Trainer, aka Shrunk-on-Top, back for second of three, intensive weeks of training, on which our whole new quality of life and furniture programme is based. Not that I’ve put it exactly like that to her or she might feel a fraction daunted! Nevertheless, she is doing a grand job, with presentations to the line managers on the basic concepts of management and individual, in-depth sessions with our new customer service and sales staff. The sales staff had, of course, had a two-week induction and product-knowledge session with ex-head of sales but this is more focused on quality of personal performance. Fascinating to watch the reaction of everyone. Many feel initially threatened by training, especially the women or the newer male staff, one of whom likened it to being in a therapy session. The female employees – who were fine on product induction but are now gibbering wrecks after the performance training – make me wonder if I suffered from something similar, especially in the early days. There was always an underlying fear that I’d be exposed as a total fraud who knew nothing about business. Perhaps is all part and parcel of the female conviction of inadequacy when it comes to being bonafide business people.
