Today was the first day of a five day training programme. I don’t think it was I thought it was going to be; not that it’s necessarily a bad thing. The main thrust of the course is on two two-dayers. This one day opening was the ice-breakery bit. I’m not saying it was a complete waste of time but it was a bit of a not-completely-efficient-of-time. That’s being maybe a bit harsh. One should judge at the end eh?

The guy running the course was an external management training type person. I haven’t decided what I think  of him yet. My default position on professional training people is a bit dubious. Really, you’re a trainer? That’s your full time thing? I mean, yeah, occasional days training help you do stuff better maybe but it’s the stuff that gets done bette that is the important bit. But all you do it is the training? What about the stuff? Do you never do the stuff?

Like I say, I should withold judgement. Some elements I will judge, though.

We got given these sheets with lots of clouds on them. If something grabbed us as a particularly brilliant morsel from the mouth of the trainer we were meant to put it in one of the clouds. In effect, then, it was a glorified piece of paper. But a piece of paper where all notes would have to be kept within the constrictions of a small cloud. The other thing about this that was a bit annoying was that sometimes he told us that we HAD to put something on there. “This is one for the cloud..” If we have to write it down then why isn’t just part of the pre-printed handouts?

Because I am so rebellious I didn’t do it – the first few times he said something like “get this down, this is one for the clouds: a team is only as strong as its weakest link etc” – I just decided against writing down a cliche that I already got the theory behind already. But by the last one I couldn’t hold out any longer and I wrote it down like everyone else – even though it was just as banal as the ones I had eschewed.