This choice of title may be an indication I’ve been reading too many Alex Berenson novels, but it rang true this morning, so it is what it is. Intentional Design has nothing to do with “black ops” or covert military or clandestine operations: but I must confess there may be elements best executed more “covertly” than “overtly” at least until adoption has proven its worth with evidence of sustained impact. Intentional Design is NOT a new design methodology. We have plenty good ones…like 5 Moments of Need, 70:20:10 and SAM for example. Intentional Design is a mindset methodology where the outcome renders recon intel consisting of informed knowledge about the battlefield upon which our workforce is taking fire.
Support under fire? An extreme image possibly, but sure…support from things like:
- Relentless incoming fire in the form of threats to maintain competitive advantage;
- Meet regulatory compliance pressures;
- Maintain pace with an increasing velocity of business demand for agility and responsiveness from our workforce @ Point-of-Work;
- Chaos to status quo courtesy of the continuous nature of change;
- Technology evolutions like Digital Transformation;
- Leadership expectations that you (L&D) are impacting the bottom-line with measurable business value instead of the routine cost-of-doing-business expense
I’ve heard that every battle plan is perfect until the first bullets start to fly…or that every football play as designed is a touchdown…until the ball is snapped. In either case, the dynamics of the environment where battles are fought, and games are played, require agility and responsiveness of the soldiers/players and leaders/coaches. Rules of engagement (ROE) depend upon the nature of the battlefield/game dynamics. Decisions to succeed whether in battle or game competition obviously need to be flexible, agile, and responsive. But where? How does agility get delivered? How agile is agile enough? Were the assets provided the right ones?
I’m convinced it all comes down to the intentions behind the design decisions we make…and if those intentions are not in lock-step with accelerating and sustaining workforce productivity first and foremost, we are left short…delivering potential at the hands of training solutions versus measurable performance outcomes at Point-of-Work. What drives your intentions even before the first storyboard is created?
If you or members of your team plan to attend Learning Solutions 2019 in Orlando, I plan to dive into the concept of Point-of-Work as a key driver behind Intentional Design and associated productivity acceleration technology during Session #809 at 4PM ET on March 27th. Session title is “Performance Support: Enabling Productivity Acceleration at Point-of-Work”.
If not attending the conference, I’m scheduling private virtual discussions that surface during a walk-through of the same presentation. Your investment means giving up 90 +/- minutes of productivity that you’ll either never get back…or find something you can apply and multiply the time lost as accelerated productivity in your workforce.
Thanks for reading, and as always, if comments or ideas, please share. If questions or clarifications are needed, just ping me.
Take good care!
G.
Gary G. Wise
Workforce Performance Advocate, Coach, Speaker
gdogwise@gmail.com
(317) 437-2555
Web: Living In Learning
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