Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Company

So far, I’ve talked about two major problems with software training. First, most classes focus on parts of the software the average business person will never see. Second, most trainers speak in their own special language. Now it’s time for the third major problem. You probably don’t work for the Acme Company.

Those of us watched too many cartoons as a child instantly recall Wile E. Coyote. Wile was always buying various weapons of roadrunner destruction from the Acme Company. Now of course, Acme products always came up short and the Roadrunner lived another day. One would think that eventually he would change vendors. In any case, most of use grew up and forgot about Acme.

Until we opened a software training manual. For the first time in twenty, thirty or forty years, we learn about what Acme has been doing since leaving the roadrunner destruction market. It’s become the generic example for all software. Unfortunately, for most trainers, people don’t really care about Acme. They care about their own company.

I’ve trained many people over the years. Generally, it’s custom training for a particular company. The times I have given generic classes, Acme has always been an issue. In one room, you have people from a distributor, a hospital, and a restaurant chain. They all have different concerns. For example, distributor Jane has convoluted commissions issues while hospital Eric has never and will never pay a commission. You do your best to keep everyone happy. But as so often happens, when you make everyone happy, no one’s really satisfied.

Next Time: What to do?

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