Key idea 1
Learning and development units mirror startups in their potential for failure due to similar pitfalls.
What is the key to business success in today’s post-Covid landscape? Is it launching a side project focused on hand sanitizer or video conferencing tools? While those might be lucrative, a more pertinent inquiry revolves around the necessary mindset for businesses now. The defining characteristic shared by thriving businesses in any industry today is their capacity for rapid learning.
This isn’t solely related to the Covid era. We’re part of an incredibly fast-evolving environment, affecting both professional spheres and personal lives. The skill set required by today’s workforce is set to shift significantly, even in the short span of the next five years. The challenge then becomes, how can your business swiftly adapt its learning and development to prepare employees for future demands when the specifics of what they need to learn are yet unclear?
The solution lies in the realm of learning and development (L&D), traditionally tasked with enhancing or updating your workforce’s skills. However, there’s a twist: for L&D to truly thrive in this rapidly evolving era, it must also transform. It must adopt the nimble and ambitious approach characteristic of a successful startup. Yet, it’s important to remember that many startups don’t make it, and the lessons from their failures offer valuable insights for L&D experts.
Remember Quibi? For a brief moment in late 2020, it grabbed headlines as a fresh mobile streaming platform flush with almost $2 billion in funding, specializing in short-form content for a paying audience. However, Quibi’s downfall was its attempt to address a non-issue. Positioned uncomfortably between the realm of free social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, and subscription-based streaming giants like Netflix, Quibi tried to fill a market niche that, as it turned out, didn’t have a demand or a clear need from consumers.
A significant number of L&D departments encounter a similar predicament. Surveys reveal a concerning landscape: 75% of managers express dissatisfaction with their organization’s L&D efforts, while a mere 12% of employees report actually utilizing the skills acquired through their training programs.
With a global expenditure of $350 billion, it appears that L&D isn’t effectively addressing the correct issues – to put it into perspective, this amount could finance 175 Quibis! The good news is that there’s a strategy to achieve more impactful results with fewer resources, termed by the author as lean learning. This innovative L&D approach is designed for rapid, tangible outcomes, drawing inspiration from the successes of leading startups, and has the potential to revolutionize skill acquisition in the workplace.
Key idea 2
The initial phase of efficient L&D involves identifying the problem that requires resolution, followed by strategizing a solution plan.
Lean learning embodies a philosophy centered on three core principles: action, continuous improvement, and outcome.
Action emphasizes the importance of rapid response. In today’s fast-paced world, there’s little luxury of time for crafting flawlessly detailed solutions. Prompt delivery of an imperfect solution is frequently more valuable than waiting for perfection.
Continuous improvement highlights the lean approach’s emphasis on perpetual refinement. In this perspective, learning and development involve consistently refining and iterating based on feedback to gradually achieve the optimal solution.
Lean Learning is about having clear objectives for what success looks like in learning and development, ensuring there is tangible proof of its effectiveness by focusing on measurable outcomes.
The initial step for a Lean Learning and Development team is to identify a real problem that requires a solution, recalling the fundamental error made by Quibi.
Imagine you work in Learning and Development at FiveADay.com, a made-up business that supplies fruit to other companies. The sales department reaches out, struggling to meet their quotas and asking for training. The traditional response in L&D might be to agree and organize a training program, thinking the issue is resolved. However, this approach only addresses the surface request for training, not the underlying issue of failing to meet sales targets. Wouldn’t it be more effective to investigate the root cause of these missed targets?
For example, it could turn out that the sales team is competent at selling, but they lack sufficient knowledge about the products they’re promoting. If that’s the case, the real solution L&D should focus on is offering resources that enhance product understanding, which is a completely different approach. This might require direct conversations with the sales staff to pinpoint the specific challenges they’re facing.
Now, you can create what the author refers to as the Learning Canvas: a straightforward visual that outlines your L&D strategy. Note the issue you’re addressing and identify your target audience – in this instance, the sales department. Place your core value proposition, such as increased sales, at the heart of your diagram.
Surrounding the value proposition, chart out your approach to resolving the issue. Detail the additional information the sales team requires and the essential resources they will need to acquire this knowledge. Additionally, identify the stakeholders and, crucially, the metrics you will use to evaluate the effectiveness of your plan.
At the lower section of your diagram, calculate the expenses associated and define the expected result – for example, a particular percentage rise in sales conversions.
With this comprehensive plan in place, you’re well-prepared to tackle the issue.
Key idea 3
The goal of Learning and Development (L&D) is to provide the appropriate individual with the suitable learning material exactly when they need it.
You might be wondering, if not training courses, then what alternatives are there for solutions?
The possibilities are virtually endless.
A category of solutions lies in leveraging open learning resources – materials readily available online that could significantly benefit your team with little to no expense. Have you explored industry-specific publications? Are you utilizing existing how-to guides for the software and platforms your team uses? Moreover, do you encourage your employees to follow relevant podcasts, blogs, and newsletters?
Next, consider the potential of collaborative resources to promote knowledge sharing. Google operates an initiative known as “g2g,” where employees facilitate each other’s training, effectively utilizing internal expertise. Online wikis are also invaluable for mutual support among colleagues. If a training course is necessary, opt for one that is cohort-based, fostering a supportive learning environment among a group of peers.
Additionally, leveraging the timeless approach of coaching and mentoring can be highly effective. Identifying individuals within your organization who can serve as coaches or mentors to others can foster personal growth and inspire improvement.
Indeed, there’s a vast array of potential resources available, though comparing it to a library might not quite capture the essence, given libraries’ static nature. Instead, the goal is to nurture a dynamic, ever-evolving learning ecosystem that continuously updates, adapts, and enhances itself.
Having a diverse array of resources is essential because learning needs vary widely among individuals; a single approach won’t suffice for a topic as nuanced as learning. By examining employees’ previous career experiences, you can gain insights into their existing knowledge base and identify areas where they may require assistance. Additionally, directly engaging with them allows for a learner-driven, or “pull,” strategy to L&D, in contrast to a top-down, or “push,” method where training is prescribed. A strategic mix of both push and pull methods is necessary for effective learning and development.
To maximize effectiveness, it’s crucial to deliver the appropriate resource to the appropriate individual at the perfect time. The moments that truly matter, those instances when the knowledge is immediately necessary, are when people are most receptive and can fully appreciate the significance of what they’re learning. Essentially, the “aha moment” for understanding arrives when the information is applied in real-time, akin to experiencing the value of a new product when it’s first used.
Implementing these strategies can significantly influence your learning outcomes. However, don’t just rely on assumptions. Emphasize continuous evaluation. The effectiveness of learning initiatives should be reflected through tangible business outcomes, such as higher sales figures, improved productivity, or positive feedback from satisfied employees. By consistently measuring results and gathering constructive feedback, you can refine and enhance your learning resources, ensuring they become increasingly impactful over time.
Key idea 4
Initiating learning initiatives doesn’t require exhaustive resources—begin with a “minimum viable learning” approach.
Achieving perfection on the first attempt is unrealistic – this applies to both L&D professionals and their learners. Consequently, it’s crucial to refine and evolve your learning ecosystem based on feedback and impact assessments. Starting with a basic, yet effective, minimum valuable learning product is perfectly acceptable.
This concept draws inspiration from the startup ecosystem, where a minimum viable product marks the initial version of numerous groundbreaking offerings – consider how Airbnb’s creators simply posted a picture of their loft on a basic website. If your product is sufficient to convey and provide its core value to users, go ahead and release it, then begin collecting feedback. Any flaws or compromises made along the way can be incrementally refined and resolved as you gain further insights.
The concept of minimum valuable learning follows the same principle. In today’s rapid work environment, your business likely can’t afford to wait extensive periods for employees to acquire new skills. Prompt action is necessary. A makeshift instructional video shot on your phone might not have the polished appearance you desire. However, if it delivers the essential information your team needs, it’s probably more beneficial to produce it quickly, within a day. Over time, as you gain a better understanding of how its content can be enhanced, you can refine and improve it.
You can even determine the most effective and impactful learning resource to create by evaluating each potential resource based on three criteria, rating them from one to ten: Impact – the potential usefulness of the resource; Confidence – your certainty in its effectiveness; and Ease – the simplicity of assembling and deploying the resource.
Multiply those three scores to get a total out of 1,000. Focus on developing the resources with the highest scores first to ensure you’re making the most impactful contributions quickly. However, remember, this is just the beginning. Continuously monitor your resource’s effectiveness and integrate feedback into subsequent updates for ongoing improvement.
With each update, your resource should more accurately meet the specific learning challenge. The goal is to achieve a perfect alignment where the learning resource effectively addresses and resolves the challenge it was created for, thereby enhancing your business’s performance in the intended areas.
Key idea 5
Allow the rapid pace and innovative strategies of startups, such as sprints and marketing techniques, to motivate and accelerate your learning process.
Similar to a startup, a Learning and Development (L&D) team must identify the problems it aims to address, launch solutions swiftly and effectively via a minimum viable product, and enhance its approach continuously by leveraging metrics and feedback. However, there are additional lessons that L&D can adopt from startups, which will be discussed in this concluding chapter.
The first concept to consider is the sprint, a term frequently associated with the tech industry. A sprint involves dedicating a specific timeframe to concentrate on attaining a certain goal—such as creating a new product—with speed and efficiency. Similarly, you can apply the idea of a learning sprint to achieve educational objectives rapidly and effectively.
Gather a group of individuals capable of creating the desired learning resource. A sprint master will guide the team to stay focused, while the L&D team collaborates to develop the solution. The challenge owner, who has in-depth knowledge of the issue, ensures the team remains goal-oriented. By working together constructively and iterating on solutions, a learning sprint can provide a fast and efficient method for producing valuable resources.
One more strategy L&D can adopt from startups is the use of marketing methods. While it may seem unusual since you’re not selling a product, the essence lies in communication. As noted earlier, skepticism towards traditional L&D methods is common, so convincing people to embrace your innovative approach may require effort.
Consider it a rebranding effort. It might be time to entirely rethink how you present L&D to employees. Reflect on your L&D brand values and narrative, perhaps even crafting a unique brand name. This approach will enable you to weave a compelling narrative about the initiatives you’re undertaking.
Consider leveraging influencer marketing internally. You’re not aiming for Instagram fame but rather focusing on your workforce. Draw inspiration from influencer trends. Identify key influencers within your company — those whom colleagues admire and respect. Engage them to endorse your L&D initiatives, whether through a video, an email, or social media shout-outs. Their backing can significantly shift employee attitudes toward L&D in a positive direction.
And there it is! The world of learning and development can certainly pick up some lessons today, especially from startups, the masters of rapid learning and growth.
Final Overview
L&D must evolve to keep pace with the constantly shifting landscape of the modern workplace, drawing inspiration from the flexibility of successful startups. By adopting a nimble, streamlined approach, L&D can focus on quickly deploying solutions that are then refined over time, ensuring that the appropriate resources reach the intended audience exactly when needed.
Here’s a practical tip to ensure the effectiveness of Lean Learning: it’s crucial to assess the outcomes, and the method of doing so will vary based on your business’s unique aspects and the issues you’re addressing. To ensure you’re on the right track, strive for a combination of both quantitative and qualitative metrics.
Quantitative metrics involve concrete figures such as increases in revenue, customer satisfaction rates, or profit margins. On the other hand, qualitative data comes from sources like interviews and surveys, providing invaluable insights. It’s essential not only that your team achieves their numerical targets but also finds fulfillment and satisfaction in their work.
