{"id":1263,"date":"2017-03-29T17:15:35","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T00:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b-spoke.net\/?page_id=1263"},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:25:12","slug":"2-its-training-or-leadership","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/binneys-laws\/2-its-training-or-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Binney’s Second Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cody pulled me aside, shocked that his manager had written him up for being late. Again. <\/em><\/h3>\n

I asked him to walk me through the start of his shift: He described clocking in at 9:30, going to Laundry and waiting for a clean uniform, grabbing coffee while reviewing the departmental bulletin board for \u201cnews\u201d, and signing out his keys from Security, all before relieving his colleague.<\/em><\/h3>\n

I asked him what time he was scheduled. \u201c9:30.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

What time had he started? \u201cI told you,\u201d he replied, \u201c9:30.\u201d <\/em><\/h3>\n

Actually, I reminded him, that\u2019s the time that he walked into the building.<\/em><\/h3>\n

What time did he arrive at his post? \u201cI don\u2019t know \u2013 why does it matter?\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

To assure that Cody would be on time for his future shift, and knew that \u201cscheduled time\u201d meant \u201cbe-in-uniform-at-your-post time\u201d, Cody was scheduled for Training.<\/em><\/h3>\n

After several grueling rounds of interviews with an organizational development firm, I made what I thought was a fateful mistake \u2013 I cited Binney\u2019s Second Law. It was during \u201cCareer Day\u201d, whereby executives made grown-ups (such as myself) go through show-and-tell hijinks. And I glibly cited it as such, that is, as \u201cBinney\u2019s Second Law\u201d \u2013 when the \u201cChief Innovation Officer\u201d leaned back his rugby-battered frame, rubbed his bald spot in disbelief and snapped off his affected eyeglasses with an, \u201cPardon<\/em> me?\u201d<\/p>\n

A Man of Excuses would cut and run at this point. (And, to be fair, my confidence had taken a head start and was warming up the Jeep.) But, no. Binney\u2019s Law is a law<\/u>, goddammit, it isn\u2019t a \u201ctheory\u201d or a \u201cfeeling\u201d or even a catchphrase or buzzword. It. Is. Law.<\/p>\n

At another hotel, I had a large and diverse Bell Staff (that is, those guys that haul your suitcase up and down from your room). There were three bellmen named \u2013I am not making this up \u2013 Faraz, Farhad, and Farzad. (Faraz and Farzad were cousins; Farhad\u2019s younger brother, a near-lookalike, was also on the staff). OK, so maybe it wasn\u2019t as \u201cdiverse\u201d as I thought.<\/em><\/h3>\n

One day I was waiting with some guests in the Lobby to get on the Up elevator; when the doors opened, Farzad was already on board, in the back with a bellcart.<\/em><\/h3>\n

We made eye contact, I said \u201cGood afternoon\u201d to him, and he just mumbled something and stared at his shoes. Later, I pulled him aside and reminded him that we strive to \u201cGreet All Guests\u201d, so it would have been appropriate for him to say something like, \u201cGood afternoon everyone\u201d as they boarded the elevator. At the very least, he should at least smile. I reminded him that we had covered that in, like, a trillion training sessions.<\/em><\/h3>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t feel like smiling,\u201d he said. <\/em><\/h3>\n

I was taken aback \u2013 I was truly unprepared for that line of reasoning. I couldn\u2019t even begin to imagine what \u201cfeeling like smiling\u201d had to do with anything \u2013 what if I didn\u2019t \u201cfeel like\u201d being professional to my staff? \u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

We discussed the training he\u2019d attended around \u201cProject a Positive Image\u201d and \u201cGreet All Guests\u201d. I reminded him that our guests paid a lot of money to stay in our hotel, and part of the appeal was how we<\/u> would make them<\/u> feel. It was not that our individual feelings were unimportant, but as professionals we put our feelings aside when we were in the presence of our guests.<\/em><\/h3>\n

\u201cYeah, I just don\u2019t feel like it.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

Clearly, someone needs to go to Training.<\/p>\n

Right?<\/p>\n

Years later, and miles and cultures far removed from luxury hotels, Jay, my Plant Manager, complained often about how poorly his people were doing. \u201cDo they know what they are supposed to do?\u201d I would ask.<\/em><\/h3>\n

Of course, he\u2019d say. But when I walked through the factory, I would be bombarded with questions: Which carton should this use if it\u2019s not specced? What gauge wire do we use for the carton stapler? What am I supposed to do when there isn\u2019t enough to start the next order? Which job gets run next?<\/em><\/h3>\n

If I confronted Jay, he would lament the fact that they just weren\u2019t trained. But trained in what, I wasn\u2019t sure \u2013 How to read a Bill of Materials for nonexistent or missing information? What \u201ctraining\u201d covers fabric shortages and product scheduling gaps?<\/em><\/h3>\n

Binney\u2019s Second Law doesn\u2019t have a single, blinding provenance \u2013 no standing on a loading dock lamenting a lack of process, no on-air explosion of frustration with recalcitrant staff. It built up over many interactions – coming off the elevator with Farzad, wandering around the carton sealers with Jay, and more. But I doubled down during that job interview, and stood by it.<\/p>\n

Every Problem Is Either<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A Training<\/em> Problem or<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A Leadership<\/em> Problem<\/strong><\/h4>\n

After taking the training\/consulting job, I was lucky enough to witness hundreds of organizations blame their problems on people. Thus, all problems are \u201cpeople problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, more often than not, when something goes wrong, they will send someone (back) to Training – if they do anything about it at all. Sometimes that\u2019s appropriate, but most of the time it\u2019s a waste of time.<\/p>\n

As time marches on, and we replace human interaction with apps, it has become difficult to remember when \u201cservice\u201d was important \u2013 or even what \u201cgood service\u201d actually is. These days, \u201cNo problem\u201d is an accepted answer to \u201cThank you\u201d. (The correct response is, \u201cYou\u2019re welcome\u201d. You\u2019re welcome for that.) Service skills have all but disappeared, and why they were ever important is but a foggy memory.<\/p>\n

Still, one opportunity to differentiate an organization in the marketplace is its service ethic. When I was starting out, we knew our business was suffering because we were not delivering on the service side. Our calculus was thus:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Our customers think we suck<\/li>\n
  2. Customers value good service<\/li>\n
  3. Therefore, our service sucks<\/li>\n
  4. We know our service sucks but we don\u2019t do anything about it<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is the crucial bit:<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Therefore, we must not know<\/u> what \u201cgood service\u201d is, and<\/li>\n
    2. Therefore, we need to be trained what \u201cgood service\u201d is<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Those two \u201ccrucial\u201d bullets “e” and “f” represent a significant leap in logic. The fundamental belief here is that people fail because they lack knowledge. (In a fit of Aaron Sorkin-esque naivet\u00e9, Don \u00a0the General Manager \"\"once suggested replacing the entire employee handbook with a wallet card that read simply, \u201cDo the Right Thing.\u201d I suggested that the flip side should have an addendum: \u201cDo Things Right.\u201d That was as far as it got.)<\/p>\n

      It\u2019s actually an optimistic mindset: If only people knew<\/em>, they would succeed.<\/em><\/p>\n

      So we did what any right-minded managers would: We built a world-class training program.<\/p>\n

      Once they were trained, they would know what to do, then delight our guests; revenue would skyrocket, we would all become wealthy and happy, and the parks would overflow with chocolate rivers and butterscotch flowers.<\/p>\n

      \u201cAggressive Hospitality\u201d training featured subject matter experts, good food, was well-loved by many of the staff, was held in Spanish and at 3AM to meet the needs of a diverse (and round-the-clock) staff, and was featured in Hospitality World<\/em> magazine (which was in fact a real thing).<\/p>\n

      And it turned out, our customers still thought we sucked.<\/p>\n

      Was more training the answer? (Hint: No.)<\/p>\n

      \u201cService\u201d \u2013 like most businesses \u2013 at its core is simple: You greet your customer, you determine their need, you provide it for them; all with a positive, professional attitude.<\/p>\n

      The basics of good service \u2013 greeting customers, being friendly \u2013 should come somewhat naturally.<\/p>\n

      Balancing multiple customers \u2013 that is, how to greet the one at the back of the line without diluting your attention to the one at the front \u2013 does require training. How to gracefully answer an incessantly ringing phone while maintaining conversation with an existing customer is not a natural maneuver, and an ideal way to build that skill is role-playing in, yes, a training environment.<\/p>\n

      But most \u201ctraining\u201d focused on reminding staffers of the need to do what they already knew how to do. In other words, expectation setting<\/em>. That\u2019s not a trainer\u2019s job, that\u2019s leadership\u2019s role.<\/p>\n

      If those skills aren\u2019t part of an employee\u2019s natural abilities, that\u2019s a bad hire. Training won\u2019t likely fix that. That was a leadership mistake.<\/p>\n

      Training works when there is a skill, technique, or procedure that needs to be put into play and the people that need to do it lack the skills, experience, or knowledge to pull it off. The \u201chow\u201d.<\/p>\n

      Knowing the When, the Why, the How Much \u2013 that\u2019s a blend of Training and Leadership. (The first time it\u2019s Training, after that\u2026. Don\u2019t look at them, look at yourself.)<\/p>\n

      The point here isn\u2019t to bash Training. It\u2019s just not a panacea.<\/p>\n

      An operator that does not know how to clear a jam on a carton sealer needs to be trained. But an operator who does not know why it is important to ensure proper sealing, what the repercussions are downstream for not enough (or too much) glue, that requires leadership.<\/p>\n

      If it remains easier for an employee to ignore an issue than to address it, no amount of training will make him or her a better problem solver. Leadership needs to create an environment that flips that calculus.<\/p>\n

      When we respond to that by sending employees to training, it is really just managerial laziness. (Actually, the bigger failures are when we either shrug our shoulders and put up with it, or we show them the door). That is a cop-out that shifts all the responsibility from us to them.<\/p>\n

      \"\"We can design environments that prevent problems in the first place. Instead of training employees how to juggle calls and face-to-face customers, create a system where the phone doesn\u2019t ring on the floor. Instead of making a machine operator a better mechanic, optimize materials and streamline process flows to avoid bottlenecks and breakdowns.<\/p>\n

      Training does no good unless someone says to an employee, \u201cWe expect you to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Whenever I dissect an organization\u2019s performance problems, I interview staff and ask, \u201cHas this expectation been set?\u201d followed by \u201cHas this expectation been communicated to you?\u201d I always feel stupid asking this question \u2013 the thought that managers have not decided what they want, and have not told their staff, is beyond my comprehension.<\/p>\n

      Yet these questions routinely hover in the 55 to 65 percent range \u2013 of \u201cNo\u201d.<\/p>\n

      Someone needs to say, \u201cCody. We expect you to be here on time,\u201d or \u201cFarzad, it never hurts to smile,\u201d or \u201cLight-gauge wire will eventually get stuck on the palletizer.\u201d Delivering this message is the most basic work of management. To ensure that the information sticks, employees should understand the consequences of their actions.<\/p>\n

      If an employee does not know what to do or how to do it, that\u2019s a problem. And it can be fixed with training. Everything else, every other problem \u2013 that\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

      And that\u2019s why it\u2019s a law.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Cody pulled me aside, shocked that his manager had written him up for being late. Again. I asked him to walk me through the start of his shift: He described clocking in at 9:30, going to Laundry and waiting for … Continue reading Binney’s Second Law<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2224,"parent":1223,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[16,32,41,46,83],"class_list":["post-1263","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-binneys-laws","tag-execution","tag-implementation","tag-leadership","tag-training"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1263"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2479,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1263\/revisions\/2479"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirdactmedia.com\/b-spoke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}