Thoughts on the Importance of Training

Some of our members are currently engaged in an intensive two-day training program on office software, and talking with them about it has gotten me thinking about the importance of training.  For many workers - especially trades people and artisans of various sorts - mastery of their tools is integral to the quality and efficiency of their work.  A good carpenter knows the quality of his saws, which type of saw to use on varying kinds of wood, how to sharpen the different blades, how to hold the tool just so to get the best cut.  Mastering the tools of their trade is of paramount importance in mastering their craft and being efficient in their work.

Many, if not most, of us work in offices.  The media with which we work is information.  This is true whether we work in a small non-profit, a lawyers office, the whitehouse, or a used car dealership.  Information is our stock and trade.  Instead of using hammers and saws to shape and craft wood, we use software, technology, and language to shape, craft, and communicate information.  The information may be in the form of numbers and budgets, proposals, emails, presentations, notes - the forms are endless, but all of it comes down to information.  Whenever we sit down in front of our computers at work we're dipping our hands into a sea of information, taking in the parts that are useful to our task, and using the  tools available to us to shape that information into something new.  Software and computers often seem like prosaic tools in comparison to the sharp blade of a cross-cut saw or the soft curves of a planer, but when used properly the power that they give us is immense.  Knowledge and information are power.  Our ability to access information and communicate knowledge is the measure how well we've mastered our craft.

The tools with which we shape and communicate information in todays world are software, technology, and language.  Language is a discipline in it's own right, and training in this discipline is beyond the scope of our collective.  We work in technology.  What we've seen, over and over again, in office after office, is that people often have only a cursory knowledge of the tools they use.  It often happens that people learn the minimum that they need to know to successfully type a document, send an email, enter numbers into a spreadsheet - and then stop learning.  They are often frustrated by the perceived limits of the software they use.  They become frustrated easily when the software they're using doesn't do what they want or expect, and they learn to work around the things they don't understand.  For technology professionals, watching people work in this way is like a carpenter watching someone bang in a nail with the wrong end of a screwdriver. 

This general indifference to the tools of the information trade is not really surprising.  Computers are a relatively new component of the workplace, and they can be intimidating.  There are numerous applications to learn for different purposes, and there is much that happens within the computer that is beyond the control of the average user.  It is very easy to learn just enough to get by and leave it at that.

The trainings that we offer are designed to challenge this attitude.  We do this not only by providing the information and training that you need to use the tools we provide more efficiently, but also by trying to create a shift in the way people think about their computers and their software.  Most people don't think about them at all, yet they spend the majority of their working hours sitting in front of a computer, using software.  We believe that most people will be happier in their work if they do more than just get by with these tools, if they have some sense of ownership and empowerment.  There is no reason not to master the tools of the trade to the extent that you are able, and to take pride in that mastery.