I've been on the road a lot this year, gratefully, delivering lots of different courses to lots of different folks.
It's an honor and privilege to be able to share what I know to help others. It's also how I stay sharp on each topic as well as learn from other instructors.
In between deliveries, it's easy to move past the last course and focus on whatever project comes next.
** I've learned to not move so fast!
Besides reflecting and making any adjustments based on the course feedback, the second most indispensible activity is to capture the metrics of the completed course.
- By keeping data on each course delivery, I'm able to record and track my own activity, obviously.
- More importantly though, I'm able to easily share with current and future clients or associates my exact experience so they can make an informed choice on whether we're a good fit.
I'm confident that having this level of accuracy has helped me advance my instructor career on more than one occasion.
Some of the course metrics that I capture and track consist of:
- Date(s) of delivery
- Name of Course
- Client and Location
- Number of Students
- Number of Hours
- Many, many other categories that are meaningful to me (private or public sector, kind of student, # of exercises I conducted, several categories of topics taught, etc.)
I have formulas that auto-tally the total students, hours, # of students from law enforcement, fire, etc., my specific role, the cumulative experience on a given topic, etc.
- If my computer were on fire, it's one of the first documents I would save because it's the one place where my entire instructor experience is represented! (snapshot below of the bottom portion of my workbook)
- After each course, I simply add the relevant metrics and the formulas take care of themselves!
[For instance, you can see my current instructional stats for hours, students, and exercises HERE (opens in a new tab). Also, I charged a fee for 82% of the deliveries and 28% of the deliveries were for a private sector audience.]
I've made available a sanitized and easy to customize version of my workbook for you. Click here to get your copy and start tracking your hard work.
- You've likely heard the inevitable chest-thumping talk from your peers who spout (without facts to support it): "I've probably trained 100's of thousands of people!".
- Wouldn't you rather enjoy knowing that you have proof of your hard work without having to resort to bravado?
It took me a full weekend to create and input the workbook with formulas, data and formatting. It now takes me less than a minute each week to add my recent metrics and save until next time.
ALSO Included at no additional charge:
- Separate tab with formulas for tracking the training that YOU receive.
- Separate tab to with formulas to track volunteer time and expense.
- Separate tab with formulas to track awards that you receive.
- Separate tab with formulas that track credentials that you earn.
For less than the price of a game of putt-putt with your family, you can take advantage of my time investment and use that time to improving your craft instead.
What's your time worth?