Category: Learning Strategy

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Learning Strategy Skills

How To Overcome The AI And Tech Fear Gap

Everyone loves talking about technology disruption, but few take the time to understand the emotional challenges it brings.

I’m not talking about the current AI wave alone here.

Any new technology category and tool deployed into a workplace brings a challenge of both skill and emotions. We’re watching this play out in real-time with AI today.

Some are excited, others confused and a number are paralysed by fear.

Fear and misunderstanding are huge barriers to the adoption of anything. I’ve spent my career watching people not reach their career potential because, in their words, they’re “not good with tech”. I don’t believe that’s true.

What’s actually happening is fear of the unknown.

While we might get super excited about releasing a new learning platform, most employees are busy thinking:

  • What does this mean for me?
  • How will this impact my work?
  • What happens if I don’t use this?

Today, we’re exploring How To Overcome The Fear Gap with Tech, AI and anything Digital.

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How Do You Cross The Fear Gap?

A topic which doesn’t get nearly enough coverage despite its importance.

I first heard this phrase used by Andrew Huberman on his podcast when speaking with Tim Ferriss on how he approaches learning new skills and staying ahead of trends.

This got my old neurons firing all over the place. We all experience the ‘fear gap’. You may not always be conscious of it, but it’s always happening.

The Fear Gap Explained

It’s the process of when you don’t know enough about something, typically have doomsday-type thoughts about the thing and then eventually have a more balanced outlook once you understand what that thing is.

In other words:

Your lack of knowledge leads to an incomplete viewpoint, which for us as humans (not you AI), often makes us fearful.

The reason I moved into L&D tech was because of the fear I saw in many HR and L&D teams with modern digital technology.

This is still present, maybe even more so, as you read this. We have AI spinning our heads right now, yet most people I meet can hardly use their LMS/LXP.

Everyone experiences fear gaps.

So, it makes sense to know how to move yourself from terrified and confused to confident. 

Let’s pull at that thread ↓

Fear, Confusion and AI

An on-trend example of this (as I write these words) is generative artificial intelligence.

You’re either in the camp of “Judgement day is coming and we’ll be enslaved by the machines” or “There’s so much opportunity and I can’t wait to join the Matrix”.

Our media consumption fuels more of the doomsday perspective because we know, from a psychological perspective, that our brains are wired for survival. 

We search out threats before opportunities.

Look, I’m not blind to the valid concerns we all know about AI either. While you might not imagine it, I constantly grapple with applications and adoption of AI from an ethical and ‘tech for good’ perspective. 

But I can’t deny the ability for it to enhance work and create new opportunities in the right hands.

Basically, we have to balance caution with curiosity.

For us to reach the land of a balanced viewpoint to understand opportunities, not just risks. We have to cross THE FEAR GAP.

It’s easier said than done (isn’t everything). 

But if fear is stopping you from building the skills to navigate our modern world, we have a problem to solve. The time of proclaiming “I’m not good with tech” is dead.

We live in a world of code, algorithms and constant digital connectivity.

Obviously, AI is part of that.

So, if you’re in the camp of fear, confusion or just not knowing how to help yourself learn about the latest and emerging tech for learning, this is for you.

FYI, you can substitute ‘AI’ for whatever topic or skill is causing you nightmares.

The 5-Step Process To Cross The AI Fear Gap

I’m using AI as an example here.

However, you can use this framework as a template for crossing any fear of topics and skill acquisition.

1️⃣ Embrace your curiosity

Yes, that thing which most schools try to kill – unleash it. 

Approach the topic with a beginner’s mindset of natural curiosity. Leading with fear will just get you to that conclusion – fear of AI. Instead, ask questions, and seek points of view from both builders and consumers.

Here’s some quick resources to help:

2️⃣ Break it down

Don’t go crazy like some conspiracy theorist munching on all the counterculture content they can get. 

Consider the framework to best improve your knowledge. 

This could be the classic what, why and how structure, which for AI discovery, looks like:

  1. What is AI and Generative AI?
  2. Why should I use AI for L&D (or whatever industry you’re in)?
  3. When and where is AI most helpful to me?
  4. How can I apply AI in a meaningful way across my work?
A flowchart illustrating the learning process with three main components: WHAT, HOW, and WHY, with guiding questions for each aspect.

3️⃣ Research and learn

Gather information from reputable sources (so not your mate Tim who is so far down the TikTok rabbit hole that short videos are life). 

The big publications and those who actually work in the field of the thing you’re trying to understand are your best bet. When it comes to AI for work, L&D or the industry you’re in, my advice is to find builders.

When I say builders, I don’t mean those building multi-million pound tools.

I’m referring to industry practitioners who are building with tools, so in the AI realm, those who can build custom assistants, create simple agents and show you how to do the same.

Avoid the armchair experts at all costs.

You know what I’m talking about. Those who could barely explain what an API was a month ago but they’re now “AI Strategists for ‘x’”. 

Of course, seek diverse perspectives to gain a holistic understanding. That means the good, bad and ugly. But much like feedback, who you get that from and if they’re actually credible to give it matters…a lot. 

Look for case studies, tutorials, and examples of real-world applications rather than just theoretical discussions.

My last piece of advice on this one – Always be the chess player, not the chess piece.

→ Being a chess player means being in control, understanding the tools, and making strategic decisions. 

→ A chess piece is passively moved or controlled by technology (and social media-hype merchants).

Here’s my list of trusted sources in the AI space:

  • Deeplearning.ai by Andrew Ng (Computer Scientist, Coursera Co-founder and former Head of AI @ Google)

4️⃣ Practice, experiment and explore

They say practice makes perfect, right?

With skills, engaging in practical activities related to the skill is going to help you, obviously. With different topics (outside the skill-building realm), it’s wise to experience this thing in whatever form that is.

Ultimately, experiment, apply your knowledge, and learn from your own experiences.

The best way to do that with AI, or any tech, is to get your hands dirty.

You don’t have to spend a dollar either. Many tools are free to use (just be mindful of your data, especially at work 😉). A few recommendations for ease and support, check out:

Experiments to try:

  • Try asking ChatGPT to summarize a complex article, generate a lesson plan, or brainstorm ideas for a project, and use my prompt templates to help you.
  • Use Sana AI to explore different concepts for a new resource and compare best practices vs previous work.
  • Experiment with Claude as a thought partner on an idea or share a piece of work to review together.

Once you go beyond the basics, you might want to experiment with more developer-focused tools to understand the potential of large language models.

There are a few ways to do this.

For L&D folks, you can check out my AI crash course, and you can join the waitlist for my once a year AI for work boot camp to take another group of humans through tools, strategies and how to upskill your company.

If that sounds like your thing, drop your email here.

5️⃣ Reflect and adapt

After spending some time on this, you’ll have a much clearer picture. of the topic and skills in the AI world that once filled you with such fear.

What’s next?

Simple – keep building on these basics.

Reflect and adapt based on the knowledge you absorb. Tech moves fast. You don’t need to know everything about everything. Just focus on how it impacts your work.

This is the secret, which is really not a secret, to move from fear to confidence with not just AI, but any topic.

Final Thoughts

The Fear Gap is a big part of transformation and change projects.

Forgetting this can lead to huge barriers to adoption, but you can recognise this and use the framework shared today to win hearts, minds and emotions.

→ If you’ve found this helpful, please consider sharing it wherever you hang out online, tag me in and share your thoughts.

Before you go… 👋

If you like my writing and think “Hey, I’d like to hear more of what this guy has to say” then you’re in luck.

You can join me every Tuesday morning for more tools, templates and insights for the modern L&D pro in my weekly newsletter.

Categories
Learning Strategy Learning Technology

3 Ways To Position Your L&D Product for Success

Like you, I recognise that a lot of the world is run on how well you can sell a product to end users. 

This is no different in the L&D world.

Your work doesn’t end with designing a solution. You have to convince people to use it. So, we must learn how to position our fabulous learning products and experiences to succeed.

What’s the number #1 thing you need to do when launching your L&D product?

You need to sell the outcome, not the product.

Not doing this can quickly condemn your product to the graveyard.

I’ve seen several L&D products fail not because they sucked, but because users weren’t aware of the outcome and how it will transform them for the better.

It’s useful to find your best position with your end users. It’s helpful to consider:

  • Why is this thing useful for them?
  • How will it improve their life?

These are the questions that we have to answer as L&D pros.

April Dunford, seasoned product positioning consultant and author of “Obviously Awesome“, perfectly frames what we need to do, sharing:

“It is the concept which defines how your product is best in the world at providing some sort of value to a special set or segment of customers who care about that specific value you provide them with.” 

Here’s how I learnt from positioning mistakes earlier in my career 👇 

1/Sell less, Solve Problems

No one cares about the product you’ve built.

They care about how it will solve their problem and improve their life. It’s wise to get clear on the answers to these early in your design phase.

They’ll pay dividends when you reach the time to market.

I’ve fallen into this black hole earlier in my career. Build stuff and expect people to organically be excited about it because it helps them, right?

❌ Wrong.

We’re driven by a bounty of emotions.

In the workplace, both social standing and money move mountains in people’s minds.

→ Will x product make them smarter? Tell them.

→ Could an outcome be making more money? They should know.

Key to note: Don’t lie or clickbait. That’s just dumb.

Whatever promise you make must be delivered. Be smart with your words and intent.

I hit brick walls because I was trying to sell the L&D solution, not the problems it solved. We too often see this in a lot of the LMS and LXP market. You’ll find a list of features, usually AI-powered these days, yet very little on the impact they’ll deliver.

There’s much to learn about what not to do here.

Consider this next time you’re seeking buy-in from stakeholders and end users.

And always remember: What problem are you solving?

2/ Less Robot, More Human

This can be slightly more problematic in the age of AI and what feels like an ever-increasing number of formulaic writing styles.

The smart move is to break free from these structures.

Or…risk being lost in the crowd.

If we’re really honest with ourselves, most course and resource titles suck.

They’re often so vague that we leave the participant confused as to what’s really being offered to them.

When users don’t behave the way L&D teams expect them to with content and courses, they blame the individual. That’s easy to do, yet rarely the real reason.

Writing well, especially for attention, is a key component of our life and practice.

If you present a fabulous learning solution to your audience with boring and basic words, do you expect fireworks of excitement?

I think not!

Putting this into practice

In the visual example, we get real on how feedback is hard.

We must relate to our audience.

Talking like a robot and saying “Improve your feedback” is boringly flat. It doesn’t spark as an aspirational statement, right?

I find it helpful to meet people as a fellow learner because we all are.

Recognising that giving feedback is hard, and you find that too, helps set a co-partnering context. Not the stereotypical teacher → student paradigm, or the guru and their followers vibe.

3/ Talk Outcomes, Not Features

Share the benefits your audience will get by engaging with a product.

Don’t share a feature list of what it contains. Yes, that means those huge bullet lists that feature on too many course pages.

Tell the story of how it will transform them.

The visual above works because we promise to build the desired outcome. We’re positioning our product to the audience which will get the most value from it.

Just like April Dunford advises.

  • We’re sharing 3 tips on FB to use immediately.
  • You’ll learn how to share feedback like a pro (tactical promise)
  • You’ll understand how to improve and feel better about the process (outcome).

And, all in one sentence.

The BEST framework to nail your product positioning

What I’m about to share with you is a real-world superpower

I use this framework to clarify my thinking across so many creative tasks.

I keep this in my note-taking app. It comes from marketing guru Ann Handley’s book, Everybody Writes.

I always need to be laser-focused on:

  • Why am I building x thing?
  • Who is it for?
  • Why should they care about it?

We don’t need to fill up the world with more generic content/courses.

This framework will help you make sense of everything. You’ll want to keep a note of this somewhere.

  • Why am I creating this? What’s my objective?
  • What is my key take on the subject or issue? What’s my thesis? My point of view?
  • And, finally, the critical So what/Because exercise: Why does it matter to the people you are trying to reach?

Don’t over complicate this.

Write down what comes to mind and cut away the fat later. Your final act is to put all of this into one sentence.

As an example

Let’s say I’m working on an idea around generative AI upskilling for an L&D team.

My answers would look like:

  • To help L&D pros figure out how to intelligently apply gen AI tools in their work vs using 1000’s of tools for no reason.
  • My key take is to assess tasks we do to see where/if gen AI tools can enhance what we do.
  • It matters because you need the right tool for the job and to understand the latest innovations for work. Gen AI isn’t the answer to everything. But you shouldn’t ignore it if it can help.

In one sentence: Help L&D pros make the right choices with AI tools with a solid assessment framework.

If I were building an L&D solution, that sentence would be my mission. This clarity enables me to design, position and promote effectively.

Before you go… 👋

If you like my writing and think “Hey, I’d like to hear more of what this guy has to say” then you’re in luck.

You can join me every Tuesday morning for more tools, templates and insights for the modern L&D pro in my weekly newsletter.

Categories
L&D Tools Learning Strategy

How Context Will Save You From Creating AI-Slop

Let’s be real, the world is stuffed with content.

The education and workplace learning space is built on the foundations of content libraries. It’s been this way for decades.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “Content is king” muttered by some LinkedIn guru or marketer somewhere. While that might have been true at one point in time, the times have changed.

Anyone can create content, and as such, everyone can be a creator.

Whether they’re good or not is up for debate.

So that leaves content in a weird place. Is it really king anymore?

Perhaps, yet I believe it has little relevance in today’s AI overwhelmed world, where more of the internet is becoming AI generated content summarised by AI for you, without a key component.

That, my friend is context.

I like to pretend I’m good at playing chess, and any good chess player knows the king on its own has little power. Yet, when we know how to use the queen for thoughtful and calculated moves, you can command the game.

Context gives content purpose, direction and a meaningful impact.

Just like the Queen unlocks the game of chess.

  1. The pandemic of content overload
  2. Gen AI + cookie cutter content on steroids
  3. The dangers of content without proper context
  4. Examples of when lack of context causes real harm
  5. The Role of Context in Unlocking the Power of Content
  6. What L&D teams can learn from this
  7. TL;DR

The pandemic of content overload

The amount of information available to us today is staggering.

In 2025, the world will have produced enough content to fill five Libraries of Congress or nearly 16 zettabytes of data. 

While this abundance of content presents us with unprecedented opportunities, it also poses a challenge: how can we make sense of it all?

Without the right context, content can become overwhelming, confusing, and even dangerous.

Content paralysis is a legit issue.

Trapped in a cage of content

The compass of context

How do you navigate a map?

You find a compass!

That’s what context can be for you. A compass that reveals how we can make sense of it all.

One thing LLMs aren’t quite so good at right now are pairing content with experience and context. Granted, human users could do more to help here but that’s a different challenge.

When you have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and who you’re trying to reach, suddenly all that content becomes a whole lot more useful.

I think about this a lot (probably too much) for the L&D world.

I speak with lots of practitioners who are on a hamster wheel of either trying to survive the content avalanche of their libraries or doing the ill-advised act of creating more content to combat the poor quality of current content.

Before we carry on, let me frame the problem with more relatable data.

The team at Askwonder delved into the scale of content consumption in their article “How much Information do we Learn Everyday?”. They unpacked the content consumption of an average American.

The team shared “According to a report by the University of California–San Diego, the average American consumes about 34 gigabytes of data & information every day. That estimated to be the equivalent of 100,000 words heard or read every day– or about how many words in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (95,356 words).”

This is a phenomenal stat considering I could barely read The Hobbit over the last decade let alone in one day!

Comparing this to activities today, the team found you can use the 34GB of data to stream every episode of popular Netflix hit Stranger Things, 15,000 hours of playtime in video game Fortnite and 94hrs worth of doom-scrolling on TikTok.

Askwonder

AI and the great content tsunami

I don’t know about you, but I feel like more of the internet is becoming built, summarised and interacted with by AI more as the days pass.

I was never one for considering the dead internet theory.

Yet, when I see so much AI generated content, shared by accounts and websites run by AI agents receiving comments on those posts from other AI run tools, it gets me thinking.

I’m not against AI generated content.

It has a time and place, for sure. What I don’t agree with is the ever popular ‘copy and paste’ actions too many humans use AI for, rather than working with AI to create something meaningful.

As much as AI can fuel more content, it can also save us.

It can do this by providing both context and the capability to craft valued curation . If used in the right way, AI can summarise, define and be precise on the context of content you consume. Thus, saving you the precious non-renewable life force we call time.

We’ll talk about AI as a context partner throughout this journey.

Picture of king and queen from chess, resembling content and context.

The dangers of content without proper context

“Information without context is like a fish out of water. It may look good, but it’s not going to survive.”

Howard Rheingold, Author and Critic | Quote from Crap Detection 101″ on his website Rheingold.com.

If content is our map and context is our compass. I’m sure you can imagine the dangers of being in a jungle area with an analog map alone (AI isn’t available in jungles, as far as I know). 

Here’s the ways content can go wrong without context.

  1. Misinformation
  1. Confirmation Bias
  1. Overload
  1. Inaccuracy
  1. Unintended Consequences

Examples of when lack of context causes real harm

“Context is everything. It is what makes content relevant and separates signal from noise.”

Brian Solis, Digital Analyst and Author. What’s the Future of Business? Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences (2013).

Here’s a few examples to bring colour to this for you:

  1. Misinformation

    In 2020, false claims about the connection between 5G technology and COVID-19 were circulating on social media. Many people took these claims out of context and believed them to be true, leading to an increase in attacks on 5G towers and a spread of misinformation.
  1. Confirmation Bias

    During the 2016 US presidential election, fake news stories were widely shared on social media. Many of these stories were shared by people with a particular political affiliation, reinforcing their pre-existing beliefs and biases.
  1. Overload

    The average person spends over three hours on their phone each day. This constant consumption of content can lead to information overload and a lack of productivity.
  1. Inaccuracy

    In 2021, a clip of a speech by US Vice President Kamala Harris went viral on social media.

    The clip appeared to show Harris saying “we will not let up, and we will not give up” in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading some to accuse her of advocating for continued lockdowns.

    However, the clip was taken out of context, as Harris was actually referring to the need to continue to push for vaccine distribution and other measures to combat the pandemic.

    The full context of the speech was not immediately clear, and it took further investigation and analysis to understand what Harris was really saying.
  1. Unintended Consequences

    In 2018, Elon Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at a price of $420 per share.

    The tweet was taken out of context, and it was unclear whether Musk was serious or joking. The tweet had unintended consequences, causing Tesla’s stock price to surge and prompting an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk was fined and forced to step down as Chairman of Tesla’s board as a result.
How to unlock the power of content with context

The Role of Context in Unlocking the Power of Content

“Content is king, but context is god.”

Gary Vaynerchuk, Entrepreneur | Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World (2013).

Ok, we’ve covered the perils of when content goes wrong.

Now lets look at the other side of the coin when we add context to the mix.

1/ Clear Intent and Relevance

Content must have a clear purpose and be relevant to the user’s needs. 

Without clear intent, content can be irrelevant or even misleading. This is why knowing your audience matters. Consider what they need to know and why. Apply that same thinking to your own consumption.

Content that tries to please everyone should be discarded. 

Trying to please everyone is a fast road to providing nothing for nobody. Being precise about who you’re content is for is not only smart but necessary.

The same goes for your own content engagements, avoid the obvious hyperbole – ask, is this content worth the exchange of my time?

2/ Credibility

Content that is trustworthy, credible, and reliable always wins. 

Being able to write with credibility is crucial. Knowing whose words you’re reading is too. The bar to create content is so low anyone can share anything.

This is both incredible and complex.

That’s why we have to be careful with whose words we trust.

Trust but verify is another popular phrase, and I feel like in the AI-dependent world, you have to do more of your own research on both the source and their references.

3/ Application

What problem is this content solving? I feel we never ask this enough.

Think about it.

We each exchange moments of our life to engage with a piece of content, so it makes sense to know it’s going to deliver value, right?

Reading another article highlighting obvious content or someone getting on their soapbox for a good old moan might be entertaining but it’s not great for improvement.

If we’re going to invest, we need to know what we get in return.

Is the juice worth the squeeze? (as an annoying former manager used to tell me). By providing practical applications for content through context, we can increase its relevance and impact.

Again, we see how context helps users make the most of the content they consume.

What L&D teams can learn from this

I don’t think this is just for L&D teams.

You could apply this to other careers and generally life. We all take part in the content-driven world. 

Here’s a few things I’d recommend fellow L&D pros consider:

Provide context

Give people the necessary context to help them understand the purpose and relevance of the content.

This could include providing background information, explaining how the content fits into a larger learning curriculum, or offering examples of how the content can be applied in the workplace.

If you want to carve out value for L&D in the future, it would be better placed on bringing more context into the workplace than content.

Check accuracy

Before sharing any content ensure that it is accurate and reliable.

Take the time to fact-check and review the content to avoid sharing misinformation or inaccuracies that could lead to confusion or misunderstandings.

This is far too common with all forms of content today.

AI trust can be too high, especially when creation can now be done in minutes. Yet, inaccurate work that leads to consequences can erode human trust quicker than anything I know.

Consider the source

Always consider the credibility of sources.

Ensure the sources are reputable and trustworthy, and avoid sharing content from questionable or unreliable sources.

Tailor content to the audience

Keep the needs and interests of your audience top of mind.

Tailor the content to their level of expertise and knowledge, and provide content that is relevant and useful to their roles and responsibilities. No obvious, non-specific dribble here, folks.

Encourage critical thinking

Encourage people to think critically about the content they consume.

Teach them to ask questions, consider the source and the context, and evaluate the content for accuracy and reliability. This will help them become more discerning consumers of content and better learners overall.

We need more of this.

TL;DR

  • Content without context is useless.
  • Clear intent and context are necessary for content to be helpful.
  • Don’t peddle low-quality content from non-credible sources
  • Curate and create with care.

Before you go… 👋

If you like my writing and think “Hey, I’d like to hear more of what this guy has to say” then you’re in luck.

You can join me every Tuesday morning for more tools, templates and insights for the modern L&D pro in my weekly newsletter.

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Categories
Learning Strategy

How To Transform Your Learning Strategy From Education Obsessed To Performance Focused

Like many of you, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to win the hearts and minds of business leaders with modern-era learning practices.

I’ve not always won those battles.

However, I’ve learnt you don’t always need to.

Here’s a framework you can steal to use in your own strategy development.

Contents

How can you influence your stakeholders on modern-day learning design experiences?

It’s a question which all L&D pros face.

We’re in 2023 with AI and Metaverses, but our stakeholders want ‘e-learning’ or ‘to get people together in a room’. It’s a huge contradiction of our time.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve smashed my head off a wall as I’ve repeatedly been asked “Hey Ross, can you create some training for our team?”. This is the most mysterious question I’m fed daily.

Do people think I’m a mind-reader?

The learning solution problem

90% of stakeholders want to tell you the solution to their problem.

This has been constant across the nearly two decades I’ve spent in the industry.

Typically, they fall into two camps:

  1. I think I have a training problem and want you L&D person to facilitate a classroom workshop.
  2. I still think I have a training problem. I want you L&D person to create a point-and-click e-learning experience because I want something interactive.

(Fun fact about the word ‘e-learning’, it’s 2023, and we know that everything is electronic now. You can drop the ‘e’. I promise it won’t hurt you).

Before you pull your hair out, let’s explore why this thinking occurs:

  • Our education system has brainwashed us to believe that ‘learning’ anything must be a designated event.
  • Naturally, this pours over to the working world. If it’s the only system you know, why would you do anything else? The problem is the world of work is not school.
  • Organisations don’t see L&D as performance-based. They label it as education. Which leads many to believe it is nice to have.

Now, it’s difficult to introduce new ways of thinking with such an established attitude towards L&D.

I write about doing things differently in the industry (I know, how devilish of me!).

But this is not easy. You’re not going to walk into a company and change the strategy from ‘here’s our list of courses’ to ‘how can we design the best solution to x problem for this audience’.

You’ve got to play the long game.

Sorry, no easy fix here. You might have to grit your teeth and play along for a bit.

Over this time you can do what I call the ‘Trojan horse’ technique.

When in doubt, build a Trojan horse

Before we get into the meat of this, let me provide context for those who aren’t familiar with the tale of the Trojan horse.

Back in the 5th century (a long time ago) the Greeks and Trojans were at war.

It was not going well for the Greeks. They’d been attempting to break down the city of Troy for 10 years. The siege felt like it would never end. The Greek king Odysseus had an idea that would change the tide of this war.

Odysseus created a new tactic that has echoed throughout the pages of history.

He built a wooden horse. I know, very revolutionary. Odysseus hadn’t lost his mind, he was seeing more clearly than ever.

Winning the war by brute force wasn’t going to work. The Greeks have been doing this for 10 years with nothing to show.

Instead, they created a trick.

One day, the Greeks pretended to sail away from Troy.

The Trojans believed they had given up. Outside the city walls, the Greeks left a wooden horse as a parting victory trophy for their enemies. The Trojans accepted and brought the horse into the city.

Little did they know, not all the Greeks had left.

Odysseus and a group of his men secretly hid within this wooden horse to gain access to the city.

When darkness fell, the troops jumped out of the horse to open the city gates for the rest of the Greek army who had sailed back after their fake departure.

Within hours, the Greeks destroyed the city, concluding the fall of Troy.

The Trojans played the smart move.

What does this have to do with transforming your company’s L&D strategy? A lot.

You can either choose to pursue a fruitless multi-year siege in telling stakeholders they’re wrong and you’re right. Which will 100% end up with them shutting down on you like the unbreakable gates of Troy.

Or, you can deploy the long game and switch to a smarter tactic.

How to deploy your Trojan horse

When a stakeholder wants a particular solution and you know you have no leverage in the matter, don’t fight it.

The battle will be pointless and you’ll likely end up in the same place.

Instead, build the solution(s) they want but drop in 10% of the stuff you know works better.

The play here is to neither give up nor try to start a war.

You find opportunities to weave in new ways of thinking and approaches into existing experiences. You’ll then compound this play over time.

What I’ve found is stakeholders typically get excited about that 10% bit and want more of that. It’s not a 100% win rate of course.

And, it has to be something that delivers a clear impact. You can’t do something different to have it fall flat and kill your own play.

The idea is to be strategic in your order-taking.

You can’t expect people to change because you tell them to. It takes months even years to win hearts and minds.

It’s worth the effort.

TL;DR 👀

  • Don’t preach, show.
  • Don’t start a war when you’re an army of one. Make small changes over time.
  • Be a strategic order-taker.
  • Change takes longer than you think.

Before you go… 👋

If you like my writing and think “Hey, I’d like to hear more of what this guy has to say” then you’re in luck.

You can join me every Tuesday morning for more tools, templates and insights for the modern L&D pro in my weekly newsletter.

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How To Get Actionable Feedback On Your Learning Experiences

Most feedback from L&D courses is useless.

Don’t believe me?

Think about the common questions on post-course surveys.

Classics include 👇

> Were you happy with the course?

> Was the pace ok?

> Did the coach entertain you?

I’m taking the piss here a bit, but you get my drift.

Questions like this provide little use in knowing what works and what doesn’t. So, how can we do better?

Read on my friend.

Introducing B.A.R

Let’s keep this simple and tactical.

We want to gather 3 pieces of information to construct a useful piece of feedback.

1/ What was the knowledge level and/or skill confidence before the experience?

2/ What was the knowledge level and/or skill confidence after the experience?

3/ Would they recommend this experience to others? And, if so, why?

These 3 answers will give you the most useful feedback to take action.

The bonus is they’re easy to answer (think of short attention spans here people) and act as a testimonial you can share with future potential participants.

Don’t overcomplicate this.

Cut through the noise, get to the stuff that matters and make improvements based on this data.

You’re welcome.

FYI, I stole this idea from SEO expert Brian Dean. Another example of a technique from the marketing playbook that helps the L&D community.

Before you go… 👋

If you like my writing and think “Hey, I’d like to hear more of what this guy has to say” then you’re in luck.

You can join me every Tuesday morning for more tools, templates and insights for the modern L&D pro in my weekly newsletter.

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