BUT I LIKE IT THIS WAY!!!!:

Right after I was promoted to District Trainer, I was flown to the home office to help rewrite the company’s training manual.

Six District Trainers, one conference room, a brand-new head of training, and a whiteboard full of processes we were rebuilding step by step.

Honestly? It was a great few days.

Then we hit a hot-button issue.

The room split. Two very different ways to handle the same operational problem.
Solid arguments on both sides. And instead of slowing down to test assumptions or look at outcomes… the loudest voice won.

That version went into the manual.
I’ve seen this pattern more times than I’d like since then, especially in operations.

Volume beats clarity.
Confidence beats correctness.
And the best idea doesn’t always win.

Here’s the lesson that stuck with me:

Good operations aren’t built by who talks the loudest. They’re built by who listens, pressure-tests, and designs for reality on site.

If your systems depend on strong personalities to work, they won’t scale.
If your processes only survive in a conference room, they’ll fail in the field.

The goal isn’t to win the room.

The goal is to build something that works when you’re not in it.