Chief Learning Officer - May 2006 - (Page 20)

CO0506.qxd 4/18/06 4:17 PM Page 20 strategies Fast-Food Learning? Fred Harburg A s learning Last month, my daughter had a school assign- ing what the bottom line really is. Too often we ment to review the movie, Supersize Me. The forget to ask what will make a difference in professionals, w e film is Morgan Spurlock's documentary about his business performance and instead settle for h a v e a responsibility self-imposed sentence to eat nothing but mere efficiency of throughput. If Spurlock asks McDonald's for 30 days. The movie details us to reconsider what matters most when we t o do more than Spurlock's personal experience on this diet in lit- eat, I am asking you to consider what matters m e r e l y serve up erally nauseating detail: gaining 25 pounds in 30 when we learn. After all, learning is, or should w h a t the customers days, damaging his liver and skyrocketing his be, a high-return investment. Epiphanies do cholesterol. Not a very appetizing film, but cer- not occur on command. Insight and innova- a r e buying at tainly provocative. tion are not measured by a timer. Peter Drucker g r e a t e r speed reminded us that effectiveness is the real goal In the movie Spurlock opines on the culture, for organizational learning, not mere efficiency. and less cost. politics and economics that encourage eating on the run. In the fast-food industry, speed is As learning professionals, we have a responsi- the ultimate benchmark for success. If restau- bility to do more than merely serve up what the rants can reduce through time it will mean customers are buying at greater speed and less literally millions of dollars of business. Seventy cost. We have a responsibility to influence our percent of fast-food revenue is earned at the organizations to create more nuanced, substan- drive-up window. Though the average transac- tive, viable ways to track how well we support tion time is down to a mere three minutes, it's our learners and our business. been stuck at that level for five years. So In contrast to the fast-food approach is the researchers are working on stochastic models to 1989 International Slow Food Movement predict what customers will order as they whose Manifesto follows, We are enslaved by approach the window to reduce that time even speed and have all succumbed to the same more. It reminds me of a cartoon that shows insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our the surprised face of a woman as she opens the habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and door for a pizza delivery man: That's amazing! forces us to eat fast foods ... May suitable she says. I was just thinking about ordering a doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, pizza. The inscription on the back of the long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the delivery man's shirt reads, Mystic Pizza http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - May 2006

Editor's Note
Table of Contents
Letters to the Editor
Take Five
Selling Up, Selling Down
Imperatives
Strategies
Guest Editorial
Learning Solutions
Robbins-Gioia University
Environment
Deloitte & Touche USA
CLO Profile
Productivity
Washington Gas
Case Study
Human Capital
Health Care Service Corp.
Tactics
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
Business Intelligence
In Conclusion
Advertiser's Index
Editorial Resources

Chief Learning Officer - May 2006

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