"How Many 8ths are in an Inch?"

Getting Back in A.C.T.ion When Your New Hire is Just Not Cutting It!!

This actually happened at a framing company I know! So all of the names have been changed to protect the innocently incompetent. The newbie was cutting dimensional lumber and passing the cut pieces up to the wood framing crew who wanted to be nailing it into place, but none of the cuts were right. When I say none that is not an exaggeration (I mean zero percent out of a lot!) …Most of them were not even close.



When one of the owners went over to the saw to sleuth out the problem, the newbie asked a very brave question. “How many 8ths are in an inch?”



Now I will give you that it takes less skill to read a metric measuring tape than a one in feet and inches, but if we are building a house out of 8 foot 2 by 4s and 4 foot by 8 foot pieces of plywood, reading that side of your tape measure is going to be mission critical!



To know which skills to teach and train someone in, you need to know which skills they have and at which level. When this owner found out that newbie could not read a measuring tape, he turned his attention to teaching.

Most construction types are hands on or visual learners,

a very few learn well enough when you tell them. This owner rightly identified this as an FFT1 problem, which means this worker was trying to do something for the First Time2. And the only way to get comfortable with fractions is to use them regularly.



So he patiently3 showed how the tape works, how to read it correctly, and get the right cut every time. He talked the newbie through it and let him try. He pulled the tape out to 78 and 7/8th inches and showed the different markings for half an inch, quarters of inches, and and the elusive 8th markings. Newbie counted them and could confidently say there were 8 8ths in every inch, and demonstrated his new understanding by correctly cutting 78 and 7/8th inch piece. Oh, the sweet joy of getting it right (FINALLY!)

Satisfied with a job well done our intrepid owner left the new lumber cutter with a list of pieces to cut and climbed back up to his work area.



Only to find out that all the cuts were still wrong.

As a business owner who is already doing too many things, I know how frustrating, disappointing and PAINFUL it is when your people are failing at what you thought was too obvious to teach!



The would be employee had memorized 78 and 7/8th of an inch and could make that cut as many times as necessary without understanding how to apply those same skills to cutting something 24 and a half inches long.



He even asked if there were 12 16ths in an inch.

Clever reader, I know you know this

How many 16ths are in an inch? 16!

How many quarters? 4!

… how many 8ths?
In the end this particular hire did not last.

He just was not cutting it...

(now you understand where that expression comes from!)

When we are hiring people to work with their hands it is so easy to ignore all of the other skills someone needs to be an effective teammate. This story is my constant reminder that we can teach any amount of practical and technical skills more easily that we can train for attitude of openness to learning, or the ability to understand and apply what is being taught.

In a world where we are already trying to do too many things in too many places, all at once,

Give yourself the gift of working with people who understand the secret success formula!

Let

Attitude

Communication &

Teamwork

Put your team back in A.C.T.ion!!

You do not have to do this alone!

Terry Barkman works as a coach and consultant with

Leaders to Develop

Teams who work together

so that your organization can sustainably

grow without burning you out!

He is Thought Leader, Speaker, Author, and

connoisseur of run on sentences. His upcoming book

Terry-Fied goes deeper into how to get relational leadership working

for your team!

Photo Credit Anita Alberto