Innovation training doesn't work... So why are we still doing it?

The short answer..? because it's easy.  But there is a better way.

Traditional Training has Limited Effectiveness

Nearly all the organizational leaders we've spoken with about this immediately agree that training in general has very limited impact. There's good data to support this as well. According to Forbes and the WSJ, US based companies spend more than $150 billion on corporate training every year, with 50% of the content forgotten in the first 2 weeks, and more than 90% forgotten within the same year. (See more on the Forbes and WSJ articles at these links.)  Dr. Eduardo Salas, Program Director at the Institute for Simulation and Training, reports that there are many common myths about training. One of the greatest myths is that individuals come back immediately as a "trained, skilled and improved worker".  As Dr. Salas' research proves, that just not true. There are some very clear steps that organization development professionals can take to ensure new skills are developed and encorporate, but standard training programs don't really deliver. McKinsey research agrees, and there's some great insight in their report on Why Leadership Development Programs Fail, as well as some guidance on what can do to improve learning and retention. 

We're Still Training our Staff the Old Fashion Way

Just about every organization we come in contact with has some innovation training program. Why? There are a few key reasons:

1. It's always been done that way. Every organization has a training budget. Now that more than 80% of senior leaders are looking to increase their organizations ability to deliver innovation to market, we can be sure they expect to see innovation training in the annual training program.
2. It's easy to delegate. Large companies always have a talent and organizational development team. Senior leaders, busy running the business, can hand that off to the talent development team and know that it's in trusted hands. They have a training budget... we're back to point 1) above.  
3. There's plenty of innovation training available, and it's so affordable.  These days, everyone is offering Design Thinking training, or Creativity training, or some sort of innovation training. It's become a commodity, which means it's really easy to buy plenty of it. And with so many consultants offering to train our teams, it's also easy to get multiple suppliers bidding on the same training program. A HR leaders dream!

The Game Has Changed and We Need A New Approach

The reality is that business innovation today is far different than it was 5 years ago, let alone 20 years ago. However, we're still using the same tools, which is why the training being offered has commoditized and is so easy to find. It's generic, and ineffective. And innovation is far from the only business skill that training is failing to deliver. A recent HBR article highlighted the exact same issue with time management. Like innovation skills, the skills necessary to manage one's time have radically changed in the recent years. Time management training that focuses on a daily schedule and priorities A, B, C, etc., is useless in today's business environment.  Does anyone really use a planner these days? Likewise, innovation training that focuses simply on Creativity or Voice of the Customer tools is unlikely to add value to an organization trying to find real growth opportunities. To give our teams the opportunity to excel, we need very different approach to innovation training.  Dramatic increases in effectiveness can be realized by providing the specific skills needed at the right time, with plenty of opportunity to practice with feedback and coaching. 

Innovation is Like any other Business Skill... It takes plenty of Practice

As Dr. Salas mentions in the WSJ article, opportunities to practice are the key to success. Any training program will have limited impact unless participants in the program have the right supervisory support, the opportunity to practice, get feedback, and apply the skills just learned.  Experiential learning has always proven to provide a higher degree of engagement and retention. We're all human. We learn by doing. 

"Knowledge gained through experience is far superior and many times more useful than bookish knowledge" - Mahatma Gandhi

According to Dr. Salas, training programs need to be complimented with the opportunity to practice, get feedback, and apply the skills just learned. What we really need is Innovation Coaching.

With innovation training, that's actually quite simple to achieve. Throw out the classroom training and focus on working with teams that have an innovation project... that need the skills right now. 

To drive sustainable innovation capability, focus efforts on Innovation Coaching instead of Innovation Training

This may mean that the number of students decreases and the cost/student increases, but the return on that investment is sure to be 10X greater than the classroom training. With more than 90% of the content forgotten with classroom training, is cost/student really the best metric? 

Focus on Coaching the Skills Needed for Innovation Success

With a few decades of experience as an organizational leader and innovation practitioner, I'd suggest adding a few key elements to the coaching program for your innovation teams. Here are some of my top picks that don't often appear on the "innovation training" menu, but have a huge impact on the employees ability to consistently deliver results:

1. Working Across silos and Functions: Finding creative solutions to these barriers is key to success and can not fall to the VP/GM to sort out. (Hint: the answer is not a new workflow diagram.)
2. Influencing Senior Leadership: Selling ideas to stakeholders is key. We all know that. But waiting until we get a 20 minute slot on the agenda with the VP to pitch him is unlikely to work. What's more, pitching our own VP is usually not the path to success. Good idea owners need to develop the skill to sell the idea to a SVP in 30 seconds... or at least have convinced the SVP to schedule the 20 minute slot.
3. Creative Resourcing: Tapping into resources outside the firm for specific tasks is THE key to successful corporate innovation programs in the coming years. Startups to this without thinking about it, which is a bit part of their speed and agility. Corporate programs need to include this skillset quickly.

In short, a good Innovation Coaching program can dramatically increase the capability of the teams and organization without any incremental increase in costs. We're already seeing this with quite a few MNC's, as internal innovation accelerator programs often have a strong coaching element included. These programs offer teams tools and coaching while they work on a real project. A great way to "learn by doing".   What's working in your organizations today and what additional innovation coaching focus areas would you add to the short list above?

I was born in Montana, USA and have lived and worked in three continents and five countries. I've spent the last 10 years in Asia.  As a former organizational leader and now professor, my passion has always been building and developing talent... one relationship at a time.  I'm fascinated by the ability of individuals and teams to harness a growth mindset, creativity, risk taking and personal relationships to achieve the incredible, both personally and professionally.  If you share any of these interests, I would be very glad to connect with you.