C'Mon 'N Ride It (The Train)


I have a two year old child.  Because of this, over the past few months, I have been up to my eye balls in all things wheeled.  All the kid wants to do is play with and read about cars, airplanes, tractors, motorcycles, four-wheelers, tanks, jeeps, tow-trucks, backhoes, skid-steer loaders, front end loaders, bulldozers, excavators, helicopters, space shuttles, rockets, etc., etc., etc.   

He seems, however, to show a particular proclivity towards trains.  His favorite song on the really quite creepy nursery rhyme show "Little Baby Bum" is the "Color Train Song."  His favorite TV Shows - insomuch as he has favorite TV shows - are  Thomas and Friends, Chuggington, and Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood.  He has this really annoying little train whistle that he incessantly blows all day and night, like some sort of demented conductor.  The kid loves trains.  

Trains, it seems, hold a particular enchantment within our greater cultural milieu.  Think of all the fantastic songs, movies, books, etc. that involve trains:

  1. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash

  2. Murder on the Orient Express - book/film

  3. Love Train - The O'Jays

  4. Polar Express

  5. Runaway Train - Soul Asylum

  6. Girl on The Train - book/film

  7. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne

  8. The Darjeeling Limited - Wes Anderson film

  9. Peace Train - Cat Stevens

  10. Back to the Future III

  11. C'Mon 'N Ride It (The Train) - Quad City DJs

  12. Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight & the Pips

  13. Casey Jones - The Grateful Dead

  14. Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees

  15. Train in the Distance - Paul Simon

  16. The City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie

  17. Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel

There are probably a million more.  

And because people seem to love trains so much, it's strange to me that people, generally speaking, dislike Training so much!!!  See what I did there??  Went from trains to training.  Its my belief that people generally do like training, particularly when it is interesting, informative and empowering, like ours is... Perhaps, then, the reason that people grumble is due to our "Training and Development Manager's" heavy-handed methods of roll-out and ensuring compliance.   

You see, it’s our belief that a well trained staff is a happy staff because, for the most part, they are better able to do their jobs and help our clients. Nobody wants to get a call from a client and stammer on for 27 minutes while wondering how to transfer the call to the one person in the company who actually knows the answer to the client’s question.

I suggest finding a train themed playlist on your favorite streaming app, cranking the tunes, and taking the time to make sure your team is trained.  If that doesn't work, you could always try Little Baby Bum. 

Training is essential!