The Blue Collar Blog — It’s What’s Above The Collar That Counts!

Welcome to The Blue Collar Blog! Sponsored by Blue Collar University® and Bart Gragg. Our goal is to help blue collar managers succeed by working with both them and those who manage them. To get the most out of these blog "hints and tips" subscribe to the RSS Feeds or by Email. Read the posts and leave your comments so that others can learn from your experience as well.

Does Behavior Affect Safety in the Workplace?

by Bart Gragg

“Any landing you walk away from is a good landing.” I grew up around small airplanes and larger than life pilots and had heard that quite often. Pilots are human, too. Since safety is largely dealing with the issue of problem solving – “How do we get the job done and walk away from it alive and unscathed?” it would be helpful to know how people are likely to attack a particular problem. The way problems are solved vary with the individual.

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Three Ways To Help Blue Collar Workers Transition to Management

by Bart Gragg

When blue collar workers move into management there are at least nine changes in their routine that have to be recognized and dealt with. What often happens though is they are shown an office the size of a broom closet, given technology they may not be familiar with, and told “Call me if you have any questions.” It is almost as if the broom closet is a telephone booth and we expect them to put on a cape and be up and flying immediately.

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Two Common Misperceptions About Blue Collar Workers and Management – Pt. 2

by Bart Gragg

We labor under a misperception dealt us by the movie industry, media, and, yes, our own gossip, that blue collar workers and managers do not know how to deal with people. Not so. Blue collar workers and managers are the BEST social networkers on the planet.

Tagged as: Communications, Teaching and Learning, Training

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Two Common Misperceptions About Blue Collar Workers and Management – Pt. 1

by Bart Gragg

Two common misperceptions about blue collar workers and managers are about how they learn and how they deal with people. The consequences of these misperceptions can certainly have an effect on how they are trained, especially when promoted “off the tools” into management. Most people that have not dealt with or been a blue collar [...]

Tagged as: Communications, Training, Training, Teaching and Learning