First observe and then implement

On page 245, Tapscott tells us that one of Robert Stephens' rules for running Geek Squad successfully is, "first observe and then implement." The rule is in reference to Stephens' discovery that his employees were actually using a video game to stay connected instead of a wiki he'd created for employee collaboration. Stephens learned that he needs to observe how his employees are approaching a challenge before he tries to fix it.

At work today, I was talking with a colleague about a Q&A document that we're putting together for a project. It currently has 37 questions that cover 12 pages of questions and answers around the topic of document fees for retirement plans. We both concluded that no one is going to be able to absorb all of the information we assembled. It's a lot of information.

The frustrating thing about it is that Q&As rarely receive any attention. The subject matter experts love them, but that's partially because they help create them. However, for the intended audience, they don't really care for them because they're not that useful when you actually need to find an answer - ironic I know. So what people do when they have a question is they ask their co-worker who also hasn't read the Q&A. Now they go to the SME who reminds that their question is answered in the Q&A and sends them both the link again.

All of this made me think about Stephens rule. We're trying to impose upon the learner a way of learning that they don't want. We need to observe how they search for answers when they have questions and put the information in a medium that meets their needs. WHile I'll probably have a hard time talking people out of creating Q&As, I need to make it a goal of mine to learn how people want to use the document so that it can be sculpted in a way that's useful. I feel there's a way we can meet in the middle to make them useful again.

I'll keep you posted.