THE

100

PRINCIPLES OF HIRING ACCURACY

PRINCIPLE

#53
NO, YOU CAN'T TRAIN ANYONE TO BE ANYTHING
The unique characteristics of a person or job play a pivotal role in who succeeds or fails in the job, regardless of the training provided. This is why you can't 'train right' without some base level of 'hiring right.'

NO, YOU CAN'T TRAIN ANYONE TO BE ANYTHING

Principle 52 was about the critical role #hiringaccuracy plays in whether your training efforts succeed or fail.

There are some who claim, "I can train anyone to be anything."

Unfortunately, this is false.

If you don't believe me, here's a question for you.

Would you be okay allowing your greatest enemy or competitor to make all hiring decisions on your behalf for the next 5 years?

If you can train anyone to be anything, why would you care?

Because deep down, you recognize that people have limiting constraints... and so do jobs...

Both sets of constraints prevent training from being the "be-all, end-all" that some believe it to be.

Let me explain.

1) PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT CONSTRAINTS

People have different capabilities when it comes to how they respond to training...

Sometimes it's about differences in desire/will or life circumstance.
Sometimes it's about differences in ability (IQ, EQ, or a host of other things).

These differences, even if small, can matter A LOT when it comes to who absorbs your training (and at what pace) and who doesn't - as well as who ultimately succeeds or fails.

2) JOBS HAVE DIFFERENT CONSTRAINTS TOO

Every job varies in its characteristics.

These differences also play a pivotal role in who succeeds or fails in a given role (regardless of the training provided).

One example is the level (and type) of performance that's required in a job.

You and I could probably be trained to be the best player on a children's basketball team.

I know dominating a bunch of school children isn't a flattering picture, but it speaks to the next point...

No amount of training would allow us to succeed in the NBA.

The level (and type) of performance required in the NBA is just too high for our natural ability (height, speed, athleticism, etc.).

There are countless other job constraints, which include:
-The difficulty of the training required
-The difficulty of the environment (pace, stress, etc.)
-The onboarding/ramp time allowable before one must perform
-The culture
-Etc.

You can't be successful in training without acknowledging the pivotal role the characteristics of the person or job also play in who ultimately succeeds or fails in a given job.

This is why you can't 'train right' without some base level of 'hiring right.'

Do you agree?