Chief Learning Officer - April 2008 - (Page 4) EDITOR’S LETTER If It Ain’t Broke, Make It Better E ver heard the advice, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” This folksy wisdom is thought to have originated in the United States somewhere around the mid-1900s, with Texans often taking the credit. But the idea behind this expression probably dates further back to ancient times, at least according to Lucian Dorneanu, science editor at Softpedia.com, who posted a hilarious historical record of this maxim’s longranging effects on civilization this past year. Dorneanu’s piece was titled “What Is the Link Between a Horse’s Arse and Space Shuttles?” His hypothesis goes something like this: Romans were the first to introduce standardization in all aspects of their civilization, including military vehicles. For steering and combat agility, Imperial Roman war chariots were all made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two warhorses. The Roman Empire also built the first long distance roads throughout Europe for their legions of chariots. As the chariots started forming ruts in these roads, wagons and carriages had to be built to conform to this standard spacing or else risk wheel damage. Many years later, the first tramways and trolleys were built at street level, sharing the roads (and ruts) with traffic. Since the builders used the same jigs and tools they used for building wagons, these newer forms of transportation maintained the same wheel spacing as their predecessors. When it came time to build the railroads, this de facto gauge (the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up the track) seemed to be a satisfactory choice, so it became the international standard. Now, fast forward. U.S. space shuttles rely on two auxiliary booster rockets for enough energy to beat Earth’s gravity. The engineers wanted to make them a bit wider to carry a bigger fuel payload. But the tanks had to be shipped to the launch site by train, including through a tunnel in the mountains that was just slightly wider than the track. And how wide is that track? It is about the width of two horses’ behinds. So the technical specifications for the space shuttles had to be produced to conform to the original designs of Imperial Rome’s war chariots. Dorneanu’s account is as good an anecdote as I’ve ever heard about the perils of a “let well enough alone” philosophy. Obviously, attachment to maintaining the status quo isn’t always the wisest course of action — in transportation or business. A myopic view simply won’t work when paradigms shift in a fast-changing world. The story’s also as good a reason as I’ve ever heard to adopt a new mantra: “If it ain’t broke, make it better.” That’s exactly what we strive to do continuously at Chief Learning Officer magazine. Even though it’s the leading voice within the workforce learning and development community, we recognize the importance of staying relevant and consistently delivering value. We see our trademark print product as the engine driving a diverse “portfolio” of valuable and interactive information “platforms.” So, what you’re holding in your hand is the latest iteration of our legacy product, sporting a fresh look, a bolder cover and, most important, a direct connection to enhanced content online. The redesign coincides with the launch of several exciting new developments on the Web site, CLOmedia. com. Now, the pages of the magazine provide a pathway to deeper digital content, more real-time interaction and a richer conversation. And for subscribers to our digital edition, it translates to instant access to more resources at the click of a mouse. You also can listen to CLO-Radio, our new online podcast service. For example, we have posted a podcast interview with Ken Dutkiewicz, director of global learning and development for Steelcase University, who also was quoted in the “Best Methods for Product-Based Training” feature in this issue. The site also features the new CLO-Network, where learning leaders can get together to discuss the latest trends and issues in workforce development. Check in regularly to read about important developments in the learning space and contribute to the conversation by creating a profile, posting comments on articles and participating in blogs and online discussions. We promise to continue to take advantage of every opportunity to connect and communicate with the learning community and to do whatever we can to make every CLO platform — in print, in person and online — increasingly compelling, engaging, diverse and valuable. I hope you approve of the changes we’ve made. If you see something that is broke — please let me know, so we can fix it. If you like what you see, or don’t see what you like, I want to hear about that, too. Meanwhile, we’ll just continue doing what we’re doing to make it better. Norm Kamikow Editor in Chief norm@clomedia.com 4 Chief Learning Officer • April 2008 • www.clomedia.com http://www.softpedia.com http://www.clomedia.com
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