Evolving Training Into the Perfect Hole
A colleague asked me to respond to a question that has been a source of constant challenge [for me at least] in my last three corporate training gigs that span about 15 years or so. I cannot imagine my experiences are that dissimilar to many of us who work in the business of Training. Here was his question, “What’s the biggest hurdle to getting stakeholders (employees, employers, clients etc.) involved and engaged with workplace training – and how do you overcome it?” Personally, I believe this question distracts us from two other questions we really need to answer first…and with conviction. I believe that answering these two questions will define an actionable road map to not only answer his original question, but do something about it…and with conviction. Read more…
EPSS Replaces Product Training – Could It Really?
Having been a Sales Trainer, Sales Training Manager, and Director Sales Training in a couple of previous lives, I nearly jumped out of my chair when I read a blog post by a new networking contact, David Brock. Dave authors a blog, Partners in Excellence, and his post of December 7th “Let’s Put an End to Product Training” triggered a wee bit of a dance…not really, but I did unleash a couple mental fist-pumps. First-hand experience and many many road miles confirm how wasteful product training can be. I must add, it is not “What we train” as much as it is ‘How we train it.” Sales reps certainly need product knowledge, but the ability to spew features and promise of intangible benefits at a prospect is a waste of time and energy to both parties. Read more…
Mobile Technology: Best Suited for “Push” or “Pull” Learning?
The original question… “What Kind of Learning Is Best Suited to Mobile Technology? …surfaced yesterday in a networking group and included three different learning contexts:
– Acquisition of learning
– Retention of learning
– Application of learning
The first thing that popped into my head was… “Yeah, all three are a good fit!” Then the consultant in me kicked in and the answer morphed to what we are all trained to give… “It depends.”
Having all my bases covered, I attempted to clarify…or was that justify… Read more…
T&D and the Relentless ROI Dilemma
I had the good fortune to stumble into a great discussion thread on LinkedIn this week that finally tripped my trigger this morning on the C-suite’s addiction to ROI. I recognize this affliction is common these days and any attempts to pry fingers off traditions are often seen as more of an assault than an effort to evolve beyond current paradigms. Methinks we ultimately must drive transformational change in the perceived role Training & Development (T&D) plays in the organization. Current T&D practices produce traditional training outcomes. What the C-suite needs to see…and will respond to…are a workforce that has the capacity to be agile and effective at the point of work…AND…produces sustainable business outcomes. Read more…
Instructional Design or Architected Learning?
I have little doubt this title may foster a defensive posture by some readers even before consumption of the first paragraph is complete. On the other hand, it may prompt the question, “What’s the difference?” My hope is that no reader feels the need to defend long-held traditions of instruction design (ISD). The objective of writing this short piece is to position that the art of ISD is a subset of an architected learning solution…and…the architecture of a learning solution, shaped by the work environment it supports, becomes a key influencer of ISD decisions. Read more…
The Radicalization of Sales Training Starts @ the Edges
Reflecting on this choice of title, I can imagine some rather extreme images springing forth in the minds of long-time sales training purists. I say this with confidence because the topic of facilitating learning at the edges of the ecosystem has freaked out both platform trainers and instructional design professionals before. Yeah, and yours truly was that source of disruption – and more than once. Several colleagues actually questioned if the time had come to update their resumes. In my no-longer-humble-opinion, if sales training does not step up…make that…step out to the edges of the learning ecosystem, training budgets will continue to shrink and those resumes will need updated anyway. My thinking around this radicalization of training becomes more urgent by the day, and the only thing that gets blown up is a paradigm or two. Read more…
Draw of the Flame
When we get to a certain age – and when that age may be is at best uncertain – we look back at the source of all the scars we carry from mistakes we made from making bad choices along the road of life. From years as invincible teenagers to adults bearing down on the end game at an accelerating pace, we see so many of those scars forewarned by parents and unofficial mentors. Did we listen? Having the scars proves that warnings meant little, no matter how well intended. After all, we were teenagers, and we were nearly bulletproof. From those scars came hard-earned wisdom, assuming of course, that whatever life challenge we confronted did not kill us first. I wonder…is there any way we can posture learning to smooth this journey called life that does not leave lasting scars? Read more…
The Power of Choice
The first step out onto the steel cable came with almost no hesitation. The safety harness ensured that I would only plunge about three-feet of the fifty or so I hung above terra firma. The exposed rocks that appeared below me added more weight than I reckoned the safety harness would support, so I resolved to never take another glance. I probably would not have time to gaze down anyway as the journey started to look like an endless shuffle from tree to tree and the security of the next solid looking wooden platform. At least that was the part I could see. Read more…
Learning @ the Point of Work
When we strip away products & services and the marketing glitz & glitter, what is left that sustains [or not] the viability of a business? My vote goes to – the workforce. Even if we do not strip these things away, I still feel strongly that the workforce is at the root of a successful sustainable business. Obviously, there are other external factors like the state of the economy, cost and availability of money, and other environmental drivers and restrainers, but even including them, the pressures and demands on the business to survive, much less flourish, still is largely dependent on the effectiveness of the workforce. Why then do we insist on training them where direct business impact is not part of the outcome? Read more…
Building a Learning Ecosystem? – Define Readiness First
To some, the words “learning ecosystem” may smack of jargon, or at a minimum, offer a veiled attempt to spin an old tale by attaching a new title. Not so. Google “learning ecosystems” and prepare to wade through over 12 million returns. Funny thing – I Googled that phrase a few years ago and found only a fraction of what is there today. It would not surprise me if there were as many definitions as hits, each with a degree of correctness. I say that because a learning ecosystem tends to be unique to the organization it represents. The “learning ecosystem” concept is a new reality, and in this new reality, we must consider the shrinking role Training plays. Talk about paradigm shifts…oh my… Read more…
Speedboat Learning
I discovered a new blog this morning with an inaugural post “Rage Against the eLearning Machine – How technology can make fools of us all.” The post was shared by Richard Maranta in the LinkedIn group E-Learning Advocates, and I think the posting was well written and spot on. It is worth reading if you do not mind taking a detour link. I will not regurgitate what Rick wrote, but I found myself moved to say “Yes, and…!” Read more…
Under the Hood of a Beautiful e-Learning Course
The following interview post is offered along with our congratulations to Craig Bunyea for his nomination as Best eLearning Developer!
Craig Bunyea has been nominated as Best eLearning Developer in theMaestroeLearningAwards [http://goo.gl/cRccg], dubbed the OSCARS of the eLearning industry. What follows is an interview between Craig and the award’s organizers,MaestroeLearning [http://www.maestroelearning.com]. Read more…
Learning Brokers Force Training to the Edge
Moving the workforce into a state of readiness holds profound implications of producing performance and tangible outcomes that consistently contribute to sustained capability in any organization. It goes without saying that readiness is a desired state for the entirety of the organization’s workforce despite the diversity of work unit contributions. The one business unit in particular that carries mission-critical responsibility to be in a state of readiness is the Training organization. Their mission, if they do it well, should carry the responsibility to enable every other business unit’s workforce contribution to reach sustained capability. Many are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Read more…
At the Edge: Chasing Learning Micro-Systems
A colleague who owns a successful training company recently contacted me with a question that triggered the writing of this post. She described their very solid approach to training [on-line systems focus] and shared some doubts that they are able to reach the “edges of the ecosystem” with their efforts. The question she asked was, “How do you propose to get to the edge?” Read more…
Close to the Edge: The Radicalization of Training
As I reflect on this title, I can imagine some rather extreme images springing forth in the minds of long-time training purists. I say this with confidence because the topic of facilitating learning at the edges of the ecosystem has freaked out both platform trainers and instructional design professionals before. Yeah, and yours truly was that source of disruption. Several actually questioned if the time had come to update their resumes. In my no-longer-humble-opinion, if training does not step up…make that…step out…to the edges of the learning ecosystem, training budgets will continue to shrink and those resumes will need updated anyway. My thinking around this radicalization of training becomes more urgent by the day, and the only thing that gets blown up is a paradigm or two. Read more…
Governance: Who Should Come to the Party?
I fell into a discussion on the Chief Learning Officer network early this morning that asked, “What is the most effective governance model?” The second part of the question was, “How do you ensure the governance meets your performance objectives?” Having been up to my hocks in forming and storming through the birthing pains of several governance efforts, I had to shake off the tremors before I could offer a suggestion. It was actually the second part of the question that pulled my trigger. Granted, I did not [do not] fully understand what definition of “performance objectives” may have been implied, nevertheless, the trigger was tripped…and the response went something like this… Read more…
Convergence of Training With Business Process Guidance (BPG)
I have been writing for months on the topic of “convergence”, often referring to it as an impending collision between two business-critical moments – learning need and flawless human performance in the work context. My unwavering position on this says that Training [the department] should have a role…make that a KEY role…in either preventing the collision, or instead, choosing to enable it as a seamless integration. Frankly, I do not see either happening except in a very few circumstances. For the life of me, I cannot understand this disconnect. Why would Training, who has every right to boast of driving human performance, choose to ignore the very work context where human performance opportunities abound? Read more…
Do We Train, or Do We Guide?
This is a question…make that “a decision point”…soon to be addressed by any organization contemplating deployment and implementation of on-line system technology into their workforce. Make note that I called out “deployment and implementation” separately. Just for clarification, deployment gets you to GoLive, that momentous gala event with the ribbon cutting ceremony, the clowns, the balloons, and the three-bite shrimp. The “Train or Guide” decision has little to do with that celebration and everything to do with implementation, or another word that is equally daunting to the training organization – routinization. Tradition says we “train our end-users to a state of readiness”, the reality afforded by new technology says we are better off giving the new user a GPS guidance system to navigate through the system real-time. Read more…
Selling Change to Training – Please! Hurry!
This post comes from a recent experience involving the cycles of selling Change [as in new technology] to a Change Agent [known as the Training Department]. The outcome of this effort ultimately facilitated successful deployment; however, the circuitous route taken to reach that destination involved selling Change to a different client – the operational side of the business. I suspect this phenomenon had a lot to do with the solution [electronic performance support system – EPSS] not normally recognized as a “training tool” and technically, I agree that it is not. But…that is NOT the point. This was not about a new technology; it was about new methodology…and ultimately, it was about a threat to status quo at the hands of innovation. Read more…
ROI vs. EOSC – Evidence of Sustained Capability
This return on investment (ROI) thing is getting out of hand. There is no question that valid ROI is invaluable in justifying the decision to make [or not] key investments. I have to ask, “So what is actionable about ROI after justifying/verifying an investment decision?” To get there, we seek event-specific evidence to confirm good or bad investment decisions; I cannot see anything else actionable. Seeking ongoing evidence that we created a sustained capability serves a better purpose. I do not know who said this, but it is so true, “The pursuit of true ROI does not yield a good ROI”. That said, if the concept of ROI falls into the wrong hands, it becomes a knee-jerk, ritualized, abused, and misapplied expectation, ultimately morphing into a ridiculous exercise I refer to as Return on Every Damn Thing (ROEDT). Read more…
Gary Wise – Chief Learning Architect
Increased velocity of business requires a more agile approach to learning, not to mention workforce accessibility to learning assets continuously. Current training methods are no longer sufficient to drive performance.
The learning organization owns new objectives:
- BUILD WORKFORCE CAPACITY
- SUSTAIN CAPABILITY
New paradigm. New rules of engagement.
This blog is dedicated to the re-invention of traditional training methods to expand scope and business impact through integration of a holistic LEARNING CONTINUUM framework called PDR.
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