might take three months, it might take six, but suddenly they understand what it's all about. It's then that they become the teacher.