cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by music2work2
“Thus, work, learning, and citizenship in the twenty-first century demand that we all know how to think—to reason, analyze, weigh evidence, problem-solve—and to communicate effectively.” Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap
The reality of our world is that not all of our students go to post-secondary. When I was a kid, I had always felt that not going to university would have been considered to be a failure, and admittedly, I felt a lot of that pressure coming from my teachers. As an educator now, I know that many of our students can be greatly successful without going to university. You want to put them in a position where they always have choices, but I want to help our kids find things that they will love to do, as I know they will be happier and more likely to contribute to our world in positive ways. With that being said, many organizations are looking at what were once considered “low level jobs”, and how they can both increase purpose, while promoting critical thinking skills. Having workers that have abilities that go beyond the basic skills of the job, while also increasing job satisfaction and purpose, will ultimately lead to better business.
Tony Wagner, for example, discusses how Toyota, one of the more successful car companies in the world, really pushes all of their workers to be critical thinkers. John Seely Brown is quoted in The Global Achievement Gap, discussing specifically the mindset of Toyota:
“Every single person on the line in Toyota has a tremendous sense of dignity. Why? Because if you look carefully at the Toyota Production System, it is almost identical to what gamers do. They are constantly experimenting, trying things out. And they are doing it in a very methodical way…They are organized around five-person team, and every team is a problem-solving, creative group. They are constantly figuring out if they can do something better. They are what I might call a Respectful Organization. Workers there are willing to earn respect, and to deliver on it. And in return they want respect.” John Seely Brown
Yet many companies may not be understanding this practice of respect, promoting trust and giving their own staff opportunities to solve problems will actually increase productivity and ultimately profits.
For example, I will share a personal story. This summer, when I moved, I had asked Bell Satellite for their free moving services to ensure I had TV when I was moved into the new house. As the installer had arrived at the house, he had told me about a computer error that was causing some issues, which would result in not having services for a few weeks. I quickly called Bell to resolve the situation, yet the problem was not solved quickly in return. The sales representative had told me that they had found the error, yet because of a computer failure, it could not be updated, so I would not have service for several days. Even though the representative knew it was the fault of the company, she did not have the authority to solve the problem on her own. After spending an hour on the phone (55 of those minutes on hold), I finally decided to hang up and cancel service. When I immediately called the “customer retention department” (which is where they send you if you are about to cancel service and you get a human WAY faster than any other department), he asked why I was cancelling. I told him about the problem that I had and he told me he could resolve it immediately as his department had full authority to do whatever they wanted. Not only did he immediately fix the problem, he also threw in some free service to ensure that I was as happy as possible.
To say I was frustrated would be a huge understatement. The sad thing about this was that this problem could have been easily solved in the first few minutes of the initial call, yet the company did not work with it’s employees to build a culture of trust and promote this critical thinking. The result was an unhappy customer, loss of employee time, while also losing money through the added “perks” given to me. Does this seem profitable at all? Not only was I unhappy, but I am now writing publicy about it as well.
#BellCanadaFail
Wagner discusses how companies are promoting this thinking culture, such as the Ritz Carlton, which gives every employee $2000 of discretionary money to solve the guest’s problems without referring a manager. Happy customers lead to happy referrals, lead to higher profits.
This is not only about the customers though. Can you imagine how employees at Ritz Carlton would feel much more valued than those at Bell Canada? The ability and trust that is given by employers to solve problems not only promotes a better model of business, it also gives each employee purpose in serving the vision of the company.
Companies eventually will understand that doing business similar to Toyota and Ritz Carlton, is simply better and more profitable. They are going to need employees that can solve problems on their own. As companies evolve into this model, it is imperative that we develop all of our students to be able to solve problems and think critically no matter what job they have.
Better thinkers lead to a better world.
