In the first week we looked at The Pipeline as a leadership concept derived from the military. Now, we’ll look at a second one called Peel the Orange!
Over the many thousands of years of military history military scientists have developed and evolved what is considered the world’s most advanced techniques for training human beings. Why is this so?
I believe the answer is due to “the bottom line”. In my own career I have been exposed to training in four areas of performance and I would rate them as follows in order of effectiveness:
1. Military
2. Sport/Arts
3. Business
4. Education
I think this is due to the imperatives of the various bottom lines.
In education the bottom line is: to pass the exam. The quality of training I received to this end was erratic. Most of my own educational training was largely boring with occasional exceptions. There was very little inspiration of the “Dead Poet Society” type and even less emphasis placed on PRR (Practise, Repetition & Rehearsal).
In business, I have found much greater emphasis on the inspirational and motivational type of training and the quality, overall, is higher than at school. Perhaps this is due to the business bottom line which is: to survive and make a profit. There is often a big investment in time and money at stake in an environment which is competitive, so the standard of training is higher than at school. I wondered whether to put business ahead of sports and the arts but I did not because business training still is weak in the area of PRR (Practise, Repetition & Rehearsal).
As just noted, sports and arts is next because of the high emphasis on PRR. Here the bottom line is: to win in sport, and: to perform well in front of an audience in the arts. The competition and the audience are strong bottom lines which produce high levels of excellence in training by experienced coaches and the great masters. There is also often a lot of money at stake.
But in the military passing exams, making money, beating the competitor and audience applause play relatively minor roles to the ultimate bottom line: life or death! It’s no surprise therefore that the quality of military training is so high. True, governments have much larger budgets for training than the others mentioned above and this is an advantage.
The most entertaining, shocking, interactive and successful training I ever received by the most competent and well-rehearsed instructors was in the military. The lectures, the drills, the exercises, the operations were always laced with large amounts of PRR and invariable were better-planned and better-executed than anything I have seen before or since.
My passion has always been to liberate these training methods from the military fort or garrison and make them available to business and other careers. The same military training processes that are applied to martial arts can also be applied to career and business arts and so that is what we will be doing in this ATLC training.
PEEL THE ORANGE!
If you take ten people at random and you give them an orange and then you say to them: Peel the orange! guess what you end up with?
Well, if you are lucky you MAY end up with one peeled orange! What you are more likely to get instead is the following:
– Why me?
– Why do I have to peel the orange?
– Why can’t I cut it instead of peeling it?
– What about an apple, I’d rather peel an apple?
– I don’t know how.
– I never peeled an orange before.
– You do it.
– Get someone else to do it.
– I’ll do it later when I have time.
– I don’t have a knife, can you get me a knife?
– How do I peel it? Where do I start?
– Do you want all the orange peeled or only half?
– Shall I peel it this way or that way?
etc etc
An important leadership skill is being able ‘to peel oranges’ on command. Being able to effectively and efficiently carry out an instruction without any fuss or bother is an important leadership skill. It requires discipline, skill, initiative, motivation, self-confidence, risk-taking, achievement, energy and a host of leadership qualities.
In the military, before an NCO or officer is given the right to give orders, they must first undergo a lot of training to make sure they have an advanced level of skill in carrying out orders from others. To give and take is part of the same concept.
There are, of course, the obvious qualifications. The orders or instructions to be followed must be legal, competent and possible to carry out. In the professional military, very few are not.
Needlesstosay, in ATLC any and all instructions for you to follow will be transparent, legal and possible to do.
You have to decide up front before the pipeline whether or not you feel they will be competent.
Once you enter the pipeline then all you have to do is to ‘peel the oranges’!
DFQ #12:
List three benefits below that are likely to come from acquiring this leadership skill called Peel the Orange!1. A benefit for me (the trainee) is …
2. A benefit for you (the trainer) is …
2. A benefit for the class (the others) is …
1. A benefit for the trainee (me) is that I learn to take the leap of faith and just do – learning from that experience.
2. A benefit to the trainer (the one with the knowledge) is that they can see exactly where a trainee is at and to what degree the knowledge or skill has translated.
3. A benefit to the class is the opportunity to see perpection in action and other peoples ability and approach.
A benefit for me is to evolve skill of accomplishment.
A benefit for you is possibility to make an investigation.
A benefit for the class is chance to see tons of points of view.
1. A benefit for the trainee (me) is that I do not need to bother myself with introspection and evaluation during the act of cognition, this can be done later. It allows the fast, effective transfer of the information and skill, which can be evaluated once the trainee’s skill is up to it.
2. A benefit to the trainer (the one with the knowledge) is that he can transfer the desired information or ability without any fuss or resistance.
3. Other peoples abilities and views are on display. The whole process is illustrated before you allowing you to completely observe, and removes any self consciousness that could exist. Speed.
1. A benefit for me would be a increase in confidence in my leadership abilities.
2. A benefit for you is learning from your students mistakes.
3. A benefit of the class is learning from each others teaching scenarios.
A benefit for me (the trainee) is to be able to understand what is expected and required and to carry out the task confidently, competently, efficiently and consistently.
A benefit for you (the trainer) is that you are confident in tasks being done competently and consistently.
A benefit for the class (the others) is that they are empowered to work as a team carry out their roles with confidence and purpose.
A benefit for me the trainee is the knowledege that I have come from not being able to peel the orange (which was the truth at some point) to having the confidence in my own skill, ability and proficiency that through PRR I can achieve something I could not previously do.
A benefit for you the trainer is seeing the outcome and subsequent satisfaction of the trainee achieve an outcome through PRR
A benefit for the class is the exhilaration in the knowledge that anyone who PRR and by default had the dedication (otherwise they would have given up) can achieve.
I have just experienced the above in a motivational weekend where after PRR, motivation, drive and persistance I was able to put my hand through and split a 1” piece of pine wood! something I would previously have said was impossible!
1. A benefit for me (the trainee) is to be aware of whats being asked, and do it
2. A benefit for you (the trainer) is people have faith in your order and objective
3. A benefit for the class (the others) is motivation from everyone else becoming involved
1. A benefit for me (the trainee) is …
Personal development
2. A benefit for you (the trainer) is …
You will get the orange peeled!! And be able to see how diferent people go about achieveing it
3. A benefit for the class (the others) is …
They will be able to see how diferent people go about achieveing it and gain trust in me that the job will get done.
1. A benefit for me is that practice, rehearsal and repetition will enable me to perform the task consistently regardless of the “noise around me”
2. A benefit for you, is that I you the trainees will perform the task and behave in a consistent manner. There are times when it is appropriate to discuss and debate better ways of doing things and there are times when you have just have to react and “peel the orange” without question.
3. A benefit for the class is the confidence that others will perform the task and operate in a consistent manner regardless of the situation
1. A benefit for me (the trainee) is … I get the opportunity to try something and build competency, because “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.” (Teddy Roosevelt 1910)
2. A benefit for you (the trainer) is … that if those who you train have the belief in you to peel the Orange then you have built a strong enough relationship with them to empower them to perform and learn.
3. A benefit for the class (the others) is … Guaranteed participation of the group is constructive and supportive towards everyone’s learning and the end goal.