Those of us who have children know that saying it doesn’t do diddly and saying it twice doesn’t do a heck of a lot more.
People need simple rules and a few good examples.
A Few Good Rules
The best rules are simple (e.g., “I” before “E,” except after “C.”, “Thirty days have September, April, June and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except for February which has 28.”)
These rules work well, because they really work, are simple to use, and are easy to remember.
Really Work: Rules have to work, not just occasionally, but most of the time.
Simple to Use: The rules go with, not against the grain. Turning in the direction of the skid really works, but it is difficult to do, because our natural reaction when we are skidding on ice is to straighten our wheels.
Easy to Remember: Good rules are short. Sometimes that means separating one big rule into a few smaller ones. Great rules are mnemonic and rhyme, such as KISS: Keep It Short and Simple.
Use Negative as well as Positive Examples to make Rules Come Alive
Most of us learn by our mistakes, so why not learn from the mistakes of others? Negative examples aren’t examples that complain or display a bad attitude, but examples of rules applied incorrectly. They include activities such as learning to identify how to drive well by evaluating someone driving poorly, or recognizing a customer centric attitude by viewing scenarios of associates displaying a “pass-the-buck,” love-en-and-leave-em” method of interacting with customers.
Good rules and a couple of clear examples will take your much further than a bucket of repetition.
Give it a shot! You might get lucky.
So what do “you” think?
I would enjoy hearing from you. Please contact me using the “Contact Us” tab on my website.
