'Dear Training'... A Breakup Letter from L&D Professionals
Arun Pradhan
A Curious & Empathetic Geek ◆ GM of Learning @ANZ ◆ Co-founder @ModelThinkers.com
Dear Training,
We’re sorry, but it’s over.
It’s not you, it’s us. We’ve changed, but we’ll always value what we had together.
Do you remember how we first met? That summer day when we gently crafted our first elearning module? Or how we stood, full of trepidation, as we prepared to deliver that face to face workshop? We were so young.
There were times when something seemed amiss, but you always knew how to reassure us. You were so confident, with your Flashy smile and concise learning objectives. You promised so much. We were going to change the world together, one course at a time...
Listen, there’s no easy way to say this. We’ve met someone else. Let’s just call them ‘P’.
P doesn’t make empty promises, they just deliver. You can’t believe what a relief that is after decades of being with you.
And don’t get us started on how rigid and formal you are in comparison. It’s like you have two gears: ‘on’ and ‘off’. The worst part is when you’re ‘off’ you expect us to wait, frozen in time.
P isn’t like that. For a start, P fits in with our work and life rather than insisting we spend dedicated time away from the rest of the world. P is always there, encouraging us in ways we never even considered.
Sure we can’t control everything, but we’re not trying to anymore. P doesn’t care how long we spend together, or about ticking meaningless check boxes… P just cares about making a difference.
So yes, this is the end of our… what did we have exactly? A long term affair? A marriage of convenience? Whatever it was, it’s over.
Please don't be angry, and don’t go posting those embarrassing photos of us… you know the ones when we were dressed up and did those role plays? You don’t want to burn any bridges. Besides, we still want to be friends. There’s a place for you in our life, only a much smaller place than before.
How much smaller? If you had to push us for a number, we’d say you can have 10%... that’s all you ever needed anyway!
We’d better go, P’s calling.
P's full name? You really want to know who stole our hearts? Well, we probably owe you that much.
It’s Performance. We know, probably French or something.
Goodbye Training. We’d say ‘thanks for the memories’ but frankly, even they tend to fade away when once you're out of sight.
Yours,
Broken Hearted L&D Professionals
P.S. We're keeping the dog.
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SOME OF MY OTHER INFOGRAPHICS & ARTICLES:
- COMIC : 70:20:10 & the Neuroscience of Learning
- ARTICLE: Design Thinking for Learning Innovation, A Practical Guide
- ARTICLE: Reframing 70:20:10, The Anatomy of Workflow Learning
- INFOGRAPHIC: If Learning Was Water
- INFOGRAPHIC: Work is Learning (Burst the Training Bubble)
- ARTICLE: 5 Reasons why 70:20:10 Solutions Fail (and what we can do about it)
- ARTICLE: eLearning Modules Must Die... and 70:20:10 will Hold the Smoking Gun
- INFOGRAPHIC: The Future of Corporate Learning
- INFOGRAPHIC: Heroic Journeys to High Performance
- INFOGRAPHIC: 15 Powerful Learning Habits to Succeed in a Complex World
If you feel aligned with the topics I discuss, please feel free to link up with me here on Linkedin and/or on Twitter through arunzpradhan.
And please check out Learn2Learn, an app I built to help you hack your career and future-proof yourself.
I provide solutions to business challenges. Today, every business is facing a challenge that involves its people. Change, leadership, sales or even trust and relationships. I coach and teach on all these topics.
8 年I love both of you for protecting and promoting your own views of the world, tech you geek trying to up sell his IT solution and lifestyle train putting him in his place... Didn't I read that the 70-20-10 ratio was made up? In all marriages there are needs for give and take and it is the best relationships that listen well and care about each other that really work, there is the right place for both these approaches. The thing I say to my wife most often is that we just don't practice and give each other feedback often enough.
Director & Principal Coach at Forward Perspective
8 年Creative - a well written story. What came to mind as I read it was Tim Gallwey's equation: P=p-i (Performance=potential-interference). For me this article highlights the important role of coaching and how it can significantly improve the benefits of training.
Personal Impact Coach - influence, involve and inspire people, every time you speak. Presentations, events, meetings,networking, interviews - you never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression!
8 年We've been The Performance Business for 20 years! What took you so long?!
Excellent!! Applicable from multiple perspectives and with hilarious comment responses as well. Nice one Arun!
Leadership Development trainer and coach. I nurture success by helping people to challenge and overcome their self-limiting beliefs.
8 年Thank you Arun for an amusing but very real article. I am loving the comments too. As a learning professional it is always sad to see training/education/learning/development (however you want to put it) in the role of the poor relation constantly getting picked up and dropped - more often dropped - in favour performance, productivity and priorities....