I’m a big fan of BBC TV’s ‘The Apprentice’. Although not everyone’s cup of tea, Lord Sugar is hugely charismatic and really does appear to have a passion for developing raw business talent. During the last series one of the contestants, James Hill, proclaimed that there was “no such thing as bad profit”. Which brings me onto the subject of this blog.
I currently have a small number of clients that I work with directly. They tell me what the learning outcomes and business improvements required are and I will produce and deliver a measurable training solution. So far, so simple; however these business relationships are finite and although I try to make sure I’m the first on their list when they are thinking about training and development of people there will naturally be periods of inactivity and that’s when I need to be ‘doing other stuff’.
‘Other stuff’ in my world is delivering training on behalf of another business that has won the work from a client and will, from time to time, require associate partners to work for them when their capability is stretched. The golden rules are to respect that the client is not yours and to represent the company you are working for with the utmost professionalism (the same as if the client was your own). Secondly, you must accept that the material that you are asked to deliver is not yours, therefore regardless of your personal opinion about how it could be enhanced, improved or changed you must respect the fact that it isn’t yours and you need to deliver what has been asked.
Which leads to my current dilemma. I have been asked to complete some work as an associate therefore I spent some time studying the material I have to deliver in detail. The upshot is I’m not comfortable. I’m not comfortable with the quality of the material and I’m not comfortable with the depth of knowledge required of the brand and it’s strategic direction because I don’t currently have it.
So there’s my dilemma: Is there such thing as bad profit? I could simply deliver the training on a wing and a prayer and take payment, knowing that I’ve produced work that is way, way below my personal, professional and ethical standards. Or, I could politely decline the business leaving me with my integrity intact but a reduced cash-flow. It’s also important to acknowledge my business is new; can I afford to turn down work so early into its existence?
My conclusion is that I’ve written to the company that I’ll be working for asking for some in-depth ‘T3’ (Train the Trainer) time before I’m happy to commit. I’ll let you know what the outcome is. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you would do in this situation?