Ask The Right Question

Billy Beane
No matter how successful you are, change is always good. There can never be a status quo. When you have no money, you can't afford long term solutions, only short term solutions. You have to always be upgrading. Otherwise you're #@!

This week's Blog takes inspiration from one of my favourite movies: Moneyball

Based on the book by Michael Lewis, Moneyball stars Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), General Manager of the Oakland A's baseball team, has an epiphany.

Baseball's conventional wisdom is all wrong.

Faced with a tight budget (just like many RTOs), Beane must reinvent his team (both on and off the field) by outsmarting the richer baseball clubs.

Joining forces with Ivy League graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), Beane prepares to challenge old-school traditions. He recruits bargain-bin players whom the scouts have labelled as flawed, but have game-winning potential.

So please enjoy this week's blog as I weave the business insights which can be implemented into any RTO from the abundance of inspiring and relevant quotes from this wonderful movie.

Billy Beane
You're talking like this is business as usual. It's not. You're not even looking at the problem. Nope, that's not the right question. What's the problem? We've got to think differently.

This movie has so many parallels with running an RTO:

• Limited funds
• Changing rules
• Players not wanting to follow the team plays and expectations
• Whingeing about the results but applying the same old negative thinking to every problem

Now I know that may seem a bit harsh, but for many RTOs, they are using old ways thinking to solve their problem of long term financial viability and relevance to the buyer.

So are you looking at the problems facing you and your RTO simply by solving (aka band-aiding) what's on the surface?

OR

Are you digging deep to uncover what's really happening and solving the real problem?

And you can only do this by asking the right questions.

What new thinking can you apply to your RTO so it gets out of the 'business as usual' mode?

What new income streams can you bring into your RTO by eg provide refresher training to your existing students/client base – which may or may not be accredited training?

What problems are facing your students/clients which you could solve in eg a 2 hour training webinar?

Remember: If nothing changes, nothing changes.

And here's my final thought:

The moral of this story is 'making the best of what you've got when you don't have much'.

So are you making the best of what you have – money, resources, people – and producing an amazing RTO business, despite all the odds stacked against you?

OR

Are you living in either fantasy land or denial, and just hoping things will get better, with no effort, investment or change on your part?

It's up to you!

Best of luck.

Dedicated to your RTO success

Tamara