A while ago I was part of a committee for National ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) that evaluated what some of the chapters were doing based on Malcolm Baldridge criteria.  It was a great learning experience for me.  I had been on the committee for a few years and came up with the 6 criteria for evaluating the success of some of the specific programs.

  1. Did you ask?
  2. Did they tell?
  3. Did you listen?
  4. Did you implement?
  5. Did they like it?
  6. Did you evaluate?

The “they” refers to customers, clients, and even friends and family.  So often we think we know what people want and we are so quick to assume. If we truly take the time to really listen and ask the right questions it is amazing what we learn.

Saturday, I took my 11-year-old grandson to JPL’s open house (great experience).  Watching him interact and listening to him ask questions about what he saw I learned about how he thinks, and his values as well as dreams.

Are you asking the questions and are you listening to the answers?  I would enjoy hearing what you learned.