Shockingly Predictable Performance

Otis is young and immature, and it would be foolish to expect him to act like an adult. However, his obnoxious booming voice has become an annoyance to our neighbors. As a result, my wife and I have had to resort to some desperate measures-up to and including "shock therapy."

We love almost everything about Otis, our 10-month-old Golden Retriever, but his constant barking is testing our patience. To that end, we purchased a top-quality shock collar designed to send a Pavlovian-style signal to a dog's throat. When a dog barks when wearing the collar, the ensuing shock sends a message that this particular behavior has very unpleasant effects. This training method has been endorsed by most of the top breeders and dog trainers in the country, and many people have successfully trained their dogs using such collars. But thus far the collar hasn't eliminated Otis's bad habit.

Why?

In a word, consistency. Or, more accurately stated, inconsistency.

For the training collar to be effective, Otis has to feel the mild shock every time he barks. Not 80% of the time. Not even 96.5% of the time. He has to feel it every single time he barks. If we forget to put it on him before he goes outside, or if we put the collar on him incorrectly, or if the battery on the device is not sufficiently charged, we permit Otis to bark without consequence. And every time the bark-shock association is breeched, Otis's learning goes out the window, and he starts back at Barking Control 101.

Good Behavior Is No Accident
A similar phenomenon occurs when we try to teach Otis to perform a trick. For example, we've taught him to fetch the morning paper by heaping praise on him and giving him a treat each day he completes this assignment as instructed. But if we get lazy and stop rewarding him for it, pretty soon we'll end up fetching our own paper.

Follow an ill-mannered or out-of-control dog home, and you're likely to meet an irresponsible owner. Unacceptable behavior is usually the result of poor training, just as desirable behavior is usually the result of good training. And here's the interesting thing--young employees and Golden Retrievers share a lot in common in this regard.

Somewhere in the great unknown, there is a graveyard chock-full of new training initiatives and breakthrough performance-improvement ideas that looked great on paper and died out on the battlefield (a.k.a. the workplace). Most often, the culprit was not the idea itself, but rather the inconsistency of its application.

Bringing the Smiley Face Brand to Life
After you swipe your card at the checkout of the new Wal-Mart in my neighborhood, the pen-pad terminal asks, "Was your cashier friendly?" This innovative approach certainly seems to leverage technology to improve customers' overall service experience at the nation's largest retailer. A simple click of the pen empowers shoppers to comment on the service they've received and gives management an effective tool for bringing the legendary "smiley face" brand to life. Right?

Unfortunately, like Otis's shock collar, the pen-pad device has yet to yield the desired result. Most of the cashiers at this particular Wal-Mart are light years from friendly (some actually appear as if they are going out of their way to be unfriendly), so it's hard to imagine many customers checking the "yes" response on their terminal. Quite obviously, Wal-Mart's management is not training cashiers to provide friendly service, and by ignoring customer feedback they're also ignoring the impact that lack of training has on customers.

Let me clarify that I applaud Wal-Mart for asking customers to rate their cashiers. However, if the company is really serious about improving their service culture, they need to analyze the data they collect and use it to recognize and praise those cashiers who receive the highest percentage of "yes" responses and reward them with better pay, better perks, and better shifts. Conversely, those cashiers who routinely rate as unfriendly should be dealt with accordingly, and if their scores don't improve, they should be told to find new jobs where friendly isn't part of the job description.

Theory Into Action
Inconsistency impedes training, learning, and growth, regardless whether the subject in question is a puppy or a cashier. Until the desired behavior is so deeply embedded into the psyche of the intended subject that it becomes second nature, the end result will always be capricious and arbitrary. And even when technology provides a useful tool, a lasting impact can be achieved only through a clear statement of expectations, followed by consistent reinforcement of those expectations, consistent redress of problems, and consistent recognition of successes.

Re-evaluate the consistency of your training.

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Whys Cracks

Can you spell "I-L-I-D-E-R-A-T-E"?: After a food fight in the cafeteria at Markham Intermediate School on Staten Island, N.Y., the dean sent a letter to parents to announce the entire eighth grade class would be punished for the mess. Dean Michael Levy declared the fight in the "caferteria" to be unexcecpable" and that parents must sign the letter or their children will be excluded from "all senior activates" such as the prom. One student noted that "even some of the teachers were laughing" at the dean's poor spelling and grammar. Principal Emma Della Rocca said the dean didn't have her permission to send the letter, and she countermanded the collective punishment. (Staten Island Advance)
Parading your ignorance in front of parents is one thing. But screw up this bad in front of your students and you're in for a very long year, or ten.

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