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The Pinnacle of our Industry Is Becoming an Instructor Trainer!

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GET IT DONE ON THE WAY TO DEMA…DO NOT MISS THE OPPORTUNITY!

Here is a golden opportunity to meet your personal goals in a very efficient manner. If you will be attending DEMA this November, make it a point to sign up for the ITW and simply arrive in Orlando a week early! Earn your ITW and you will find yourself roaming the DEMA floor with a whole new “swagger”!

Where: Dayo Scuba Orlando, FL www.DayoScuba.com
When: October 25-31, 2011

About the Program: The Instructor Trainer Workshop (ITW) conducted by the ITI Training Department is a combination of the SDI IT Staff Instructor and Instructor Trainer courses, as listed in current SDI Leadership Standards, Sections 11 and 12. In order to graduate from the ITW as an Instructor Trainer, authorized to conduct SDI Instructor Evaluation Courses (IEC), candidates must meet the prerequisites for the Instructor Trainer rating listed in current SDI Leadership Standards. Candidates who do not meet the prerequisites for the IT level, but who do meet those for IT Staff Instructor, may graduate from the program as an IT Staff Instructor and upgrade to the IT level at a later date without further training, subject to verification of meeting the missing prerequisites. Existing IT Staff Instructors may attend the program to upgrade to Instructor Trainer. Eligible candidates may also graduate as TDI/ERDI ITs.

For More Info: Contact the Training Department at SDI/TDI/ERDI or your area Representative TODAY!
Log In to your Pro Members site for the online application. https://www.tdisdi.com

Student Prerequisites: A CRUCIAL part of a complete risk management system!

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By Steve Lewis

The range and complexity of questions that one is asked as an Instructor never ceases to amaze, fascinate, and sometimes amuse. Being part of a group of extremely active agencies with very different course line-ups – from basic open water with SDI; cave, trimix and CCR with TDI; and full-on public safety diving with ERDI – the variety and scope of those questions is probably greater for instructors and instructor-trainers working for us thant for any other agency. And certainly, havingwith a curriculum that covers as much ground (or water) as ours does, it’ is not unusual for divers and instructors to have their sights set a long way off in the distance on something very different to regular sport diving, when they first make contact through one of our sport-diving programs.  I have been asked quite seriously by a candidate for SDI open-water certification what else he needs to do to “dive the Andrea Doria?”

Recently, during during the preliminary academic work with a small group attending an SDI Instructor Development Course (IDC), a , during what was budgeted to be a brief discussion on course prerequisites turned into,  a very common question triggered what became an in-depth explanation. I’d like to share the major points of what developed with you, because it pointed out both a misunderstanding about the real function of course prerequisites as well as a lack of understanding concerning the role of prerequisites in an overall risk management program; and the Pandora’s box of woe that ignoring prerequisites or fudging them, can open up..

Let’s start with the simplest building block of all: the definition of a prerequisite when used in an SDI, TDI, or ERDI course description. Prerequisite means a condition that is required BEFOREHAND. Now, this definition is unambiguous as written in SDI, TDI and ERDI standards, and there is no gray, fuzzy area open to interpretation. In order for a candidate – be they a Diver or Instructor Candidate – to BEGIN an SDI, TDI, or ERDI course, the prerequisites MUST be met. Freely translated, this means that before a student for ANY course run under the auspices of our family of agencies makes contact with a seat in a classroom, aor spot on a dive boat, or a corner of a pool deck, he or she must be able to show compliance with the prerequisite standards.

A prerequisite may require the student or participant to be a specific age (for example aged 18 for enrollment in an SDI open water diver course except JR Diver and Future Buddies); or it may state an assumption of a prerequisite fund of knowledge or experience in the student or participant participant, such as a specific number of logged dives and/or successful completion of a “feeder” training program. For example, an SDI divemaster MUST be: minimum age 18; hold minimum certification as an SDI Advanced Diver or equivalent; be a certified SDI Rescue Diver or equivalent; provide proof of current CPR, first aid and oxygen provider; AND provide proof of at least 40 logged dives.

The only possible area open to misinterpretation is where the words OR EQUIVALENT are used. In the case where a pre-existing standard of knowledge and skill is being sought, we could substitute the phrase “or corresponding certification from another recognized scuba training agency,” or words to that effect, because this is what is meant by or equivalent.

One other important note before we leave the definition of prerequisite and specifically the course standards that spell out prerequisites for a specific program, is the word “minimum” and the phrase: “at least.” These again are unambiguous.

 

For example, if a course requires proof of a minimum of 100 logged dives, of which 25 of which must be to depths in excess or 30 metres (100 feet), – part of the standards for enrolling in a TDI Trimix Program – then a candidate with 99 dives CANNOT join the class. So, aA candidate with more than 100 dives but only 24 logged dives deeper than 30 metres CANNOT join the class.

In a nutshell, what we mean by prerequisite is a precondition that is essential to meeting the entry requirements of a course… without exception.

 

Having defined what we mean by a prerequisite,  now let’s explore why we have them.

Again, in the simplest terms possible, they form a foundation for the whole of our curriculum, regardless of which of our agencies or which programs they apply to.  Prerequisites provide area particularly significant where in that they outline the progression from one program to the next. A good example is in the case wherewhere certification as a cavern diver is part of the requirement for getting into an intro to cave course.  Essentially, the experience and skills developed in the precursor course are built upon and refined in the one that follows.

ANow all this seems logical and reasonably easy to follow, but . However, according to some of the questions from my IDC candidates and confirmed by a quick check with ourour Training Department – the folks who process certifications – the logic seems to fall apart, at least in the minds of some ITs and instructor candidates, when it comes to prerequisites for leadership level courses; especially those for TDI.

If there is a problem, a systemic problem, it may exist with regard to instructors who are currently teaching technical programs and who want to progress “up the chain of command” so to speak.

The terms prerequisite, minimum, and at least do not change one iota from their meaning and use in entry-level diver courses to their application in technical leadership programs. If a course – let’s say a CCR instructor course – requires candidates have prerequisites that include certification as a TDI Advanced Nitrox Instructor, that course must be completed, paperwork processed, card created and new rating entered into TDI’s master database, before the CCR instructor class can start.

It is not “OK” nor sanctioned for a candidate to take part in a course,,  and fulfill the prerequisites at some later date, and then sort of post-date certification. The temptation to “fudge” prerequisites in this way are particularly strong for programs where ITs are thin on the ground, are visiting from a different location and are only “in town” for a short while, or are trying to fill a classroom to meet some other logistical criteria.

As tempting as this practice may appear, it contravenes standards, sets a really poor example for the Instructor Candidate, and is likely to be unfair to those Candidates since it’s exposingas it exposes them to an environment they may not be equipped to deal with. th… Iin other words, if the experience of a prerequisite course is required to develop the skills needed to pass a “higher” course, isn’t there a stronger than usual likelihood of them failing their course if they have not had the opportunity to practice those skills?

The major reasons for setting course prerequisites are to protect both Instructor and Students in a number of important ways. SDI, TDI and ERDI have been able to offer affordable and comprehensive insurance policies to our members since our group first opened its doors. Alongside that, we have a stellar track record of being able to protect our membership from undeserved personal liability and judgments in tandem to the insurance offered. These two professional services are predicated on the robustness of our published standards and the protocols we have developed during many years of growth, which include the widespread acceptance of diving practices outside the traditional sport limits.

Course prerequisites are part of the protocols that help to protect you and our whole community of professional instructors.  Following the guidelines for prerequisites for ALL course candidates must be part of our normal day-to-day business practices, and as much a part of our procedures as having waivers and medical forms signed.

There are no gray areas, and as I once explained to a bright-eyed open-water student with his heart set on diving the “Doria”,” there “ain’t no shortcuts.”

Steve Lewis is an experienced IT for SDI and TDI and is Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications for the International Training Group.

 

The value of learning when it comes time to teach

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It should come as no surprise to discover that someone who works for International Training is a strong supporter of education. I have a vested interest in, and therefore have a tendency to promote, Teaching to our professional membership and Learning to our associate members and the diving community at large.
Indirectly, I also push the concept of learning to dive to any member of the general public who shows the remotest interest in the “scuba adventure.” I am sure you do much the same in your everyday business dealings with staff and the folks who drop into your store. However, I would like to switch the focus, and in this month’s business tips, promote learning as one of the most effective methods to improve your standing as a teacher.
Many of you have a strong background as instructors; you have been guiding groups of enthusiastic, wide-eyed new divers through the process of learning to dive for years. You know the ropes, and can cite SDI or TDI or ERDI standards as well as Sean Harrison, our v-p of training! You know the business of diver education, and sit in the teacher’s chair out in front of the classroom (or the in-pool, in-water equivalent) on a weekly basis. Here at headquarters, we take some considerable pride in the fact that the core of our success is that the most creative, effective and professional instructors teach our programs.
So that is your pat on the back, now let’s consider how you work at maintaining your teaching edge. One question I would like you to ask yourself is when was the last time you sat on the other side of the teacher’s desk out there with the students? When did you last participate in a course?
In the world of corporate training, there is a general rule that professional instructors are required to take “professional development courses” annually. One large computer services company mandates a minimum of six days of training for its corporate instructors every year. One of the largest hotel management companies sends its executive team members on corporate training programs for at least a week every year. The people who deliver that training to the executive team have to participate in at least THREE weeks of professional development training in the same time period. And of course university-level educators are expected to spend part of their professional work life, polishing their teaching credentials by taking courses themselves. Essentially, there is an understanding in the larger corporate world and among teaching professionals that the best educators are the ones who have experience being a student.
I believe the same is true for those of us who earn a living teaching scuba, regardless of whether your specialty is introducing new divers to open water training or taking experienced divers to the back of a cave one hundred metres deep on the latest and greatest rebreather.  In short, the message is that being a student makes us better teachers. It has the potential to kick us out of any ruts our teaching may have fallen into, and it may open our eyes to new concepts.
Participating as a student helps in many ways. Putting aside the obvious benefits that may come from the course topics themselves, and how learning about them can help us directly, let’s not forget that sitting in a classroom listening to lectures can deliver a bunch of indirect benefits too. For example, we can learn something from the lecturer’s delivery style, the way they use visual aids, and how the class is kept engaged. If we see a good idea, we can borrow it. If we see a bad one, we can make sure to avoid it ourselves.
Playing the student role can also give us valuable lessons on student relations. We can learn from the way information about the course was delivered, how detailed it was, how accurate, and how it related to what was actually delivered. We can also draw benefits from looking at the learning environment itself. One of the biggest complaints about an adult education course presented over several evenings at a local trade school was that the classroom was too cold! Surely there’s a valuable lesson there.
If your schedule is anything like most of the scuba industry pros I deal with every day, you are probably nodding your head right now, but thinking to yourself: “Great concept, but I simply do not have time!” Here are a couple of suggestions to help you find time.
Firstly, indentify what type of learning you WANT to participate in. The choices can range from business-related to pure fun. Obviously, the return on something directly focused on business is easier to justify. Any program that promises to show you how better to run your company, increase efficiency, grow sales, expand profits and so on, will be an easier sell to yourself. Chances are you are going to be more highly motivated to participate fully in a course that might have a positive impact on your bank account, than one about Renaissance Art. However, any program has the potential to help your classroom presentations and teaching methods.
Secondly, schedule the course, put the dates on your workplace calendar and commit. Do not let anything get in the way, and consider your personal development time as an important investment for your business.
Thirdly, apply yourself. Be serious and professional in the way you attack your personal training. Go at it exactly the way you expect your student to behave in the diver education programs you deliver.
Last of all, and perhaps most importantly, repeat as necessary. The benefits of a personal training regimen are important enough for us to make the conscious effort to reap them on a regular basis.
In closing, I’d like to make a couple of suggestions about courses that you might consider. Perhaps the easiest for any of us to justify are courses to improve our ratings as scuba instructors. These can take a couple of forms, but make your choices based on what your market is calling for. If you have to turn away customers looking for technical programs, think seriously about making the switch to TDI instruction. Intro-to-Tech is a simple and effective first step. Do not overlook diver-level programs either. Improving your personal options with regards to YOUR diving will impact what you teach and how you teach it.
Another path to take is public safety diving. Our ERDI programs have tremendous credibility in the PSD community and may have a multiple benefit to you personally.
In either of these cases, contact your local SDI, TDI, ERDI representative or National Sales Manager, Cris Merz and talk about your options.
I would also like to make a pitch for business administration programs as a terrific choice. These are typically delivered at local community colleges and business schools. Evening classes are common and many courses are available onLine through blended learning options.
Whichever road you take, as a professional educator, chances are good that you will take away many lessons from ANY program and it will be worth your time and effort. Good luck and be well. I’m off to beginner’s welding 101.

 

Training …Loss Leader or Revenue Stream

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Your attitude and how you approach this statement will tell you much about your future and probably your agency affiliation!
I was having brunch with a friend and a business associate of his a couple of Sunday’s back and the conversation turned to dive travel and dive training. My buddy’s friend found out I work at a certifying agency and asked if I worked for a non-profit organization. He said: “…like the agency I took my open water and advanced courses with a couple of years ago.” He named a large competitor of SDI’s in the sport diving market.
After I’d apologized for making a mess, mopped up the coffee I’d sprayed over the table, and passed off the tears of laughter from my eyes as allergies, I explained to him that the only “not-for-profit” training agencies still active – and there are a handful – absolutely do not include the one he named, nor any of the majors including SDI / TDI. He was surprised.
“I paid so little for my courses, I assumed it was all part of some national 501(c),” he said. For readers outside the US, a 501 (c 3) is a tax designation and is analogous to a charity! He wrapped up by explaining that he pays more for a single golf lesson (a round with his club’s pro) than he paid for the whole class-room, pool and open water session for his original diving certification.
Wow. What have we done to the value of scuba diver education in the consumer’s mind?
Now there is no argument against the stark reality that the business model of some of SDI’s competitors promotes “mass transit” at entry-level open water training. The name of their game is volume. And certainly there is nothing wrong with turning as many folks as we possibly can to the adventure of diving. But there are a couple of potential marketing pitfalls we have to be wary of.
Competing on price is number one; Cutting corners is number two.
Marketing 101 teaches us that in the services retail market, price is a function of cost + value. Cost is a simple calculation of what it costs to deliver the service – which in our case is a diver education program.  Cost is further broken down into fixed costs, infrastructure, insurance, gear depreciation etc., etc. And variable costs which depend of class sizes, teaching materials, certification costs, gas fills and so on.
(Forgive a little flag waving here, but SDI is a pretty good partner with regards to cost of materials. Last competitive analysis we conducted, our members enjoy the most competitive cost of materials in the industry with some of the highest margins, and that’s a good start on the road to keeping cost of sales in line.)
In effect, as long as we have good bookkeeping habits or a detailed business plan that includes realistic figures for these costs – and our projections for the number of customers who are going to contribute to covering those costs is reasonably accurate – the process of calculating the cost component of a scuba course’s price is straightforward; the work of an hour perhaps.
Value is a whole different situation. Each of us has to put a value on what we bring into the classroom, pool and open-water. Essentially, we have to condense our experience, personality, professionalism, philosophy, and all the little extras that make you and I different from the “guy down the street” into a per hour fee. And this is the work of more than an hour and is without any doubt the toughest number to conjure up.
However, all that said, having that number – and sticking by it – is an essential part of doing business and staying in business. Time is one of the many things we sell in the dive industry, and judging by the customer perception out there in the marketplace, the value of a dive instructor’s time is about one third of what a minimum wage worker is paid.
I’ve heard the argument made that any deficit incurred by selling training at a loss can be made up by sales of mask, fins, snorkel and any other gear that a new customer may be motivated to buy. I go back once again to Marketing 101. According to every business course and marketing program I’ve attended the concept of selling a lost leader in one revenue stream in the hope of making the books balance by sales in another revenue stream is considered a poor practice, fraught with too many possible hiccups to make it a full-time business practice. The real threat of your customers shopping for “Bargains” via onLine equipment sales should be warning enough.
I’m reminded of the Gibson guitar story. Poor sales because of an influx of cheaper Japanese knock-offs where made disastrously worse when the v-p of marketing decided the best policy was to try to compete on price alone. He ordered the off the rack prices of Gibson electric guitars slashed.
But sales fell even more precipitously. What Gibson had done was send a message to the consumer that their brand – previously known as a quality instrument played by some musical greats – had become a discount brand. Something had to be done. In comes a new v-p marketing with a whole different way of thinking. He INCREASED the price of a Gibson guitar making it about double the price of the mass produced competition. This immediately re-focused the brand in the consumer’s mind.
Like it or not, we associate price with quality… especially if the VALUE component is explained to us. The increased price of a Gibson guitar gave the sales people in music stores across North America and Europe an opportunity to explain to inquisitive customers shopping for a new “axe” that a Gibson is a hand-crafted, quality instrument using select wood, high-end electronics and machine heads, and with a very strict QA system in place. The result is a cleaner, more distinctive, easier to play guitar that stays in tune when it is played at a rock and roll tempo! Sales increased and today, Gibson once again basks in its deserved reputation as a quality US-made tool for serious musicians. (I prefer Fenders, but you get the point!)
I am not necessarily suggesting that the right way to market your scuba classes is to follow the “Gibson Policy” to a T. But the folly of competing on price is that it devalues one of the major revenue streams open to a dive retailer.
As tough as it is in any market to resist jumping onto the discount freight train, we have a strong community of SDI and TDI instructors and facilities who have decided that cut-price training makes no sense and refuse to follow our competitor’s path because they know where it leads.
We cannot win the hearts and loyalty of the customer looking for Wal-Mart diver education. In fact, you may not even want to sell your services and products to a consumer who is totally fixated on price. But you can qualify YOUR potential customers when they ask why your SDI course costs twice what WXYZ course costs down the block. That question gives you the best chance you are going to get to detail to them the VALUE of SDI training (the Gibson edge). You’ll lose the bargain hunters, but you will win the consumer looking for a brand they can trust and that they associate with value.
During a facility visit, while waiting for an appointment I overheard a customer ask the Instructor for a discount on a class. What I heard had a deep impact on me and I feel compelled to share it with you. The instructed responded in a quiet mellow tone with a warm smile on his face, “I’m sorry but I cannot discount my classes.” When the buyer pressed back with why? The Instructor responded, “because when you experience how much I put in to each and every session you will see firsthand what a great value they already are”
 
 WOW…where do I sign up? Good thing he wasn’t selling jets cause I have no place to park one!
Develop your story and express what you do in such a manner that the consumer WANTS to experience the course with no one but YOU!
Good luck, and overall remember, neither our business nor yours is a charity so let’s not sell ourselves short.
_________
Cutting corners is a whole other story and the subject of next month’s column.

 

Effective Business Management is about balance

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I was asked yesterday to give some thought to exactly what it takes to run a successful retail operation. Any retail operation, even a candy store at the main gates of the largest public school in the state, takes a special mix of skills, but I have to think that running a retail store in the dive industry is a special case.
 
One disadvantage for me is that I have owned a share of a retail store, but never worked in one, so my list is probably going to be short a skill or two. But after less than two minutes, I had come up with a list of close to 20 hats that the average dive retailer may be asked to wear from day-to-day! See how it compares to yours.
·                     Product Buyer
·                     Merchandiser
·                     Human Resources Professional + Baby-sitter
·                     Marketing Guru
·                     Salesperson
·                     Customer Relations Manager
·                     Bookkeeper
·                     Cleaner and Coffee Boy/Girl
·                     Motivational Speaker
·                     Community Advocate
·                     Underwater Photographer
·                     Travel Advisor
·                     Equipment Specialist and Service Technician
·                     Educator and Mentor
·                     General Contractor
·                     Welder and Metal Fabricator
·                     Mechanic
·                     Website Designer and IT manager
·                     Father Confessor
 
Now the majority of those are self-explanatory; and some less so. But for the record, here’s my take on each of them.
 

 

hatsClean.jpgProduct Buyer / Merchandiser

 

Making the right choices about what gear to sell, has to be right up there with how to display it and how much of it to have sitting around gathering dust out in the stock room; so savvy buyer and display artist is right up there as hats one and two.
 

 

Human Resources Professional + Baby-sitter

 

Opening a shop and keeping it open to suit customers needs, translates into hiring staff in most cases, hence the HR hat. The mention of baby-sitting may simply be a product of my past and experience, and your mileage may vary so we can take that as an optional extra under consideration. At very least, hiring staff, training staff, motivating staff, retaining staff can eat a serious hole into a work week. At worst it can be a bona fide full-time ticket to despair. Certainly it deserves a place on the list.
 

 

Marketing Guru / Salesperson

 

Marketing and Sales are probably two listings that would get the greatest buy-in from anyone in retail. The process of building a marketing plan and the art of closing a sale, are essential to remaining in business… any business! In truth, many would argue that marketing includes sales, but I vote for listing them individually.
 

 

Customer Relations Manager

 

According to most of the textbooks, marketing also includes customer relations since one of the five P’s of marketing is People. Most business people subscribe to the adage that it is easier and more cost effective to keep an old customer than find a new one, and retention is mostly about managing the personal relationship we have with our customers, and since this skill is key to building a loyal following and growing a business, it deserves its own listing.
 

Bookkeeping

Well, it’s late April as I write this and the after-effects of the panic to get tax returns in on deadline is still fresh. With all that in mind, bookkeeping and its attendant filing, paper work, basic knowledge of federal tax law, state or provincial tax regulations and local fees and licensing , is a strong enough incentive to add it to the list.

 

 

Cleaner and Coffee Boy/Girl

 

Small to medium-sized business: cleaner (decorator) provider of coffee, hot tea, doughnuts and other refreshments… yep, sounds about right. Even the divisional head of IBM Europe used to arrive with a couple of boxes of muffins for “the team” most Friday mornings. Perhaps a trivial touch but a little boost for morale which can never be a bad thing, so this ‘skill’ is absolutely on the list.
 

 

Motivational Speaker / Community Advocate

 

Including Motivational Speaker and Community Advocate may be a bit of a stretch but I put them in the listing because both are important aspects of growing a business in any sized town or city. Both offer great opportunities to recruit new customers and to increase community awareness of diving; the adventure sport and tech diving represents, as well as the commitment to serve that is part of Public Safety Diving. Presentation made to service clubs, social groups, schools and colleges and the like are hugely effective marketing tools. Because of this, they are on the list.
 

 

Underwater Photographer / Travel Advisor

 

One of the real joys of diving is the visual impact of what is down there under the waves. I’ve read poems about coral reefs and read stories about marine wildlife, wreck diving, exploring caves and lots of other underwater activities, but they all pale beside the photograph that’s on the wall behind my computer. (It’s a picture of a diving flying a scooter over the second breakdown at Jackson Blue Springs.) Photography sells diving.
 
And while local diving were you are is probably stellar, travel to prime dive destinations, is part and parcel of closing the sale for many dive ops. Actually, the travel advisor hat should really be two; one for being an out-bound operator (sending groups to remote destinations); and one for acting as an in-bound operator welcoming groups to your area. So one hat but it has to be big enough to cover a lot of territory.
 

Equipment Specialist and Service Technician

Since diving is an equipment-intensive pastime, the next item on the list is a given. Equipment set-up and maintenance is, or should be, a big item on the year-end revenue statement for a successful dive store, and so we have one more hat to wear.

 

Educator and Mentor

Does your store offer diver education? Of course you do. Formal education and less formal mentoring are part and parcel of being a member of SDI, TDI and ERDI so now issues with this list item.

 

 

General Contractor / Welder and Metal Fabricator / Mechanic

 

I added general contractor because when I owned a share of a retail store, I spent countless hours building stuff and then repairing it. This ran the gamut from replacing slate roof tiles to insulating a crawl space, building a display case, plumbing in a shower and washtub, and converting a Harry Potter sized broom cupboard into an oxygen clean workroom.
 
I threw in welder and metal worker just in case there was a boat involved in the operations. Same goes for mechanic. Strike these two off the list if they do not apply, but leave them in if there is a charter boat in your future.
 

 

Website Designer and IT manager

 

Probably most of you do some degree of your business over the Internet. Internal networks, public websites, commercial secure servers and generally being wired have all become woven into the fabric of doing business in the 21st Century, so much so that I included website designer and IT manager in the list.
 

Father Confessor.

I mentioned earlier I’ve never working over the counter in a retail business, but my grandfather owned and ran a couple of pubs and one of many “life lessons” he passed on was about having a willingness to listen to customers and staff when they had to get something off their chest. Never sure why the service industries seem to extend to being asked to comment on everything from finding a suitable university for Junior, to tips on training a new puppy not to pee in the house; but it happens apparently. In a recent study in small businesses operating in the Euro Zone by the Chartered Management Institute, an average of close to an hour of management time each day is spent dealing with personnel issues that fall way outside the purview of business. Add one more hat.

 
I suspect that if we took apart the required skill set for running almost any business, the listing would be as long as the one above. There is no secret to being successful in business, it takes adaptability and a willingness to roll up your sleeves and try something new. However, there are a couple of things that business people have to face up to if they want their business to truly grow.
 
Firstly, and probably most importantly, as the business owner, you cannot hope to be good at every skill. You have to balance your core strengths with what your business needs and leave the rest to someone else.
 
This is one of the most difficult truths for business owners to accept. Getting a small business off the ground often requires its owner to be a jack of all trades. New business owners have to wear a lot of hats and have to present a convincing picture with every one of them on their head. But the really smart entrepreneurs learn to delegate as many tasks as possible as soon as possible, and then stand back and not get in the way.
Perhaps the primary failure point of growing any business is the owner’s inability to hand responsibility AND authority to his managers. Staff who thrive on responsibility (and do not shirk from accountability) are a company’s most valuable asset. Owners who decide which hats they like to wear and “look best wearing,” and who can then delegate responsibility and authority for all the others to others, grow themselves and their business.
But, the best way to mess up this scenario is to miss the second half of the equation; Authority. Giving staff the responsibility to undertake a task but leaving out the part about authority, defeats the object.
Not giving authority is the same as saying “I don’t trust you with this hat… you can wear it but it is mine when I want it back.”  This message is loud and clear to your staff, and to your customers too. Once they understand that you don’t trust your staff, and they will find that out, they will not trust them either.
Most small business owners are skeptical about giving authority. They know there will be mistakes, outright failures, and retrenching periods. The seed change is letting these events pass and writing them off as part of the process of moving the company forward.
The second point is that as the person managing the business from the highest seat in the house – president, CEO, Chairman, call it what you will – you do not need to be an expert in anything; you simply need to recognize one when you see one.
 
But human nature being what it is we all want to know which skill is the most important for a senior manager / business owner and which hat is the most prestigious. When the head of a large industrial manufacturer was asked to name his most important job, he did not hesitate for a second in answering: “I only have one job, the ability to listen and actually hear what was being told to me. Everything else I leave to the team I work with.”
 
Now that is a fine looking hat!

 

Value of Using the Online Leadership Training Programs

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 By Dennis Pulley

 

In 2009 SDI completely revised the divemaster, assistant instructor and open water scuba diver instructor leadership training programs. In addition to updating all of the information presented in each program, SDI achieved another industry first by offering online academics for each of these leadership courses.
The use of online training has been used extensively in many various training settings such as higher education, employment training as well as recreational areas. Attending a class and sitting for hours on end to learn the required information is not always the best option for many students these days. Using the online system, candidates can complete all the pre-course studies online and as such, they will be better prepared to participate in the class.
Some instructors see online training as a potential threat that diminishes the quality of the candidates’ skills and abilities. The reality is that online training simply trades printed material for digital material.
For each of the programs listed above, candidates can sign up anytime and begin their training at their leisure thereafter. Depending on the course structure, the instructor may assign specific sections — or the entire program, to be completed before the first face-to-face academic session. After a candidate has begun a course the instructor can track the student’s progress and detect if he is having difficulties with any of the information. This allows the instructor to target his one-on-one time with the candidate to help improve the student’s knowledge in the areas identified as below average.
Another benefit of using the tracking system is that the instructor can determine if a candidate has any weak areas. Should the instructor determine that a candidate does have a weak area, the instructor may have the candidate prepare a short presentation covering that information. This will require the candidate to learn more about that subject and be able to explain it in terms they are comfortable with.
Since the instructor will not need to spend countless hours in the classroom, more time is available for the practical application, skill training, classroom and water presentations and the “how-to” of working with students and divers.
Trading time normally spent in the classroom for practical time with the students allows the instructor to focus more his attention on helping the students develop their leadership skills. The consequence of this is new dive leaders that are better prepared to lead and train divers.
Dive stores that pre-purchase online training codes have the flexibility to package and price the entire course to meet their needs. For instance, if a candidate is to be hired as an employee, or already is an employee of the facility, the package can be minimal. This may be applied as an employment benefit on contracted based on a specific amount of work after the candidate has completed the course. In comparison, the package for a non-affiliated candidate may include the fees for online training, printed materials, water use fees, gas, training fees and any additional fee. In this scenario, candidates get a single, upfront cost for the entire program.
Dive leaders that enroll in the online academic training also receive a copy of the printed  SDI training materials for the program they are completing that can be used for  future reference.
“The SDI Online Divemaster program revolutionized the way I teach the DM course!  The candidates come to the first session fully prepared, and we spend our time together developing leadership skills and abilities rather than delivering lectures on background knowledge and dive theory.  In the past, I commonly spent 3-4 days in the classroom with a candidate before getting them to the pool.  With the online course, we spent about 6 hours in the classroom, then off to the pool. Best of all, it seems the candidates really learned the material, rather than studying it simply to pass a test.
Brian Shreve
SDI IT-9016
Heartland Scuba
Lincoln, NE

“The online program allowed me to work at my own pace and review the information without someone looking over my shoulder. I especially liked the way the program allowed me to work on my own time schedule vs a typical classroom setting. I was able to complete the pre-course studies according to my personal schedule whether it was two hours a day or six hours a day. The quizzes at the end of each chapter confirmed I understood the material and could not just can skip through it.”

 

Dan Erickson
Divemaster Candidate
Heartland Scuba

Lincoln, NE

 

Remember, by using the online training programs an instructor has more tools available to help them follow the academic progress of each student which allows them to tailor the training program to each candidate’s specific needs.

 

CCR Bailout Philosophy for Cave Diving

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By Lamar Hires, co-founder/CEO Dive Rite

There are minimum standards for CCR bailout set by training agencies, and there is the comfort zone. I think people confuse the two.  Training should teach you to evaluate the risk and draw conclusions based on your personal physical ability and personal perception of risk. Sometimes I think divers take the easy way of doing the math. There are many variables for determining bailout needs and reality is never as simple as classroom practice. The experienced cave diver can rationalize anything and practice it to get a memorized response based on repetition. What he can’t control is his breathing rate or the catalyst that triggers the bailout procedure.

To truly determine bailout needs one should consider the circumstances and the factors which lead up to getting off the loop and going to bailout. I understand this from experimenting and building a rebreather.  You never truly know how you will respond when you take your last breath or can’t take one at all. This is sure to elevate your breathing rate and response to the problem.

All this leads to the question “how much bailout is enough?”  The open circuit cave community believes that CCR cave divers don’t take enough bailout because they cannot relate. I try to relate closed circuit needs to open circuit disciplines learned from years of cave diving. I guess after years of starting a dive with about 270 cubic feet of compressed gas I can’t get past the need to have at least 80 cubic feet of bailout gas.  Even if practice gets you out on 30 cubic feet of gas, having at least 80 cubic feet gives you the extra gas to deal with the catalyst that got you off the loop. I think this is the one point training cannot emulate. During training you always know it’s a drill. You wait for the queue and respond. There aren’t any flashing lights or taste of a caustic cocktail. In the real world there are no “abort the drill” signals.

One can argue minimum bailout needs and justify it. On expeditions, bailout needs for closed circuit are rationalized just like the open circuit one-third rule.  Anyone can rationalize their needs verses what’s available. I see it all the time. A dive at home utilizes oxygen for decompression, but on expedition oxygen is not available. Away from a well-equipped fill station  it is ok to do a deep dive on air because it’s a remote area.  I am more concerned about what people rationalize when they have all the resources needed available.

Now the cave diver comes out in me. Redundancy is the key to safety and returning home. For cave diving closed circuit bailout needs should be treated like sidemount, two cylinders for balance, safety and buddy team.  Closed circuit minimum bailout should start with 80 cubic feet just like open circuit and this should be two aluminum 40 cubic feet cylinders for redundancy.  Two cylinders provide multiple advantages:

1)       If you have to go off the loop two cylinders provide the peace of mind that you still have full cave redundancy for the exit. Worn sidemount, these bottles tuck in under the arms for streamlining.  A friend of mine wore a single 80 bailout on a dive and at 3000-foot penetration, 25 minutes away from the entrance his electronics signaled he needed to get off the loop. The diver turned on the bailout bottle to have a HP hose blow. Now he is faced with the dilemma of going back on the loop with indicated failures or to breathe his bailout in single breaths by opening and closing the valve. Not much of a choice. He was able to get back on the loop, but had a major scare.

2)      It is much easier to go from two small cylinders for shallow dives to two large cylinders for deeper dives.  No extra rigging is needed when making this transition so the transition is much easier.

3)      The buddy element is the biggest argument: that is whether to be self-sufficient systems verses the buddy system. I don’t like the idea of single bottle sharing for bailout. I personally will not give up my only full bailout bottle in exchange for a half empty bottle (yes, now the glass is half empty) in hopes that the diver in stress, (yes, he is in stress since he had to get off the loop) has only breathed the bottle down 50 percent before passing it off.

There are three bailout configurations for CCR cave divers: buddy system, self-sufficient, and staged.  I find myself using at least two of them on any given dive. I agree every diver should be self-sufficient, but you should always be ready to help your buddy. CCR divers have more options to them for bailout since their dive is determined by scrubber duration and how much time he wishes to spend based on more physical aspects of the dive. How much decompression are you willing to do? Are you dressed to do the decompression and stay hydrated? Gas supply is usually not a consideration, but bailout is.

Since I subscribe to at least 80 cubic feet of gas for bailout let me share with you several dive scenarios that called for different approaches.

1)      Devil’s Ear – 4000 foot penetration at 100 feet in depth. Since my buddy and I were going to explore some of the side passages beyond the 3000 foot restriction called the Henkel , we opted for a single 80 cubic feet stage each and two aluminum 40 cubic feet sidemount bottles.  My buddy dropped his 80 stage at 1500 feet, while I dropped mine at 3000 feet where we dropped our DPVs.  We went on to explore the smaller side passages with 80 cubic feet of bailout apiece configured in two aluminum 40 cubic feet cylinders.  So the bailout plan was buddy combined with staggered, staged bailouts for the swimming portion of the dive in the smaller, remote passages where we went to self sufficient mode with small sidemount cylinders. This allowed us to explore with less drag and maximize our exploration.

2)      Devil’s Ear – 4200 foot penetration at 100 feet in depth. This dive we had the same penetration as above, yet this was a working dive; a body recovery of a solo cave diver at 4200 feet. The passage was small in places and we knew we would be in zero visibility. Even though my team mate and I were together, we were very busy so we opted to go with two aluminum 80’s each so that if either of us had a problem we could deal with our own bailout needs and still complete the task.  Same dive, but different approach due to conditions of the dive.

3)      Rose Sink – 4500 foot exploration at 140 feet in depth. This dive required the use of all three bailout methods. The dive is a multi-level siphon and the flow increases the farther back you get as feeders add to the total water volume and flow. We staged one 80 each. My buddy dropped his bottle at 1300 feet with a richer mix for the final exit leg and I dropped a bottom-mix bottle at 2500 feet. We dropped DPVs at 3000 feet, keeping two aluminum 40s each for self-sufficient bailout, and then continued the final portion of the dive in a low crawl trying to stay ahead of our silt while we picked up the last of the survey on the last 900 feet of passage.

Based on my experience and the lessons learned from hard knocks received over decades of technical diving, one must evaluate every dive mission based on its needs for bailout planning. If you have the opportunity, talk to local divers to see what kind of planning the open circuit divers use for the site to be sure you use the proper bailout for the dive. Look at the mission, and the team, and then plan according to ability, experience and familiarity with the system.  You cannot make every dive fit the same bailout planning unless you use this as a tool to limit your penetration.  Proper planning of bailout is just as important as planning your decompression or mission. Make sure all team members are up to it and do their part in any team effort of staging gas. Practice various methods and see what works for you.

Lamar Hires is an active diver, equipment manufacturer, designer and instructor. He is well-known for his work to improve general diver safety and specifically for the promotion of common-sense protocols to help manage diver safety in overhead environments, closed-circuit rebreathers and Open-Circuit sidemount kit configurations.

The articles, positions and statements contained in this publication are not necessarily those of SD™ TDI™ or ERDI™ its BOD, officers or
employees.  Opinions, conclusions, and other information in this publication are solely those of the authors and are neither given nor endorsed by the agencies mentioned. Total editorial freedom and expression is solely retained and the responsibility of the editors/writers.

The Year of the Rebreather

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Poseidon Discovery – now available för 10,000 diving instructors all over the world

TDI™ (Technical Diving International™), the largest technical certification agency in the world, is now offering training in the sports diver Rebreather, also known as Poseidon Discovery. TDI is seen as an innovator always bringing  new, exciting and functional diving techniques and programs to the general diving public.

All of the 10, 000 TDI-certificated diving instructors around the world now have the opportunity to get educated in the Rebreather system. This means that the possibility för scuba divers to be taught by an Rebreather-educated instructor has increased considerably.

“I would call this the crucial step för the Rebreather to reach the great amount of recreational divers all over the world,” says Kurt Sjöblom, CEO of  Poseidon Diving Group AB. “My prediction is is that 2010 will really be the year of the Rebreather!”

 

 

The world’s first closed breathing system for recreational divers

 

Unlike traditional breathing systems for recreational divers, Poseidon Discovery reuses the exhaled breath. This extends the diving time from 40 minutes to several hours. In November 2008, Poseidon Discovery was awarded the international award « Best of What’s New Award » by Popular Science, one of the largest popular science magazines.

 

For further information, please contact:  

Kurt Sjöblom, CEO, +46706340552, kurt.sjoblom@poseidon.com

Mats Lennartson, Press Contact, +46707902468, mats.lennartson@poseidon.com 

 

 

For further information about diver education from TDI, please contact godive@tdisdi.com

 

 

 

About Poseidon Diving Systems AB

 

Poseidon was founded by divers, for divers. When Ingvar Elfström launched the world’s first single hose regulator in 1958 it became an immediate sensation. The company currently has 30 employees and over 2000 agents worldwide. Headquarters and manufacturing is located in Gothenburg, Sweden.

 www.poseidon.se

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching Tips: Personal Dive Computers

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By Steve Lewis

We get a considerably varied and pretty constant stream of email into our office from divers across North American and from around the world. Sometimes it’s to tell us how pleased they are about the service they got from one of you folks. Sometimes it’s to ask about the quality of diving in some far-flung corner of the Pacific. Occasionally it’s a complaint. But from time-to-time we get asked to explain why we do things the way we do, and these are usually the most fun to answer!

Last week, I got a message from off one of the many scuba-related forums on the web that we monitor. Apparently this diver’s girlfriend had signed up for an open water course and he was shocked to learn that his local dive store had switched affiliations and was now promoting, what his old instructor termed, “SDI’s superior program!”

That happens more and more these days… but he asked what the differences were between the Open Water program he had taken through another sport diving agency and SDI’s. He explained that he was shocked to learn from his girlfriend that SDI promotes the use of personal dive computers (PDCs) rather than making students work through calculations using tables.

During one of our conversations, he said he felt she was being short-changed and that not learning tables was dangerous. He actually said “if sport divers or occasional divers can’t familiarize themselves with the tables then should such an unsafe person be diving?” Frankly, I was a little floored because it seemed to me he was telling me that ALL SDI-trained divers are unsafe, because their instructors have not made them slog through an antiquated system that most divers forget how to do unless reminded on a regular basis.

For the record, let me share with you want I explained to him because you too may run into someone who harbors similar misconceptions, and although I am sure you have your own version of things, the explanation that follows may help you sometime in the future.

Let’s start at the beginning. SDI is different to the other major sport diving agencies because it was created by people who ran a technical diving agency; the biggest technical diving agency in the world, TDI. The men and women who helped put together its curriculum and developed its courses had the strongest background possible in diver education and diver safety, and the attendee list of those early brain-storming sessions read like a who’s who of recreational diving… both technical and sport branches.

Their primary concern was to create an open water course that made diving an adventure rather than a chore, and one that had a sort of “sky’s the limit” perspective on diver education… after all, many of those early SDI instructors had experience exploring exciting spots around the globe that few divers had ever seen. The majority of them had been teaching people to dive in caves, and running diver programs to depths about three-times the “normal” sport diving limits. So their perspective on how far a student could progress was a mite broader than instructors from other backgrounds!

Right from the beginning, SDI brass determined that all SDI-level divers wear a personal dive computer. In the simplest terms, this determination was driven by safety, and not as my correspondent suggested collusion with the dive computer manufacturers! Personal dive computers have evolved immensely since the first brick-sized units available in the 1980s. They have become easy to read, understand and use. Their functions go way beyond those offered by their predecessors… for example, downloadable graphic dive profiles, and logbook functions. And, most importantly, they are the best tool currently available for controlling ascent speed… something we believe needs to be managed because of what seems to be a very strong association with bubble troubles.

Of course the core function of a PDC is to track average nitrogen loading in real-time and give a good approximation of the decompression status of the person wearing it minute by minute (actually, second by second in many cases). Because of this, among other benefits, a savvy diver is able to maximize her bottom time while keeping within the No Decompression Limits of her dive. No table can come close to this level of accuracy and, by inference, offer comparable security. The mitigation of DCS is never zero regardless of what method is used – tables, PDC or some other Voodoo – but for sport divers, a PDC is without comparison.  In short, a PDC is an extremely useful tool within the budget of the majority of sport divers.

Of course the one important proviso is that when a SDI diver graduates his or her open water class, their instructor has helped them to understand the computer’s functions and benefits, and they have been encouraged to read the user’s handbook and discuss anything they did not immediately understand.

Now on the topic of tables. We do not discourage instructors from teaching tables, in fact all our leadership courses (DM, AI, OWI, SIT, IT) have components where the US Navy, DCIEM and Buhlmann tables are used, but extensive research has told us that sport divers and tables do not mix well. In fact, there are strong indications that unfamiliarity with dive tables among occasional divers keeps people away from diving. Because of this and other concerns about table use on multiple dives, CNS tracking and related issues that may have a negative effect on a diver’s well-being, we discourage tables as primary information.

The arguments for tables actually remind me of the arguments that are offered against technological advances in all forms of sport and pastimes, not just diving. I’ve heard people rally against seat belts and anti-lock brakes, airbags and traction control in cars. (Actually, members of my father’s generation despised synchromesh gears!) But of course these innovations are now standard in any late model car. They save lives!

The vast majority of ski hills don’t allow skiers on their slopes without modern bindings and boots. Leather and duct tape are no goes.

The list goes on and in our industry, there are many of you who may remember the cries against SPGs, BCDs and things that we take for granted now. The old way is NOT the best way, and thinking that tables are somehow superior for sport divers is simply nonsense.

Forgive the personal note but my wife, a smart woman in all but her choice of life companion, was terrified of tables when she first learned to dive. It was not the math or the process that scared her, she’s an executive with one of the largest hotel chains in the world and deals with numbers and process-driven protocols every day. What scared her was getting it wrong. She felt the penalty for a mistake using tables was so severe, she was reluctant to dive. A computer solved that problem… now if I can just get her to master the reverse frog kick…

How does the Online Divemaster Benefit Me?

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Information about the newest educational innovation from SDI™, TDI™

1.    Q: I’m sold on the benefits of SDI™ online training for open water and specialties like nitrox, wreck, deep, navigation and so on, but why Divemaster?

 

A: Often, the instructor who is best suited to develop dive leaders is the one person who has the least time available. The perfect solution is blended learning through SDI’s online training. The proven online system moves your divemaster candidates through their academics freeing up valuable instructor time to work hands-on with them to refine their leadership qualities as well as diving, risk-management, and dive business skills.

 

2.    Q: Do all my DM candidates have to do all the academics online now?

 

A: No, you can still teach a DM course the way you have always done with traditional classroom.  However, we believe you will find that your candidates come to class much more prepared if they do the program online first.

 

3.    Q: How do I get my dive center signed up for this program?

 

A: Simply contact either your local Regional Manager, or HQ and both can assist in setting up your facility to do the program.

 

4.    Q: If am already using the online program to do Open Water or Specialties is my facility already set up?

 

A: Yes and no.  Yes your facility is listed in the new website as an active online facility, but no you have to use a different link for this course.  www.sdi-onlinetraining.comleadership

5.    Q: If I have a link off of my own website to the online program for my own students, do I have to create another link to give access to my students for the DM program?

 

A: Yes, you can get the unique link using your username and password as a login in on  www.sdi-onlinetraining.comleadership

 

6.    Q: If a student signs up on the website and pays with a credit card directly on the site, what is the amount my facility gets?

A: The facility is issued a $225 credit and HQ takes care of shipping all the materials they need directly to the dive facility, including a DM manual, Knowledge Quest, and other items.

 

7.    Q: Can I buy access codes at a discounted rate as I do for the other online courses?

 

A: Yes, the amount of the discount depends on the facility current buying level.

8.    Q: Are all DM candidates required to choose a dive center to be affiliated with when signing up? 

A: Yes, all SDI courses must be taught through a recognized dive center. 

 

9.    Q: If I purchase codes for a DM candidate, is my dive center automatically chosen and locked in as the facility as it is with the other online courses?

A: Yes, DM candidates that sign up using an access code you provide to them or via your websites unique link are locked in as your students and you are given the credit.

 

10.    Q: Is there a user manual for facilities to understand better how the system works?

 

A: Yes, you can download one off of the members section of the website or contact your regional manager or HQ.

 

Contact your local SDI, TDI representative or call Cris Merz at 888.778.9073 for more information. Cris can also be contacted via email cris.merz@tdisdi.com