Product Training for the Technical Expert

Preface

Nothing influences a human being to learn like another human being. Instructor‐led training is not an old‐fashioned approach only used by technology latecomers. As wonderful as the Internet is and as powerful as computers are, even the most advanced companies turn to their experts when it matters most. What they want is for the specialist to provide something beyond mere content. The human influence and perspective that a skilled practitioner provides can be more powerful than any interactive software or fancy delivery mechanism. It can also be dangerous. If you are that expert, you must deliver training that changes what people do with your product. Changing what they know about it is not enough.

Like me, you probably did not begin your career with the goal of becoming an instructor. My technical vocation began on the night shift, cleaning silicon wafers in a wet chemical lab. At the time, I thought my new profession was the end of a previous one—teaching. I was wrong. As my technology skills increased, so did my love for learning and helping others to learn. I have been blessed to be able to combine these two skills into a lifelong passion of educating adults in skills that will make them more successful in their careers.

My journey has led me to several companies where I have experienced everything, from being a one‐man training department to leading global training programs for large corporations. Like you, I understand the unspoken pressure to be a technical expert ...