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The Problem with Procedures
August, 2014

   

 

I read about a research project on why young children are better at figuring out new technology than adults. What the researchers discovered is that it's because no one taught the kids how to do it - they just keep trying different things until they figure out what works. They haven't  been "educated" on how things should work.

 

My daughter works at a bakery in town and shows a similar ability to figure out customer service. It's a retail branch and the baking is done elsewhere, so they just sell product and take cake orders. She occasionally complains about some of the customers, but it's clear she understands customer service despite the fact that they don't specifically train employees on it. She has demonstrated an innate ability to figure out how customers want to be treated. I believe most people start with that ability and we wind up overwriting it with education and training.

 

We train people to follow procedures because procedures are important in business. The problem with the procedures we create is that, as adults, we are trained to keep trying the same procedure even if it's not working. Sometimes it's better to approach it as a child would, to ignore what should work and try other approaches until you find one that actually does work.

Still trying,
  
Dave Ferguson