What can you learn from Afterburner Success Partners?
I enjoy quotes and sayings as you will come to see over time. A few of the little sayings I’ve incorporated into Afterburner Success Partners are “We take you where you are”, “The world according to Dave”, “I like stories”, and “We are all about choices.”
Pick a learning method best for you
Let’s talk about that last one for just a minute. At Afterburner Success Partners, we (that’s I really, there is only me at the moment) provide numerous methods for you to learn how to achieve your dreams. So you can live your best life. Let me review those methods for you:
The first is to ensure you are signed up to receive these emails every week. Over time, you will learn what you need to convert your dreams into actionable steps to achieve them. I hope you find the weekly emails informative and entertaining. And while this makes me happy the fact of the matter is that this is the least desirable way to go about it. The reason for that is that it takes such a long time and there are so many other things going on during that time that even if you complete the plan the experience is not the same simply because of space and other limitations of a blog post. It can be done, and with a cost of free, it’s one way to get it done.
The second method is to purchase the course in an online format. You can complete this course on any device you have, whether a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. And while you can complete the course on your ride to work every day, to be effective you will need to do some outside homework and research. This method may be the best for busy people who are on the go and do not want to commit to a specific time and date to take the course virtually or in person.
Thirdly you can sign up for a virtual class. The beauty of the virtual class is that there is live interaction with the instructor (that’s me) and other attendees and over four weekly courses of about 3 hours each, you will mostly get the full learning experience. I’ve taught the course using this method more than any other way.
Then there is the option to take the class live, in person. This class is offered to groups of people such as businesses, social groups, churches, or the like either at your facility or a facility that we can arrange together such as a hotel conference room. I will tell you this is the best experience for learning not only from your instructor but also from other participants in the class. Like the virtual class, ideally, the course is spread out over 4 weeks to allow for homework and time to ponder and refine decisions made in class. Due to logistics or other concerns, it is possible to consolidate this time and I understand there may be a need or desire to do that.
The course is available in book form. This may be best for some people and it certainly is a very low-cost way to develop your lifetime goals plan.
Finally, I am available to consult with individuals or groups in a one-on-one or a one-to-many format either in person, via Zoom, or telephone.
I’ve entitled this post “What can you learn from Afterburner Success Partners?” If you have been alert up to this point in this post, you will notice you have already learned a couple of things about me. First is that I like sayings and use them a lot. Anytime one can interject little things like sayings, it makes the learning experience more entertaining and memorable, and hopefully, students remember more when they are done. The second thing you learned is that the course designed to help you achieve your dreams is available in several formats. Choose the one that works best for you as they all are quite effective and very inexpensive.
There is another thing I want to teach you about learning today and I have to say, it may not be that popular with some folks. That does not make it untrue, it just means it may be unpopular. Throughout my adult life, I have been engaged in and around education and environments where learning was taking place. I spent over 7 years attending college in the evenings and on weekends to ultimately obtain a master’s degree. As a business and quality leader, I worked closely with corporate training departments training employees to either perform or stay proficient at performing important safety-related tasks. While it often did include stand-up instructor-led training, most of this training was in other various forms such as online, computer-based, or on-the-job training. A lot of other informal training occurs in the work world such as shadowing, apprenticeships, and mentoring. As a volunteer and instructor in more recent years, I’ve been around a lot of people who needed to learn something new or otherwise improve their skills.
Learning on the fly
In the present, as I go about my day, I often find myself looking at my device to research a topic I am reading about. Because I read a lot and have a natural curiosity about things, I often stop, pull out my device, and do a little research. I think doing this is an absolutely valuable tool and helps me fulfill a daily goal I have which is to learn one new thing every day. While I am not a gamer and only use social media in a limited manner, I would be less than honest to believe that there is learning occurring when folks are engaged in these activities. My question always is “Is this the absolutely best use of time to achieve your more important goals in life?”
Here is what I’ve learned about learning: Some methods are more effective than others. Of course, given I like stories I have a story to illustrate my point. As a quality leader, my job was to ensure that our processes were effective and efficient. Effective meant that tasks were completed according to approved procedures and those procedures were compliant with all rules and regulations. We further evaluated if those procedures were adequate to ensure that, if properly followed, would result in an error-free outcome. Moving on, being efficient generally meant that tasks could be performed in a time that supported the larger operation and was cost-effective. I had a boss once who told me if everything worked perfectly, they (meaning the company) would not need any of us. While I enjoyed his New York City wit, what he said was true.
As a quality leader, this is where I came in. There were a lot of opportunities for improvement! A leader, in fact, all responsible adult’s primary job is to solve problems. The bigger the problems you deal with and solve, the more valuable you become and the higher your pay and prestige. So, as a quality leader, I spent most of my day understanding and solving problems. If I was really doing my job right, we were a learning organization, learning from mistakes and making improvements so that they do not occur again.
A profound statement
That last paragraph contained a profound statement, and I want to pause for a moment to ensure you made note of it. What I said is that it is the primary responsibility of all adults to solve problems. Thinking of our own financial goals first, let’s break that down a bit. If a person is in a job that has few problems, the pay is commensurate with the fact there is not a lot of problem-solving, or thinking needed. As one rises in an organization, the problems increase along with the pay until the point that one is at the top of a large organization solving large, expensive problems. Better are leaders who can proactively anticipate problems, and as they occur, be able to confront them quickly and solve them quickly. At the top of the heap are leaders who can predict, that is anticipate, problems before they arrive and engineer problems out of the processes the business is involved in. Of course, leaders have teams of people who do this for them, it’s that the leader is the one directing the effort. So, if you want to earn a lot of money, that is be rewarded for your knowledge and efforts, learn how to solve problems. The hardest problems, as anyone who has ever been involved in leadership will tell you, are people problems. Technical problems? I’ll take those any day!
Before I get back to the story, I’d like to build on that last paragraph by adding one more thought. And, as you read this, you will accuse me of talking out of both sides of my mouth, so I’ll just lay that on the table right up front. I just said that if you want to improve your financial situation, then get into the business of solving problems. The more and bigger problems you solve, the more you will be paid. I also said, or implied, that solving problems and leading organizations results in high pay. While that may be true in business, it’s not always true in life. You see, I happen to believe the most important people in the world are, ironically, the ones who are often paid the least. Who are those people? To me, they are these people, in this order: Mothers, fathers, pastors, teachers. None of these people are normally paid a high salary, but their influence is so profound and so important that their jobs are more critical than any highly paid professional in business or life. You see, parents, pastors, and teachers are the ones who educate and shape the values and morals of the next generation, in addition to, of course, the generation still here with us. Their influence lasts not only a lifetime but an eternity. Parents, pastors, and teachers solve problems every day, just like business leaders, it’s part of their job descriptions. Just think for a moment about the number and scope of problems encountered every day by a mother, especially a mother of several children likely operating alone, or a classroom teacher, also teaching by themselves. A business leader’s problems pale in comparison. Considering the impact on society, these folks’ jobs are far more important than any business leader being paid millions of dollars a year, yet their reward often comes in the form of a sense of a job well done, a life positively impacted, an inner peace at night when they go to bed. If you want to talk about delayed gratification, consider the true impact of these folks’ work often comes many, many years later. Pause a minute and let these two paragraphs sink in.
OK, back to my story, after a rather lengthy tangent. One day we had a problem with a process and the leader of that process, the subject matter expert (SME) and I were discussing what went wrong. Didn’t we have annual training for this process? Surely everyone was taking that training. Why were we having problems? What we learned was that while the training was adequate from the standpoint of presenting the material, it was administered via computer, what we called CBT or computer-based training. You see, what I learned is that online or computer-based training (CBT), which is often used to replace stand-up instructor-led training, is typically not as effective as in-person training. Why is instructor-led training replaced by online or CBT? I think you know the answer, you eliminate the need for the instructor and thus reduce the cost. Training can also be administered or taken anywhere at any time. Hmmm, you say…In a similar vein, I also learned that we were failing on a particular recurrent instructor-led course due to the low frequency that the task was performed and the long period between training sessions. Well, wait a minute you say, how do you know this? Here’s how: For both processes, the initial training was instructor-led and the recurrent was online or CBT. What we did was immediately before the recurrent training, we tested the students to see if they were proficient. Suffering a high failure rate, we had our answer.
Well, what did we do? In one instance we chose to go back to instructor-led training and require the student to demonstrate proficiency in the task before getting approved. On the other, we increased the frequency from annually to every six months. Both proved to be effective solutions. In these cases, at least, we had become learning organizations. We analyzed our problems, developed solutions, implemented them, and then tested them for effectiveness. You can do the same thing in your own life. If you are not learning, you are cheating yourself and will not likely achieve your dreams. Be a person who is always learning!
Not just training but effective training
All that to say there is a difference between training and effective training. I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my goals for you is that by following the principles outlined in the course, you will become a lifelong learner. Will you have to give up some, of what we call, non-value-added activities to do so? Perhaps, even likely, you will. But let me tell you, the rewards for doing so are so very worth it.
As I wrap up, I go back to the original question. What can you learn from Afterburner Success Partners? Well, besides learning how to achieve your dreams and live your best life, I hope that you will learn about learning. If you are effective in both endeavors, your growth will be exponential!
What’s in it for Me
Knowing that being happy, successful, and having enough money are intangibles, you want a plan to ensure you have these things. Remember that hope is not a strategy! Learning about and achieving your dreams is what you really want. It’s what everyone wants but not everyone is willing to work toward it. It starts by learning about learning and doing the right things that are effective.
Call to Action
What can you learn from Afterburner Success Partners? Consider, as a preliminary, writing those things down in your notebook. You do have a place to take notes, don’t you? Then, sign up for the course that works best for you, that is most effective and efficient, so we can get that plan down on paper!
Recommended Resources
Purchase and read these two wonderful books. While we talk a lot about obtaining tangible things at Afterburner Success Partners, there are a lot of intangible things in life that are worth learning about too. These two books will give you a great start:
“All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum (Note 1)
“12 Rules for Life” by Jordan Peterson (Note 2)
Up Next
Review time!
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources
1. All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum: https://amzn.to/4dS49ii
2. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson: https://amzn.to/4094bzg