I, WE, YOU

Training Creates More Time

Ray, Foreman for an electrical contractor in Battle Ground, WA, told Session 9B of Turbo's Leadership Development Lab (LDL):

"Midway through our wiring contract on a new retail store, my plate was full to overflowing. There were more to-do items being added to my To-Be-Done list every day. Material orders, layouts, and making plans for the following day were at the top of the list. Another item at the top of my list was getting the slack wire done, so we could hang lights and stay on schedule. We have a slack wire pole that extends to 30' reach all the way to the ceiling of the building from the ground. This can be a very efficient method of applying the lighting wires needed. Bryce, my helper and a fourth-year apprentice, was tidying up his most recent task, so I asked him if he could get going on the installation of the slack wire. I was a little surprised when he said 'I don't know how, I've never done that.' When I heard him say "I didn't know how, a LIGHT BULB WENT OFF in my head. I had just been through Session 7 of Turbo's Leadership Development Lab on how to apply Turbo's 3-Step On-the-Job Training Process. I remembered, I, WE, YOU (it just kinda stuck). I called Bryce over, I showed him while talking him through the steps on how to load, lift and drill the wire in. Then I gave him the pole (emptied) and talked him through the same steps while he physically drilled a slack wire in. Then, I told him that I was now his first-year, green apprentice and asked him to run through the process, teaching me how to attach overhead slack wire. He did a thorough job of talking through the process as he made the installation. After he had finished a hundred or so slack wires, Bryce was a pro and could completely teach a class how to hang overhead slack wire. This freed me up to complete the long list of other things I needed to do.

The lesson I learned from this experience is if I take the time to teach just one of my guys how to do an additional job, I get more time to do the higher priority tasks that only I can do.

The action I call you to take is to teach someone a new skill, how to do a new job the other person has not yet learned how to do.

The benefit you will gain is the time to do more of the higher priority tasks, and the creation of an empowered team who continues to beat the bid."