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Have you ever considered how many people can’t program a VCR?

 

Can every member of your family program one?

Can any member of your family program one?

TV manufacturers understand this. We recently purchased a TV which included two remote controls--a TV only and a TV/VCR. We all know the competitive nature of consumer product sales--manufacturers aren’t doing this because they enjoy adding to the cost of sales. They understand their buyers.

Realistically programming a VCR is not that complex--you just need time to practice, the mindset and confidence to work through the steps, knowledge of the features plus ability to translate them to your specific needs, and rudimentary programming skills.

You also need a selection (planning) process and time to perform the actual programming.

The key is remembering why you bought the VCR and having the will to make it work.

Does simply having a new whiz bang in your home automatically translate into use?

What looked easy in the store can be frustrating and mind-numbing! How do you get it working--finding a 13 year old to teach you doesn’t count! Assuming you can remember why you bought it in the first place, you have to work through the steps and probably fail several times to get it operating. The same learning process probably extends to each feature--getting easier and more fun after each successful mastery.

Why don’t we expect the same thing at work?

We often spend months deciding on new technology--comparing what can be done--seeing working demonstrations.

Our experience with disappointing technology results is that a consultant or factory rep comes in--does an explanation, provides some hands on time and leaves the manual.

The presentation is slick--and used for everyone--not your organization’s--nor your customers’ needs.

What happens is the equipment slowly gets working on a basic level, but the real reason you bought it-- sophisticated change features--never seem to translate into the level of performance or throughput you expected.

3. Define what business objectives you wish to achieve. Involve the user with what you want to accomplish and listen to their concerns. You don’t have a system if it is not used or followed. You have the equivalent of a child playing with a box at Christmas because he or she can’t understand or is not interested in the toy. It’s interesting to me that manufacturing organizations are doing everything they can to reduce or eliminate product warehouses. Whereas, often within those same organizations simultaneously, computing technology is busily creating "data warehouses." Going from objectives to functions to process and then procedures looks easy on paper. Translating it to people is the hard part

4. Information doesn’t mean insight. Are you spending money and resources on information people don’t use? If so, what’s the point! Critical information can help you adjust before it’s too late—it has to be used on a timely basis. A number doesn’t have to be "right." If it’s gathered and used the same way and people question it, patterns and associations form—individuals gain insight that has the potential to be applied in know how. Until people interactively use technology, you’ve got the VCR Syndrome.

6. Could innovation other than technology achieve the same results for no capital investment? Our experience involving people with innovation and continuous improvement results in dramatic improvements that last year after year.

Many factors go into a successful implementation and education strategy: ownership, time to learn, mindsets of thinking versus doing, understanding of feature benefits and basic programming and/or user extraction skills.

Don’t suffer the VCR syndrome. Our proven track record can help you avoid poor resource allocation choices. Start investing your resources in performance, not just potential. Don’t tolerate underused "VCRs" in your workplace!