Blog

Welcome to the next part in the series of home repair and organizational learning - for the foreword, please visit here.

The initial plan was to put up drywall on all four walls.  Once the plaster came down, though, and we saw the exposed brick beneath we changed our minds and decided to keep the look of the brick. 

Unfortunately the brick was badly deteriorated, brittle and would flake off with the slightest touch.  I remembered that my neighbor was a contractor and that they had exposed brick in their foyer.  I went over and asked about what he had used.

Not only did he show me the product, he also offered the use of a special sprayer.  He then came over, showed me how to apply the first coat and left me enough product for four more coats.  Just by knowing who to ask I was able to solve my problem - and I didn’t spend a dime.

This situation is similar to what happens in many organizations daily:

• The plan changed mid-stream (from drywall to exposed brick)
• I relied on my social network to solve my problem - I went to someone I knew that I thought would be able to help me

Organizations can enhance these exchanges that naturally occur.  By providing corporate yellow pages (a list people’s areas of expertise) and by providing venues and resources for employees to share information, organizations can optimize the informal exchanges that most people turn to for their job-related information.

I was recently informed of an organization whose purpose is bringing technology to non-profits - TechSoup.  They offer a wide array of services and hardware as well as membership to a community for those that want to stay connected.

I was particularly impressed that they are educating non-profits on the newly emerging world of Web 2.0 tools.  With wikis at $10/year and advice on utilizing more of the Web 2.0 offerings, TechSoup is a great resource for non-profits looking to advance to the newest technologies without spending much.

Kudos to the TechSoup team for their contribution to the advancement of non-profits.

Jefferson County, Colorado has over 1,000 miles of recreational trails within it.  This is largely due to Jefferson County Open Space which exists through a minimal tax slotted to “fund planning, acquisition and maintenance of lands and waters for the enjoyment of current and future generations.”  

Today I spent the afternoon with a crew going through training to learn how to lead youth groups on one of the many trail maintenance trips that are required to keep Jefferson County  beautiful and accessible.  I was just there as an observer and I witnessed an approach that was simple and very effective.  These future crew leaders received a blend of the following:

• Face-to-face classroom instruction
• Pneumonic devices (i.e. CUSS for tools: Carrying, Using, Storing, Safety)
• A field trip
• Hands on experience
• Informal learning 

A ‘Master Instructor’ was our guide - both in the classroom as well as the trails.  The group was very diverse in terms of age and experience.  Members of the group were encouraged to speak up on their areas of expertise and many did so, pointing out features and techniques for the rest of us.  We watched a golf ball being rolled to predict the path that water will take - a very memorable tip that will certainly be adopted by some of my classmates.  It was suggested by a group member and demonstrated immediately by our guide. 

It was refreshing to see the impact that adherance to the basics can have when combined with an intrinsic motivation to learn.  Many organizations try to make training too complicated.  Give people the incentive to do something and then let them acquire the skills to do it.  Kudos to the trails teams at Jefferson County Open Space for their approach - they take those that want to help preserve CO and then show them a way to do it.

If you’re local and would like to help out, please contact Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado.

A couple of months ago I began work on a home project and as I have progressed I keep noticing the similarities between my behaviors on this job and how people behave in organizations.  Successive posts will be centered around specific examples.  But first, some background…

I live in an old home in Denver.  When searching for the ideal home-office location, I had my eye on a utility room in the basement that was being used for nothing more than storage of random things that were poorly organized.  I am far from an expert in home remodeling but I figured that with some paint, putty and sweat I could have my home-office in a long weekend.

Enter my cousin.  A Home Depot employee and formerly with a renovation firm, he enticed me to look a little beyond my constrained vision of what this room could become.  By disassembling one stud wall, removing some plaster and putting up some drywall, I could add more square feet and a finished touch…all for about two long weekends of work, he estimated. 

It’s taking more than two long weekends.  The journey, as well as many learnings along the way, will be chronicled here.  Not knowing the number of knowledge nuggets that would be contained in such an innocent undertaking, I didn’t shoot nearly enough photos in the beginning.  I’ve got some.  They’re not the best but they should provide a little glimpse into the start of this great adventure.

The first one is a wall covered in plaster.  It’s tough to tell but the plaster is in really bad shape - the brick behind it was badly deteriorated so much of the plaster had a hollow sound when tapped:

Here you can see the footer that surrounds 3/4 of the room at a height of about 18″ and the lovely red paint someone had chosen to highlight it:

  Here is the only window in the room.  You can see the plaster coming up to the frame:

Welcome to my launch into the blogosphere.  Here I look forward to discussing how people learn and develop in organizations. 

The field of learning and development is more and more being viewed as an investment rather than compliance but there’s still a long way to go.  As organizations witness the impact that a well executed knowledge strategy can have, though, I feel that the gap will steadily become narrower. 

I hope to stimulate, learn and entertain.