Pretzels in Germany

I want to go back to that fun brewery I went to last night- where lots of happy people sat around consuming large amounts of beer in oversized mugs.   It all started at 8:30 in the morning, here is Boebligan when they brought in some giant pretzels with coffee and juice for breakfast. What’s this? No bagels? Donuts? Muffins? Not in Germany, pretzels are their morning delicacy and they are proud of it. Especially when they put butter inside them 

This week I get to deliver the training program that I’ve been developing for the past 6-7 months. It’s designed for support engineers and technicians who must increase their customer soft skills. The content focuses on phone and email skills throughout the resolution process. The way it works is that I deliver it for a few days and then watch them deliver it for a few days. It is always gratifying teaching soft skills to technical engineers who haven’t had as much exposure to it. I get to watch lightbulbs go off and listen to team members articulate their new skills. 

Agilent has flown a dozen managers from all over Europe to learn how to deliver this program. This group is eager, motivated, extremely professional and human. It is so refreshing being around people who have been with their companies for a minimum of 7 years and counting. It’s like the old days of employment when you knew you were in there for the long haul and didn’t look to quit or react over every wrong turn your organization took.

Things feel orderly being here- they come together and work.  I strive for a new level of excellence and professionalism- maybe the pretzels are working!