A Little History

Before I began writing training videos, I was an organizational trainer at Universal Orlando Resort. I was technically identified as a "Service Coach," but really that was a fancy title for trainer. Theme Parks tend to do that with every possible title. Instead of employees, we had Team Members (note the capitalization). Instead of customers, we had Guests. There was "backstage" and "onstage" and "please pardon our dust while we create more movie magic" signs. You get the point.

I worked at Universal Orlando for quite some time. I began working there as a trainer and Team Leader at the Jaws Attraction in 2000 and moved on to the Human Resources department in 2003. There, I conducted orientations and safety training, helped coach on-the-job trainers, did some performance consulting for Food & Beverage and Merchandise managers, wrote a few training programs on upselling, conflict resolution, and a bunch of other things that are blurring together right now.

Basically, I touched every part of the organization. And that's saying a lot, because Theme Parks are like mini cities. They have just about every possible position there is: Construction, Engineering, Government Relations, Human Resources, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Health Services, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Retail, Accounting, Finance, Maintenance, Creative, Information Technology, Safety, Valet & Parking, Security, Guest Services, Call Centers- it's a big world, with a lot of different needs. I got to work alongside some incredible trainers who taught me a lot about facilitation, needs assessment, and basically making a positive impact in the workplace through learning and development.

So, now that I'm writing business training films- I feel like I have a pretty solid foundation to work from. I got to see managers and employees in all sorts of situations making mistakes AND doing the right thing. I learned how to make Caesar Salads, put out fires (literal and figurative), increase sales, improve customer service, and more than anything- I learned how to have fun at work without hurting anyone or losing productivity.

I got to see a lot of training films during that time. And I honestly have to say that a lot of them weren't really worth my time- or the time of the people watching them. They were basically filler. They were something we put on when we were tired of talking about a topic and needed a ten minute break to run to the restroom or just grasp a moment alone in the back of the classroom without having to full-on facilitate. Those are the kind of videos that make everyone sleepy. Those are the kind of videos that are worthless in my opinion. It's time better spend on break or back in the workplace doing "real work."

This blog is going to be a record of my personal response to some of the videos that are out there.

Quick Disclaimer: I don't like a lot of training videos. I'm also a pretty harsh critic when I don't like something. So, if you're reading this and you disagree with me- perhaps you really like a video that I HATE- feel free to drop a comment on my blog about why I'm wrong. Same thing goes for if I LOVE a video and you can't stand it. This is MY blog, but I'm not so self absorbed that I can't take a little debate about what's good/bad in the training world.

With that in mind- enjoy! You might actually learn something about these videos from me, OR you might just get a laugh. Either way, welcome to my blog.