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 …
A benefit for me (the trainee) is to learn to hold my scepticism until after I’ve gone through the experience. ;-D.
A benefit for you (the trainer) is you get to see if your method works with someone who knows there’s not enough wealth in all the world to entice me into the military.
A benefit for the class (the others) is getting to see if a fear-goaded colleague can learn to peel oranges quibble-free and emerge unscathed.
A benefit for me(the trainee) is that the do it will full dedication and commitment. The donot look side ways to some how quite this work assigned.
A benefit for you(the trainer) is that I can tell my self to work more focusly and give orders to myself and make myself diciplined and manageable.
A benefit for the class (the others) is the know that they have to follow orders otherwise they will be in problem.
1. A benefit for me is to spend less time on inconsequential items to my leadership of others and realise when it is beneficial to just ‘peel the orange’
2. A benefit for you is a group of trainees who will follow digital training more willingly, rather than having to see the ‘end’ of the process all the time or question why things are happening.
3. A benefit for the class is efficient completion of exercises. This will enhance our team.
A benefit for me is that I will learn how to give the orange my whole attention while peeling it, instead of asking myself all those other questions – during that time, at least.
A benefit for you, Michael, is that you should get some answers with common parameters that allow you to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of your course.
A benefit for the others in the class is that by all agreeing to peel the orange, we create a space of trust which allows everyone to peel in peace, never worrying if they have been tricked or are not doing it correctly.
1. A benefit for me (the trainee) is … developing the skill to act on command and achieve rather than just thinking about it.
2. A benefit for you (the trainer) is … learning and developing your own skills by observing and helping others achieve their skills.
2. A benefit for the class (the others) is … being around like-minded people working towards a common goal.
1. A benefit for me is the finely honed skills required to carry out an order no matter how crazy it may be.
2. A benefit for you is a trainee who is willing to carry out commands and someone who has also learnt how to give commands.
3. A benefit for the class is the skills that they can learn from watching someone willing carry out the whims of their commanding officer without question.. this is a great motivator for team building.
A benefit for me is that it leaves me time to focus on fully enjoy the orange.
A benefit for you is the capability to enhance many skills quickly.
A benefit for the class is that they witness authenticity from others in their method of peeliing and increased awareness as a result.
1. A benefit for me (trainee) is a new train of thought which will enhance my leadership abilities.
2. A benefit for you (the trainer) is less time wasted in completing the task as instructions will need to be clear and precise.
2. A benefit for the class (the others) is this method should enhance and streamline team processes.
1. A benefit for me as a trainee is to be able to execute a command or procedure without second guessing or fore thought.
2. A benefit for me as a trainer, to be able to lead by example. Being able to effectively and efficiently carry out an instruction without any fuss or bother is an important leadership skill.
3. A benefit for the class, is being able to proceed through the drill quickly and efficiently due to thorough, efficient instruction.
1. Benefit for me is to possibly learn something new or look at things from diferent viewpoints.
2. Teaching is often reflecting upon your own knowledge, and in that process, you learn something new or look at things from yet different viewpoints.
3. Predictably so, others may learn something new or learn to look at things from different viewpoint.
Are we all on the same journey?