Running Training Like A Startup v2...Running Training Like a Startup 4.15.19 v2 2 To all that...

RunningTrainingLikeaStartup

4.15.19v2 1

RunningTrainingLikeaStartupDeliveringUnmistakableValue2.0

ByJ.Miguez

WithforwardsbyDavidVanAdelsbergandEdwardTrolley,co-authors

RunningTrainingLikeaBusiness


4.15.19v2 2

Toallthatencouraged,advisedandsupportedmeonthisjourney.Andtomydog,Charlie,whosat

patientlyatmyfeetwhileIwrote,andtookmeforlongwalkswhenIcouldnotwrite.

- J.


4.15.19v2 3

TableofContents

FORWARD 5

PREFACE 7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9

INTRODUCTION 10

ASTARTUPSTORY 12SELF-ASSESSMENT 14ABOUTTHISBOOK 16

SECTION1:TEAM 17

CLOASFOUNDER 18THEMINDOFAFOUNDER 19CHIEFLEARNINGOFFICER2.0 20TALKTHEWALK 23TELLMEASTORY 23THEFOURCORESTORIESFOUNDERSTELL…ANDCLOSNEEDTO 24THEVALUEOFYOURVALUEPROPOSITION 26THEASK 27INVESTORCOMMUNICATIONS 29CO-FOUNDERS? 30CLOASFOUNDER:DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS 32THEPOWEROFTEAM 33THESTARTUPATTITUDE 34GOAHEADANDTRY 36THEEXPERIMENTPORTFOLIO 37FAILURE:ITISALLINTHEDEFINITION 38THEPOWEROFTEAM:DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS 40

SECTION2:TOOLS 41

PRODUCT,PRODUCT,PRODUCT 42PRODUCTASPLATFORM 43PRODUCTLIFECYCLE 45DEFININGAVALUABLEPRODUCT 46PUTTINGTHEPRODUCTINCONTEXT 48BUILDINGAFEASIBLEPRODUCT 50THENEWFEATUREGAUNTLET 53STARTUPPROJECTMANAGEMENT 54PRODUCT,PRODUCT,PRODUCT:DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS 57THENEEDFORSPEED 58IFEELTHENEED.THENEEDFOR... 59SPEEDTOPRODUCT 61SPEEDTOLEARNER 64AQUICKNOTEONSPEEDTOVALUE 67


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THENEEDFORSPEED:DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS 68DATADRIVENEXECUTION 69DASHBOARDSTHATDRIVEVALUE 71DASHBOARD1:PRODUCTVELOCITY 73DASHBOARD2:PORTFOLIOMANAGEMENT 75DASHBOARD3:MARKETSHARE 77DASHBOARD4:EXECUTIVE 80AFINALNOTEONDASHBOARDS 80DATADRIVENEXECUTION:DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS 82ANEWFRAMEWORK 83THELEARNINGMODELCANVAS 84CUSTOMERDOMAIN 87PRODUCTSANDSERVICES 90SERVICEDELIVERYMODEL 93STRATEGYANDGOVERNANCE 95INVESTMENT&RETURN 98ANEWFRAMEWORK:DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS 103

SECTION3:LAUNCH 104

GETSTARTED 105ITSTARTSWITHAQUESTION 106EXPECTGREATTHINGS 109TALKINGTOTHETOP 110EXPECTATIONSMAPPING 112ASSESSINGTHESITUATION 114PRODUCTS&SERVICES 116SERVICEDELIVERYMODEL 117STRATEGYANDGOVERNANCE 118INVESTMENTANDRETURN 119FINALTHOUGHTS:EMBRACETHEJOURNEY 120ABOUTTHEAUTHOR 121


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Forward:DavidVanAdlesbergIn1999,whenEdTrolleyandI,withJ’sableassistance,wroteRunningTrainingLikeaBusiness,wedidsohopingtoaddresstwoobjectives:

1. Toawakenleadershipteamstotheoverwhelmingevidencethatmuchofthemassiveinvestment(atthetime+$60billionintheUSalone)theyweremakingincorporatesponsoredtraininganddevelopment(T&D)wasdonewithoutclearmeasurement.

2. Toprovidesomeguidanceonhowtooperationalizethisinvestmenttoensureamblereturn.

Ourultimatehopewasbetterhumancapitaldevelopmentthroughwiserspendingandimprovedthemanagementandmeasurementofthisimportantinvestment.Some20yearslater,althoughtherehasbeensomemodestachievementoftheseobjectives,theissuesandopportunitiesareonlybiggerandbiggerbyaquiteabit.Considerthesethreepoints:

• Infiscalyear2017-thelastyearinwhichfulldatawasavailable–S&Pcompaniesreportedspending$77billionanditisestimatedthatthetotalspendonT&DbyUScompaniesmateriallyexceeds$250billioneachyear.

• Agrandtotalof22companies-lessthan5%-evenbotheredtoreporttheirT&Dspendingtoshareholdersin2017.

• Mostimportantly,thecombinationofthestateofoureducationalsystem,thespeedoftechnologicalchange,thefightfortalent,andthefurtherincreaseinemployees’desiretolearnandgrow,hasneverbeenmoreacute.Companiesareunderconsiderablymorepressuretoensuretheirteamshavebasicskills,areretrainedandupskilledwhenneeded,arealignedstrategicallyandareprovidedopportunitiesforskillenhancementasameansofrecruitmentandretention.

Yetdespitethespendingandtheneed,managementandmeasurementsystemsremainscarceatbest.Whatother+$250billionannualinvestmentlacksquantifiableROImetrics?InstepsJ.Miguezwithafreshandhighlypracticalsolution.Althoughthechangeinthetitlefrom‘Business’to‘Start-up’issubtle,theinsightsandadviceareanythingbut.InRunningTrainingLikeaStartup,J.sharesdetailsanewapproachwhichisbasedonthepracticesandmethodsofthemostsuccessfulandfastestgrowingcompaniesoftoday.Heappliesandcombinestheirpragmatism,theirrelentlesspursuitfor‘better’,theiropennesstomodifyontheflybasedonfeedback,metricsandquantifiedresultsintoasimpleguideformakingT&Dhighlyrelevantandmeasurable.Inthisimportantandbeautifullywrittentext,J.outlines–stepbystep–howtoembracenewandhighlyeffectiveT&DpracticesandapproachesthewaytheGoogleguys,Zuckerbergandotherslikethemapproachtheiroverallbusinesses.AlthoughthesubjectmatterisaboutT&D,itisamustreadforanybusinessleader-inanyposition–whoseekstooptimizeandmeasuretheirgrowinginvestmentinthedevelopmentofhumancapital.BravoJ.andcongratulationstoallwhofollowitswiseandtimelyadvice.

-DavidVanAdelsberg


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Forward:EdwardTrolleyIdon’tknowmuchaboutstartupsasIhaveneverworkedinorwithonebutJ.Miguezdoesandhas.Hehasworkedinthestartupspaceformanyyearsandhasdevelopedakeenunderstandingofhowtheyoperate,whatisimportantforsuccess,whatarethechallengestheyface,howtheydealwiththechallenges,whatmakesthemsucceedandwhatmakesthemfail.J.andIhavespokenmanytimesaboutwhatstartupsdothatcouldapplytothisnewworldofcorporatetraininganditsneedtotransform.Hehasconvincedmethattherearemanyparallelstowhathappenswithstartupsastheymovefrominceptiontofullonmatureoperationsandcorporatetrainingasitmovesfromunderstandingtheneedtotransformandactuallytransformingandthattherearemanylessonstobelearnedandapproachestobeconsideredastrainingtransformsitselfintoavalue-creatingmachine.Inthisbook,J.walksusthruthelifeofastartupandalongtheway,makestheconnectionstotraining.Hestarts,ofcourse,withthefounderwhointhetrainingworldistheCLO.InJ.’swords,“Justasthesuccessofastartupisreliantonitsfounder,thesuccessofthetransformationofL&DdependsonitsleadersacknowledgingtheneedfortransformationandthentakingontheroleofthefoundersofthenewL&D.”Heputsusintothemindofafounderorentrepreneur.Hetellsusthat,forthem,problemsarepuzzlestobesolved,notpaintobesufferedandthattheyareabletostartwiththeendinmindregardlessofhowdauntingtheleaptogetthere.Theyarecurious,haveaninsatiabledrivetodeliverandhaveahighdegreeofurgency.Wow,ifonlyCLO’scouldwalkinafounder’sshoes.Thisbooktellsacompletestoryofwhatmakesstartupstickandwhatcouldmaketrainingtick.HelacesthebookwithmanystoriesfromhisexperiencesworkingwithandtalkingtofoundersandtheyaddagreatdealofcredibilitytohisbigideaofRunningTrainingLikeaStartup.IamthrilledthatJ.hasnotthrownawaytheconceptsofRunningTrainingLikeaBusinessbutinstead,hasbuiltonthemandintroducednewdimensionsthatmakesomuchsense,Iwishwehadwrittenaboutthem19yearsago.Iencourageallofyouwhoareinneedoftransformingyourtraining(everyCLO?)toreadthisbookandapplysomeorallofwhatittalksabouttoyoursituation.Youandyourcompanywillbebetteroffforit!

-EdwardTrolley


4.15.19v2 7

PrefaceIhavebeentalkingabouttheideaofthisbookforyears.IwaspartoftheteamthatlaunchedRunning

TrainingLikeaBusiness.Anindustrystapleandgamechangingapproachinthenineties.Sowhyisit

thataftertwodecades,LearningandDevelopmentisstillstrugglingtodeliverunmistakablevalue?

Technology,justemergingwhenRunningTrainingLikeaBusinesscameout,isnowatthecoreofthe

learningorganization.Thetoolsusedbylearninganddevelopmentpractitionersforeverythingfrom

coursecreationtomeasurementhaveimproved.Yetthesameproblemsthatstirredtheneedforthe

firstbookcontinuetochallengeLearningandDevelopmentorganizationsaroundtheglobe.Recent

researchbyBersinbyDeloitteindicatesthat,whileemployeedevelopmenthasneverbeenas

important,faithoftheorganizationintheL&Dfunctiontodelivervaluehasalsoneverbeensolow.

Inthosetwodecades,thecompaniesthatL&Dorganizationsservehavechanged.Companiesofallsizes,

oncecomfortableintheirplaceinthemarket,havebeendisrupted.Innovation,onceasourceof

competitiveadvantage,isnowabusinessrequirement.Withallofthesechangestothebusiness,how

hasL&Devolved?Somewouldsaynotverymuch.Theuseofoutsourcing,controversialatthetimeof

thefirstbook,isfortunatelynowawidelyacceptedsolutionformanyfunctionsofL&D.Thankstothe

migrationtodigitallearning,measurementdata,formerlydifficulttocollectbeyond"smilesheets",is

nowreadilyavailable.But,inmanyways,L&Dhasnotchangedatall.AsstatedrecentlybyBersin,

“businessleadersandemployeesoftencitelittleornovaluecomingfromthelearningorganization.An

ominouscommentaboutLearning&Development,anorganizationthatwewouldargueismore

importanttodaythanever.

Enthusiasmisdefinedas"intenseandeagerenjoyment,interestorapproval".Mysense,havingsatwith

manyindustryprofessionalsatalllevelsandcomparingthattotheenthusiasticenergyinherentinfast

growingstartups,isthatourindustryissorelylackingenthusiasm.Whilewemayexperienceexcitement,

ashortdurationformofenthusiasm,aboutnewtools,technologiesortoys,thisistheemotional

equivalentofasugarhigh.Asthelasttwodecadeshaveshownus,wearerunningamarathon,nota

sprint,andsugarisnotthefuelofsuccess.

Thelackofenthusiasmisnotentirelyunwarranted.Theimportanceofemployeeengagementinan

organization’ssuccessiswidelyrecognized.Wehaveallseenthestudiesonwhatincreasesit;mission,

leadership,development,amongothers.Yet,whenyoutalktolearningpros,thefocusisoftenonthe

lackoffunding,limitedexecutivesupportorlatesttoolortacticbeingdeployed.Eventhecupofsugaris

halfempty.Andwhenwehearfromexecutives,weoftenfindtheyhavealowexpectationoftraining.

Mybeliefisthatisbecausetheyreallydonotknowwhatispossible.Ifwe,asanindustrydon'thaveany

enthusiasm,howcanweexpectexecutivestohaveanyenthusiasmforlearning?


4.15.19v2 8

Successfulstartupshaveenthusiasminabundance.Foundersactuallytakeenthusiasmtothenextlevel,

passion.Passionisthatintense,drivingfeelingorconvictionandwhileatpointsthismaybedivorced

fromreason,itsetsthehighestpossiblestandardforotherstofollow.Sitwithastartupfounderfortwo

minutesandtheycannothelpbuttellyouwhattheyarebuilding.Theywilltalkfast,asiftheyhavehad

toomanycupsofcoffee.Mostimportantly,theywillleaveyouexcitedabouttheirmissionandlooking

forwaysthatyoumighthelpthem. Thepassionforwhattheyaredoingisnotonlyvisiblewhenthey

aretalkingtoinvestorsorpotentialcustomers.Itcomesthroughallthetime.Itisondisplaywhenthey

aretalkingwiththeirteams,standinginlineforlunch,sittingaroundwithfriends,ridingthebusand

evenwalkingtheirdogthroughthepark.Ifthereareearstolisten,theyfeelcompelled,likenew

parents,toshareit.Andthisisnotlimitedtojustthefounder.

Successfulfoundersrecruitpeoplethatsharetheirpassionandcontributetheirownenthusiasmtothe

mix.Enthusiasmisnotsolelyenjoyment.Itisalsodefinedas"intenseinterest".Inthisway,enthusiasm

leadstocuriosityandcuriosityoftenleadstonew,novel,moreeffectiveormoreefficientsolutions.

Codingengineersatstartupsfrequentlyspendlongdaysatworkonlytogohomeandplayaround

writingcodeforfunortotestideasthattheymightbeabletobringbacktowork.Whenwasthelast

timeyouinvitedsomefriendsoverforsomebarbequeandsomebrainstormingonhowredesignan

assessmentprocessoralearningprogram?Notbecauseyouhadto,butbecauseyouwantedto.

Ourindustry'spathforwardisnotgoingtobeaneasyoneandwewillneedafulltankofenthusiasmto

fuelourorganizations.Weareenthusiasticaboutthefutureoflearninganddevelopmentandwethink

youshouldbetoo.Webelievethatunlockingtheenthusiasmthatourindustryhasforlearningrequires

anewapproach.Anapproachbuiltonthetimelessprincipleofdeliveringvalueholdshuge

opportunitiesfortheprofessionalsthatpracticeitandthepeopleandorganizationstheysupport.

Enthusiasticallyyours,J.


4.15.19v2 9

AcknowledgementsThisbookwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouttheguidance,realitychecksandnoholdsbarred

feedbackofEdTrolley.Hissupportandbeliefkeptmeandthiscontentfocused,basedinpractical

experienceandapplicableinthefield.

Additionally,thisbookistheresultoftheinputandinfluenceofanenormousnumberofpeople.Letme

beginbyacknowledgingthecontributionofalltheclients,startupsandlearningprofessionalsIhavehad

thejoyofworkingwithandforofthelasttwentyyears.Thisbookcouldnotbewrittenwithoutthe

experienceandlearningsthatIhavehadalongsideyou.Letmealsosaythankstothemanypeoplethat

gavemepricelessadvice,feedbackandsupportduringtheprocessofwritingthisbookEdBoswell,Craig

Wortmann,ValerieAlexander,JudyHauserman,ChipCleary,CassandraDamarcus,DavidVance,Siobhan

Dullea,KathleenMazure,AllanTodd,JocelynDavid,AliciaAngleandtheOchsnerHealthSystemlearning

team.

Tothemanyothersthatlistenedtomywildideas,earlyconceptsandrandomramblings,yourpatience

andtoleranceweregreatlyappreciated.Finally,aspecialdebtofgratitudeispaidtoPoojaSinghMehta,

whoeditedearlyversionsthisbookmakingitpossibleforotherstofocusonmycontentandnotmy

poorgrammar.


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IntroductionIthasbeenalmost20yearssinceRunningTrainingLikeaBusinesswaspublished.Evennow,its

principlesareapopulartopicatconferencesandinconversations,drawingnewlearningand

developmentprofessionalsintothetaleofdeliveringunmistakablevalue.Sincethebookwasreleased,I

havehadtheprivilegeofworkingwithcorporatelearningorganizationsaroundtheworld.My

experiencehasconfirmedthat,atitsheart,themessageofthebookisasimportantandessentialtoday

asitwaswhenitwasreleased.However,Ihavealsocometorecognizetheincreasinglyvolatile,

uncertain,complexandambiguous(VUCA)environmentinwhichthebusinessesareoperatingandthe

disruptionthattechnologyiscausing.ThechangesinbusinessenvironmentcreateamandateforL&Dto

respondtothisnewenvironment.Hence,theneedtorevisitthisimportantindustrytouchstone.

RunningTrainingLikeaBusinesswaspublishedinthelate90’s.Atthattime,theinternetwasstillyoung

andnovel,themarketenvironmentformanybusinesseswasrelativelystable,thedisruptivepowerof

technologywasyetunseen,andnewcompaniestookalongtimetoevenbenoticed.Therehavebeen

manychangesbothdramaticandsubtlesincethen.HighgrowthcompaniessuchasFacebook,Uber,

Google,andAirbnbhaveinvadedmarketswithbusinessmodelsthatdidn’tevenexist.‘Growfastordie

slow’hasbecomeareveredmantra.Innovationisnotachoice;itisnowonlybasictablestakestostay

inthegame.Speedandagilityarenotoptional,newcompetitorsarealwaysrightaroundthecorner

lookingfortheopportunitytotakethemarketleadingposition.Digitaltransformationisnota

buzzword,itisreal,hereanddisruptive.

Ifthisisthenewrealityfortoday'sbusinesses,thenthedefinitionofwhatitmeanstosuccessfullyrun

training"likeabusiness"haschangedaswell.EricRies,thefounderoftheLeanStartupmovementand

authorofthebook"LeanStartup"definesastartupasanyenterprisewherethe"unknowns"aregreater

thanthe"knowns".Usingthisdefinition,today'slearninganddevelopmentorganizationsaremost

definitelystartups.Therefore,today’sL&Dleadersmustberunningtraininglikeastartupbusiness.

RunningTrainingLikeaStartupappliesthetechniquesusedbyhighgrowthstartupstotheLearning&

Developmentorganizations.

WhileIwasdraftingthisbooksomeofthefeedbackIfrequentlyreceivedwas,“thisisgreatandneeded

butIwon’tbeabletodoitinmyorganization.”AsImentionedearlier,Irecognizethatstartupshavea

distinctadvantageinimplementingthesevalue-addingapproaches.Bystartingwithacleanslate,they

avoidtheinherentchallengesofchanginganexistingsystem.Infact,inarecentsurveybyInnovation

Leader,thetwolargesthurdlestocorporateinnovationwereidentifiedaspoliticsandculturalissues.

Twobarriersnotoftenfacedbystartups.


4.15.19v2 11

Ascompaniescontinuetofindvalueinsupportingcorporateinnovationthroughincubatorprograms,

dedicatedteamsandotherapproaches,Iamconfidentthatthesechallengeswillcontinuetolessen.

LearningandDevelopmentorganizationsareoftentaskedwithsupportinginnovationinitiativesand

havetheopportunitytoleadbyexample.LeadinginthiswaydemonstratesthatL&Dcanbe,andmust

be,apowerfulweaponfororganizationslookingtosurviveintoday’sbusinessenvironment.So,start

small,beopportunistic,findabusinesssponsorandexperiment.Youdon’thavetodoitall.Juststart.

Standingstillisnotanoptionforyourbusinessorforlearninganddevelopment.Myhopeisthatthis

bookoffersyouapracticalguideforlearningprofessionalsoperatingintoday’sfast-pacedbusiness

environment.


4.15.19v2 12

AStartupStory

Itwasthesameroutineasthepriormonthasthestartup’sfoundersatdowntowriteherinvestor

update.Shehadwrittenmanybeforebutthisonewasgoingtobedifferent.Inpriormonths,the

updateshadcontainedexcitingnewsabouttheproductdevelopmentmilestonesthathadbeen

achievedandthegrowinglistofuserslininguptogetfirstaccesstotheproduct.Thelaunch,while

delayedbyacoupleofweekshadbroughtaflurryofactivityastheteamstruggledtokeepupwiththe

growinguserbase.Herinvestors,believersinherproductbutevenmoresoinherandherteam’s

capability,hadreadeachinstallmentofherupdateswithgrowingexcitementandanticipationofthe

returnstheywouldgetontheirinvestment.

Thismonth’supdate,however,wouldcontainnewsofaslowingflowofnewusersandadropinthe

activitybycurrentusersoftheproduct.Thefounderknewthatwithoutcontinuedsuccessthestartup

woulduseupitsremainingcashandfinditselfinadireposition.Theproductwasoriginallyconceived

tosolveabigproblemforitsmarket.Shehadconfirmedthisassumptionthroughcountlessinterviews

andsurveys.Iftheneedwasthere,whyweren’ttheusersjumpingatthesolution?Whileforsome

companiesthiswouldbetheend,formoststartupsthisisjustthebeginning.

Thefollowingdaysheandherteambeganthedaywiththeirmorninghuddle.Onthismorning,the

teampouredoverthesignup,userandusagedatahopingtogleansomeinsightintowhatwasnot

working.Analysistaskswerequicklyassignedsearchingforanswerstowhowassigningup,whowas

usingtheproductmostandtheleast.Eachtaskwasputonastickynoteandstucktothewall.Aseach

teammemberfinishedataskitwasmovedtoanotherspotonthewallbeforetheypulledanother.In

thisfashion,thewallwasreorganizedthroughouttheday.

Thefollowingmorninginthehuddle,thefindingsofthepriordaywerediscussed.Theteamhad

discoveredthatthemostactiveuserssharedacoupleofsimilarities.Theyhadallusedaspecificfeature

oftheappandtheyhadallcometosignupthroughaspecificmarketingchannel.Thefounderthen

spentthedayaddingcontextandadditionaldatatothisinsight.Sincetheactiveusershadfoundher

productthroughasocialnetwork,shewasabletoseedemographicandotherinformationaboutthese

users.Byreviewingherproduct’sstructure,shewasabletoseethemostandleastusedfeatures.Using

thedatashehadcollectedpriortolaunchabouttheneed,shewasabletobreakitapartintoitsvarious

elements.Nowshehadaplan.

Thenextdaytheteamwasgreetedbyanalreadypopulatedwallofstickynotes.Thestartupsfounding

visionhadnotchanged.Theywerestillfocusedonsolvingthesameproblem;however,theproduct

wouldhavetochange.Andnotjusttheproductbuttheentirebusinessmodel.Whatthefounderhad

discoveredwaswhichofherproduct’sfeatureshadthehighestvaluetoheruserpopulation.Shealso


4.15.19v2 13

nowknewhowtobestreachthemandwhatmessagingworkedbest.Nowitwasuptoherandherteam

tofocus.

Withonly60daysleftuntilthebankaccountrandry,herquestiontoherteamwassimple.“Howdowe

deliverthemostvaluetothemostusersinthenext60days.”Theproductteamquicklysetoutto

understandhowtheuserswereactuallyusingtheproductanddefiningwhattheycoulddotogetusers

tohighvaluefeaturesintheproductsooner.Themarketingteambeganrevisingthevalueproposition

andmarketingmaterials.Attheendofthedayeachteampresentedtheirplantothefounder.Plans

werediscussed,modifiedandagreedto.Eachplanhadseveralpointsduringthenexttwomonths

identifiedforpossiblecoursecorrectionandhadspecificallydefinedexpectationsofresultsintermsof

signups,usageorreferrals.

Aftertryingmultiplenewmessagingapproaches,overthecourseofthefollowingweektheimpactof

therefocusedmarketingwasagainbuildingapipelineofnewusers.Theproductteamwasreleasinga

newversionoftheproducthighlightingthehighvaluefeaturesthefollowingweek.Thefullredesignof

theproductwasontheroadmapbutwouldneverfitintoa60-daywindow.Instead,smaller,weekly

improvementswereplanned.Meanwhile,thefounderworkedtorevisehermarketingbudget,pricing

planandoperatingmodeltoreflectthenewfocus.Herstartupwouldstillsolvethecompleteproblem.

Theywouldjustgettherebyadifferentpath,apathdictatedbywhatherusersvalued.

Attheendofthemonthasshesatdowntowriteherinvestorupdateshereflectedonthepriormonth’s

activity.“Ourfocusonwhatourusersvalue,asdemonstratedbytheirfeedbackandbehavior,is

paramount,”shebegan.Shethenwentontoreviewherdashboardsshowingthekeymetricsreflecting

performanceincriticalareas.“Withouttheamazingteamwehavewecouldnothavegottenthrough

this,”Shecontinued.“Ourspeed,useofdataandunderstandingofourbusinessmodelhasledusto

continueourworktosolveourcustomers’problem.Ourworkoverthepastmonthhasbeenanother

opportunitytolearn.AndIamsureitwon’tbeourlast.”

Thisstoryishardlyunique.Itisbeingplayedoutbystartupsaroundtheworldeveryday.Someofthem

willcreatethehappyendingbutmanywillnot.Aswereflectedonthecountlessdiscussionswith

learningprofessionals,learningorganizationassessmentsandbusinessleaderinterviewswehavehad

overthepasttwodecades,whatstruckuswashowdifferentthetypicalstartupwastomanyoftoday’s

learningorganizations.HowmanytimeshaveweheardtheL&Dprofessionaltoutthecatalogand

linkagestothecompetenciesonlytobetoldbythebusinessleaderstheyservethattheystillhadunmet

needsandcapabilitygapsthatwereholdingbacktheirbusiness?TimeandagainwehearL&Dprovide

uswiththehighperceptionofvaluethatthebusinessesholdfortrainingonlytofindamuchlower

assessmentfromlinemanagersorlearners.Thisisnotacomparisonbetweengoodandbad.Ratherthis


4.15.19v2 14

isafocusongettingfromgoodtobettertogreatallbyusingtoolsandapproachesbuiltfortheway

businessworkstoday.

Self-Assessment

InordertoprovideabasisforthecontentcontainedhereinIhavecreatedthefollowingassessment.

Thequestionsbelowarebasedonthekeydimensionsforrunningalearninganddevelopment

organizationlikeastartup.Forthequickself-assessmentscorecardbelow,pleaseratetheassumed

extenttowhichyourlearningorganizationhasattainedthegoal.

RunningTrainingLikeaStartupGoal

RatingScale1=stronglydisagree10=stronglyagreeRating

Weareservingthelargestpossibleusergroups

Wearedeliveringmaximumvaluetotheusergroupsweserve

Weunderstanddeeplywhatourusergroupsvalue

Ourproductsandservicesarealignedtowhatourusergroupsvalue

Ourprocessesarealignedtowhatourusergroupsvalue

Ourresourcesarealignedtowhatourusergroupsvalue

Wehaveoptimizedourprocessesandactivitiesforspeed

Wearecollectingandusingdatatodriveimprovement

Ourusercommunicationisclear,consistentandcompelling

Ourstakeholdercommunicationisclearandconsistent

Wehaveengagedtheadvisorsweneedinordertosucceed

Weareconfidentinourreportingofwhatwearecurrentlyinvesting

Weareconfidentinourreportingofwhatwearecurrentlyreturning

TotalScore:


4.15.19v2 15

Onceyouhavecompletedtheself-assessment,lookatyourscorecardandaskyourselfthefollowing

questions:

• WheredidIratemyorganizationhighly?Whatexistingdatasupportsthisrating?

• WheredoInothavedatatosupportmyratings?

• HowcouldIcollectthedataneededtoinformmyratings?

• IfthisscorecardwassharedwithothersintheL&Dorganizationwouldtheyprovidesimilar

ratings?

• Ifthisscorecardwassharedwithmycustomersinthebusiness,wouldtheyprovidesimilar

ratings?

Organizationswithatotalratingscoreof13-65areindangerofdisruption.Thismaymeanreduced

scopeofresponsibility;budgetcutsorhighprobabilityofresourcesbeingshiftedintothebusiness.

Theseorganizationsshouldworkwithhighurgencytobeginthesearchforproduct-marketfit.

Organizationswithatotalratingscoreof66-100areonthepathtoproduct-marketfit.Theymaytakea

moretargetedapproachtooptimizethelearningorganizationandfocusonareasratedlow.

Organizationswithatotalratingscoreofabove100areexemplarorganizationsbuteventhese

organizationscannotaffordtorest.Thepaceoftoday'sbusinessenvironmentthatorganizationsthat

scoredthishighcannotstoprunningbutatleasttheyarenotplayingcatchup.

BystartingwithanhonestassessmentofyourorganizationIhopethatattheendofreadingthisbook

youwillnotonlyhaveabetterideaofwhatittakestoexcelatthesedimensions,butalsohavean

actionablepathtowardsdeliveringunmistakablevalue.


4.15.19v2 16

AboutThisBook

ThisbookwillattempttoprovidelearningleadersandprofessionalswithclearexamplesofhowL&Dcan

applythewinningstrategiesusedbystartupstotheirL&Dorganizations.Frommindsettotechniques

andtools,IhopethatRunningTrainingLikeaStartupwillprovideausefulstartingpointforreimagining

thelearningorganizationasapowerfulpartnerintoday'sbusinessenvironment.

Ifyouhavenotreadthepriorbook,RunningTrainingLikeaBusiness,havenofear.Thisbookisdesigned

tostandonitsown.IncaseswhereIdoreferencethefirstbook,Ihaveattemptedtoprovideallthe

necessarycontextwithinthistext.ThisisnottosaythatIdon’trecommendeveryonereadRunning

TrainingLikeaBusiness,infactIverymuchdo.RunningTrainingLikeaStartupisnotmeanttoreplace

thefirstbook.Asyouwillseethroughoutthisbook,manyofthecoretenetsoftheoriginalremain

relevanttoday.

Thisbookhasthreesections.Thefirst,Team,exploresthenewrolesandkeycapabilitiesneededbythe

“foundingteam”including;adaptability,communicationandexperimentation.Thesecond,Tools,

describesfourkeystooperatinglikeastartupincludingaproductmindset,speed,datadrivenexecution

andadynamicoperatingmodel.Thefinalsection,Launch,providessometoolsforgettingstartedand

usingthenewoperatingmodelframeworktobetterunderstandthecurrentstateofyourlearning

organization.Italsoofferssuggestionsonhowtoputyourorganizationonthepathofrunningtraining

likeastartup.

Thegoalofthisbookistodescribesomeoftheideaswehavefortranslatingsuccessfulstartup

techniquesforproductdevelopment,customermanagementandpeopletocorporateLearning&

Development.Havingworkedwithstartupsforalmosttwentyyears,Irecognizethatnoteverystartupis

perfect,noraretheirtoolsandpracticesalwaysidealfortheworldofcorporateL&D.Webelievethat

theonespresentedhereinare.AndasIstatedearlierstartupshavecertainadvantagesoverlearning

anddevelopmentorganizations.Startupshavethebenefitofstartingfromacleansheetofpaper.

Startupsalsodonothavepre-existingconditionssuchaslegacy,hierarchies,politicsandinertia.

OneofthethingsthatIhavecometoloveaboutthestartupcommunityisthatitisalsoknownforits

transparency.Foundersofstartupsopenlysharetheresultsofnewtoolsandtechniques,bothgoodand

bad.AsacommunityofL&Dpractitioners,wecanlearnmuchfromstartupsandfromeachotheraswe

adapttothisnewageofdisruption. Inthespiritofstartups,thisbookisnotabouthavingthingsperfect.Thisisaboutgettingstarted,iteratingquicklyandcollaborating.Inthisspirit,pleasejointhediscussion

onthisbook’sblogatRTLABv2.comandaddyourthoughtsandideassothatourwholecommunitycan

betterdeliverunmistakablevalueintheworldofbusiness2.0


4.15.19v2 17

Section1:Team


4.15.19v2 18

CLOasFounder

"Willthefounderalwaysstrivetodogreatworkthatislegendary,withpeoplewhoarespectacularly

awesome?Willthiscommitmenttranslatetorecruitingamazingpeoplewhowanttoworkwiththe

founderandeachother?Haveyoueverbeeninasituationwhereyouandateamwerepursuingtotal

excellence?Agreatfounderwillnotjustseekthisorhopeforthis,heorshewilldemandthis."

-MikeMaples,FoundingPartneratFloodgate,InvestorinTwitter,Lyft,Sonos....

Today’scompaniesarebeingtransformedbymultipledisruptions:technology,digitization,volatility,

diminishinggeographicboundaries,toughercompetition,moredemandingcustomers,andskill

shortages.Thesedisruptionsaremandatingnewapproachestoallaspectsofbusiness.Asbusinesses

battlethesedisruptions,L&Dorganizationsneedtogothroughtheirowntransformation.A

transformationthatenablesthemtocreateunmistakablevaluefortheircompanies.Thistransformation

ismorethanjustastepchange.ItwillrequireL&Dorganizationstothinkafreshandrecalibratetheir

teams,products&services,valueproposition,executionmodelandstakeholdercommunication.

Justasthesuccessofastartupisreliantonitsfounder,thesuccessofthetransformationofL&D

dependsonitsleadersacknowledgingtheneedfortransformationandthentakingontheroleofthe

foundersofthenewL&D.


4.15.19v2 19

TheMindofaFounder

LeadersofanL&Dorganizationthatcreatesvalueintoday'sbusinessenvironmentmustadoptthe

mindsetofsuccessfulstartupfounders.Casestudiesshowthatsuccessfulfoundersareexcellent

problemsolvers.Thisattributeistheproductofamuchdeepersetofvaluesthatdrivehow

entrepreneursthinkandact.Asksportspsychologistsandtheywilltellyouthatthedifferencebetween

anexcellentathleteandasuperstarisnottechnique,physicalability,orstrategy,butratheritistheir

mindset.Muchlikeprofessionalathletes,successfulfoundershaveauniquemindsetthatgivestheman

edge.Here,wesummarizethekeydimensionsoftheirmindsetthatareessentialfortoday’sL&Dleader

toembodyandfosterintheirteam.

Successfulentrepreneurs:

• Seetheworldaroundthemandthechallengesaheadofthemdifferently.Forthem,problems

arepuzzlestobesolved;notpaintobesuffered.Customerdissatisfactionisanopportunityfora

bettersolution.InthiswayL&Dleaderscannotfocusonunavailableresourcesorlimited

supportasbarrierstotheirgoal.Foundersunderstandandembracetheirjourney,evenwhen

facedwithnumerousobstacles.Invariably,therearemomentsofdoubtandfailure;they

recognizetheseasapartoftheprocessthatdeliversunmistakablevalue.

• Areabletostartwiththeendinmindregardlessofhowdauntingtheleaptogetthere.L&D

leadersmustholdtheultimatevisionintheirheadsatalltimenomatterwheretheir

organizationistoday.AccordingtoHBSProfessorHowardStevensoninhisbookBreakthrough

Entrepreneurship"Entrepreneurshipisthepursuitofopportunitywithoutregardtoresources

currentlycontrolled."

• Haveawideknowledgebaseandarecuriousaboutadjacentdomainsandseemingly

unconnectedtopics.Thisparallelthinkingoftenleadstobreakthroughinnovationintheircore

domain.Knowledgeofgamemechanics,neuroscience,virtualrealityanddesignthinkinghave

alreadybeguntoprovidevaluetocuriousL&Dorganizations.LeonardoDaVinci,the15th

centuryItalianartist,anatomist,architect,mathematician,engineer,andinventorexemplifies

howsuchcross-domainexpertiseleadstoprolificinnovation.His13,000pagesofnotesincluded

sketchesforfuturepaintings,designsforwingstohelpmanflyandshoesforwalkingonwater.

• Haveaninsatiabledrivetodeliver.Theirrelentlesscommitmenttomakingtheirideaarealityis

obvioustoeveryonearoundthem.L&Dleadersneedtopossessapassionforgettingthings

done.Inhislatestbook,WalterIsaacson,SteveJob’sbiographerandauthorofthebook‘The

Innovators,’describesvisionwithoutexecutionashallucination.Visionwithexecutioniswhat

successfulfoundershave.


4.15.19v2 20

• Haveahighdegreeofurgency.Somestartupsevenkeepwhattheycalla"deathclock"intheir

office.Thisclockcountsdownthetimeremainingbeforeastartuprunsoutofmoneyandwill

nolongerbeablepursueitsvision.L&Dorganizationsthatdonotoffercontinuouslygrowing

valuehaveaclockaswell.Itmaynotbeonthewallforalltoseebutitisthere.CLOsmustact

withthesameurgencyasstartupleaders,racingtoensurethattheclockneverstrikeszero.

ChiefLearningOfficer2.0

In1991,whenJackWelchmadeSteveKerrGE's(andpossiblytheworld'sfirst)ChiefLearningOfficer,

thebusinessworldandtheworldoflearninglookedverydifferent.Aquarterofacenturylater,itistime

totakeafreshlookatthepositionandthekeyroleitplaysinensuringthatlearningisrunningat

maximumefficiencyandeffectiveness.Therearethreeprimaryrolesforafounderofastartupthat

shouldbethefocusfortheCLOaswell.Theseare;defineandkeepthevisionandvalueproposition,

attractandretainthebesttalentfortheirteamandgrowtheinvestment.

Role1:Keeperofthevisionandvalueproposition Startupsseevisionasalongerterm,"howwillwe

changetheworld"flag.Forexample,Uber'svisioncouldbe"world'sleadinglogisticscompany".By

contrast,thevaluepropositionhasamorenear-termfocus.InthiscaseUber'scouldbe,"makingiteasy

forpeopletogetfrompointAtopointB."Thekeyis,thatwhiledifferent,thevaluepropositionearns

theenterprisetherighttoprogresstowardsthevision.Therefore, boththevisionandthevaluepropositionarecritical.Forexample,focusingonbothalong-termvision,makingoursalestrainingthe

bestintheindustry,andthemoreimmediatevalueproposition,helpingoursalespeopleclose10%

moredealsthisquarterdemonstratesvaluethatbuildcredibilityforthevision.


4.15.19v2 21

Becauseofthistoday’sCLOmustknowandsharetheanswerstotwoquestions.Howarewedelivering

valuetoday?Howisthatadvancingustowardswherewewanttobetomorrow?Byclearanswersto

thesetwoquestions,theCLOmakesitcleartoallstakeholderswhydecisionsaremadeandhow

prioritiesgetset.Theseanswersalsoprovidearoadmapagainstwhichprogresscanbemarkedand

showacommitmenttodeliveringunmistakablevaluebyshowingnottelling.

Role2:Attractandretainthebesttalent

Allsuccessfulstartupsdependonacoreteamof“A”playerstoactualizetheirvisionanddelivertheir

valueproposition.Withoutanempowered,enthusiasticandskilledteam,theCLOwillnotbeableto

createthetransformedL&Dorganization.Therefore,therearetwopartstotheCLO'srolewithtalent:

buildingtheteamandmanagingthem.BuildingtheteamrequirestheCLOtorecruitwithenthusiasm

forthevision,thevaluepropositionandtheopportunitytoworkwithother"A"players.

Butwhoareyourecruiting?RunningTrainingLikeaBusinesspresentedwhatweattheForum

Corporationaffectionatelycalled“thecamelchart.”Thechartsrollinghumps,almostliketwo

competingsinewaves,showedthemisalignmentwetoofrequentlysawinlearningorganizations

betweenhighvalueaddingactivitiesandwherethelearningorganizationwasspendingitsresources

(timeandmoney).Iftheactivityisoflowvalueorisofanundifferentiatednature,relativetotheL&D

organization’svisionandvalueproposition,itisunlikelythataCLOwouldinvestinthedevelopmentof

internalcapability.Undifferentiatedexpertiseonlowvalue-addorcommodityactivitiescanalmost

alwaysbebought;asneeded,athigherquality,forlowercost.Whetherinternalorexternal,thehighest

standardsmustbesetandmonitoredforeachactivity.

ThefocusofthenewL&Dteamisonthehighvalue-addactivitiesoractivitiesessentialtothedeliveryof

thevisionandvalueproposition.Forthesecapabilities,CLO's,likestartupfoundersneedtoensurethey

arehiringtwotypesof“A-players”.Thefirstare"Swissarmyknives".Thesearemultipleposition

playerswhohavetheabilitytoadddeepvalueinavarietyofsituations.Theyareconnectors,

coordinatorsandteamplayerswhohavetheawarenessofwhatisneeded.Theyeitherhavetheskillsto

performtherequiredtasksorabilitytoaccessanotherexpert.Thesecondtypeisthe“specialist”.These

membersareexpertsinkeyhighvalueaddingactivitiesthatprovidecompetitiveadvantagetotheL&D

organization.

Onceinplace,thisA-teamrequiresempowermentandsupportmorethanmanagement.TheCLOmust

identifythegoalsandallowtheteamtoexperimentanddiscoverthesolutions.Experimentationand

discoveryresultinteammembersdevelopingnewskillsordeepercapability.Instartups,itisnot

uncommonforateammembercompletingasearchforasolutiontohavelearnedanewprogramming


4.15.19v2 22

languageordiscoveredpreviouslyunknownopportunities.Thismixofempowerment,supportand

developmentiscrucial.TheCLO’sfocusmustbeonresourcemanagement,ensuringthattheteamis

deployedtobestdeliverthevaluepropositionandachieveitslonger-termvision.

ACLOthatrecruits,buildsandmanagestheirteaminthiswayreapsmultiplebenefits.Theenthusiasm

ofanempoweredteamcreatesengagedco-ownersofthevisionandvalueproposition.Multi-faceted

talentallowsforhighlyflexibleteamsthatcaneasilyadapttothechangingcapacityandcapability

requirements.Mostimportantly,buildingacultureofproblemsolvers,notsolutionbuilders,drives

innovationfromalldirections.

Role3:Growtheinvestment

Forstartupfounders,thisroleisallaboutkeepingmoneyinthebank.ForCLO's,managingthe

investmentmeanslookingatyourbudgetasaninvestmentinyourorganization'sabilitytodeliver

returns,notasavingsaccounttobedrawnupon.TheCLO'sinvestorsarethebusinessexecutivesthat

directlyorindirectlycontrolallresourceinvestments.Theseexecutiveshavemanyinvestmentchoices,

suchasnewtechnologies,R&D,Sales&Marketing,recruitmentandmanyothers.Gettingthese

investorstochooseL&DasthebestinvestmentisthejoboftheCLO.

CLOsmustbeabletocreaterobustbusinesscases,tiedtothebottomline,thatassureexecutivesthat

theinvestmentmadeinL&Dwilldeliverpositivereturns.CLOsmustbeabletoclearlypitchforboth

fundingandsupport.CLOswhocanenthusiasticallyandclearlycommunicateareabletorapidly

developnewdialogueswiththeirinvestors.Today'sCLOmustchangetheexecutive'sperspectiveabout

L&DandmovethediscussionfromoneofL&DasacosttoL&Dasaninvestment.Doneproperlyand

consistently,thesecommunicatorsalsofocusthediscussion,notontheactivitiesofprogrambuilding,

butonvalueandreturn.


4.15.19v2 23

TalktheWalk

Withoutagoodproduct,communicationiscosmetic.Beingableto"show"isparamount.Noamountof

startuptipsandtrickscansaveastartupthatdeliversnovalue.But,asmentionedearlier,muchofa

CLO'sjobinthenewL&Disaboutcommunication.Communicationisthekeyweaponforaccomplishing

thethreeprimaryrolesforstartupfoundersandCLOs.WhilepresentedhereforusebytheCLO,many

oftheseconceptshaveapplicabilityforallmembersoftheL&Dteam.

TellMeaStory

Successfulstartupfoundersengagetheirinvestors,customersandteamswithpowerfulstories.These

storiesareavaluablewaytocommunicatewiththeiraudienceformanyreasons.CraigWortmannisthe

authorofWhat'sYourStory?Thebook’sgoalis"tohelpleaderseffectivelycommunicatethethingsthat

reallymatter."Inthebook,hehighlights10reasonswhystorieswork.Belowarefivethatare

particularlyrelevanttoanL&Dorganization’scommunication.

• Theyprovidecontext–theydon’tjustdescribethesolution,butalsodescribehowthatsolution

fitsintotheworld.

• Theybuildrelationships–listenersbecomeinvestedintheparticipantsinthestory.

• Theyaltertime–storiescancompresstimetoshowandconnectactionandresultsorslowtime

downtohighlightimpact.

• Theyshowmultipleperspectives–listenerscanseeasituationfromavarietyofangles

(customer,customer'scompany,owncompany,orotherstakeholders.)

• Theyspread!–storiesareshareableandgoodonesareeasilyretold.

Wearewiredforstories.Scientistsbelievethathumanshavebeentellingstoriesfortensofthousands

ofyears.Intoday's"attentioneconomy",wheretheamountofinformationweencountereverydayhas

beenconstantlygrowing,makingyourmessagestandoutisasurvivalskill.ForL&D,there’safurther

complexity,the"distractioneconomy."Businessexecutivesmighteasilybedistractedbyvarious

operational,financialandproductissues;amidstwhich,thevoiceofL&Dcandrowneasily.

NotefromJ.

CraigWortmannandIworkedonseveralclientstogetherwhilewewerecolleaguesatTheForum

Corporation.TherewasonetimewhenCraigandIwereworkingonaproposalforalargeinsurer.

Wehadconductednumerousclientmeetingsandasitalwaysdoeswithclients,theopportunity

evolvedandchanged.Itwasalongprocess,evenwithagreatclientpartner.However,gettingthe

dealsignedandtheworkstartedalwaysseemedtobe“afewdaysaway.”


4.15.19v2 24

Onenight,Craigandhiswifeinvitedmetotheirhousefordinner.WhenIarrived,Irangthedoorbell

andwasgreetedbyCraig'sadorablethree-yearolddaughter.Shecametothedoorwithasmileand

asheetofpaper.AsItookthepaperfromherhand,Irealizeditwasthesignaturepageofthelong-

awaitedcontract.AfewpacesbehindstoodCraigwithanevenbiggersmile.Ihavewonmuchlarger

contracts.Yet,thisistheonestorythatIcontinuetotell.

TheFourCoreStoriesFoundersTell…andCLOsNeedTo

Somefounderstoriesarespecificanddevelopedforone-timeuse.Forexample,afoundermightbe

communicatingtheproductlaunchcampaignresults.Thereare,however,fourstoriesthatfoundersuse

repeatedly.Thesestoriesareadapted,updatedandcontextualizedtoaddresstheneedsofdifferent

audiencesandsituations.Thesefourstoriesare:

• Mission-whydoyoudowhatyoudo?

• Customer-whodoyoudoitfor?

• Solution-whatdoyoudo?

• Execution–whatarethehighlightsontheroadmapofthesolutionandwhoistheteamdriving

them?

Thesefourcorestoriesarestandalone;yettheyareusedasbuildingblockstocreatenarrativesfor

diverseaudiencesandsituations.Dependingontheobjective,youmightemphasizesomeofthesefour

oromitsharingsomeofthem.Forexample:

• Whenrecruitingateammemberforalearningadvisoryboard,aCLOmightemphasizethe

Missionstorytobuildexcitementandensurealignment.

• Whentestingasolutionwithabusinesssponsor,aCLOmightincludetheCustomerandSolution

stories.

• Whenattractingan“investor”,aCLOcouldemphasizeboththeCustomerandtheExecution

storiestoindicatetheopportunityandtheskillofyourteam.

Inafast-movingworldofchange,eachformalpresentation,emailorchanceencountermustyield

results.CLOsmusthavethesefourstoriesintheirrepertoire;honingthemeverychancetheyhave.This

isnotaboutmemorization.Thisisaboutconfidentlyarticulatingaclear,credibleandcompelling

messagethatcutsthroughthenoise.Thematrixbelowhighlightsthekeyelementsofthestoriesthat

startupfoundersandCLOstell.


4.15.19v2 25

Story Element

Customer

§ Detailtheportraitofthecustomeryouserve.Beabletoputthelistener

inthechairofyourtargetuser.

§ Describethe"pain"thatthetargetcustomerisexperiencingandthe

generalcategoryofsolutionthatthecustomerrequires.

§ Describethe"gain"thatthecustomerseeks.Thisisabenefit,nota

feature.

Solution

§ Defineyoursolutionincludingthefeaturesthataccomplishthe

customer'sbenefit.

§ Differentiatethesolutionfromotherpossible/competingsolutions

§ Demonstratehowandwhythecustomerwillnotsimplybehappybut

delighted*bythesolution.

Mission

§ Createapurposestatementthatdescribeshowyouaregoingtochange

theworld.Thisisanemotionalelementnotanintellectualone.

§ Providerationaleforwhythismissionisimportanttoothers.

§ Createacommitmentstatementthatconvincesthelistenerthattheidea

isimportanttoyouandyourteam.Listenerswillnotbelieveinyouridea

unlessyourbeliefisstrong.

Execution

§ Includea"secretrecipe"suchasproprietaryresearch,specialresources

acquiredanduniqueelementssuchasprocessorapproach.

§ Providedetailsofyourjourneysofar,includingwhereyouhavebeenand

whereyouaregoing,notsimplywhereyouare.Drawalinefrom

inceptiontolaunchorthroughadditionaldevelopmentofthesolution.

§ Describewhyyouwillsucceedandhowtheteamisthebestoneto

shepherdthissolutiontoreality.Outlinethemixofknowledge,skillsand

experienceintheteamandhowitmatchesupagainstthepotential

challenges.

*Note:Thelastelement,delightisespeciallyimportant.Thisisbecausenewsolutionsrequirechange.Committingtoachangerequireshighmotivation,whichcancomefrom"delight."Whenwasthelasttimeyouchangedyourroutineforsomethingthatwas"alittlebitbetter?"Similarly,youraudienceisunlikelytocommittoyourproposedchange,unlessthereisapotentialdelightthatthechangewillbring.


4.15.19v2 26

Storiesareimportantbecausetheyensurethatfoundersgetthemaximumimpactoutofevery

communicationwithacustomer,teammember,investororpartner.CLOswhoaredeterminedto

createunmistakablevaluebyrunningtheirorganizationslikeastartupwillneedtohavemany

convincingconversationstogarnerthesponsorshipandsupportofthebusinessexecutives,theirteams,

learners,andothersupportorganizations.Workingonthesefourstorieswillensurethattheymaximize

theimpactofeveryopportunitytocommunicate.

TheValueofYourValueProposition

CLO'scannotembarkontheirtransformationjourneywithouttheenrollmentofexecutives,teamand

otherstakeholders.Sharingastoryisnotalwaysfeasible,especiallywhenthelistenershavelittletime

anddividedattention.Toaddressthischallenge,startupshaverefinedtheartofthe"elevatorpitch".

Thisisa10-20secondexplanationofwhattheyaredoing,muchshorterthanastory.Thepurposeofan

elevatorpitchisnottotellthelistenereverything;itistocapturetheirattentionwithaquicksynopsis

andearntherighttocontinuetheconversation.Thinkofitasamovietrailerforafeaturefilm.Italso

hastheaddedbenefitofbeingasoundbitethatiseasyforyouraudiencetopassalong.Akeysectionof

thiselevatorpitchisthevalueproposition.

Thevaluepropositioncomprisestwoparts,customerandsolution.Bothofthesearedistilledfromthe

corestories.Rememberthegoalisnottotellthelistenereverything.Thefirstpart,customer,iswhere

thegenerationofavaluepropositionbegins.Bystartinghere,alignmentofthelearningorganization

withtheneedsoftheexecutivesandemployeesisassured.Forthecustomersyouserve,thispartofthe

valuepropositionaddressesthegoalstheyaretryingtoaccomplish,thechallengestheyfaceandthe

expectationsofresultstobereceivedoncethechallengesareovercome.Anexamplemightbe:

“L&Dhelpsourcompanygrow[goal]morequickly[challenge]sothatitcancapturemoremarket

share[expectationofresults].”

ThissuccinctstatementdemonstratesthealignmentoftheL&Dorganizationwiththegoalsofthe

companyandhighlightsthebenefitofsuccess.Notetheuseoftheword"helps"inthesentence.L&D

willmostlikelynotbethesolesolutioncontributingtotheachievementofbigbusinessgoals,butbig

goalsattractexecutiveattention.Hence,itisimportantforL&Dtoassesstherolethattheycanplayin

supportingandacceleratingthebigbusinessgoals.

Thesecondpartofthevaluepropositiondescribesthebestapproachtomeetyourcustomer’s

challenge.Thispartcontainsyoursolutiontothechallenge,howithelpstoovercomethechallengeand

thebenefitsofdoingso.Tocontinueourexample,thispartmightbe:


4.15.19v2 27

L&Dbuilds,managesandoptimizesacorecurriculumaswellasarapidskillingprogram[solution].

Thisallowsemployeestoproactivelyandquicklyacquiretheskillsneeded[overcomethechallenge]to

ensurethegrowthofthecompanyisnotlimitedbyalackofskilledresources[benefits].

Noticethatinthissuggestedprocess,thevaluepropositionisbuiltfromthecustomerbackwards,andit

doesnotincludethe"how".Thegoaloftheelevatorpitchistoengageyouraudience,piquetheir

curiosityandgetthemtoask,"Howdoyoudothat?","Whatistherapidskillingprogram?"and"Whatis

inthecorecurriculum?"

Thekeytoastrongvaluepropositionistoanchortheconversationatanalignedandhighlevel.We

knowfrom20yearsoftalkingtoexecutivesandlearningprofessionalsthatyoucanalwaysgetintothe

weedslater,butifyougetinthemearly,youcannevergetoutofthem.

Instartups,everyteammembercanreadilytellyouwhatthecompany’svaluepropositionis.InanL&D

organizationitmustbethesame.TheCLOiscertainlynottheonlypersonthatwillcomeintocontact

withcompanyexecutives.Inaddition,relationshipmanagersandsolutionarchitectscanusethesame

templatetocraftvaluepropositionsforthespecificbusinesstheyserveorlearningsolutionthey

provide.

TheAsk

Forsomeofus,askingforsomething,withitsinherentpossibilityofrejectionisanuncomfortablepart

ofcommunication.However,theaskelementofcommunicationisonethatstartupfoundersandCLOs,

iftheywanttosucceed,getcomfortableandgetgoodat,quickly.Ifthevaluepropositiontellspeople

whatyoudo,theasktellsthemwhatyouneed.Let’sexploretheanatomyofaneffectiveaskbylooking

atafewexamplesthatweareallfamiliarwith.

§ Example1:Askforinvitingsomeoneout,"It'sgoingtobeagreatparty.Therewillbesomereal

interestingpeopletherethatIwantyoutomeet."

§ Example2:Askforhelpwithhouseholdchores."Becauseofyourallergies,howaboutImowthe

lawnandyoudothelaundry?Thatwaywecangeteverythingdonesooner."

§ Example3:Askforanewcommitmentfromself."Iamgoingtogotothegymafterworksothat

Icanlookgreatforthereunionnextmonth."

Allofthese"asks"haveasimilarstructurethatincludesthe"give"andthe"get".The"give"iswhatthe

personaskingwantsfromthelistener.Inthepriorexamples,itisforthepersontoattend,laundrydone

andgoingtothegym.Thekeytothegiveisthefeasibilitycheckandprecisenessoftheask.


4.15.19v2 28

Thefeasibilitycheckisrequiredtoensurethatthepersonbeingaskedhastheabilitytoprovidethe

“give”.Whilethismaybeobviousintheexamples,itmightnotalwaysbeasclearinbusiness.Maybe

yourbusinesssponsordoesn'thavetheauthoritytoprovidetheneededresources.Abilitytoprovide

thegivemayalsoinformthetimingoftheask.Aretherebudgetcyclesorinternalinfluencesthatmight

limityouraudience'sabilitytodeliveronthegive?Clarityandtheprecisenessoftheaskareimportant

sothatthepersonbeingaskedunderstandsthescopeoftherequest.Imagineinexample2,shared

previously,theaskhadsimplybeen"dosomecleaninginthehouse"inexchangeforamowedlawn.The

personmowingmayhavebeendisappointedtoreturntothehousetofindapileofdirtyclothesina

dust-freefreshlyvacuumedroom.

Thesecondpartoftheaskisthe"get".Thisiswhatthepersonaskingcanprovideinexchangeforthe

“give”.Inthepriorexamples,itisinterestingpeople,amowedlawnandafitlook.Thekeytothe"get"

isknowingyouraudience.Inourexamples,therequestormusthaveknownthatmeetingnew

interestingpeoplewasofvaluetohisorheraudience.Iftheaudiencehadbeenmoreinterestedinfood

orhistory,therequestormighthavefocusedinsteadonthedinnermenuorthehistoriclocationofthe

event.

Lastly,itisimportanttomatchthevalueof“get”and“give.”Ifinourexamples,theproviderdidnot

haveallergies,theyardwassmallandthepileoflaundrywasmassive,therequestorwouldprobablynot

haveachanceofadeal.ForaCLO,thismeansneverfailingtoincludetheresults,impactandvaluethat

areimportanttotheL&Dsponsorsandpartners.Want200hoursofsubjectmatterexperttimefrom

yourbusinesssponsor?Thatbetterbeoneheckofaprogram.


4.15.19v2 29

InvestorCommunications

Drawingonstartupfounders,IidentifiedthethreekeyrolesofthenewCLO,oneofwhichwas

managingtheinvestment.InthecaseoftheCLO,moneyequatesnotjusttobudgetbutalsotosupport.

Nurturingthesupportoflearning’sinvestorsisnotsomethingthatcanonlybedonebasedonthe

budgetcycle.Toooften,executivecommunicationisanannualevent.RunningTrainingLikeaBusiness,

recognizedthatwhileexecutivesweresoldonlearning,theystillharboreddoubtsaboutwhethertheir

investmentsintrainingweredeliveringvalue.Whiletherehascertainlybeensomeprogressmadeon

thisfront,thedoubtsstilllinger.

Forstartups,keepingmoneyinthebankrequiresinvestorcommunication.Theimportanceofthis

communicationissowidelyunderstoodandacceptedthatanentireverticalofsoftwareplatformshave

sprungupfocusedsolelyonit.Earlyonstartups,likeL&D,donothaveanincomestatementorbalance

sheetthatreflectstheperformanceoftheenterprise.Andfinancialsalwaysonlytellpartofthestory.

Thismakesthesecommunicationsevenmoreessential.

NotefromJ

Recently,whileworkingwithoneofmyclients,Iwasshockedthatalmostallofthesenior

businessandfunctionleaderswereobliviousoftheproducts,services,valuepropositionand

successstoriesoftheL&Dorganization.Onreflection,whilethewidespreadoblivionofbusiness

leaderswasnotuniquetothisorganization,thephenomenaisquitecommonacrossmany

organizations.L&Disoftenacloselyguardedsecret!

RegularcommunicationbyCLOs,inaformatthatissimilartotheinvestorcommunicationmadeby

startupCEOs,isagreattoolforthebusinessexecutivestounderstandthevaluecreatedbyL&D.Doing

thiscommunicationonceayear,duringtheannualplanningorannualreviewprocess,isjustnot

enough.CLOsneedtoupdatetheirinvestor,thebusinessexecutives,moreoftenonhowtheL&D

investmentisreturningvalueandwhytheexecutivesshouldcontinuetoprovidetheirsupportand

continuetheinvestment.


4.15.19v2 30

Atypicalstartup’sinvestorreportcanbeagoodtemplatefortheL&Dleaderstofollowforcreatingtheir

executiveupdate.Hereisasample.

SampleMonthlyExecutiveUpdateTemplate

1. Progressmadesincethelastupdate.Thiscanincludetheachievementofmilestones,thelaunch

ofanewinitiativesorotherbigwins.

2. Challengescurrentlybeingfaced.TheopportunityhereistointroduceissuesthatL&Dmayneed

executiveassistancewith.

3. KeyPerformanceIndicator(KPI)orscorecardresultsincludingpriorperiod,deviationfromKPI

targetand/orforecastandnextperiod'sforecast.

4. Generalorganizationalupdatessuchassignificantnewhiresorkeyvendorselections.

5. Whatiscominginthenext30-60-90-daytimeperiod.

6. Arequestforanysupportrequiredsuchaslearningmoreaboutanewcompanystrategy.Don't

beproud,don'tbeshy,justask.

Ingeneral,youwanttokeeptheseupdatesshort,nomorethantwopages.Likethepitchwedescribed

earlier,thepurposehereistoprovideheadlinesandsoundbites.Ifanexecutivewouldliketolearn

more,thenitistimeforthemtoask.Engagementisthegoalandapositiveoutcomefromthistypeof

communication.

Co-founders?

Therehasbeenmuchdebate,inthelandofstartups,aboutthevalueofastartuphavingco-founders

versusasolefounder.Thosethatadvocatethevalueofco-founders,citemanyreasons.

Onereasonisthattheamountofstressassociatedwithastartupisenormous.Morehandstospreadit

aroundmeanslessstressperindividual.Someadvocatescitetheneedforawiderangeofskillsrarely

heldbyasingleperson.Othersvaluehavingmultipleperspectivesontheunavoidableproblemsthatwill

befacedbyanystartup.Andstillotherssimplypointtohistory,callingoutSteveJobsandSteve

Wozniack'ssuccessatAppleorBillGatesandSteveBallmer'srunatMicrosoft.

Co-CLOsmaybetoomuchofastretchbutensuringthattheleadershipteamofanL&Dorganizationis

builtforsuccessisnot.BuildingontheAppleandMicrosoftexamples,weseethreekeyleadership

capabilitiesthatcontributedtotheirsuccess:productexecution,customerrelationshipandinnovation

leadership.Bothofthesedynamicduosconsistofindividualswithcomplementaryskillssets.Oneof

themwasfocusedinternally,onproductexecutionandthenecessaryoperations,processmanagement


4.15.19v2 31

andorganizationalmanagementneededtodeliverit(Wozniak/Gates).Theotheronewasfocused

externally,onrelationshipswithcustomers,partners,investorsandtheindustry(Jobs/Ballmer).Finally,

oneorbothofthemofthemplayedtheroleofinnovationleader,searchingforwhatwasthenext

generation,product,serviceandvalueproposition.

Thesethreecapabilitiesarethesameandequallyimportantfortheleadershipteamofavalue-

producingL&Dorganization.Self-awarenessappearsonalmosteverylistoftraitsforsuccessful

founders.Knowledgeoftheirownskillssetsisthedriverformanysuccessfulfoundersseekingoutco-

founders.Inthisway,weaknessescanbecompensatedforandstrengthscanbefocusedon.As

describedpreviously,theroleofCLOiscertainlyaboutexternalrelationships.Itmaynotbeimportant

whichoftheothertwocapabilitiesareprovidedbytheCLObutitiscrucialtoaL&Dorganization's

successthatallthecapabilitiesexistwithintheleadershipteam.CLOshavebuiltacareerbyshowcasing

strengths.FortheCLOasfounder,anotherresumeisneeded,onethatinventoriesaCLO’scapability

gapsandweaknesses.ItisthisresumethatcanbeusedasatoolforbuildingtheL&Dleadershipteam.


4.15.19v2 32

CLOasFounder:DiscussionQuestions

• HowdoyouseeyourroleasCLO?

• Whatcapabilitiesdoesyourleadershipteamhave?

• Whatareyourorganization'sfourcorestories?

• Howdoyouanswerthequestion,"whatdoesL&Ddo?"

• Howcanyoumakeyour“asks”moresuccessful?

• WhatandhowoftenareyoucommunicatingtoL&D'sinvestors?

• Howareyouusingdatatobuildcredibilitywithyourexecutives?


4.15.19v2 33

ThePowerofTeam

“Itdoesn’tmakesensetohiresmartpeopleandtellthemwhattodo.Wehiresmartpeoplesothat

theycantelluswhattodo.”

SteveJobs,Applefounder

Investorsinstartupsarewell-knownforprioritizingteamoverproductwhenwritingchecks.Justasthe

CLOmusttakeontheroleoffounder,theL&Dteammustseethemselvesasentrepreneursaswell.

Entrepreneurialteamshaveanadaptableattitudedependingonasituation’srequirements.Theyalso

haveacultureofexperimentationwherefailureisnotseenasanegative.Asdiscussedpreviously,one

ofthefounder’skeyrolesisbuildingthebestteampossible.ForL&Dleaderslookingtorunlikea

startup,therightteammakesallthedifference.


4.15.19v2 34

TheStartupAttitude

MattMayberryisaninternationallyacclaimedspeakerandmaximumperformancestrategist.As

Mayberryputsit,"Whenourattitudeisright,ourabilitiesreachamaximumofeffectivenessandgood

resultsinevitablyfollow.Therightattitudecantakeyoutothetopofyourprofession.Therightattitude

cancreateextraordinarybusinessesandbuildaneverlastinglegacy.Thegoodnewsisthatyouhave

ultimatecontroloveryourattitude."

Oneofthethingsthatmakesstartupentrepreneurssohardtocharacterizeisthatmanysuccessful

entrepreneurshavewhatappearsonthesurfacetobeconflictingtraits.Wedidareviewofhundredsof

publishedlistsoftraitsforsuccessfulentrepreneursandcross-referencedittoactualexperienceover

thepasttwodecadesofworkingwithstartups.Thesefiveattitudinalspectrumsemergedconsistentlyin

oneformoranother.Highperformingentrepreneursandtheirteamshavetheabilitytocalibratetheir

attitudesandtheiractionsasneededacrossfiveimportantdimensions.Theydevelopthisrangeinorder

tomatchtherequirementsoftheirsituation.Inordertosuccessfullyrunlikeastartup,CLOsandtheir

teamsmustcultivateasimilaradaptability.

Exhibit2

Confident<->Humble

Startupsarescary.Ittakesagreatdealofconfidencetotaketherisktofollowyourcrazyidea.Without

thisconfidence,manygreatideaswouldremainjustthat,ideas,forever.Thisconfidence,however,is

balancedbyahumblenessthatacknowledgesthat:

• Thefounderandtheteamdon'tknoweverything.

• Thestartupwillonlybesuccessfulthroughhardwork.

• Thestartupneedsparticipationofothersinordertomaketheideaareality.


4.15.19v2 35

Committed<->OpentoFail

Persistenceandwhatwesometimescall"grit"isessentialtosuccessfulinnovation.Therewillbe

roadblocks,challenges,naysayersanddoubt.Successfulentrepreneurialteamsdoggedlypursuetheir

goals,butnotblindly.Entrepreneursrecognizethattheseroadblocks,challenges,naysayers,anddoubts

arealldatapointstoo.Presentedwithnewinformation,entrepreneurialteamsarealwaysre-evaluating

thesituation.

Teamsconstantlycomparetheirnewfoundknowledgewithwhattheyknewearlier.Theyrapidlyassess

andreassesshowthesenewknownsaffectsthesolution,theplanandthepotentialvalue.Theydonot

treatchangesassetbacks,butinsteadasopportunitiestoimprovetheirsolutionandcustomervalue.In

theseentrepreneurs’minds,theonlyfailuretofearisthefailuretomissinformationthatcouldhave

suggestedabetterplanorsolution.AsThomasA.Edisonfamouslydeclaredinhispursuitofafilament

fortheelectriclightbulb,"Ihavenotfailed.Ihavesuccessfullydiscovered1,200materialsthatdon't

work."

Focused<->Open-Minded

Intheirendeavortoleveragetheavailableexperience,startupscastawidenetforinformation,advice,

knowledge,andinput.However,tothisoceanofinputtheyapplyatightfilter.Recognizingthatinthis

eraofGoogleandsocialnetworksonecaneasilybeoverwhelmedandevenparalyzedbyinput.

Successfulteamsmustquicklyprocessthesteadystreamofnewdata,evaluatingtheaccuracy,

authority,andrelevance.Theythenusethisevaluationtohelpdecidetodiscardtheinputs,assimilate

them,orstorethedataforlater.

Visionary<->Realistic

Imagininganewworldfullofflyingcarsisvisionary.Beingabletounderstandthetimenecessaryto

developtheinfrastructure,driverskills,parkingchallengesandinsurancerequirementsisrealistic.

Everythingnewrequireschange.Understandingtheimplicationsandcharacteristicsofthischangeis

essential.Itiswhatallowstoday'sdronemanufacturerstounderstandthatwhiletheyaretomorrow's

flyingcars,ithastostartwithquadcoptersandself-drivingcar.Successfulstartupsworktowardstheir

visionusingrealisticstepsthatarefeasibleinthecurrentcontext.

Organized<->Adaptable

Launchingandrunningastartupisaninherentlymessyprocess.Successfulstartupsareabletoprovide

structuretothelonglistoftasksrequired.Beingabletoprioritizeandcompartmentalizeoftenmeans


4.15.19v2 36

thedifferencebetweendiffusionofeffortandmeaningfulprogress.Whilethedaymaystartwithlists,

projectplansandactionitems,successfulteamsalsorecognizethatplanningisadynamicprocess.

Startupsaremuchlikeatravelersettingouttodrivecross-countryatnight.Whileamapismarkedanda

routeisselected,thetravelercanonlyseeasfarashisorherheadlights.Also,asthejourney

progresses,theroadmaydictatedetoursandotheralterationstotheplan.

IfL&Dteamsaregoingtoperformatthehighestlevel,theymustembracetheirnewroleaslearning

entrepreneurs.AstartupattitudeisessentialtothenewL&D.

GoAheadandTry

Experimentationisafundamentalactivityforstartups.Startupsareleapingintoagreatunknown.Does

anybodywanttousemyproduct?Willanybodypayformyproduct?Howarewegoingtobuildthis

product?Startupsareapileofassumptions.Thegoalofsuccessfulstartupsisto,asquicklyaspossible,

proveordisproveassumptionsandturnthemintofacts.Theydothisthroughexperiments.Inaddition

tothevalueofturningassumptionsintofacts,experimentsarealsokeytoeffectivelymanaging

resources.Theycanhelpminimizetheriskofinvestingtoomanyresourcesintoaproductwhoseneed

orvaluehasnotbeenvalidated.

Experimentsaresimplyaformalprocessfordatacollection.Whyformal?Withouttheformality,

experimentsoftenproducelessdata,thewrongdata,orevenworse,noactionabledata!Whenthinking

aboutanexperiment,startupsmustbeabletoclearlyanswerthefollowingquestions:

• Whatwebelieve(ourassumption)

• Whatwewilldotoverifyourassumption

• Whatwewillmeasure

• Whatourmeasurementresultsneedtobeifweareright.

Nothingisperfectandinnovationonlycomesfromnewexperiments.Withsomuchnewnessoccurring

everyday,ifL&Disnotallowedtoconductsomeexperimentsofitsownitwillbeforeverbehindthe

needsofitscustomers.Experiments,bydefinition,haveanunknownoutcome.Therefore,whileL&D

can'tknowtheoutcome,itmustknowtheparametersoftheexperimentandbeabletoworkwiththe

businesstosettheproperexpectations.Whatdoestheexperimentseektolearn?Whatisthe

experimentdesign?Whatistheoutcomehypothesizedandwhatistheinvestmentrequired?Allof

thesemustbeunderstoodtogetthemostoutofeveryexperiment.


4.15.19v2 37

Example:

L&Distryingtodeterminethehighestimpactskillsforyoursalespeople.Wewillinvolvethree

groupsofsalespeople,plusonecontrolgroupforthetest.Eachgroupwillreceiverapidtraining

onadifferentsinglesalesskillelement.After30days,wewillcomparethesalesperformance

resultsofthethreegroups.Weanticipateatleastoneofthedeliveredsaleselementstoprovide

ameasureofenhancedperformancethatdeliversareturnontheinvestmentoftimeand

resourceofatleast2xovertheensuingsixmonths.Theinvestmentrequiredisthesalespeople's

timeandtheresourcesofL&D.

Withamutualunderstandingofthegoals,structure,anticipatedreturnandresourcesrequirements,an

experiment'sbusinesssponsorcanmakeareasoneddecisionregardingparticipationintheexperiment.

Settingexpectationsisaboutknowingtheriskandunderstandingthatthepotentialrewardiscriticalfor

experimentstobeacceptedinorganizationsunfamiliarwithrisk-taking.ForL&D,experimentscanbe

usedonanynumberofaspectsoftheirorganization.Contentistheobviousone.Wealsobelievethat

thoseorganizationsthatadoptthisapproachinareaslikeprocessandpeoplewillseegreatreturn.

TheLaunchsectionofthisbookprovidesmoredetailonexperimentsthatL&Dcanandshouldrun.We

recognizethatascientificapproachcanonlytakeyousofar.Therearemanyfactorsthatcouldinfluence

theresultsofanexperimentandthereisnotenoughtimeorresourcestoproveeverything.However,

experimentalresultsfilteredthroughtheexperienceandknowledgeoftheL&Dorganizationcangreatly

increasetheconfidencelevelinanydecision.

TheExperimentPortfolioAdoptingexperimentationasakeyactivityforyourorganizationscanbedifficult,evenforstartups.

Sometryitandquicklyabandontheprocessbecausetheexperimentdidn’tworkoutthewaythey

anticipated.Thatisexactlythepoint.Aswenotedbeforeexperimentshaveunknownoutcomes.For

organizations,thiscanbecomeabarriertoadoption.Whentheresultsareconfirmingofassumptions

theresultsareeasytoaccept.Whentheexperiment’sresultschallengeorevenruncontrarytoan

organization’sassumption,theimpulsemaybetodiscreditorrationalizethemaway.Andwhenthe

contrarianresultscomeaspartofyourfirstexperiment,itcandraintheenergyforadditional

experiments.

Experimentsarebestcommittedtoinbunches,notsingularly.Thisreducesthepossibilitythatalone

experimentcansaptheenthusiasmforadoptinganexperimentalmindset.Confirmingresultsbuilds

confidencebyprovingthataprojectorinitiativeisontherightpath.Contrarianresultsmayreducethat

confidence.Itisimportanttoseethatbotharepositiveresults.Theconversionofacoreassumption


4.15.19v2 38

intoanevidence-basedfactisthegoal.Ifanorganizationcollectsnothingbutconfirmingresults,they

arelikelytestingthewrongthings.Ifyoualreadyknowtheanswer,don’twastepreciousresources

askingthequestion.

Failure:ItisallintheDefinition

ThenewbusinesscontextrequiresL&Dorganizationstoexperiment,innovateandtransform.However,

thisrequirestryingoutnewwaysofstructuringthelearningorganization,designinglearningproducts,

deliveringlearningandpartneringwithbusiness.Often,L&Dleadersshyawayfromintroducingthese

big,boldnewideas.Thekeyobstacleisthatmanymatureorganizationstreatfailureasaweakness.

However,successfulstartupshaveadoptedadifferentpointofview.Forthem,failureisnothingmore

thananevidencebasedcorrectiontoanassumption-bettertoknowsooner,ratherthanlater.

Toooften,L&D'slimitedresourcesaremisspent.AsPeterDruckerhasbeenquotedassaying,"Thereis

nothingsouselessasdoingefficientlythatwhichshouldnotbedoneatall."Itisfromthisperspective

thatfailurebecomesavirtue.Noneofuslikestofail.Nevertheless,inthecontextofoperating

successfullyintoday'sbusinessenvironment,notonlyisfailureacceptable...itisrequired.

"Failoften.So,youcansucceedsooner."

-TomKelley,Ideopartner

Letusbeginbyacknowledgingthatexperimentscanbedifficultinalargecompany.Unlikestartups

thereisoftenlittleabilitytotakealet's-try-some-things-and-see-what-sticksattitude.Thiscan

challengeanyorganizationtaskedwithinnovatingwithinanestablishedcompany.Intimestocome,we

arehopefulthatthislimitingfactorwilllessenasmorecompanies,ofallsizes,recognizetheneedfor

increasedinnovationinallaspectsofthebusiness.

However,fornow,L&Dorganizationsinsomematurecompaniesmayrelatetofailurewithfear.Having

workedsohardtobuildcredibility,L&Dleadersmightconsiderfailureasastepbackwards.Westrongly

recommendthatL&Dleaderschangetheirperspectiveonfailure.Byproperlyrecognizingfailures,L&D's

successesbecomeevenmorepowerfulingeneratingexecutive,manager,andlearnerbuy-in.Twokeys

tothisareturningfailuresintolearningsandbeingtransparent.

SteveBlankisaretiredserialentrepreneurnowteachingentrepreneurshipatUCBerkeley,Stanford,

andColumbia.Hehasstudiedwhathecallsthestagesofstartupfailure.

• Stage1:ShockandSurprise

• Stage2:Denial


4.15.19v2 39

• Stage3:AngerandBlame

• Stage4:Depression

• Stage5:Acceptance

• Stage6:InsightandChange

WhilefailureforL&Disrarelyasfinalasitisforstartups,thestagesremainrelevant,andbothstartups

andL&Dmustpushtoachievestage6asquicklyaspossible.Whatothersrefertoasa'failure'isbetter

describedasa'majorlesson.'Thislessonisonethatcanonlybelearnedbytrying.L&Dmustturnits

failuresintolearnings.Thisistheonlywaybywhichtheoddsofdeliveringunmistakablevaluenexttime

improve.AccordingtoNickCasado,acomputernetworkingstarwhosoldhisstartupforoverabillion

dollars,thetrueskillis"tolearntoembracefailure--notonlyembracefailure,getgoodatit,andby

that,Imeangetbackup,applywhatyou'velearned,andhitreset."

Thefinalprincipleofhandlingfailureswellistobetransparent.ThistransparencyextendstotheL&D

team,stakeholders,andevenotherlearningprofessionals.Forstartups,thissharingof'majorlessons'

hasbecomepartoftheculture.CBInsights,aresearchfirm"thathelpscorporationsguesslessandwin

more"hasamassedandsharedover200startups’“postmortems”inthehopethatstartupsinthe

futurewillmakenewmistakes,notrepeatoldones.L&Dconferencesarefullofbestpracticecase

studiesandchestthumpingshowcases.L&Dleadersmustparticipateintheseconferences,notjustto

listentoothers’successes,butalsotofearlesslyacknowledgetheirownfailures.Howaboutseminarson

"10waysIscrewedupourrollout"or"3easywaysforupsettingyourexecutivesponsor".


4.15.19v2 40

ThePowerofTeam:DiscussionQuestions

• WhichoftheattitudespectrumsisyourL&Dteamstrongestin?Weakest?

• HowisyourL&Dorganizationembracinganexperimentalmindset?

• Howareyouturningfailuresintolearnings?


4.15.19v2 41

Section2:Tools


4.15.19v2 42

Product,Product,Product

“Veryfewstartupsdiefromcompetition,mostdiebecausetheythemselvesfailtomakesomething

userslove.”

SamAltman,entrepreneur,investor,presidentofY-Combinatorandco-chairmanofOpenAI.

Successfulstartupteamsareextremelyproductfocusedbecausetheyrealizethattheirproductistheir

connectiontotheircustomer.Theproductdrivestheexperiencethateithermisses,meets,orexceeds

thecustomer’sexpectations.Moreover,exceedingcustomerexpectationsistheonlyresultthatensures

theirsurvival.L&Dmustadoptasimilarperspective.Thekeysforstartup,andL&D,productsuccesslay

inseeingtheproductasadynamicsolution,understandingwhatismostvaluable,andbuildingthe

productinanefficientandeffectiveway.

Thissectionisnotmeanttoproposeanewmethodologyforinstructionaldesignortosuggestthatthe

startupapproachtoproductisbestforeveryproject.ADDIE,SAMandAgileallhavestrengthsand

challenges.Instead,thissectionismeanttohighlightsomeofthewaysthatL&Dteamscanbenefitfrom

adoptingastartupproductmindset.Anyinstructionaldesignprocesscanincorporatesomeorallof

thesepractices.LearningsolutionsaretheproductsandservicesthattheL&Dteamdeliverstocreate

valueforitscustomers.Bytakingtheproductapproachofstartups,anL&Dorganizationhasthe

opportunitytoimprovethevalueitdeliversandmanageitsresourcesmoreeffectively.


4.15.19v2 43

ProductasPlatform

Startupsviewproductsasalivingthing,onethatwillgrowandevolveovertime.Whilestartupshavean

endproductinmind,elegantandfullofhighvaluedfeaturesforawidebaseofusers,theyalso

understandthatproductscannotstartthere.Thereisnotenoughtimeorknowledgeoftheuserto

investtheresourcesrequiredtobuildit.Thisperspectivemeansthatproductsarelaunched,updated,

improved,enhanced,customizedfornewusergroupsandevenretiredastheneedaproductsolves

diminishesorchanges.Forstartups,thereisasharpdifferencebetweenlaunchinga“half-baked”

productandlaunchingalimitedfeatureproductfocusedonthekeydriversofvalueforcustomers.

Startup

Product

Development

Skateboard

Bicycle

Scooter

Motorcycle

Car

“Half-baked”

Product

Development

Chassis

Tires

Steeringwheel

Body

Engine

Whilebothapproachestoproductdevelopmentresultinacar,thestartupapproachbydeliveringvalue

toitscustomers,theabilitytogetfrompointAtopointBfaster,ateachstage.

Incontrast,L&Doftenviewsdevelopmentofalearningsolutionasaprojectandthelaunchasthe

conclusion.WefrequentlyfindthatonceanewcourseisuploadedontheLMSandmadeavailableto

learners,theL&Dresourcesareredeployedtonewprojects.Withtheexceptionoftheoccasional

updatetospecificcontent,thesolutionsitsunchanged.Infact,oftentimesL&Dwillexplicitlyaimto

builda“timeless”solutionbyavoidingreferencestoexecutives,datesorothervariablesthatmight

changeinthefuture.Whilethismaybeanefficientuseofresources,itisalsoareflectionofastatic

viewofasolution.WhileL&Dmustavoidthehalf-bakedsolutionpitfall,beingnimblerequiresthatit

mustviewthelaunch,asstartupsdo,asonlythefirstphaseofaproduct’slifeandviewtheproductasa

livingorganism.

Startupsacceptthedynamicnatureofasuccessfulproduct.Forthisreason,theyareabletolaunch

quickly,learnfromusersanditerateontheproduct.Knowingthattheinitialproductlaunchedisnot


4.15.19v2 44

wherethatsolutionwillultimatelybe,givesstartupstheabilitytoavoidthechaseforperfectionand

releasesthemfromtryingtopleasetoomanyusergroupsatpointoflaunch.Startupsseethevalueof

theproductgrowingandevolvingovertimeversusstaticallydefinedatlaunch.Theyrecognizethatthey

willgainproduct-enhancingdatafromeveryinteractionauserhaswiththeproduct.Therefore,they

focusresourcesacrosstheentireproductlifecycletomakeimprovementssuggestedbynewdata.

L&DorganizationsoftenusealinearprocesssuchasADDIEthatincludesapilotprocessorrolloutplan.

Whilethismayfeelsimilar,thisisnotthesameasastartupproductmindset.Unlikeatypicalpilot

process,aproductmindsetassumeseveryuserinteractionisanopportunitytocollectdatathatcanbe

usedtoimprovetheproduct.Distinctfromarolloutplanwheretheadditionalmodulestobeaddedare

assumedtobeknownatthebeginning,aproductmindsetviewsthefuturefeaturestobeaddedas

assumptionsthatneedtobeverified,couldbemodifiedorevenremovedbasedontheuserdata.

Aftertheinitialproductlaunch,startupsfocusonusingthedatagainedfromactualuserstoinformits

productroadmap.Inadditiontocurrentproductfixes,calledthebuglist,aproductroadmapisa

collectionofassumedandvalidatedfeaturesandfunctionalitytobeaddedtotheplatformproduct.The

roadmapisprioritizedbyreleasecycles.Thesecyclesarestructuredasrapidlearningcycles.Releasethe

updatedproduct,collectthelearningsfromusers,revisittheroadmap,andrepeat.Theroadmap,like

theproduct,isalivingentity,constantlyrevisitedwithnewlearningsaboutperformance,needsoruser.

User’sneedschange.Overcomingonechallengemayrevealotherchallengesthatwerenotvisible

before.Whenwewereusingdial-uptoaccesstheinternet,theprocessingpowerwasnotalimiterto

thevaluewehadforourcomputers.Withhigh-speedWi-Fieverywhere,aslowcomputercannowbe

painfullyobvious.Theenvironmentinwhichaproductisusedmaychangemakingaproductmoreor

lessvaluable.Theubiquityofsmartphoneswithnavigationappshasreducedthevalueofphysicalmaps

formany.However,inregionswithlimitedconnectivity,mapsremainextremelyuseful.

L&D’stypicalprocessofasingleneedsassessmentguidingthesolutiondesignfallsshortofeventhe

carpenter’sage-oldadageof,“measuretwice,cutonce.”InL&D’sdefense,startupshavetheadvantage

ofresidingforalmosttwodecadesinavolatileanduncertainworldthatmanyofusarejustnowcoming

togripswith.Thishasfirmlyembeddedtheconceptoftheimpermanenceofassumptions,challenges

andopportunities.Whatwasneededyesterdaymaynotbeneededtomorrow.L&Dorganizationsmust


4.15.19v2 45

adoptthestartupapproachtoassessingtheneedandvalueforitsproducts.Nothingintoday’s

flourishingcompaniesisstandingstill.Withoutthoroughdataanalysisandarobustanddynamic

businesslinkageprocessL&Drisksbuildingtoday’ssolutionsonyesterday’sunderstandingofthe

problem.

ProductLifecycle

Thereisareasonthatweusethetermlifecyclewhendescribingproducts.Productsdie.Ithappenstoall

companies.Startupsthathavelaunchedanewproductonlytofindthatitdoesnotdeliverenoughvalue

toattractauserbasegenerallyrunoutoffundingandarequietlyforgotten.Whilethecompanymayno

longerexist,theproduct,beitanapporawebservice,mayremain.Youcanseeexamplesofthisreality

everyday.Lookintheappstoreforyourphone.Ifyouseeanappthathashadnoupdatesinthelast12

months,itishighlylikelythatthecompanybehindithasclosed.

InDecemberof2017,AOLannouncedthatitwasshuttingdownitsmessagingserviceAIM.Atthattime,

manystillloved,AIM,atwenty-year-oldremnantofthefirstdot-comera.Itisestimatedtostillhave

hadmillionsofusersatthetimeoftheshutdown.Sowhyshutdown?Becausethereisacosttokeep

theservicerunningandasAOLstatedinitsannouncementofthedecision,“We’remoreexcitedthan

evertofocusonbuildingthenextgenerationoficonicbrandsandlife-changingproducts.”Focus.Inan

ageofFacebook,SnapchatandSlack,therewaslittleopportunityforAIMtodeliverhugevaluetoits

users.Instead,AOLisinvestingthoseresourcestowardsproductsthatcan.

Someproductsdonotdie,theyareupdatedbutunlikeanapp,whereoneversionautomagically

replacestheprior,theolderversionremains.SoftwareasaService(SaaS)companieslikeCornerstone,

Salesforceandothersreleaseupdatedversionsoftheirsoftwareallthetime.Thenewerversionis

meanttoreplacetheclient’solderversion.However,changeishardandmanyclientsdonotupgradeto

thelatestrelease.Upgradescanbefraughtwithunexpectedpitfallsandtheolderversionisfamiliarand

thereforeeasierfortheclienttosupportwithitsinternalusers.ThismeansthatSaaScompaniesare

usuallyprovidingclientsupportacrossseveralreleases.Thisdrawsresourcesawayfrombuildingvalue

intofuturereleasesandinsteadrequiresinvestmentinsupportingthewaningvalueofthepastreleases.

FamiliaritywithlegacysolutionsisachallengeforL&Daswell.


4.15.19v2 46

Gettingthebusinesssponsorsandmanagerstoacceptanewsolutiontoreplaceanolderonecantake

somework.L&Dmustbepreparedtohelpthemseethevalue.L&Dorganizations,likeallorganizations,

mustalwaysseektoinvesttheirlimitedresourcesinareasthatwillyieldthehighestreturn.Whena

producteitherfailstodeliverapredeterminedvaluethreshold,orissupersededbyahighervalue-

addingproductservingthesameneed,itmustberetired.LikeAOL,L&Dmustrecognizethatfocusing

resourcesonupgradesforadiminishinguserneedisadistractionandthatcontinuedsupportforan

existingproducthascosts.

ForL&Dtoadoptaproductapproachitmustacknowledgethedynamicnatureofallsolutions,

continuouslyassessthevalueofitssolutions,andacknowledgewhenasolutionneedstoberetiredor

upgraded.Thisrequiresthesupportofthebusinesssponsorsaswellastheawarenessthatthe…what’s

missing?

DefiningaValuableProduct

Whenastartupcomestolife,itisnothingbutanidea.AnideaforasolutiontoaneedthattheFounder

believesexists.Thefirstjobofanystartupistoasquicklyaspossiblevalidatetheneedwithpotential

users.Oncevalidated,thenextstepistohaveadeepunderstandoftheneedsothatitcandefineits

product.Thisprocess,forstartups,isoftenreferredascustomerdevelopment.InthecaseofanL&D

organization,mostfrequently,thebusinesscomestoitwithaneed.Whileitmayseemthataneed

expressedbyapotentialuserrepresentsvalidation,itdoesnot.Withoutarobustbusinesslinkage

process,thebusinessoftenprovidesonlyapartoftheinformationthatiscriticaltobuildasuccessful

product.Byadoptingthestartupapproach,L&Dcanassurethatitisbuildingagainstthetrueneedand

thatitisdoingsoinawaythatmaximizesvalue.

Onewaytobuildsuccessfullearningsolutionsistolookattheproblemlikeastartup.Validatingthe

needisnotabinary,“yesthereisaneed”or“nothereisnotaneed”decision.Startupsunderstandtheir

customer’sneedatadeeperlevelsothattheycanidentifysmalldistinctopportunitiesfordriving

outsizedvalue.Startupsbreakdownauser’sneedintoitscomponentpartstodeterminehowtodeliver

valuetoitsusers.Withoutthislevelofgranularity,startupsareunabletoproperlyprioritizethe

developmentoftheirproductfeatureset.ForL&D,thiscanmeandeconstructingskillsetslikesales,

management,andleadershipintotheircomponentparts.


4.15.19v2 47

IbeganexploringthisapproachtolearningdesignafterreadingJoshWaitzken’sbook,TheArtof

Learningandhearingnotedauthor,TimFerrissdiscussacceleratedlearningonFerriss’podcast.Thefull

methoddescribesthepoweroftechniquessuchasdisaggregatingskillsandotheracceleratorssuchas

focusingonsequencing.

Foranexampleofdeconstruction,abusinessneedfor“SalesTraining’couldbebrokendowninto:

SalesTraining • ProductKnowledge

• ProspectingSkills

• TimeManagement

• Tellreallycompellingstories

• Effectivelyutilizesalestechnology

• Understandwhatthebuyerwants

• Establishtrustwiththebuyer

• Communicatesuccinctly

• ActiveListening

• QualificationQuestioning

• ObjectionHandling

• ProductDemonstration

• GainingCommitment

• ClosingTechniques

• Post-SaleRelationshipManagement

These16skillscouldthenbebrokendownagain.

ActiveListening • Payingattention

• Withholdingjudgment.

• Reflecting

• Clarifying

• Summarizing

• Sharing

Product

Demonstration

• Preparation

• Demodesign


4.15.19v2 48

• Highlightingdifferentiation

• Pacing/Timemanagement

• Handlingquestions

Validatingtheneednotatthelevelof“salesskills”,oreven“closing”,butratherinperformancegapsat

thismoregranularlevel,whatstartupscallfeatures,canhelpL&Dtofocusitsresourcesonhighimpact

areas.Thisisnottosaythatallelementsarenotimportantorthatalldonotneedtobepartofthefinal

solution.Thestartupapproachtoneedsvalidationprovidesthedatarequiredtobuildhighvalue

productssmartly.ToL&Dthisinformationishelpfulinbusinesssponsordiscussionsregardingscopeand

timing.Atopicwewilldiscussfurtherinthenextsection.

L&Dorganizationsandstartupsmustefficientlymanagetheirproductbuildingresourcesformaximum

userimpact.Therefore,theurgencyandimpact,notsimplytheexistenceofaneedforafeature,must

beunderstood.Forstartups,thisisafunctionofpotentialvalueanditisthesameforL&Dsolutions.

Potentialvalueofagivenfeatureisacombinationoftwofactors:audiencesizeandimpactopportunity.

Thisassumestheproductisavailableatthetimeofneedbecauseasolutiondeliveredtoolatehas

alreadylimitedorcompletelymisseditsopportunityfordeliveringvalue.

PuttingtheProductinContextAnotherelementoftheknowledge-baseddevelopmentprocessusedbystartupsisanunderstandingof

thecontextinwhichtheproductwillbeused.Theconceptofdesignthinking,therecognitionofthe

valueofuseremotioninproductdesign,hasgainedmomentuminrecentyears.Whileuseremotion

certainlyplaysaroleinsuccessfulproductdesign,startupsbeginwithamorebasicviewoftheirusers.

Thefirstelementofcontextthatstartupsseektounderstandishowtheirproductwillbeused.

Puttingtheproductintotheuser’scontextallowsproductdesignerstounderstandrequirementsfor

adoptionandbarrierstouse.IntherealmofL&D,thismayincludeplatformrequirementsorcontent

format.Imaginedirectingamoviethatpeoplewouldwatchonlyontheirphones.Notonlywouldthat

createarequirementbasedontheneedtosmoothlystreamthecontenttotheviewerbutitmightalso

impactthecontent.Forexample,scenesmaybewrittentobeshortersothattheviewercouldpause

thefilmfrequentlyastheywentthroughtheirday.Asthedirectorofthismovie,youmightchooseto


4.15.19v2 49

shootthescenesdifferently,optingforfewerbroadsweepinglandscapeshotswherethedetailwould

belostonthesmallscreen.Theexactsamemovieshotwitharecognitionoftheviewer’scontextmight

receivefewerrottentomatoesfromtheaudience.

L&Dorganizationsthatignoretheusercontextruntheriskofdeliveringlessvaluethroughtheir

solutions.Forexample,aself-pacedcoursethatisnotbuiltsuchthatitalignswiththelearner’srole

progressionmaymakeretentionandapplicationofthenewskillsmoredifficult.Evensomethingas

simpleasfontsizingcanmakeasignificantdifference.Elearningdesignsbuiltforthedesktopscreen

mayprovedifficultonthesmallermobiledevice.Automaticre-formattingmaymakethecontent

availablebutwhataboutthegraphicthatrequiresamobileusertozoommultipletimestoseethe

neededdetailorthenavigationbuttonsthatneedchild-sizedhandstouse.Forstartups,understanding

theuser’scontextisessentialtobuildingaproductthatnotonlycan,butalsodoesdelivermaximum

valuetoitsusers.L&Dmustdothesame.

Havinglookedattheusercontext,thenextelementtoconsideristheproductcontext.Noproduct,or

learningsolution,isanisland.Understandingtheothertoolsorsolutionsthatexistinauser’s

environmentallowsstartups,andsimilarlyL&D,toproducehigherlevelsofvalueforitscustomers.A

simpleexampleofproductcontextiswhennon-FacebookapplicationsallowyoutouseyourFacebook

identitytologintotheiraccount.Fornewapplications,thissolvedanumberofproductadoption

challenges.Ifyouneededyournewuserstohaveaprofile,howcouldyoumostsimplypopulatethat

profilesavingtheusertimeandreducingthetimerequiredforanewusertobegintoseevalue.

AnotherchallengeovercomebytheuseofFacebookloginistheneedforthecreationofanother

accountnameandpasswordbyauserthatalreadyhastoomanyofthem.Byrecognizingthatmanyof

theirtargetuserswerealsousersofFacebook,newapplicationdeveloperswereabletomaketheir

producteasiertouse.

Anoften-overlookedvalueofgainingadeepunderstandingoftheproduct’scontextis“learningthe

language”ofthetargetuser.Atitsmostsuperficiallevel,L&Dhasknownthisfordecades.Identical

coursesofferedtodifferentcompaniesmayexchange“employee”for“crew”,“salesperson”for

“businessconsultant”,or“customer”for“partner”.L&Dorganizationsmustattempttounderstandthe

contextoftheirlearningproductdeeper.Startupsdonotjustlistentowhatthetargetcustomersays

abouttheproblembutjustasimportantly,howtheysayit.Everyonehaslikelyhadtheexperienceof


4.15.19v2 50

havingsomeonepitchthem,“amulti-protocol,TCP/IPsuitebasedwithconfigurableportssupporting

CSS,links,HTMLandtextfortheirbusiness,”onlytorespond“nothanks.”Whatifthatpersonhadsaid,

“email”?Wordsmatterandusersmustalwaysheartheproblem,solutionandbenefitsdefinedintheir

terms.

ForL&Dorganizations,recognizingthattargetlearnersandthesolutionstheyreceivedonotexist

isolatedinabubblecanalsohelpidentifyareasforthedeliveryofadditionalvalue.Ifasales

organizationhasalreadysuccessfullydeployedSalesforce.comtomanageitsefforts,howcanalearner’s

existinglevelofcomfortwiththatinterfaceinfluencetheUIofalearningportaloraneLearning

solution?Whatotherbusinessinitiativesaretouchingthelearnerthatcouldbeconnectedtothe

solution?Bylookingforsynergiesandopportunitiestoreducebarrierstoadoption,L&Dcandeliver

highervaluewitheverysolution.

Bystartingthedevelopmentofasolutionwithdeepknowledgeofthehighvalueskills,usercontextand

productcontext,startupsgainamuch-needededgeinattractingnewuserswithasolutionthatexceeds

expectations.However,theworkofastartuphasjustbegun.Bybuildingonthisfoundational

knowledge,startups,andL&D,canensurethattheyarefocusingtheirlimitedresourcesonbuildingthe

maximumvalueproductforitsusers.Abeautifullyexecutedsolutionthatnooneneedsorusesisa

wasteofresourcethatdeliversnovalue.

BuildingaFeasibleProduct

Aswehavementionedmultipletimes,astartup’smostscarceresourceistime.Theirsisaconstantrace

againsttheclock.Thiscreatestheneedforanewapproachtobuildingsolutions.WhileL&D

organizationsmaynothavethesameclock-focusedmentality,thetoolsandtechniquesusedbystartups

areincreasinglyvaluableinabusinessenvironmentthatplacesanever-growingpremiumonspeedand

results.Wewillexplorespeedinmoredepthinalatersection.

Oneoftheclearestdemonstrationsofastartup’sfocusontimeisinthedefinitionofproductscope.Let

uslookathowtheirprojectmanagementfortheproductbuildingprocessdiffersfromamore

traditionalapproach.


4.15.19v2 51

InmanytypicalL&Dprojects,thescopedeterminesthetimeline.Asolutionisenvisionedandthesteps

toexecutingthatvisionarelaidoutonaGanttchartwiththedeliverydatethatisderivedbasedonthe

timerequiredforeachtask.Thisanswersthequestionwhenasolutionofaknownscopecanbe

delivered.Startupsturnthisprocessonitshead.Forstartups,theyknowexactlyhowmuchtimethey

have.Theyhavetodeliveraproductbytheendofthemonthinordertoachievesomeneeded

milestonesuchasreceivingadditionalfundingorbeingabletocollectrevenue.Therefore,thequestion

startupsaskiswhatproductscopetheycandeliverinthegiventime.

Posingthequestioninthiswayhasseveralbenefitsforstartups.First,itreinforcestheurgencyrequired

byallteammembers.Mostpeopleunfamiliarwithstartupsoftenperceivethisascreatingaheroculture

oronewhereoverworkisrequired.Theimageofthelonelycodersleepingunderhisdeskoftencomes

tomindforsome.Whilethismaybetheresultforsome,inmanysuccessfulstartupsthegoalhereisnot

tocreateastressfulenvironment.Infact,itisquitetheopposite.InhisbookRework,37Signalsfounder

andBasecampcreatorJasonFriedtellsreadersthattheall-nighter,workthroughtheweekendapproach

isnotasignofahero,itisthesignofapoorprojectplanner.Successfulprojectmanagement,at37

Signalsandmanysuccessfulstartups,isbalancingthetimeavailableandthescopeofthedeliverable.

Withtimeoftenfixed,thiscreatesaclearfocusonscopemanagement.ThiscanbetrueforL&Daswell.

Productlaunchdates,seasonalityandinitiativemilestonescanallbeplannedsuchthatdeadlinesare

met.

Bystartingwiththetimeconstraint,scopedecisionsbecomelessemotionalandcombinedwitha

dynamicviewonproduct,feellessfinalallowingforbettertradeoffsandquickerdecisions.When

desiredfeaturesofaproductarenotincludedinthescope,thisisnotseenasarejectionofthefeature

butratheranecessarytradeoffdrivenbylimitedtime.Withaviewofproductthatinvolveswavesof

updatesandnewfeatures,thefeatureisnotseenasreceivinga“no”butrathera“notnow”.Treating

scopeinthiswaymakesiteasierforinternalteamstoalignaroundtheselectedscopeandforeasier

communicationofamorelimitedscopetoexternalcustomers.

L&Dorganizationsareoftenpresentedwithsomeelementsofscope,ahalf-dayleadershipcourseoran

eLearningoncustomerservice.Insomecases,L&Dmayimposeitsownscoperequirementsbasedon

needsassessmentorahistoricalapproachsuchasmanagementtrainingthathasalwaysbeenatwo-day


4.15.19v2 52

offsite.Bystartingwithscope,L&Dhaslimitedflexibilityontime.Whenthetimeavailableismisaligned

withthescope,itcanresultinthesponsorsoflearningfeelingshort-changedonvalue.

Bystartingwiththetimeavailableforproductdevelopment,L&Dbenefitsinmultipleways.Deliveringin

thetimerequiredbythecustomerisnowawin.Becausethecustomer,notL&D,definedthetimeline,it

isnowafeatureoftheproduct.Byestablishingaproductconstraint,sponsorscannowbebetter

engagedinadiscussionofneed,tradeoffs,prioritiesandimpact.NowL&Danditsbusinesspartnerscan

reducescopewhilestilldeliveringoutsizedimpact.Sponsorsarenowunabletosaytheywantitallonly

tobetoldbyL&Dthattheycannothaveit,whichisneveragreatoreasymessagetodeliver.These

discussionsalsomakethesponsorsmoreawareoftheneedtoengageL&Dearlyinanyprocess.Tella

sponsortheyhavetomaketradeoffsthatwouldnothavebeenrequiredhadtheyapproachedL&Dat

thestartofaninitiativeandhopefullythenexttimeaninitiativeislaunchedL&Disalreadyatthetable.

Anotherbenefitthatstartupsgainbystartingprojectplanningwithtime,notscope,isthatitcan

encourageinnovation.Constraintsforceustothinkdifferentlyabouthowwesolveaproblem.Theday

aftershoppingforgroceriesweopenourrefrigeratortoawealthofmealoptionstosatisfyourhunger.

Greetedbytheabundanceofchoice,weprepareamealcontainingasalad,asideandamainentree.

Wemayevenenjoyadessertafterwards.Delicious?Yes.Filling?Yes.Required?No.Nowthinkabout

thelastdaybeforeyougoshopping.Facedwiththesamehunger,yourthoughtprocessisnowvery

different.Youhavegonefrom“whatcanIhave?”to“whatcanImakewithanegg,twopiecesofbread

andsomeleftovers?”Somepeoplefinddelicioussolutionsinneverbeforeconsideredcombinations.

Twitterisanotherexample.With,originally,only140characterstouseforamessage,userswereforced

todistillthoughtsdowntotheessential.Usersremovedadjectives,usedcleverphrasingandinsome

casesremovedvowelstogetinunderthelimit.Theyalsogotcreativeusinghashtagsandnewly

inventedacronyms.Buttheystillmanagedtogettheirmessageacross.

Understandingtheneeddeeplyisessentialtodefiningthefullscope,butasafocusingmechanismoras

atoolforcapacitymanagement,startingwithtime,notscopecanhelpL&Dlookatsolution

developmentdifferently.Thecadenceofbusinessisincreasing.Mostlearningsponsorshaveanoptimal

deliverydateinmind.ASAP,assoonaspossible,isactuallynotatimeconstraint.Infact,itisthe

opposite.L&Dmustbegintohavebettertimelinediscussionswithsponsorsandwithitself.


4.15.19v2 53

TheNewFeatureGauntlet

Carefullylimitingproductlaunchfeatures,throughneedsanalysisandatime-limitedscope,isonething

forastartuptomanage,butwithasuccessfullaunchcomesanewproblem,‘scopecreep’.Userschange

theirmind.Usershavespecificneeds.Theneeds,contextandprioritiesofusersevolve.Astartup’s

resourcescanquicklybepulledinamultitudeofdirectionsimpactingthepaceofprogress.Successful

startupsmustbeextremelydisciplinedaboutthefeaturestheyworkonpost-launch.

Itiscommontowanttopleaseeverycustomer.Requestsforcustomization,expandedoptionsoreven

entirelynewproductsarevalidresponsesfromacustomerthathasreceivedvaluefromyourproduct

andwantsmore.Thisisagoodproblemtohave.Byinstitutingarigorousprocessforincludinganew

featureintheproductroadmap,startupsprovideclearandconsistentdecisionsaboutfeatureinclusion

andprioritization.Thispreventsstartupsfromdilutingthevalueoftheproducttothemajorityoftheir

userbaseinasearchtoaddvaluefortheminority.

L&Dsolutionscansufferthesamefate.Pulledtosupportmultiplelearnerbases,theproduct,either

individualsolutionoracurriculum,canquicklyloseitsappeal.Whileitmayseemefficienttotake,a

solutiondevelopedforoneaudienceandreleaseittoanother,L&Dmustbecarefultoensurethatthe

needandcontextthattheproductisaddressingarethesameastheoriginal.Thisisnottomakethe

casefornotreusingexistingsolutions.Iamcertainlynotafanofreinventingthewheel.Rather,the

pointistosmartlyreuseexistingsolutionsandtorecognizetheresourcerequirementfortheextended

product.

Toooften,requestssuchas“Wewantthemanagementcourseyouranforoperations.Justchangethe

title,”becomesablackholeforresourcesandsupportinanattempttoensurevaluetothenew

audience.Alternatively,thenewaudience,confrontedbyaproductnotdesignedforthem,maynotsee

thesamehighlevelofvalueL&Dhadcarefullybuiltintotheoriginalproduct.Thiscanresultinalowered

perceptionofthevalueofalllearningproducts.Badwordofmouth,amplifiedbythehallwaysofthe

companycampusorthewallsofthecommissary,cancarryaheavyprice.

L&Dmustcarefullyrevieweachnewrequestwiththesamecleareyesitdidtheoriginalproduct.L&D

shouldensurethatthesolutioncandeliverthesameoutsizedbenefitstothenewaudienceasitdidthe


4.15.19v2 54

first.Anunderstandingofthenewaudience’sneedandcontextfortheproductisessential.Any

variationfromtheoriginalunderstandingshouldbeexploredsothattheimpactonthevaluedelivered

bytheproductisknown.Withthisknowledge,L&D,likeastartup,canmoreaccuratelyassessthe

tradeoffbetweenneed,valueandthenewrequirementsonitsscarceresources.

StartupProjectManagement

Withwhatisbeingbuiltnowdefined,thenextareathatdemonstratesastartup’sfocusontimeishow

projectsarestructuredandmanaged.Thedevelopmentofaproductthroughaseriesofshort,rapid,

iterativereleasecycles(sometimesreferredtoasAgile)requiredstartupstochangehowtheymanaged

thatdevelopmentprocess.Whilemanymethodologiesexist,Scrum,aframeworkformanagingwork

commonlyusedbysoftwaredevelopersbutalsousedinothertypesofenvironments,iswidelyusedby

startupsofallsizes.LikeSixSigma,Scrumcomeswithahostoftools,techniquesandorthodoxy.We

havechosentofocusononlytwokeyhigh-levelconcepts.Weencouragethosethatareinterestedto

explorethemanyresourcesavailableonline.

ForL&Dorganizations,twokeyconceptsofScrumhavesignificantapplicabilitytolearningsolution

development.Teamstructureandworkflowoffercleardemonstrationsofhowstartupsaresuccessfully

navigatingthechallengesoflimitedtimeandresources.Theworkflowforadevelopmentprocess

operatingwiththeprinciplesofScrumisbasedongranularityoftaskandprogressmanagement.The

teamstructureisbasedontherequiredworkflow.

Justaslargercustomerneedsmustbedeconstructedtoidentifythekeyfeaturesofasolution,the

developmentofthesolutionmustbebrokendownintosupportingtasks.Thesetasks,likealmost

everythinginastartup,arealsotimedelimited.Acommonruleofthumbforstartupsisthatadeveloper

mustbeabletotakeataskfromthelistandcompleteitthesameday.Ifthetaskcannotbecompleted

inasingleday’swork,itmustbebrokendownfurther.Therationaleforthisisthatwhenoperatingona

compressedtimescale,progressmustbevisibleatsmallerincrements.Ifyoucanonlygaugeprogress

monthly,orevenweekly,bythetimeadelayisrecognizedtheremaynotbetimetoadjust.

Theprocessofdeconstructionalsomakesvisiblecontingencies,assumptionsandotherrisks.Astartup

mightdeconstructthetask‘buildmarketingcollateral’anduncoverthatthistaskrequiresasetof


4.15.19v2 55

activitiesrelatedtotheproductionofproductphotos.Itmighthighlightthattheengineeringresource

requiredforgeneratingtheproductspecificationstobeincludedisunavailableorthataprinterneedsto

beselectedthroughaspecifiedvendorprocess.Thisdeconstructedviewofaprojectensuresthat

roadblocksthatmightdelaylaunchareanticipated,andifpossibleaddressed,beforetheyhavea

negativeimpactonthedevelopmenttimeline.

Breakingaprojecttothislevelofgranularityalsoallowsresourcestobequicklyshiftedtosupporttasks

thatmightbebehindschedule.Bykeepingtaskssmall,anyresourceshiftrequiredhasalessenedimpact

onotherstreamsofactivity.Resourcesdonotneedtobepermanentlyre-assigned,butrathercan

simplybeaskedtopitchinforadayorhalfdayduringwhichtheycancompleteasingletask.Inmore

traditionalprojects,movingresourcesaroundmayriskareductioninteammembersatisfaction.The

teammembermaynotbeabletofeelasenseofownershiporaccomplishmentbecausetheycannotsee

ataskallthewaythrough.Theymayfeelliketheyarebeingtakenawayfromtheirownexcitingwork.

Scrum’sapproachtotaskdefinitionassistsinreducingthisrisk.Asteamsbecomemorefluid,this

approachtothedevelopmentofsolutionsincreasesinvalue.

L&DorganizationscanalsoachievethebenefitsofScrum.Todothis,theyshouldstartwith

deconstructingthesolutiondevelopmentplan.Manyoftheseprojectstodayaremeasuredinweeksor

monthsandhaveperiodiccheck-insscheduled.Whilethismaybetheappropriatelevelofdetailfor

businesssponsors,itisalimitingfactorinthemanagementoftheprojectinafast-pacedenvironment.

Inadditiontolimitingthevisibilityofprogress,thisapproachalsocreatesbarrierstoproblemsolving

andcapacitymanagement.

Inadditiontotaskgranularity,teamandvisibilityarekeyforL&Dorganizationslookingtothrivein

today’sbusinessenvironment.Startupsachievethisthroughtheinstallationofasinglemechanism,the

standupmeeting.Helddailyatacompany-widelevelforsmallstartupsorattheteamlevelforgrowing

startups,thestandupmeetingisdesignedtoreplacecountlessemailsorsidemeetings.Whilethe

specificagendacertainlyvaries,mosthaveasimilarapproach.Frequentlynomorethan15minutesin

totaldurationandwiththeprojecttasksbothcompletedandtobecompletedvisible,eachteam

memberinturnaddressesanumberoftopicsfromtheirperspective.


4.15.19v2 56

• Whatworkedyesterday-thisallowstheindividualtoreceiverecognitionforaccomplishments

fromtheteamand/orhighlightapositiveenablerforgettingworkdone.

• Whatdidn’tworkyesterday-individualscansharealearningfromsomethingthatdidn’tgowell

orhighlightapotentialfutureissue.

• WhatIamworkingontoday-thisidentifiesthepointpersonforataskshouldtherebechanges,

questionsorcontingenciesandestablishesaccountability.

• WhathelpdoIrequire–thisaidsidentificationofbarrierstocompletingnecessaryworkor

supportrequiredbytheteam.

Forprojectteammembers,aScrum-likeapproachkeepsthemconnectedtotheproject’sprogressand

theteam.Thisisespeciallyimportantasmoreworkbecomesvirtualorwhentheresourcesengaged

haveanon-employeeconnectiontothecompany.ForCLO’Sandprojectleaders,theapproachcan

quicklyidentifyresourcesrequirementsandadditionalsupport,suchasexecutiveordepartmental

supportthatmayberequired.Forlearningleaders,astartupapproachtoprojectmanagementoffersan

easyandefficientwaytogetapulsecheckontheorganization’sprogressandresources.


4.15.19v2 57

Product,Product,Product:DiscussionQuestions

• Whattools,rolesandprocessesdowehavetosupportthefullproductlifecycle?

• Howwelldoesourcurrentneedsassessmentprocessprovidetheknowledgeweneedtobuild

highlyvaluableproducts?

• Howdowedeterminethescopeofanewproductlaunch?

• Whatcouldwedeliveragainstadefinedneedwehaveinourcurrentplanifwecouldonly

spendfourweeksdevelopingthesolution?

• Howcouldwebemanagingoursolutionbuildingprocessforgreatervisibilityandgranularity?


4.15.19v2 58

TheNeedforSpeed

"I'velongbelievedthatspeedistheultimateweaponinbusiness.Allelsebeingequal,thefastest

companyinanymarketwillwin.Speedisadefiningcharacteristic--ifnotthedefiningcharacteristic--

oftheleaderinvirtuallyeveryindustryyoulookat."

DaveGirouard-FormerpresidentofGoogleEnterpriseApps

Withcompanieschangingstrategies,modifyingbusinessmodelsandreleasingnewproductsdesignedto

improvecustomervalueatarapidpace,thespeedwithwhichL&Dmustoperateisincreasingly

challenged.InRunningTrainingLikeaBusiness,opportunitiestoincreasethespeedoftheorganization's

responsewereaddressedintwoways:viaL&DBusinessRelationshipManagerandviaprocess

improvements.

TheobjectiveoftheL&DBusinessRelationshipManagerrolewastoplaceL&Dclosertothebusiness;

thereby,shorteningthecommunicationcycle.Thebookalsohighlightedtheneedforafocusonkey

processesinordertodeliverincreasedefficienciesandreducedcycletime.Fromourconversationswith

executivesacrosscompanies,wefindthatspeedremainsachallengeforL&Dorganizations.Inthepages

thatfollowwewillexplorethistopicinmoredetail.Wewillalsoofferaframework,fromour

experiencewithstartups,forthinkingaboutspeedintoday'sbusinessenvironment.


4.15.19v2 59

IFeeltheNeed.TheNeedFor...

Today'sbusinessworldismovingfasterthanever.Afewyearsago,someofmyformercolleaguesat

TheForumCorporationreleasedabooktitled“StrategicSpeed”.Inthebook,authorsBoswell,Davisand

Frechettehighlighttheneedtofocusonpeopleinadditiontoprocessefficiencyandsystems.Theywent

ontohighlightwhattheyseeastheessentialpeoplefactorsfordrivingspeed;clarity,unityandagility.

Startupshaveadoptedasimilarstrategytodrivingincreasesinspeed.

Speedofexecution,notideas,arethecompetitiveadvantageforearly-stagecompanies.Becauseofthis,

startupslookatthreedimensionsofspeed.

1. Speedtoproduct:Thisisthetimelagbetweenneedidentificationandavailabilityofthe

solution.

2. Speedtouser:Thisisthetimelagbetweenavailabilityofthesolutionandaccesstotheuser.In

thecaseofL&D,theuseristhelearner.

3. Speedtovalue:Thisisthetimelagbetweentheuseraccessingthesolutionandreceivingthe

intendedvalue.

Inordertokeeppacewithtoday'sbusinesses,L&Dmustfocuson,andcontinuallyimproveon,all

threeofthesedimensions.BeforewesharesomeideasforL&Dorganizationstoconsiderfor

increasingspeedacrossallthreedimensions,let’sexplorewhatslowsL&Dandkeepsitfrom

runningtrainingatthespeedofbusiness.

Exhibit3

Thetwocriticalactivitiesthatimpactthespeedtoproductareneedsidentificationandproduct

development.Needsidentificationistoofrequentlyareactiveprocesstriggeredinresponsetoa

businessrequest.InsomematureL&Dorganizations,thelearningneedisdiscoveredthroughregular


4.15.19v2 60

meetingsbetweenarelationshipmanagerandtheirbusinesscounterpart.InmostotherL&D

organizationsneedsidentificationthisisstillan"ordertaking"processandtheneedisdiscoveredonly

whenan“order”fortrainingisreceivedfromthebusiness.Giventhisreactiveprocess,L&Displaying

catchuprightfromthebeginning.BythetimetherequestfortheorderreachesL&D,thebusinessis

alreadyanxioustoimplementasolution.

Asdescribedinthepriordiscussionofproduct,solutiondevelopment,theothercriticalactivitymaking

upspeedtoproduct,stillfollowsatraditionallinearinstructionaldesignprocessmethodology.This

linearprocessplacesahugetimerequirementonupfrontneedsassessment,translationofbusiness

objectivestolearningobjectivesandlearnerdefinition.Whilestillcriticaltothedevelopmentofavalue

producingsolution,itistimethatmostbusinessesnolongerhave.

Startupsalsoseektoincreasespeedtouser.Howcantheygetmorepeopletoexperiencetheproduct?

Whatchannelsandmessagingareresultinginnewuseracquisition?Inordertoimpactthisdimension,

webelievethemind-setofL&Dneedstochangefrommanufacturertomarketer.Onelookat

attendancedatawillshowyouthatthemostattendedtrainingsarefrequentlymandated,notsold,to

theiraudience.Assumingthatlearningissolvingarealproblem,gettinguserstorecognizeand"buy"

thesolutionquicklyiscritical.RunningTrainingLikeaBusinessmeansL&Dmustbecomemarketersand

packagersofatrulyperformance-inducingproduct.LikeGatorade™foremployeeperformance.

Thelastdimensionofspeedisspeedtovalue.Whilethisdimensionisgreatlyimpactedbytheother

two,bykeepingitfrontofmind,itcanalsohelptoinformbothproductanduserpositioning.Startups

focusonuseronboarding.Inthestartupworld,thismeansgettinganewusernotjustupandrunning

withtheirproductorservicebutactuallyreadytoreceivevaluefromit.Similarly,learningand

developmentcanthinkofthisasgettingauserupandrunningwiththenewskills.Whyisthiscritical?

Forstartups,theaverageapploses77%ofitsactiveuserswithinthefirst3dayspostinstall.This

attritioncanbemitigatedbydeliveringvaluequicklytousers.ThesameistrueforL&D.

InpartduetoL&D'scoursebasedmentality,valueisoftendeterminedatamacrolevelratherthana

microlevel.Thisdelaysuserperceivedvalueandoftencausesattritionofthenewskillsuse.Asales

programthatpromisesahigherclose-ratioinanindustrywithalongersalescyclemaypushthevalue

outtoofartodrivestickinessofthenewskill.Combinedwiththeever-shrinkinghalf-lifeofcertain

skills,speedtovalueisanimportantdimension.SpeedtoucheseverypartofbusinessandL&Disno

exception.


4.15.19v2 61

SpeedtoProduct

Thefrequentlyusedprocessfordevelopinglearningsolutionsisinspiredbythetraditional“waterfall”

methodforsoftwaredevelopment.Thisisalinearprocessthatstartswithintensecustomer

engagementtoidentifytheneedsandthenasolorunbytheproductdevelopmentteamtodeliverthe

finishedproduct.Atthetimeofitsinitialadoption,thisprocesshadanumberofbenefits,including:

- Earlyidentificationofcustomerspecifications.

- Easymeasurementoftheprogressagainstthelinearsteps.

- Easymanagementoftheresourcesastheresourcescouldbemappedtoeachphaseinthe

process.

- Abilitytodeliverafullycompletedsolutionallatonce.

However,inthecurrentdynamicenvironmentbusinessrequirementsoftenchangesoonaftertheneeds

identificationprocessiscompleted.Inthetraditionalprocesswherethecustomerinvolvementends

aftertheneedsanalysisphase,thereisnoprocessforcapturingandintegratingthenewneeds.

Additionally,thespecificationprocessitselfcanbetooburdensomeforsomecustomers.Finally,the

fullyintegratedapproachtakestime,sometimestoomuchofit.

Whilewaterfalldevelopmentremainspreferableforsometypesofprojects,anewprocesscalledAgile

hasreplaceditinmanycases.Agilefocusesonspeedanditeration,deliveringfunctionalcomponents

ratherthanfullsystemsforreviewbyboththecustomerandtheteam.Thisprocessincreases

engagementbetweenthecustomerandtheproductdevelopmentteam,andensuresalignmentwith

needs.AsbusinessalignmentcontinuestobeasignificantissueforL&D,asevidencedbytheprevalence

ofscraplearning,whydoesthestraight-linedevelopmentprocessforlearningsolutionsremainthe

defaultmethodology?

Focusingonbusinessissues,nottrainingcontent,andlettingdemandshapeL&D'sofferingswereall

coretotheoriginalRunningTrainingLikeaBusinessconcept.Weevenintroducedaprocess,whichwe

calledtheDo-Si-Dodesignedtobetterconnectcustomersandsolutions.Inabusinessenvironmentthat

placesapremiumonspeed,whatcanwelearnfromthesoftwaredevelopmentindustry'sadoptionof

anAgileprocess?


4.15.19v2 62

RunningTrainingLikeaBusinessdescribedtwocoreprocesses;onefocusedonrelationship

managementandoneondelivery.ItwastermedtheDo-Si-Doprocessbecauseontheinterlocking

“dance”thatwasdescribed.Inastartup,theseareequivalenttosalesandengineering.Inordertotake

fulladvantageoftheAgileprocess,innovativetechnologycompanieshaveathirdprocess,product

management.Speedtoproductinthesestartupsistheresultofproductmanagement.ForL&D

organizations,theproductmanagementactivitiesofferexamplesofhowL&Dmightimproveandspeed

upthecoreprocessesbybetterdefiningtheroleofthesolutionarchitect.Thisnewdefinitionincludes

twomainproductmanagementfunctions:connectiontothebusinessinordertodeterminewhatis

mostvaluable,andoverseeinganiterativedevelopmentprocess.

BrantCooperauthoredTheEntrepreneur'sGuidetoCustomerDevelopment,whichoutlinestheprocess

bywhichstartupsbegintodeterminesolutionstoproblems.Thisiswhereproductmanagementbegins.

AsthenameofthefirstpartoftheDo-Si-Doprocessimplies,relationshipmanagersfocusonthe

relationshipwiththebusiness.Onceaneedhasbeenidentified,itistheroleofthesolutionarchitectto

getadeeperunderstanding;oftheproblem,theultimateusersofasolution,aswellasidentifyingthe

smallestsolutionsthatcandrivethelargestvalue.Thesolutionarchitecteffectivelybecomesthevoice

ofthecustomerthroughoutthelifecycleofthatproductrelease.Whythesmallestsolution?Because

fastmovingorganizationsuseaconceptcalledminimumviableproduct(MVP)whichcanbethoughtof

asminimumviablelearning(MVL).

MVP'sarebuiltforvalueandtocapturelearnings.JonAtkinson,FoundingDirectoroftheLoyola

UniversityCenterforEntrepreneurshipstatesthat,"atrueMVPisthesmallest(functional)featureset

thatprovidesvaluetoaparticularcustomersegment.Thekeyhereisthatthecustomersegmentcan


4.15.19v2 63

easilyrecognizethatvalue...".MVL'shavesimilarcharacteristics.Productmanagementguidesthe

developmentoftheMVL,capturesthelearningsfromtheearlyusersandincorporatesthefeedbackinto

newcomponentsorupdatesastheteamiteratesthroughthiscycleasfastaspossible.

Thisrapiditerationreplacesthetypicallinearinstructionaldesignmethodology.Companiesare

spendingagreatdealontrainingprogramsthataremisdirectedandineffective.Bythetimetheyrealize

it,iftheydopriortolaunch,theyoftenfeelliketheyhavecommittedtoomanyresourcestochange

course.MVL'savoidthedevelopmentofscraplearningorunappliedlearning,whichrepresents

approximately45%ofalllearningaccordingtopastCEBstudy.Thisapproachallowsthelearnerstoco-

createthesolutionthroughtheirfeedbackandactions.Inanynumberofwayslearnerfeedbackwill

helptoshapethemostimpactfullearning.Combinedwithhardmetrics,goodproductmanagement

helpsanorganizationtoprioritizeandgradeperformancesupportefforts.

Whileaniterativedevelopmentprocesshasaroletoplay,itisthefunctionsprovidedbytheproduct

managerthatareessential.Sittinginbetweentherelationshipmanagersandthedesigners,developers

andvendorresources,thesolutionarchitecthasacriticalroleinrunningtraininglikeastartuptoday.

Therearecertainlysomemeaningfullearningstobegainedbylookingattheroleoftheproduct

managerinfastgrowingstartups.


4.15.19v2 64

SpeedtoLearner

WhentheideaofSpeedtoLearnerasanimportantdimensionoforganizationalspeedwasintroduced,

itwasexplainedthatL&Dneededtoshiftfrommanufacturertomarketer.Butwhatdoesthismean?

L&Dneedstospeak,targetusers,andthink,likeastartup.Whilelaunchinganewlearningofferingcan

benerveracking,imaginethestressentailedwithlaunchingyournewcompany.Thestakesarehighfor

startups.Whilebuildingagreatproductisessentialtoastartup,yourtargetmarketmuststillknow

aboutit...anduseit.

Ifyousellanythingwithanysuccess,youknowthatpeopledon'tbuydrills,whichisaproductfeature,

theybuyholes,theproduct'sbenefits.Sowhyisthecommunicationandlanguagearoundlearningso

featurebased.Theindustryspeaksof"salestraining"not"closemoredeals,makemorecommissions

training".Courseobjectivesareoftenwritten,"attheendofthiscourseyouwillbeableto..."whenthe

importantpartisfoundbyadding"sothat..."totheend.L&Dshouldleadwithbenefits.L&Dshould

knowwhatthebenefitsareforlearnersandclearlystatethemintermsthatthelearnercanrecognize.

ForastartuporL&D,thisiswhereallvaluableproductsbegin,withatrueneed.

Consumeradvertisinggetsabadnamebecausemanyassumethatsizzlereplacestheneedforquality

steak.Manystartupsfeelthesameway.Youhaven'theardaboutthosestartupsbecausetheyvery

oftenfail.Winningsolelyonthebasisofasuperiorproductmayfeellikethehighgroundbutwhatis

missedisthatinanagewhenweareallbombardedwithmessageseveryday,cuttingthroughthatnoise

withthebenefitsofyoursolutionisalsoneeded.

ThenextsteptoimprovingspeedtolearnerisforL&Dtounderstandtheroadtoaudienceadoption.

Startupsunderstandthattheycan'tgeteveryonerightaway.Insteadtheyfocusonapartoftheir

addressablemarketcalledtheearlyadopters.Inhis1991book“CrossingChasm”,GeoffreyMoore

describedanapproachoflookingatthewaynewtechnologiesareadoptedbyamarketthatisstillused

today.

Inthebook,hedividedthemarket,representedbyabellcurve,intofiveparts.Fromthethinleftedge,

hebeganwithinnovators.Movingrightheidentifiedthemarketpartsas;earlyadopters,earlymajority,

latemajorityandlaggards.Eachparthasitsownrequirementsfortheadoptionofnewtechnology.

Innovatorsvaluenewoverperfect,whiletheearlymajorityrequiresproofpoints,valuebeingdelivered

insituationsthatlookliketheirs,inordertoembracethenewtechnology."Technology"isfromthe

Greek"tekhnologia"whichmeansthesystematictreatmentofanart,craft,ortechnique.Soundslikea

learningoffering,doesn'tit?


4.15.19v2 65

GeoffreyMoore,CrossingtheChasm

WhenL&Drollsoutanewinitiativethereisoftentoolittlethoughtgiventohowitshouldberolledout.

Whatpartsofthedesiredaudiencelikenewbutuntestedandpotentiallyimperfectsolutions?Which

partswillrequireproofpointsorendorsements?Ablanketapproachrarelyworkswithanythingother

thancompliancetrainingwhereattendancecanbemandated.Understandingmoreaboutyour

audience'srequirementsforadoptioncanmakeforamuchmorerapidandsuccessfulrollout.

Finally,L&Dmustmoveawayfromitsfocusonsingletransactionsandshifttoonefocusedonthe

longer-termrelationshipthatitisbuildingwithitslearner.Developmentplansarenotarelationshipany

morethanrecipesarethesameastheconnectionyouhavewithyourfavoritecornergrocer.Startups

frequentlyuseacustomerfunneltodescribeandmanageacustomer'sentirejourneyfromawareness

andacquisitionthroughretentionandreferral.Thisfocuson,andoptimizationof,thecompletelifecycle

ofacustomer,notjusttheinitialtransaction,iscrucialinbuildingacustomerbaseforfutureproducts

andturningcustomersintoco-marketersofnewsolutionsthroughreferrals.


4.15.19v2 66

• Awareness:Howdoesourtargetmarketknowweexist?

• Acquisition:Howdowegetthemtocomeforusforasolutiontotheirproblem?

• Activation:Howdowegetthemtotryoursolution?

• Retention:Howdowekeepthemusingoursolutions?

• Referral:Howdowegetthemtospreadthewordaboutthevalueofoursolution?

WhatifL&Dorganizationsapproachedtheirpost-learningcommunicationsinarelationshipfocusedway

thatmovedlearnersfurtherdownthefunnel?L&Dcouldasknotsolelyaboutthelearningdeliveredbut

couldalsogivethelearnerrecommendationsonlearningofferingsthatotherswhotooktheonejust

completedhadliked.Thecommunicationcouldaskforreferralstoothersthatthelearnerthoughtcould

benefitfromwhathadjustbeenlearnedandevenaskforawrittenreviewwhichcouldbeusedto

markettheofferingtoothergroupswhoserequirementsforadoptionincludedadditionalproofpoints.

Builditandtheywillcomeisastrategythatonlyworksinthemovies.Manysuperiortechnologieshave

lostouttoalesseroneduetoalackoffocusonspeedtouserandinabilitytoturncustomersintoraving

fans.


4.15.19v2 67

AQuickNoteonSpeedtoValue

Gettingvaluefromnewlearningquicklyisessentialforadoptionandretention.Whiletheconceptof

minimalviablelearningwasintroducedinthespeedtoproductsection,thefocusofthisbookisnoton

instructionaldesignmethodology.However,thereisaninterestinganalogyworthconsiderationfrom

theworldofstartups.

Asmentionedbefore,startupsthinkhardabouttheonboardingofnewusers.Thisissomewhatsimilar

thewaycompaniesthinkaboutonboardingemployees.AsdefinedbyPulkitAgrawal,EditorofTheUser

OnboardingJournal,whichanalyzeshownewtechnologiesaregettingtheirusersstarted,forstartups,

"Onboardingisthephasebetweenusersfirstcomingintocontactwithyourproductandthem

internalizingthevaluethatisbeingprovided."Throughoutthisphaseareusermilestonesthatthe

startupfirstassumes,thenwithdataandexperienceproves,movetheusertowardsdeeper

engagement.Akeyareaoffocusinthephaseisfirsttimeuserexperience(FTUE).

TobetterunderstandFTUE,thinkaboutthelasttimeyoulearnedanewgame.Ifthegameistoohard,

youmaybecomefrustratedandquit,nevertoreturntothegame.Ifthegameistooeasy,thenyousee

littlechallengeorvalueandarelikelytoquicklyloseinterest.ThekeytothebestFTUEistofindawayto

quicklydelivervalue.Valuethatlockstheuserintocontinuetheirjourney.Deconstructingcomplex

skillstoallowusersquickwinswithcomponentskillscanoftenbepartofbuildingtrustwithlearners

andthehookthatbringsthembackformore.

Obviously,speedtovalueisintimatelytiedtotheothertwodimensionsofspeed.Improperlydesigned,

theFTUEofalearningofferingmaynotengagetheuserandlimittheadoptionofnewskills.Bykeeping

speedtovaluefrontofmind,L&Dorganizationscanaccelerateadoptionanddeliverunmistakablevalue

sooner.


4.15.19v2 68

TheNeedforSpeed:DiscussionQuestions

• Whatareyoudoingtodrivespeedinyourorganization?

• Howareyoumanagingyournewsolutionbuildingprocess?

• WhatnovelthingsareyoudoingtogetyourL&Dsolutionstothelearner?

• Howareyouthinkingaboutbuildingvalueinyoursolutions?

• Whatdoesyourlearnerfunnellooklike?


4.15.19v2 69

DataDrivenExecution

"WheneverpeopleaskmewhichcompanyIthinkwillwintheself-drivingcarrace,IsayTesla.Andthe

reasonisthattheyhavemoredata."

-FredWilson,PartnerUnionSquareVentures,InvestorSkillshare,Kickstarter...

AtthetimeofwritingRunningTrainingLikeaBusiness,theavailabilityofdataaboutthelearning

occurringincompanieswaslimitedtomanualcollectionoruseofwhatwasthencalledTraining

ManagementSystems.AlsolimitedwasourabilitytoputthedatatoworkfortheL&Dorganization.At

thattime,IwasworkingwithafinancialservicescompanythathadL&Dstaffmanuallyinputthelevel

oneevaluations.TheevaluationswereevenfaxedtotheL&Dteamifthecoursewasoffsite!Allofthis

datawasmaintainedincomplexExcelspreadsheetsthatwerehardtoaccessandevenharderto

interpret.

Now,almosttwentyyearslater,dataiseverywhere.ApplicationssuchasTinCanhavetheabilityto

capturemorekindsoflearningdataandvariousdataanalyticsapplicationsareabletorepresentthis

complexdataintoeasytoreadrepresentations.Yet,therecontinuetobeL&Dorganizationsstruggling

toputdatatoworkforthem.Thisisnottosaythatgreatstrideshavebeennotbeenmade.Theworkof

theROIInstitutetocaptureaclearandcredibleapproachforidentifyingtheimpactandreturnon

learninginvestmentsisanexample.TheCenterforTalentReporting(TDRP)hascreatedaproposed

approachfordescribingthelearningfunctionthatwouldallowforconsistentcomparisonsandreporting

isanother.

However,dataisthe'what'notthe'why’.ItisnotenoughtosimplycapturethedatabutinsteadL&D

mustturnthatdataintoactionableknowledgethatcanbeappliedtodriveincreasinglyvaluable

solutions.Whileinthepast,availabilityandqualitydatawasachallenge,inthecurrenttimes,abilityto

makemeaningfulinterpretationsfromthelargevolumeofavailabledataistoday’schallenge.Infact,

theprocessofdatacollection,extractionandanalysiscanbeoverwhelmingforL&Dorganizations,

especiallywhereresourcesarelimited.


4.15.19v2 70

Today’sstartupshavefarmoredatathanatypicalL&Dorganization.Frompixelbypixeleyetrackingto

clicksandcookies,thereisdataeverywhere.Sohowarefast-growingstartupsdealingwiththedata

tsunami?Successfulstartupstypicallypracticeevidence-basedexecution.Thatis,theyrelyondatato

informtheirnextsteps.Theygiveprioritytounderstandingdataandanalyzingdatatoconvertitinto

meaningfulreports.Theyreducetheclutterbyfocusingonafewkeyparametersthatareimportantfor

theirimmediatebusinessgoals.Finally,andmostimportantly,theybringtogetheracollectionofinter-

relateddatapointsinacohesive,easytointerpret,andactionableformatbyusingdashboards.

ForL&Dorganizations,datawillcontinuetobemoreandmoreeasilycollected.ThismayresultinL&D

organizationsbecomingevenmoreoverwhelmedandsufferingfromanalysisparalysis.Using,not

collectingdatainaproductivewayhastobethegoalforL&D.Focusingondashboardsandremaining

committedtoactingonthatdatawillbeessentialtothoselearningorganizationsthattrulywantto

deliverthenextgenerationofvaluetotheircompanies.


4.15.19v2 71

DashboardsThatDriveValue

Amongstallthebestpracticesthatstartupsapplytoeffectivelyleveragedata,collectionsofdatapoints

representedasdashboardstounderstandtheircurrentperformance,istheonethatL&Dorganizations

canmostbenefitfrom.Thepowerofdataismagnifiedbythejuxtapositionofmultipledatapointsand

thedataiseasytointerpretwhenrepresentedinvisualdashboards.

Dashboardsareinterrelatedcollectionsofkeydatapointstargetingcriticalsuccessfactorsthatdrivean

understandingofhowtobetterexecute.Useofdashboardsallowsforthedeterminationofwherethe

weakestlinkisinagivenvaluechain.Forstartups,adashboardmaytrackthecustomeracquisition

funnelwhichfollowtheprogressofacustomerfromawarenesstoretention.ForaL&Dorganization,

thismaymeanaseriesofmetricstrackingtheperformanceoftheteammovingfromproblem

identificationtosolution.

Focusingonlyonaselectsetofkeymetricsisanotherwaystartupsusetheirresourceswiselywhile

gainingimpactfulinformation.Hominginonkeyareasforoptimizationallowsforinternalandexternal

stakeholderstounderstandtheprioritiesoftheorganization.Thesekeyperformanceindicatorsarenot

necessarilystatic.Asorganizationschange,sodotheirdashboards.Onceyouknowyouaredelivering

qualitylearning,youmaythenturnyourmeasurementattentionandresourcestothespeedof

deliveringasolutionorotherareasorfocus.

Startupslookatthingslikemarketshareanddailyactiveuserstoseeprogress.Asmentionedpreviously,

havinga5-starratingmeansnothingifyourproductisn'tbeingused.Similarly,iftheL&Dorganizationis

onlysupporting50%ofthelearningthatisoccurringintheorganization,howvaluableistheproduct

thatitisproviding?Whatarethebarrierstoacquiringsupportingtheother50%?Isitspeed,expertise,

organizationalbarriersorsomethingelse?Ifcompliancetrainingprogramsaretheonlylearningevents

thatarebeingconsumedbyahighpercentageofitsL&D'stargetemployeebase,thenisnon-

compliancetrainingonlyseenbytheemployeesasanicetohaveandnotanimportantwaytotruly

improveperformance?Behaviordoesnotlie.Tryingtoshieldyourselfwithactivityorsatisfaction

numberswithouttakingactionontheobservedbehaviorsisonlyatemporaryrefuge.

WhilethedashboardsshouldbedesignedbasedonthegoalsandprioritiesofthespecificL&D

organization,thefollowingfourdashboardsthathighlightkeyandactionableperspectivesonthe

operatingperformanceoftheL&Dorganizationarerecommendedasastartingpoint.

1. Productvelocity–howfastisourorganizationabletoprovideimpact-producingsolutionsto

identifiedneeds?

2. Portfoliomanagement–howwellarewemanagingthecatalogoflearningsolutionsfor


4.15.19v2 72

maximumvalue?

3. Marketshare–isourorganizationimpactingthemaximumnumberoflearners?

4. Executive–whatistheorganizationinvestinginlearningandwhatreturnisitreceivingforthat

investment?


4.15.19v2 73

Dashboard1:ProductVelocity

Anearliersectiondescribedthedimensionofspeedcalledspeedtoproduct.Productvelocitycaptures

thespeedortimeittakesaL&Dorganizationfromidentifyingtrainingneedstodeliveringtargeted

valuefromlearning.L&Dmustwatchthisgaugecarefully.Aperfectsolutiondeliveredtoolateislost

valuethatmayneverberecaptured.Adollaradaystartingtomorrowisalmostalwaysgoingtoreturn

morethanwaitingforfivedollarsadaystartinginacoupleofweeks.

Considerthis.IfL&Disabletoimplementalearningsolutionthatdelivers80%ofthedesiredimpactin

3⁄4ofthedevelopmenttime,ittakesmeaningfultimeforthe100%solutiontodelivermorevalue.Ifthe

developmentcycleforagivenlearningsolutionisfourmonthsthenthe80%solutiononlyrequiresthree

monthstolaunch.Amonthmaynotseemlikemuchbutdependingontheshelflifeofthelearning

solution,thevaluelinesmaynevercross.Animperfectsolutionsoonerisoftenmorevaluablethana

perfectonelater.

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

80%Solution Development

Time

80 80 80 80 80

TotalValueDelivered 0 0 0 80 160 240 320 400

100%Solution DevelopmentTime 100 100 100 100

TotalValueDelivered 0 0 0 0 100 200 300 400

Similarly,ifL&Disabletoreducethecycletimefora100%impactsolution,byreducingthetimeto

deliveryofvalueby25%,Thelearningsolutiondelivers20%morevalueoverthesameperiod.

Therefore,ProductvelocityisakeydashboardforanyL&Dorganizationlookingtodelivermorevalue.

Thepurposeofthisdashboardistoensurethatspeedfromneedidentificationthroughsolutiontovalue

deliveryisbeingtrackedandoptimized.Theprocess,eithertheDo-Si-DorecommendedinRunning

TraininglikeaBusinessorsomeother,involvesmultiplehandoffs,contributorsandfeedback-based

iterations.Alloftheseactivitiescanslowtheprocessdramatically.Thisdashboardisdesignedtoprovide

ameansofmakingthecurrentperformanceonthiskeydimensionvisible.


4.15.19v2 74

ThefollowingTalentDevelopmentReportingPrinciples(TDRP)metricsareexamplesofpossibleinputstothevelocitydashboard.

Cycletime,handofftodesignanddevelopment

Cycletime,designanddevelopmentforILTandvILT

Cycletime,designanddevelopmentfore-learning

Cycletime,handofftodelivery

Cycletime,total

TotalNumberofNewTrainingImplementations

TrainingImplementationCycleTime

Courses,developed,numbermeetingdeadline

Courses,developed,%meetingdeadline

AveragedevelopmentcostofanewILTorvILTclass

Averagedevelopmentcostofanewe-learningclass

Inaddition,itmaybeofvaluetocapturethecycletimeoftheactivitiesthatcompriseotherelementsof

L&D'ssolutionpipeline.Dataonthenumberofnewtrainingneedsidentifiedorexplored,pilots

conductedandotherscangiveL&Dabetterpictureofcapacitydriversandpossibleareasof

opportunitiesforimprovement.Agrowingnumberofnewneedsmayplaceconstraintsofsolution

architects.Growingtimebetweenpilotandfinalhandoffmayindicatethattheorganizationismoving

toofastandtheresultispilotsolutionsthataremissingthemarkbymorethaninpriortimes.

Finally,allsolutionsarenotcreatedequal.Moreexpansiveimplementationsmayappropriatelytake

monthstobringtofruition.Performancesupporttoolsorstandardoff-the-shelfofferingscanoftenbe

selectedandpurchasedveryquickly.Itisimportanttonotlosethisdistinctionintheaverages.Some

segmentationofsolutionsmayberequiredtoseethecycletimemetricsinthecorrectlight.


4.15.19v2 75

Dashboard2:PortfolioManagement

AtthetimeofthewritingofRunningTrainingLikeaBusiness,thetermcurriculummanagementmeant

theadministrationofalearninglibrary.WiththewaveofLMSimplementationsoverthepasttwo

decades,thetoolshavechanged,butnotthefunction.Today,whenthecreationandmaintenanceof

learningofferingsisthoughtofasaninvestment,itrequiresadifferentkindofattention.Portfolio

managementputsafocusonthisessentialperspectiveonacompany'sinvestmentinlearning.

Whilemixoflearningmodalitiesisoftenheldupasanimportantmetric,toooftenthesenumbersare

skewedwiththepurchaseofasingleeLearningcatalogorthemetricsmaybechasedafterfortheirown

sake.L&Dorganizationshavealsotoooftenadoptedaquicktoadd,slowtodeletementalitywherethe

sizeofthecatalogisameasureofsuccess.Additionally,thereisthedefinitionofactive.Withoneclient,

therewasanextremelyrobustlistofactivecoursesfortheprioryear.Uponfurtherexamination

however,itwasfoundthatasignificantpercentageofcoursesdeemedactivewereattendedbyfewer

than10people.Insomecases,thisisjustified(example,ahigh-endsimulationtraining),butinmostitis

not.

Lookingattoday'scurricularequiresanewlensthroughwhichtoviewit.Tobeeffective,curriculamust

bedynamic,keptevergreenandhighlybusinessrelevant.Datafromthecurriculamustbeusedto

eliminateredundanciesoridentifyscraplearning.Thisdatashouldalsoprovidethebasisfordiscussions

regardingmodality,needandaudience.Tothisend,metricscapturingnewproductsadded,aged

contentandcontentretiredmustreplacemetricslikehoursavailable,activecoursesandmodalitymix

asL&D'smeansofdescribingthevalueofthecatalog.

Thegoaloftheportfoliomanagementdashboardistoensuremaximumvitalityofthecurricula.With

thebusinessesthatL&Dsupportsrapidlyevolving,thecurriculamustbeactivelymanaged.Active

managementmustensurebusinessalignment,leverageofnewlearningmodalities,evolvingwaysof

working,audience’sneedsandintendedimpact.Itisnolongeracceptabletoconductannualreviews

andaudits.Instead,continuousanalysisandactionbasedontheanalysismustbemaintainedtoensure

thehighestvalueproducingcurricula.


4.15.19v2 76

ThefollowingTDRPmetricsareexamplesofpossibleinputstotheportfoliodashboard.

Courses,%used

Courses,totaldelivered

Uniquehoursofformallearningused

Uniquehoursofformallearning,%used

AverageTrainingHoursperEvent

PercentofL&DVendorLicensesUtilized

E-LearningLicenseUtilizationRate

Efforttoupdateexistingcourses

TrainingCostperHour(TCH)

AmountLearned(Level2Estimate)

PercentageofTestsPassed

ScrapLearning

TherearemanyTDRPmetricsrelatedtolearningsolutionsandaddingstandardmetricsforimpactgives

afairlyrobustviewontheperformanceoftheportfolio.Lookingatoverallutilizationcanhelpto

determinethetruesizeofthecurricula.Liketheoldsayingabouttreesfallinginaforestwithnoone

around,ifacourseisinacatalogandnooneeverusesit,doesitmakeanimpact?Inadditiontothese

measures,newmetricsrelatedtotheageofsolutionsandsolutionsretiredcanhelptobetterguide

investmentsinupdatesanddeterminethetruelifetimevalueofacourseorcurriculum.


4.15.19v2 77

Dashboard3:MarketShare

ThemarketsharedashboardcapturesasetofmetricsassociatedwithL&D’scustomersandthe

behaviorsofthosecustomersbeingservedbytheL&Dorganization.Marketsharerunsboth

horizontally,acrossthecompany,andvertically,withinabusinessunit.Forstartups,therearetwo

importantwaystodescribemarketshare:penetrationandshareofwallet.Penetrationdescribesthe

numberofpotentialcustomerstouchedversustheaddressablemarket.Shareofwalletisamonetary

descriptorshowinghowmuchoftheoverallspendinyourcategoryyouarecapturing.Forexample,

whilegrocerystoreshavenotlostpenetration,wearestillshopping,theyhavelostshareofwalletaswe

spendlessongroceriesandmoreondiningout.Bothofthedimensionsareimportantforstartupsand

L&Dtounderstand.

NoteveryL&Dorganizationhasthemandateforalllearning.Thismeanstheaddressablemarketis

reducedperhapsbygeographyorbycontentfocus.However,thereisvalueinmanycasesforaunified

L&DorganizationandL&Dshouldbeabletoearntherighttoit.Forthepurposeofthisexample,letus

assumethattheL&Dorganizationdoeshaveaglobalmandatebothgeographicallyandforcontent.

Sinceweallknowthatthetoprightquadrantofanyfour-boxchartliketheonepresentedbelowisthe

bestandthelowerleftisnevergood.Forthisreason,letusfocusontheothertwo.Thisexampleisnot

meanttoprovideauniversaldiagnosisbutsimplyillustratehowthemarketsharedashboardcan

provideactionableinsights.

QuadrantA–Highpenetration/Lowshareofwallet

ThisquadrantmayrepresentaL&Dorganizationthatisservingalargepercentageoftheaddressable

marketbutahighpercentageoflearningspendisgoingelsewhere.Thiscouldbeareflectionofa

specializedgroup(i.e.newhire,leadershiporcompliancetrainingfocused).Thismayalsobean

indicatorofbusinessleaders’lackofdesiretoletgo,believingthatnooneelsecanunderstandtheir


4.15.19v2 78

business.Thewillingnesstosacrificequalityoflearningforcontrolandperceivedcredibilityisoftena

hiddencostfororganizations.Thiscostmayshowupinlostbuyingleveragewithvendorsorlost

productivityfromSME’spressedintolearningdutiesandnottomentionineffectivelearning.

QuadrantB–Lowpenetration/Highshareofwallet

Touchingasmallpartofthemarketbutbeingdeeplypartoftheirlearningeffortsmightbetheresultof

L&Dstaffhavingastrongfamiliaritywiththatbusinessoranexecutiveinthebusinessthat“getsit”.L&D

organizations,notunlikeallofus,tendtogowheretheyarewelcome.Ratherthantakethelongroadto

convertingnon-believers,organizationsmayfocustheirresourcesonpartsofthecompanywithfewer

barriers.TheproblemwithhavinganarrowcustomerbaseinL&Disthesameasinbusiness,ifthose

fewcustomersleave,thebusinessisintrouble.

ThegoalofthemarketsharedashboardistoprovideinsightontheaudiencecurrentlyservedbyL&D

andofferpossiblewaysinwhichthoserelationshipsmightbedeepened.Byshowingtheaudience

currentlyserved,thisdashboardalsomayhighlightopportunitiesforbroadeningthataudience.

Whethermarketpenetrationand/orshareofwalletisthegoal,thisdashboardmakesL&D’sprogress

againstthosegoalsvisible.


4.15.19v2 79

ThefollowingTDRPmetricsareexamplesofpossibleinputstothemarketdashboard.

UniqueParticipants

TotalParticipants

%reachedbyL&D

ParticipantsregisteredforILT

ParticipantscompletingILT

Participants,%completingILT

ParticipantsregisteredforvILT

ParticipantscompletingvILT

Participants,%completingvILT

ILTAttendance

TotalParticipantHoursofTraining

TrainingHoursperLearner

Aspresentedearlier,therearetwodimensionsofmarket:penetrationandshareofwallet.Whilethe

TDRPmetricsfocusontheexistingcapturedmarket(participants),bothpenetrationandshareofwallet

occurinthebroadercontextoftheentirecompany.Forthisreason,understandingthe%ofemployees

thatareparticipantsandhowthetrainingprovidedthroughtheL&Dorganization,whetherinternally

developedorsourced,comparestootherutilizedsourcesisanimportantdatapoint.Understanding

howmuchlearningcomesfromsourcesoutsideoftheL&Dorganizationsuchasdevelopedinthe

business,deliveredbysubjectmatterexpertsordirectlyprocured,areimportantadditionstothis

dashboard.WhatcanyouinferaboutanL&Dorganizationthatonlyserves30%oftheemployeesor

deliversonly25%ofthelearningconsumedinacompany?BasedonthecharterofL&D,theseresults

maybeeitherappropriateorasignofthecompanynotrecognizingthevaluethatL&Dcanbring.


4.15.19v2 80

Dashboard4:Executive

Sharingdatawithexecutivesisakeyelementinbuildingrelationships,credibilityandsupport.After

decadesofrelyingonintuitionandgoodwillnowthatL&Dhasthedata,theurgeistoshowitoff.Allof

it.L&Discanbetooeagertodemonstratethemanyfacetsoftheorganizationanditsperformance.

Whilesharingdataisakeytoenhancingcredibility,itmustbetherightdata,deliveredintherightvalue

addingway.

NotefromJ.

Afterthereleaseofthefirstbook,whenEdTrolleyandIstarteddoingL&Dorganization

assessmentstogether,Iwastaskedwithcompilingandanalyzingthecollecteddata.Iwould

spenddaysreviewingandcrunchingnumbers,surveyresponsesandotherinformationwehad

collectedfromtheclient.Iwouldtakehourstopainstakinglybuildchartsandgraphs

representingtheresults,juxtaposingmultipledatapointstosupportourfindings.Thenwhen

thedraftpresentationdeckwasready,IwouldpresentitEd.Iwouldsitthereashestudiedmy

masterpiecethenhewouldpauseandaskonesimplequestion.“So,what?”

Theexecutivedashboardneedstobea"readandreact"dashboard.Unlikeactivity-basedmeasuresthat

showyouwhatyouhavedone,theexecutivedashboardprovideskeyoperatingmetricsthatallowthe

CLOandexecutivestoseehowL&Disperformingandhowitmightdosobetter.Inacar,thisisthe

differencebetweentheodometershowingyouhowfaryouhavedriven,andthespeedometershowing

howfastyouaregoingrightnow.KPI'smustbeactionableandmustbeactedupon.

Asalearningleader,youaresubmergedintheoperationsoftheL&Dorganization.CLOsunderstandthe

contextandimplicationsofthemetricswithoutneedingtohaveitexplained.Businessexecutivesonthe

otherhandaresubmergedintheirownbusinessnotL&D.Makesurethatwhenyouaresharingdata

withyourstakeholdersthattheyunderstandwhythedataisimportantandwhatyouaregoingtodoas

aresultofit.

AFinalNoteonDashboards

Dashboardsliketheexamplespresentedherearemeanttohelpprovideanactionablebaseofdatafor

strategydevelopmentandtotrackprogresstowardstheorganization’sgoals.Theseexample

dashboardsarenotmeanttobetheonlydashboardswatchedbyL&Dorthatthefourexamples


4.15.19v2 81

presentedareofequalimportancetoeveryL&Dorganization.

EveryL&Dgroupmustdeterminethehighestvalueperformanceindicatorsforitscompanyandfocusits

attentionandeffortsthere.Ifthecompanyisgoingthroughaperiodofrapidchange,perhapsthe

productvelocitymetricsarethehighestpriority.Ifcostisparamounttoanorganization,thentheL&D

organizationmayturnitsattentionmoretowardstheportfoliomanagementdashboard.If

fragmentationinthesourcesoflearningsolutionsandtheresultingpoorqualitythatoftenaccompanies

isthefocus,thenL&D'sfocusmaybeonmarketshare.

Thissectiondoesnotmeantoimplythatthesedashboardsstandindependentfromoneanother.In

fact,likethecollectionofdatapointsthatmakeupeachdashboard,thedashboardsthemselvesarealso

veryinterrelated.Insightsfromtheportfoliodashboardmayhelpindeterminingthedriversofmarket

growthorloss.Anincreaseinsolutionvelocitymaybecontributingtothevitalityofthecurricula.

Growthinmarketsharemaycreateamorerobustpipelineofnewlearningsolutionstobedesigned,

developedanddelivered.Drawinginsightnotsimplyfromasingledatapointordashboardbutfromall

canhelpaCLOtobetterunderstandhowL&D'sservicedeliverymodelisworking.

Acolleagueoncetoldmethatyoucannottellthedirectionacarismoving,ifatall,fromasnapshot.

Dashboardresultsmustbeputintothecontextofhistoricalperformanceandfuturegoals.Theaddition

ofdashboardtrendsovertimeiscriticaltoaddingthiscontext.Dataisvaluable,notwhenitiscaptured,

butratherwhenitisputtoworktodriveimprovedvalue.


4.15.19v2 82

DataDrivenExecution:DiscussionQuestions

• Whatareyourcustomers(learners,managersandexecutives)tellingyouthroughtheir

behavior?

• Whatmetricsareyouwatching?Howareyouputtingyourdatatoworkforyou?

• HowisyourL&Dorganizationtrackingvelocity?

• Howisyourorganizationmanagingthecurricula?

• HowmuchofthelearninginyourcompanyisyourL&Dorganizationsupporting?


4.15.19v2 83

ANewFramework

Onepictureisworthtenthousandwords

-Chineseproverb

RunningTrainingLikeaBusinessintroducedaframeworkcalledDynamicBusinessScorecard(DBS).DBS

wasdevelopedbyacolleague,BillFonvielle.Billsawthatwhilethebusinessworldhasgrownenamored

withtheworkofNortonandKaplanonBalancedScorecard,thatmetricsworkbestwhenthedrivers

anddependenciesofthevariouselementscouldbemademorevisible.TheDBSdisplaysthedriversof

results,notsimplytheresults.Thismakesdiagnosisandcommunicationmorestraightforward.Using

theDBS,organizationscoulddeterminehowtheywereperformingacrossthevaluechainandwhen

somethinggoeswrong,rootcauseiseasiertodetermine.


Throughoutthisbook,IhavesoughttoexplainwhyIbelievethatthenewL&Dorganizationhasnew

requirements.Theymustbeabletoconsistentlydeliverthemeasurablevalueneeded.Inordertodo

thisL&Dmust:

§ Becharacterizedastheexperimenters.

§ Createanorganizationthattries,failsandtriessomemore.

§ Acknowledgethatinthisperiodofrapidchange,onewaytoservetheircompanyistoembrace

aprocessofrapidreleaseswithaquickiterativefeedbackcycle.


4.15.19v2 84

Forthisreason,theframeworkbywhichweviewlearningorganizationsmustsupportthesenew

requirementsandthisiterativeprocessaswell.WhilethedynamicbusinessmodelhasservedL&Dwell,

ittooisinneedofanupdate.

TheLearningModelCanvas

Manyoftoday'sfastestgrowingstartupshaveaddressedtheneedforsupportingrapidlychanging

businessrequirementsbyabandoningmulti-yearbusinessplansinfavoroftheBusinessModelCanvas

(BMC).TheBMCwasdevelopedbyAlexanderOsterwalder,aSwissbusinesstheorist,consultantand

authorofBusinessModelGeneration.

Startupsfindthatthecanvasisapowerfultoolforfocusing,creatingacommonlanguage,makingthe

systemvisibleanddrivingstakeholderalignment.TheBMCisalsomulti-purpose,servingas:an

assessmenttool,anactionchecklist,acommunicationtool,andanongoingscorecard.TheBMCis

treatedasalivingdocument,continuouslyevolvinginthisfast-movingworldofbusiness.Adaptingthe

approachandlearningsfromtheBMC,anewframeworkforthinkingaboutacompany'slearning

organizationisalsoinorder.

TheLearningModelCanvas

SimilartotheBMC,theLearningModelCanvas(LMC)isanchoredbythevaluepropositionwedescribed

inthediscussiononCLOcommunication.Themodelcontainsfivecoreareas.Foreacharea,abrief

descriptionisprovidedbelow.Thepagesthatfollowwillprovideadditionaldetailoneacharea.Inthis

section,eachoftheseareaswillbeusedtohelpyoubetterunderstandthecurrentstateofyour

organization'smodel.Thefivecoreareasare:

§ Customer

§ ProductsandService

§ ServiceDeliveryModel

§ StrategyandGovernance

§ InvestmentandReturn


4.15.19v2 85

Customer

Alearningorganization'scustomersfallacrossmultiplesegments;learners,managersandexecutives.

Eachofthesesegmentshasitsownsetofrequirementsandneeds.Byclarifying theexpectationsof

eachofthesecustomersegments,alearningorganizationcansmartlyinformitsvalueproposition.By

identifyingthecustomerexperiencerequired,L&Dcanoptimizeitschannelstolearnersandimproveits

productstodrivebetterbusinessresultsforthewholecompany.

Products&Services

ThisareaoftheLearningModelCanvasbringsthevaluepropositiontolife.Whatyouareofferingdrives

thedeliveryofthevaluepropositiontoyourcustomersanddefineswhatyourservicedeliverymodel

lookslike.Thisareaalsoincludesthemanagementoftheproductsandservicesrequiredtosupportthe

entirelifecycleofalearningsolution.

ServiceDeliveryModel

Thisareadescribeshowthelearningorganizationoperatesinawaythatmeetstherequirements

definedbythecustomerexpectations,theresultingvalueproposition,andtheproductsandservices

thatdeliveronthevaluepromise.Thisareaincludeswhatneedstobedone,howitwillbedoneand

whowilldoit.TheservicedeliverymodelareaoftheLMCalsochallengesustoaskwhatnewactivities,

likecurationorsocialmediafacilitation,notcurrentlyencompassedbythelearningorganization,need


4.15.19v2 86

tobeincludedbasedontheresultsthatcustomersexpect.

Finally,thisarearequiresL&Dtore-evaluatedoingityourselfversusoutsourcing.Whenthewayin

whichyouaccomplishkeyactivitiesisrapidlychanging,companiesoftenpushtheburdenofthatchange

onpartnersratherthantakingitonthemselves.AglobaltechnologycompanyIworkedwithhadagoal

ofturningoveracertainpercentageofitssoftwareengineerseveryyear.Thisallowedthemtobringin

knowledgeofcurrentprogrammingtechnologiesinsteadofutilizingoutsidepartnerstoscaleupand

downandgainaccesstonewexpertiseandexperience.Ithinkwecanallagreethatuseofpartners

ratherthandrivingturnoverisamuchbetterlong-termapproach.

Strategy&Governance

Alignmentandmanagementofthelearningorganizationisdescribedinthisareaof theLearningModel

Canvas.Throughstrategicgovernanceandsteeringcommittees,dashboardsandcommunication

strategies,thisareaensureswhatthecompanyneedsarebeingmetinthemostefficient andeffectivewayspossible.Thisareaalsobringsintofocustheneedtokeepkeystakeholdersengagedandinformed

inordertocontinuouslyimprovethevaluedeliveredbyL&D.

Investment&Return

ThefinalareaoftheLMCcapturesthevaluebeingdeliveredandthetotalinvestmentthatthe largerenterpriseismakinginordertodeliveronthevalueproposition.Frequently,organizationslookonlyat

thedirectcostlineitemsrelatedtolearningsuchaspayroll,travelandthird-partyspend.These

organizationsfrequentlyfailtocapturetheinvestmentmadeintheformofsubjectmatterexperttime,

lostemployeeproductivitycausedbybeingawayfromjob,andotherlessobviouscosts.Inone

organization,anassessmentfoundthatwhiletheirtrainingstafftoemployeeratioreflectedahighly

efficientorganization,thecompanywasinvestingmorethantheentiretrainingdepartment'spayrollin

subjectmatterexperts'timealone.L&Dhadeffectivelytransferredonebudgettoanothermakingitself

lookbetterwhilemakingtheinvestmentbeingmadeinlearningbythecompanymoredifficultto

captureandmanage.

StillDynamic

SimilartotheBMC,alearningorganization'sLearningModelCanvasismeanttoevolveastheneedsof

theorganizationanditscustomerchange.Ongoingconversationswithcustomers,aswellasfeedback

fromsteeringcommitteesandmetricsdashboards,mustcontinuouslybeusedtoensuretherequired

valueproposition,theproduct,servicesandtheorganizationtosupportitallcontinuestodeliver

unmistakablevalue.


4.15.19v2 87

CustomerDomain

WebeginourdiveintothedomainsoftheLearningModelCanvaswiththecustomer.Thefirststepto

delightingyourcustomersisunderstandingwhotheyare.Notunlikeenterprisesoftwarecompanies,

L&Dhasthreedistinctcustomersegments,eachofwhichmustbesatisfiedinordertosucceed.For

software,thesesegmentsmightbethepayor,whofundsthepurchase(executive),thebuyer,who

selectsthesoftware(seniormanager)andtheuser(employee).ForL&Dorganizations,theyare;

executives,managersandlearners.Whilebothexecutivesandmanagersareoftenalsolearners,forour

purposeswewilltreattheseasroles,nottitles.

§ Executivesareinvestingresources,whichisoftencompetingwithotherpossibleareasof

investmentsthatcanhelpthemadvancetheirbusiness’goals.

§ Managersareinvestingtheirpeople'stime(lostproductivity,replacementcost,etc.)inorderto

advancetheirunit'sgoals.

§ Learnersareinvestingtheirtimeinordertoadvancetheirpersonalgoals(promotion,increased

productivity,etc.).

Foreachofthesecustomersegments,theL&Dorganizationmustworktounderstandtheexpectations

ofthecustomerandbasedonthatdetermineL&D’sperformance.

Expectations

Itiswidelyacceptedthatdissatisfactioncomesnotfromabsoluteperformancebutfrommissed

expectations.Youneedlooknofurtherthanyourlastbudgetairlineexperienceforproof.Delays,small

seatsandpoorservicewouldusuallyleadtocomplaintcallsandrefunddemands.Instead,whenasked


4.15.19v2 88

aboutservicefromalowbudgetairline,mostofuswouldsay,"ItwasOK."Thereasonforthisisthe

sameonethatisseen,fartoooften,inL&D.Aspartofthemanyassessmentsconductedovertheyears,

hundredsofinterviewshavecapturedthelevelofexecutivesatisfactionwithL&D.Ourreports

repeatedlycontainaphraseEdTrolleycoinedlongagoatForum,"Executiveshavelowexpectationsof

L&Dandtheyarebeingmet."

Itisforthisreasonthatitisimportanttonotonlyidentifycurrentexpectationsbuttoalsounderstand

thembyasking"why?"Withoutanunderstandingoftheexpectations,allL&Dhastogaugeitscurrent

performanceagainstisthecustomerfeedback."ItwasOK."Whilethismayfeelgoodtosome,itdistorts

thetrueperceptionofL&Dbythecompany.Thetrueperceptioncanlikelybeseenindirectlyinbudget

reduction,tepidexecutivesupportforinitiativesandlearningbeingdonewithinthebusinessesrather

thanutilizingmoreskilledL&Dresources.Thejobofthelearningorganizationisnottosimplymeetthe

expectationsthatcurrentlyexistbuttoworktoraisethoseexpectations.L&Dneedstobesaying,"You

shouldexpectmoreandwecandeliverit."

Whiletheexecutivecustomersegmentisusedintheexampleabove,thisprincipleappliestoall

customersegments.Managersfrequentlyjustwanttogettheirstaffbackmorequicklytominimizetheir

investment.Learnersmaybringnegativeexpectationsintoacompliancesessionbecausetheyfeelitisa

"checkthebox"sessionthatrequiresnothingmorethantheirbuttinaseat.Fallingshortofhigh

expectationsisbetterthanmeetinglowones.PeterDiamandis,founderofSingularityUniversityandX

Prize,anon-profitorganizationthatdesignsandmanagespubliccompetitions,intendedtoencourage

technologicaldevelopmentthatbenefithumanity,statesthatgettinghalfwaytoabillion-dollargoalis

farbetterthangettingallthewaytoamilliondollarone.

Experience

Softwarestartupstalkabout"totalcostofownership"(TCO)asawaytodescribetruecosttoa

customer.Thereareamultitudeoffactorsthatneedtobeincludedincost,whichwillbediscussed

further,inthesectionontheInvestmentandReturnareaoftheLearningModelCanvas.Butthe

conceptofTCOappliestotheexperienceanyofthethreecustomersegmentshavehadwithL&D.Itis

notjustwhatgotdone,buthowitgotdone.

Thinkaboutcallingyourcablecompanytogeta$10errantchargeoffyourbill.Youmayaccomplishthe

goalofremovingthecharge.Butthehow,whichincludedanhouronholdfollowedby30minuteson

thephoneandthreerepresentativeescalationseachresultinginthere-explainingtheproblem,needs

tobeconsideredaswell.Wasitworthit?Whenthecustomers'expectationshavebeenproperly

capturedthese"how"costscanthenbeincludedinthemeasurementoftheexperience.


4.15.19v2 89

CustomersofL&Dmayfeelthatthetrainingwasgreatbutfindingtherightcourseandsigningupforit

wastime-consumingordifficult.Managersmayfeelthatthelearningdeliveredwasgreatbuttheuseof

SMEswastootime-consuming.Startupsrecognize‘UX’,userexperience,asbeinganimportantpartof

theirsuccess.Thisservestofocusthestartupontheentireexperience,notsimplythetransaction.L&D

mustdothesame.

Performance=Experience-Expectations

Whileperformancemaylookliketheresultofasimpleequation,itisinthecombinationofthe

performanceresultsfromvariouscustomersegmentswheretheinsightcanbefound.Letustakeahigh-

levellookathowcombiningperformancedatafromvariouscustomersegmentsprovidesadditional

insight.Asalways,thesearenotmeanttobeauniversaldiagnosisbutsimplyexamplesofpossible

causes.Theperceptionsofeachoftheaudiences,whencombined,canbedirectional.Suchaswhen

executivesareimpressedbyashrinkingbudgetorlearnersaretheonlyonescheeringforlearning.

+positiveperception-negativeperception

WhatevertheperformanceresultsforaL&Dorganization,havingaclearsetofcustomerexpectationsis

critical.ItisfromtheseexpectationsthatCLOscandesigntheproductsandservicesneededandthe

servicedeliverymodelthatwilldeliverthebestexperiencetothecustomersofL&D.Beyondtheinitial

design,itisfromtheseperformanceresultsthatL&Dcancontinuetoimproveandoptimizethem.


4.15.19v2 90

ProductsandServices

FollowingthereleaseofthefirstbookwhentheDBSwasintroducedtoclients,Iusedtoalwayssaythat

itoperatedfromlefttoright.Peopleandprocessdroveproductstocustomersthatdeliveredthe

businessresults.Iaddedthatithadtobebuiltfromrighttoleft,anchoredbythebusinessresults

desiredbythecustomer.Althoughthemodelhaschangedfromthedynamicbusinessscorecardtothe

LearningModelCanvas,thecoreprincipleisthesame.Yourproductsandservicesmustallstartwiththe

customer'sexpectations.

Forstartups,thealignmentbetweenacustomer'sneedandthesolutionofferediscalled

Product/MarketFit(PMF).PMFoccurswhenastartupfindsasignificantlysizedsetofcustomersthat

resonatewithitsproduct.ThePMFconceptwasdevelopedandnamedbyAndyRachleff,co-founderof

BenchmarkCapital,abillion-dollarventurecapitalfundthathasinvestedinmorethan500startups.

Rachleffsays,"Ifthedogsareeatingthedogfood--thenyoucanscrewupalmosteverythinginthe

companyandyouwillsucceed.Conversely,ifyou'rereallygoodatexecutionbutthedogsdon'twantto

eatthedogfood,youhavenochanceofwinning."

AnL&Dorganization'sproductsandservicesarethetangibleembodimentofthevaluepropositionthat

deliversthesolutionthatisrequiredandhasbeendefinedbythecustomer.Therehasbeenplenty

writtenaboutcurriculumevaluation,catalogmanagementandmodalitymix.Allareimportant.The

caveatisthatwhilethingslikequalityandadministrationcanbejudgedintheabstract,dimensionssuch

asmodalityandcontentselectioncanonlybeevaluatedinthecontextofcustomerrequirements.By

recognizingthedifferencebetweenbestpractice,benchmarksorgenerictargets,andthosethatare

customerdefined,youavoidchasinggoalsthatmayinadvertentlymoveL&DawayfromPMF.


4.15.19v2 91

SohowdoesanL&DorganizationknowifitsproductsandserviceshaveachievedthePMFpromisedby

itsvalueproposition?TherearetwoverystraightforwardwaysforaCLOtomeasurethelevelofPMF.

Onemeasurementisaddition-basedandtheotherissubtraction-based.

In2003,whenFredReichheldpublished"TheOneNumberYouNeedtoGrow"hechangedtheworldof

measuringcustomersatisfactionforasecondtime.Hehadfirstdonesowhenhisbook"TheLoyalty

Effect"provedthattop-boxscoringwasmeaninglessandthatonlycustomersthatratedyouthehighest

showedanybehavioraldifferencetothoseinthemiddle.Badwasstillbad,ofcourse.NetPromoter

Score(NPS)washisnextcustomersatisfactionbombshell.

Reichheld'srecognitionthatinordertogrowandsolidifyitscustomerbase,acompanymustturnits

customersintosalespeoplestemsfromhisLoyaltyEffectworkthattermedthesehighlyloyalcustomers

"evangelists".Therefore,thenumberoftheseevangelists,lessthenumberofdetractors,asakeymetric

isasimple,measurableandnowwidelyadoptedapproach.NPSappliestointernalorganizations,such

asL&D,aswell.Wordofmouthisonlypossibleifyouhavedelightedyourcustomer.Youcannotdelight

yourcustomers,allthreesegments,unlessyouhavePMF.Additionalcustomers,additionalinteractions,

additionalvalue,italladdsup.WithsomecompanieslikeJetblueandVanguardreportingnetpromoter

scoresinthe70’s,accordingtoDeloitte,theNPSforL&Dis-31atthetimeofthiswriting!

ThesecondtestofPMFisbasedonsubtraction.Overthepasttwodecades,anumberofclient

companieshavestruggledwithbloatedcatalogsofofferings.Thousandsofcourses,whilegoodfor

meaninglessmetricbenchmarking,tendtosufferfromlowutilizationduetoagingirrelevanceor

businessstrategyshifts.Manyclientswilloftenciteyearlonginitiativestoevaluateandmake

recommendationsregardingthefateofindividualofferingswithinthecurricula.Recognizingthat

complianceofferingsareaseparateanimal,asimplerapproachissimply,"stopitallandseewhatis

missed".

L&Doftenappearstobetoofocusedon,"whatmorecanwedo?"ratherthan,"whatcanwestop

doing?"Thismaystemfromdecadesofbudgetcutsoritmaybetheresultofwhatstartupscall"vanity

metrics".Forstartups;thisequatestometricssuchasnewsign-upsornewfeaturespushed,bothof

whichdonotreflectthevaluedelivered.Didasign-upbecomeanactiveuser?Isthecustomergetting

morevaluefromthosefeaturesandcanyoutellthatfromtheirbehavior?ForL&D,thehoursdelivered

metricisoneofthesevanitymetrics.Withtheprevalenceofwhattheindustrycalls“scraplearning”,

howdoesthismeasurevalue?Numberofavailablelearningofferingsisanothersimilarlyuselessmetric.

Sizereallydoesn'tmatter.


4.15.19v2 92

InthespiritofNPS,simpleandeasytocollect,perhapsL&Dneedstoadoptanothersimplemetric.The

PerceivedValueScore(PVS).PVSisusedtodeterminehowmanycustomerswouldbedistraughtifthey

couldn'thaveyourproduct/serviceanymore.LiketheNPS,itreliesonasinglequestion.

"Onascalefrom"extremelyimpacted"[10]to"wouldnotnotice"[1],howwouldyourbusinessbe

affectedifourL&Dsolutionswentaway?"

Thismetriccanbeusedatthesingleofferinglevel,withmanagersregardingallthelearningprovidedto

theirbusinessunit,orwithexecutivestocapturethevalueofL&Dasawhole.Thismetricisscored

similarlytotheNPS.OnlythemostimpactedcountasL&Devangelistsandthenthatnumberisreduced

bythenumberofrespondentsonthe"wouldnotnotice"endofthespectrum.

ThesetwosimplequestionsarecrucialtounderstandingthelevelthatL&D'sproductsandserviceshave

achievedPMF.


4.15.19v2 93


TheServiceDeliveryModel(SDM)areaoftheLMCensuresthattheorganizationisdesignedfromtopto

bottomtodelivertheproductsandservicesrequiredtofulfillthevalueproposition.Becausecustomer

expectations,andthereforevaluepropositions,forL&Dwillbecompanyspecific,everyL&D

organizationmaylookdifferent.TheSDMhasfivecoreareas;process,technology,suppliers,people,

andmanagement.

§ Process:InRunningTrainingLikeaBusiness,thevariousprocessesessentialtotheL&D

organizationwerehighlightedanddiscussed.Whiletheprocesseshaveevolvedsince,theneed

tohaveclearlydefinedanddocumentedprocessesisevenmoreimportanttoday.Fluidteams,

anincreasedpaceandthecontinuouspushforoptimizationmakeprocessexistenceand

managementarequiredcorecompetencyfortoday'sL&Dorganizations.

§ Technology:Whenthefirstbookwasreleased,eLearningwasstillinitsinfancy.Today,new

learningtechnologiesseeminglylauncheveryweek.Fromdeliveryplatformstotoolsfor

development,communication,feedbackcollectionandcollaboration,L&Dmustalwaysbeon

thelookoutfornewtechnologies.Notforthesakeofhavinganew"toy"butrathertoidentify

moreefficientandeffectivewaysofdeliveringitsvalueproposition.

§ Suppliers:ThelandscapeofserviceproviderstoL&Dorganizationsisinconstantmotion.The

selection,evaluationandmanagementofsuppliersisofgreatimportance.Thisimportanceis

amplifiedbytherequirementtoachievebetterfocusandleveragefromtheinternalL&D

organization.


4.15.19v2 94

§ People:ThemakeupofthetypicalL&Dorganizationischanging.Oncefullofinstructional

designersanddevelopers,today'sL&Dorganizationrequirestechnologists,curators,data

scientistsandpeopleskilledinproductmanagement.Ensuringthattheteam'scapabilities,

structureandrolesareinalignmentwiththevaluepropositionisessential.

§ Leadership:Thetopoftheorganizationmustcontainthethreecapabilities(productexecution,

customerrelationship,innovationleadership)describedintheearlierTeamsection.The

leadershipofL&Dmustcontaintheinternallyfocusedskillstoleadinitiativessuchasprocess

improvementanddatastrategyandtheleadershipstyletomanageateaminatimeofrapid

changeandexperimentation.

Servicedeliverymodeldesignisakeyforthesuccessofstartups,oftendeterminingthefeasibilityof

theirbusiness.L&Dorganizationsarenodifferent.Onlywithaclearviewofwhatisneededtodeliveron

thevaluepropositioncanaCLOconfidentlyrecruitorreskilltheirteam,organizeandallocateresources,

selectpartners,andchooseoutsourceproviders.L&Dbuiltinthiswayisdesignedtodeliverthevalueits

customersrequire.


4.15.19v2 95

StrategyandGovernance

RunningTrainingLikeaBusinessfocusedontheimportantchallengeofeffectivelyensuringbusiness

linkage.Oneofthetoolssuggestedforincreasinglinkagedescribedinthebookwasgovernanceboards.

Thisemphasiswasbecause,withouttheclearlinkagetotheobjectivesofthebusiness,theopportunity

todrivevalueisseverelylimited.Adecadeafterbeingpublished,CorporateUniversityXchange

conductedasurveyofover150companies.Thesurveyfoundthatonly60%wereusinganexecutive

governingboardandonly10%sawitashighlyeffective.So,whilehavingaboardisrecognizedas

valuable,ensuringitperformswellisevenmoreimportant.

Asanindustry,thetalkofgettinga"seatatthetable"continuesalmosttwodecadesafterthefirstbook

wasreleased.So,whatislimitingtheeffectivenessofL&D'sgoverningbodies?WhyisitthatCorporate

UniversityXchangeconcludedthat"thebusinesslinkageoflearninganddevelopmentdwindlesasissues

becomemorestrategic"?Inworkwithmanycompanies,thegovernanceprocesshasproventobea

powerfulconnectiontothebusiness.IftheServiceDeliveryModelisseenasthe"body"oftheL&D

organization,thenthegovernanceprocessisthe"head".

Inadditiontotheirinvestors,startupstypicallyhaveasecondgroupofoutsidesupport,theadvisory

board.Advisorscanbeindustryexperts,individualswithstrongnetworksrelevanttothestartup’sgoals

orsimplywellrespectedfellowentrepreneurs.Asyoucanimagine,manyoftheseadvisorsaresought

outbymultiplestartupsputtingastrainonanadvisor’stime.Inordertosetclearexpectations,many

startupsuseaformaladvisoragreementthatincludesspecificsconcerningthecommitment,numberof

meetings/calls/emails,andservicesexpectedfromtheadvisor,suchaspromotion,recruiting,contacts


4.15.19v2 96

andprojectsupport.Whiletheformalityofacontractisalsorequiredduetothestockcompensation

manyadvisorsreceive,theclarityforboththestartupandtheadvisorisinvaluable.

ForL&Dorganizationswewilllookatgovernanceinthree-tiers.Eachtierofadvisorshasitsown

participantsandobjectives.

Strategic

Tactical

Operational

Thefirsttierisstrategic.MorethanseniorlevelmoralsupportforL&D,thisgroupofseniorexecutives

ensuresstrategicalignmentandprovidesimportantorganizationalfeedback.Meetingonceortwicea

year,thisgroupideallyconsistsofexecutivechampionswithstrongcredibilityamongsttheirpeers.The

objectiveofthistieristoprovidestrategicdirectionfortheL&Dorganization.Typicallyheldinthe

fourthfiscalquarter,thisstrategicgroupmeetingandtheassociatedannualreportcanbeanimportant

precursortobudgeting.

Thesecondtierismoretacticalandconsistsofseniorbusinessmanagers.Thisgroupmeetsquarterly.In

additiontofacilitatingfeedbackcollectiononperformanceandkeyindicators.Thequarterlymeetings

arefocusedondiscussionsinvolvingtheprioritizationofneedsand,whereappropriate,removalofany

barrierstoL&D’sperformancethatmayexistwithinthebusiness.Thesebarriersmayincludelimited

managerengagementoradditionalaccesstoneededsubjectmatterexpertsforsolutiondevelopment.

Thefinaltierofgovernanceisoperationallyfocused.Participantsinthistierfrequentlymeetmonthlyto

provideprogramlevelfeedback.ConsistingoflinemanagersandkeyL&Dresources,including

relationshipmanagersandsolutionarchitects.Thisgroup’smeetingsareprimarilyfocusedonnear-

termactionsthatcanbetakentoimproveresultsandoncapturinglearningsfromcurrentactivitiesto

improvefutureactivities.

Fastgrowingstartupsmustusetheiradvisorstotheirbestadvantageinordertosucceed.Atthe

strategiclevel,startupsworkwiththeirinvestorstocapturevaluefromthembeyondmonetarysuchas

keycustomerintroductions.Atamoretacticallevel,leadingfounderscollectagroupofkeyadvisorsto


4.15.19v2 97

helpthemsolvecomplexproblems.Finally,attheoperationallevel,frequentmeetingsthatinclude

solutionsleadsandkeycustomersarecriticaltoacceleratingproductimprovements.

AshighlightedbytheCorporateUniversityXchangereport,L&Dmustfocusonnotjusthavinggroupsof

stakeholdersbutmustensurethatitisgettingthemostfromtheseimportantgroups.IfL&Dfailstodo

thistheyarewastingthetimeoftheseimportantstakeholdersaswellastheirown.Belowarestartup

bestpracticesthatcanhelpL&DgetthemostoutofStrategyandGovernancestructure.

§ Usealllevelsofadvisors'timewisely-Alltheparticipantsinthesethreetiershavemany

demandsontheirtime.Thisraisesthebarforallmeetingswiththem.Preparatorymaterials,

focusedagendas,andstrongfacilitationareallrequiredtoavoidadvisorymeetingsfrom

becomingavictimofthebusycalendarsofthemembers.

§ Don'tstaylocal-Whileitmaybeeasytoselectparticipantsbasedonlocation,itisimportant

thattheadvisorygroupsreflectgeographyofL&D'scustomerbase.Withtechnologynowwidely

availableforvirtualcollaborationandmeetings,thereisnoreasontosettleforagoodadvisor

whoisnearbyratherthanthebestadvisorelsewhereinthecompany.

§ Getdiversified-GroupsneedtoaccuratelyrepresentthecustomersbeingservedbyL&D.Make

surethatparticipantsarecontributingdiversepointsofview,especially,inthetacticaland

operationaltiersofadvisors,L&Dcanbenefitgreatlyfromthesediverseperspectives.

§ Setthegroundrules-L&Dhastosetupcleargroundrulesinordertogetmaximumvaluefrom

itsadvisors.Candidandproductiveconversationsarenecessarytoachievetheobjectivesof

eachgroup.Establishingasharedsetofrulesofengagement,capturedinanadvisoragreement

canmeanthedifferencebetweenafeel-goodmeetingthatresultsinnovalueandanhonest

onethatdeliversresults-producinginput.


4.15.19v2 98

Investment&Return

ThekeystothisareaoftheLearningModelCanvas(LMC)are:

§ changingthediscussionfromcosttoinvestment,

§ understandingthetruecostsoftraining,

§ andusingtheinformationinanactive,ratherthanhistorical,way.

RunningTrainingLikeaBusinessdiscussedtheimportanceofuncoveringthetruefullcostsoftraining.

Visiblecosts,suchasthirdpartyspendandthesalariesofL&Dstaff,arecommonlyrecognized.Italso

presentedthreecategoriesofhiddencoststhatareoftennotincludedinthediscussion.Thesehidden

elementsareessentialtoreframingthedialogueasoneofinvestmentandworthrevisitinghere.Early

stagecompaniesarewellversedintheeconomicssystemoftheirmarket.Hiddencostscanoftenmean

thedifferencebetweenadoptionandextinction.Makinghiddencostvisibleontheotherhandcanoften

unlockthetruevaluebeingdelivered.


4.15.19v2 99


Let'sbeginwiththecostoflostopportunity.Thiselementofcostisusuallynotincludedinthe

investmentdiscussions.Theopportunitycostcapturesthelossassociatedwithnotreceivingthevalue

thatcomeswithimprovedperformance.Thisperformanceimprovementopportunitymayinclude;

additionalsales,lowerhiringcosts,decreasedtimetoproductivityandreducedattrition.Thisrepresents

thecostofdoingnothing.Turningthislostopportunityintovaluethroughtheprovisionoflearningis

thereturnthatisbeingsought.Forexample,ifacompany'ssalescloseratioisbelowtheindustry

averageandlearningcanbeusedtoimprovethisratio,thentheopportunitycostisthedeltabetween

thecurrentperformanceandtheindustryaverage.

Example1

§ Salesaudience(A)100salespeople

§ Averagesales(S)$500,000

§ Closeratio(C)15%

§ Industryaveragecloseratio(I)25%

§ Opportunitycostpersalesperson(O)=(I-C)*Sor(25%-15%)*$500,000=$50,000

§ Totalopportunitycost=O*Aor$50,000*100=$5,000,000

Inthiscase,theOpportunityCostorcostofdoingnothingis$5,000,000inlostsalesrevenue!


4.15.19v2 100

Calculatinglostopportunityfornon-salesrolesispossibleaswell.Forserviceroles,efficiencyinthe

formofcallshandledoranotheractivitycanbeconvertedtoadollaramountbytakingthefullcostof

thatemployee(salary,benefits,space,etc.)anddividingthatbythecapacityofanindividual

contributor.

Example2

§ Customerservicerepresentativeaudiencesize(A)1500

§ Customerservicerepresentativecost(S)=$30,000

§ AverageannualcallcapacityperCSR(C)=2,000

§ Highperformercallcapacity(H)=2,600

§ Costpercall(P)=$17.50

§ OpportunitycostperCSR(O)=(H-C)*Por(2600-2000)*$17.501%= $10,500

§ Totalopportunitycost=O*Aor$10,500*1500=$15,750,000

InExample2,ifalearningsolutioncanbedeliveredsuchthatitresultsina20%improvementin

efficiency(morecallshandledperCSR)theresultisover$15Mincostsavings,orrecaptured

opportunity.Similarly,wecanalsocalculatetheopportunitycostforsofterskills.Ifmanagementisa

driverofattrition,thentheopportunitycostisafunctionofthehiring,onboardingandtimeto

productivityforreplacementstaff.Thecostofdoingnothingtoaddresssub-parperformanceisnever

nothing.ItisimportantthatL&Disabletoframetheexistingcostsascontextfortheproposed

investment.

Nowthatwehaveidentifiedthecurrentstatecosts,wecanturnourattentiontounderstandingthefull

investmentrequiredtoaddresstheperformancegap.Inadditiontothevisibleexpenditures,wemust

alsocapturethehiddenones.Whilewastedorscraplearningisamoresubjectivehiddencost,lost

productivityisquantifiableandanimportantpartoftheequationthatisoftenoverlooked.Thesimplest

waytodeterminelostproductivityisbytakingtheannualrevenuesofthecompanyanddividingthatby

theemployeebase.Thisisastandardeconomicmeasureusedbybusinesses,financialmarketsand

governmentstoreflectthevalueofoutputperinput,inthiscaseinputisanemployee.Thiscanthenbe

usedtodeterminethelostproductivitywhiletheemployeesareawayfromtheirjobsandintraining.

Example3

§ Companyannualrevenues(R)=$10,000,000,000

§ Employees(E)=20,000

§ Revenueperemployee(P)=$500,000

§ Workingdaysperyear(D)=(365-weekedends-holidays-vacationtime)=220


4.15.19v2 101

§ Productivityperday=P/Dor$500,000/220=$2,272

NotefromJ

Makingthecostoflostproductivityvisibleisalsoapowerfultoolindemonstratingthevalueof

modalitychangesthatresultintimecompressionorlesstimeawayfromthejob.Consider

workingwithaclienttoconvertahighvolumeeight-hourclassroomsessiontoathree-hour

eLearningsolution.Withover10,000learnerseveryyearthereductionoffivehoursoftime

awayfromthejobreturnedover10milliondollars’worthofunproductivetothebusiness,far

outstrippingthecostofconversion.

UsingourExample1fromabove,wecannowhaveatrueinvestmentdiscussionwithabusiness

sponsor.

"Ourcurrentsub-parsalesperformanceiscostingusfivemilliondollarsayear.L&Dcanclose

thatgapthroughdeliveryofalearningsolution.Thehalf-daysolutionincludingdevelopment,

deploymentandothercostsforyour100salespeoplewillrequireaninvestmentof$125,000.

Evenifthesolutiononlycloseshalfofthegap,youarestillrecapturing$2,500,000ofthelost

opportunityforrevenue.Isa20Xtoplinereturnoninvestmentintrainingyourteamsomething

youmightbeinterestedin?"

WithL&Dnowlookingatinvestmentandreturninthefulllight,howL&Dusesthisinformationisthe

finalpointtocover.Todoso,weagainlookathowhighperformingstartupsaremanagingtheir

investmentinbuildinganddeliveringproducttotheircustomers.Forstartups,thisisbestexemplifiedby

"burnrate".Burnrateisthepaceatwhichastartupisconsumingtheinvestmentfunding.Muchlike

L&D,startupsareoperatingonafixedbudgetpriortogeneratingsignificantrevenues.UnlikeL&D,

startupsusethisfixedbudgetasadailyfocusingmechanism,notahistoricalaccounting.

Investmentsinstartupsaregenerallymadeatseveralpointsduringthelifeofthestartup.Thesepoints

areoftendelineatedbytheachievementofimportantmilestonessuchasproductlaunch,numberof

customersacquiredorrevenuetargets.Whataburnratedoesforstartupsisplaceatimelimitonthe

achievementofthosemilestones.Becausetimeoncespentcannotberegained,startupsarevigilantin

trackingwheretheyareeverydayontheprogresstowardsmilestones(valuedelivered)versus

investment.Startupscannotwaitfortheclocktorunoutandthenlookbacktoseehowtheydid.


4.15.19v2 102

ForL&D,themilestonesarealmostalwaysbasedonthebudgetcycleandtheimpliedburnrateissimply

adivisionofthebudgetacrosstheyear.ThegoalofL&D,atanygivenpointintheyear,istohave

deliveredmorevaluethaninvestmentburned.Whilethisisnotalwayspossible,projectkickoffsorlarge

initiativesmaytemporarilycausetheinvestmentamounttobeabovethevaluedeliveredamount,it

shouldbeafocusoftheorganization.Forexample,anL&Dorganizationwitha$10millionbudgethasa

burnrateof$45,000perday.Thismeansthatinordertobeonthepositivevaluesidebytheendof

January,L&Dshouldhavedeliveredatleastamilliondollarsofvaluetoitscustomers.Bykeepingburn

ratetopofmind,L&Davoidsgettingtoitsannualmilestoneonlytorealizethatithasnotdelivered

enoughvalueandcannotgetthetimeorinvestmentback.


4.15.19v2 103

ANewFramework:DiscussionQuestions

• HowareyouthinkingabouttheoperatingmodelyourL&Dorganization?

• Howareyouandyourteammanagingtheexpectationsofyourcustomers?

• HowdoyouthinkyourcustomerswouldanswertothePVSquestion?Whatdoyouthinkarethe

keystoimprovingthatscore?

• HowhaveyoudesignedyourL&Dorganizationtodeliverthevalueyourcustomerrequires?

• HowareyoukeepingL&Dconnectedatalllevelsofthecompany?

• IsL&Dseenasaninvestmentoracostinyourorganization?Whydoyouthinkthatisthecase?


4.15.19v2 104

Section3:Launch


4.15.19v2 105

GetStarted

"Agoodplanviolentlyexecutednowisbetterthanaperfectplanexecutednextweek"

- GeorgeS.Patton

RunningTrainingLikeaBusinessoutlinedthephasesoftheLearningOrganization’stransformation.The

transformationphases;assessing,planning,installingandrunning,detailedinthebook,arestill

relevant.However,whathaschangedisthatthetransformationprocessisnolongerlinear.

Transformationintoday’senvironmentisachievedthroughafast-movingiterativecycle.Thejourney

youareabouttoundertakeisonethatdoesnothaveadestinationotherthan"betterthanyesterday."

"Askingtherightquestionishalftheanswer."

-Aristotle

Thefirstbookincludedasetofkeyquestionsinthetransformationsection.Thissectionwillprovideyou

withadditionalkeyquestionsthatarefocalpointsforexperimentsandassessment.Thissectionwill

continuetousetheLearningModelCanvastoorganizeoureffortsandagainwewilltakeourcuefrom

thebestpracticesofstartups.Usingthismodel,youcanlookatwaysthatyoucanquicklygainthe

informationyouneedtodriveimprovement.Sincetransformationisaniterativeprocess,thefocuswill

beongetting"justenough"tostarttheprocess.Asyouproceed,yourorganizationshouldcontinually

revisitandreviseyourcanvas.Thissectionwillalsoinitiallylookatusingdataorresourcesalready

availabletoL&D.Incaseswherenewdataisrequired,thesuggestedprocesshasbeenextremely

sensitivetooptimizingtheuseofL&Dandotherresources.Thegoalistomaketheprocesssimpleand

fast.

Thehopeisthattheprinciplesintroducedinthisbookhaveyouenthusiasticaboutseekingoutand

capturingopportunitiestooptimizeyourL&Dorganization.Sowheretobegin?Simple.Acoreprinciple

ofbothstartupsandeffectivelearningorganizationsistostartwiththecustomer.


4.15.19v2 106

ItStartswithaQuestion

Earlierthisbookfocusedontheimportanceofexperimentation.Allgoodexperimentsstartwithasking

therightquestions.Buildingontheassessmentfromthebeginningofthisbookanumberofkey

questionsthateachL&Dorganizationmustaskitselfinordertodelivernextgenerationvaluehasbeen

outlined.Thesequestionsthenprovideafocusfortheexperiments,whichinturnleadtomore

questions.Thesequestionsareorganizedtoallowforquickiterationsandfastfailure(betterseenas

learnings).Aspresentedinthediscussiononexperiments,allwelldesignedexperimentshaveasimilar

structure.

• Whatwebelieve

• Whatwewilldotoverify

• Whatwewillmeasure

• Whatourmeasurementneedstobeifweareright

Thislastpiece,whatdoesthemeasurementneedtobeifourassumptioniscorrect,iscritical.Startups

sometimeswaituntiltheresultsareintodefinesuccess.Alltoooften,thisleadstorationalizationofthe

datatosupportthedesiredoutcome.Ifastartupthinksthat70%ofthecustomersneedtobewillingto

payforitsproduct,thenthatisthehurdlethatthestartupneedstocross.Ifonly60%expressthis

willingness,theresponseshouldnotbe"closeenough,"butratherthequestion,"whynot?"Deciding

thehurdleobjectivelyandpriortotheexperimentassuresthatthisissueisavoided.

Tohelpwiththisprocessweincludedaquickself-assessmentatthestartofthisbookthatcapturesyour

currentassumptionsaroundtheperformanceofyourlearningorganization.Inallcases,unlessthereisa

databasisfortheratingitisonlyanassumption.Allassumptions,positiveandnegative,mustbeturned

into'knowns'throughexperiments.Thissectionhasanumberofapproachestogetyoustarted.


4.15.19v2 107

Thefirstplaceforustobegintheassessmentprocessisthequestforproduct-marketfit.Todothis,we

havetodefineourmarket.Therefore,theveryfirstquestionis“whomcanL&Dserve?”

WhomcanL&Dserve?

Geography,mandateandhistoryallcontributetheanswertothisquestion.Thekeyhereistofocuson

whocouldgetvaluefromL&D.Perhapsyourorganization'sfocusisonlyonsoftskillsoronlyforpartsof

thebusiness.Theanswertothisquestiondefineswhatiscalledtheaddressablemarket.Whilehavinga

largeraddressablemarketisbetterforstartups,recognizingthelimitationsallowsustoconcentrateour

valuecreationonourtruepotentialcustomers.

Now,havingdefinedthefullpotentialmarketforourproductsandservicesthenextquestionweneed

toaskis“WhodoesL&Dservicetoday?”

WhodoesL&Dservice?

ThisisthemarketsharequestionthatL&Dhastoaskitself.OftheXnumberofemployeesL&Dcould

delivervalueto,howmanydoesL&Dactuallyreach?AreviewofdatafromanLMSorotherregistration

systemscanoftenbehelpful.ItisnotuncommontofindthatalthoughL&Dsaysitisforacertain

definedmarket,itisusuallyfocusedonasubsetofthatmarket.Thismaybetheresultofhistory,

executivesupportandbusinessdrivers.Wearenotsuggestingthisisaconsciouschoicetoexclude.

Knowingthetrueanswerstothesefirstmarketsharequestionsisanimportantfoundation.

Answerstothesefirsttwoquestionsregardingaddressableversusactualmarketpopulationshave

potentialinsightstooffertoanL&Dorganization.Fortheaddressablemarketthatiscurrentlynot

served,theL&Dorganizationmustaskitselftwosimplequestions:

• Whydon'twe?

• Howcouldwe?


4.15.19v2 108

FocusingonL&D'scurrentmarket,thenextquestionis,“Areweaddingvalue?”

Whatvalue?

Thetwosimplesurveyquestionswedetailedintheearliersectioncanhelpfindanswerstothis

question.Itistemptingtowanttosendoutasurveyrequestingfeedbackonallthevariousfacetsofthe

L&Dofferingandsolicitingsuggestionsforimprovement.Wearesupportersoflovingdata,remember?

L&Dmustrememberthatthisfirstphaseofrunningtrainingmorelikeastartupisaboutspeedand

efficientuseofresources.Onceweknowmore,wecandoubledownonresourcesmoreconfidently.In

addition,weallknowhowsurveywearymostcompaniesare.Twosimplebutpowerfulquestions,the

NetPromoterScoreandthePerceivedValueScorerequirelessthanthirtysecondsofyourcustomer’s

time…thatisallittakestodetermineifyourL&Dorganizationisaddingvalue.

Byallowingthedatatodrivetheprocess,startupsquicklygettheinputtheyneedwhichinturndictates

thenextstep.IfyourL&Dorganizationgetsanetpromoterscoreof50%,stopreadingthisandgetback

towhateveritisthatyouaredoing.Stopwastingyourtimeondatacollection,youaredoingfine.Ifnot,

readon.

Theresponsestothesetwoquestions,collectedfromallthreecustomerconstituencies;executives,

frontlinemanagers,andlearnersisthefirststeptowardsdefiningifthereisaproblemandifthereisa

problem,howbigitis.Ifyoubelieveyouaddvalue,(hopefullyyoudo)whatscoredoyouanticipate?

Thentakeadeepbreathandaskthequestions.Youmaynotliketheanswersbutnowyouhavethedata

andyoucanstartdoingsomethingaboutit.

NPSquestion:

"Onascaleof0to10,howlikelyareyoutorecommendthevalueofworkingwiththeL&Dorganization

toacolleague?"

PerceivedValueScore(PVS)question:

"Onascalefrom"extremelyimpacted"[10]to"wouldnotnotice"[1],howwouldyourbusinessbe

affectedifallofourL&Dsolutionswentaway?"

Whenreviewingthedata,oneofthedimensionstobeconsiderediswhattheresultsacrosscustomer

segmentstellabouthowL&Disservingeach.LinemanagersandlearnersvaluingL&Dbutexecutives

scoringitlowercouldbeanindicationthatL&Dneedstodoabetterjobcommunicatingwiththetop.


4.15.19v2 109

LinemanagerswhoarelesslikelytorecommendL&Dthanlearnersmayindicatethatthelearningisof

valuebuttakestoomuchtimeawayfromthejoborthelinemanagerisnotseeingperformance

improvement.Also,lookforinconsistenciesbetweenthetwoscoresforeachsegment.Highlyvalued

butunwillingtorecommendisapoliteanswer.Thisistrueforthereverseresultsaswell.Peopledon’t

recommendsomethinginwhichtheydon'tseevalue.

ExpectGreatThings

Letusassume,forthesakeofthissection,thatyourscoresarelowerthanyourassumptions.Nowitis

timetorollupyoursleevesandgettowork.DefiningthegapinL&D’sproduct-marketfit,thecritical

goalthatvalidatesthevaluebeingdeliveredtothecustomer,startswithournextquestion.

Whatvalueisneeded?

Toanswerthisquestion,Irecommendtwoapproaches;executiveinterviewsandanexpectations

mappingprocess.Executivesinterviewsprovideimportantdataregardingtheexpectationsofthebuyers

ofL&D'sproductsandservicesandinitiatetheprocessofchangingthediscussionfromcostto

investment.Combinedwiththeexpectationsmapthesegenerativetoolswillprovidetherequirements

andspecificationstocompareagainstthecurrentstate.


4.15.19v2 110

TalkingtotheTop

Havingconductedmanyexecutiveinterviews,therearetwokeystocollectinginsightfulandactionable

datathatstandout.FirstisthatthediscussionmustnotaboutL&D,untiltheveryend.Thiscanbeabit

confusingforsomeexecutiveintervieweeswhowonderwhenyouaregoingtoaskthemwhattraining

dotheyneed.YoucanassurethemthatyouwillgettherebutL&Disforsolvingbusinessproblemsso

thatiswhereyouaregoingtostart.Thiscanalsobeachallengefortheinterviewerwhointheirearnest

attempttofixthings,wantstojumprighttothe"whatcanL&Ddobetter"questions.

ThesecondkeytotheexecutiveinterviewsisthatL&Dmusttryhardtogetcandidfeedback.Your

colleaguesarenotpredisposedtotellaboutallthingsthatarewrongorthattheybelievewhatyouare

doingisawasteoftimeandmoney.Itcanfeeltoopersonal.Thisdynamicmakesitveryimportanttoset

thecontextforthediscussionandtomanagetheinterviewinaveryopenway.Ifyougetdefensive,or

theyarenotcandid,theL&Dorganizationwillnotgetthedataitneeds.

Startupsuseinterviewslikethisoneallthetimetovalidateaproblemtheybelieveneedssolving,to

defineasolutiontheyarebuildingorformakingimprovementstoanexistingproductorservice.We

haveadaptedsomeofthequestionstypicallyusedintheseinterviewsforthispurpose.Examplesofthe

typesofquestionsweincludeinexecutiveinterviewsareprovidedbelow.

Thetypicalinterviewstructureusedis:

• Introduction-Thesetuptotheinterviewprovidesthepurpose,benefitsandprocesswhilealso

settingthetoneforanopenconversation.Thisisusuallyincludedinthecommunicationusedto

requesttheinterviewaswell.

• Customer-Youmustunderstandwhoyourcustomeris.Itmaybeinterestingtoaskquestions

abouttheircareerpathwithinyourcompanyandinanypreviouscompanies.Weallhave

differentpathsandworkinginotherbusinessunitsandcompaniescaninfluenceyour

customers’expectationsandperceptionofL&D.

• Business–Mostlikely,youareveryfamiliarwithyourexecutive'sbusiness.Evenso,asking

aboutstructure,size,growth(realandtargeted)andprioritiescanallowtheexecutivethe

opportunitytoprovidethebusinessbackdropastheyseeit,whichmaybedifferentthanhowit

wasdescribedinthelatestannualreport.

• ProblemIdentification–Theobjectiveofthissectionistoprovideananchorforbusiness

alignment.Askingaboutchallengesfacedorbarrierstothebusinessachievingitsgoalsensures

thatL&Disfocusedonthebusinessissuesandisabletocommunicatethatinbusiness'own

words.


4.15.19v2 111

• Capabilities-Withthebusinesscontextnowbetterunderstood,thequestionscannowturnto

thecapabilitiesthepeopleinthebusinessneedtoovercomethechallengesandpursue

opportunities.Inadditiontothecapabilitiesrequired,askingaboutwhichpopulationshavethe

greatestneedforcapabilityimprovementcanhelptosetprioritiesforL&D.Understanding

thesegapscanhelpensurethatL&Disdeliveringthevaluethatthebusinessneeds.

• L&D–Finally,itistimetodiscusstheexecutive'sexpectationsofL&D.Byaskingaboutthe

executive's"ideal"L&Dpartner,L&Dcancreateapicturetobevalidated.Askingquestionsto

helpdescribethis"ideal"L&D'sroleinthebusiness,desiredinteraction,andopportunityfor

valuecreation.Theresponsetothisquestionrevealsalotabouttheexecutive'sperceptionof

L&D.

Insomecases,aninterviewwillalsoincludeaquicknumericscalequestionattheendofasectionto

provideaquicksnapshot.Aquestionlike"iftenisidealL&Dorganizationforsupportingyourbusiness,

whereisL&Dtoday?"canbehelpfulinbaseliningimprovementasyoumoveforward.Dependingon

theanswer,thissimpledatapointcanalsobeusefulincommunicationandgeneratingbuy-infor

change.

Whoshouldbeinterviewedisgoingtobedeterminedbythestructureofyourcompanyandthe

customersyourL&Dorganizationserves.Aswithanydatacollectioneffort,CLOswillwantthistobea

groupthatisreflectiveofthemarketL&Dcanserve.Onewaytostartthinkingabouttheinterviewlistis

tothinkbacktotheStrategy&GovernancesectionoftheLearningModelCanvas.Whowouldyouwant

tohaveonyourL&Dboardofdirectors?


4.15.19v2 112

ExpectationsMapping

NowthatL&Dhascapturedtheexpectationsofitsexecutivecustomersthroughexecutiveinterviewsit

istimetolearnmoreabouttheothertwocustomersegments.Fortheothertwosegments,managers

andlearners,anotherquickandeasysurvey-basedtoolcanbeusedtocollectthatdata.Onesimple,

open-endedquestionisallthatitwilltaketogettothenextiterationofthelearningcycle.

TheapproachtoexpectationsmappingisamodifiedapplicationofNominalGroupTechnique(NGT),

originallydevelopedbyAndreDelbecqandAndrewH.VandeVen.Startingwithasinglequestion,the

approachgeneratesalistofcharacteristicsdescribingtheidealL&Dfunction.UnliketraditionalNGT,

whichremovesduplicatesandthenusesavotingtechniquetodeterminethemostfavoredresponse,

thisprocesssimplyusesfrequencyasavote.Also,sincethereisnotaneedtoselectasinglefavored

response,theresponsescanbesubjectivelyorganized,basedonexperience,tohelpinunderstanding

thecustomer'sexpectations.

Thisapproachrequiresaslightlydifferentquestiontobeusedforeachofthetworemainingcustomer

segments.Forlinemanagersthequestionis,"WhatadjectiveswouldyouusetodescribetheidealL&D

organizationforyourbusiness?"Forlearners,"Whatadjectiveswouldyouusetodescribetheideal

learninganddevelopmentforyou?"Inbothcases,respondentsareencouragedtosupplythree

responseswithanoptiontocontributeupto10.

Oncetheexpectationdataiscollected,eachcustomergroupisanalyzedseparatelybutinthesameway.

First,frequencyofeachadjectivesubmittedistabulated.Droppingtheadjectivesinoneofthefree

onlineWordCloudtoolsisaneasywaytogeneratethisresult.Idroppedthissectionofthebookinto

oneofthesefreeonlinetools.Theexhibitbelowiswhatwasreturned.Thiswillimmediatelyhelpto

identifythemostcommonexpectations.Thespecificwordsarealsovaluableasorganizationslookto

driveincreasedspeedtolearnerthroughmorecompellingcommunications.


4.15.19v2 113

Thenextpartoftheexpectationmappingprocessissynthesizingresultstodeterminetheessenceofthe

desiredvaluepropositionofL&Dtothatcustomer.Thisisdefinitelymoreartthansciencebutgenerally

takesthefollowingsteps.First,looktoremoveorcombinesimilarterms,keepingthemostfrequently

usedoneastheheadline.Second,lookattheonesthatcanbegrouped.Forlearners,thismaymean

bundlingtermsreferringtochannelexpectations(mobile,ondemand,offsite)orproductexpectations

(short,interactive,video-based).Formanagerresponsesregardingtheorganization,abundlemightbe

processfocused(fast,responsive,flexible)ororganizational(embedded,businesssavvy,local).Afterthe

bundling,therestoftheanalysisprocessissummarizingwhatyourcustomershavetoldyouabouttheir

desiredvaluedrivers.

Withthreesurveyquestions,ahandfulofinterviewsandsomelightdataanalysis,L&Dorganizationscan

answerthefourfoundationalquestionsfacedbyallstartupsandessentialforrunningtraininglikea

startup.Attheendofthisprocess,L&Dwillbetterunderstandexpectationsfromallthreeoftheir

customersegments.L&Dnowalsoknowswhatavaluedproduct,theL&Dorganizationanddesired

resultslookliketothecustomers.Nowitistimetodeliverit.


4.15.19v2 114

AssessingtheSituationWiththegoalnowdefinedinthecustomerareaoftheLearningModelCanvas,L&Dnowhasthe

foundationalinformationrequiredtotakeafreshlookattheproductsandservicesoffered.Armedwith

itscustomerexpectations,L&Dcannowbegintoexploretheimplicationsfortheorganizationitself.In

thesectionondata,weidentifiedanumberofkeydashboards.Wewillrevisitthemhereastoolsfor

assessingthecurrentstate.

Inaddition,theprocesswillcontinuetofocusoniteratingquicklyandfocusingresourcesonthehighest

areasofimpact.Inthelasttwodecades,Ihaveconductedasignificantnumberoforganizational

assessmentsforL&Dgroupsofallsizes.Duringthattime,Ihavesatinwarroomsfullofboxesofdata

andinformation.Whileatonetime,itmadesensefororganizationstogoallinonhugechange

initiativeslayingoutfive-yearplansandcommittingenormousresources,theworlddoesnotworklike

thatanymore.

Thissectionisnotaboutbenchmarks.Thereareplentyofotherplacestofindthose.Benchmarkscan

alsobedangerous.Startupssometimeslookaroundforcomparators.Lookingathowfastanother

startupisgrowingorhowmuchmoneywasraised.Likebenchmarks,thesecomparatorscanbe

misleading.Thereisnothingwrongwithusingbenchmarksbutremember,beinginthesameindustryor

thesamesizedoesnotnecessarilymeanyouareinthesamecohort.Areyourcomparatorssolvinga

similarsizedproblem?Doestheirmarkethavesimilarcharacteristicssuchascustomerexpectationsand

buyingcycles?Insteadofbenchmarks,ourtouchstonewillbethecustomers,theirbusinessandtheir

expectations.

Whilesomequestionsareconnected,theideasinthesectionarenotdesignedtorequireallthe

questionstobeansweredatonce.Eachonecanbestand-aloneanddonewhenthetimeisright.Asa

CLO,maybeyourcustomershavetoldyouthatthereareopportunitiesforL&Dtoaddmorevalue.The

goalofthissectionistohelpyoumakeadata-drivendecisiononhowtoproceed.MostL&D

organizationshaveaprettygoodideawherethepainpointsare.Pickaspot,collectsomedataandget

tobuilding.Thegoalofthissectionistoprovideawaytogetyoustartedsmartlyinthedirectionof

deliveringtheunmistakablevalueyourcustomersdemand.


4.15.19v2 115

Theprocesswillcontinuetousequestionstohelpfocusonthekeyelementstobeassessed.Thisisnot

acompletesetofquestions.Aswiththisentiresection,thesequestionsareonlythefirstround.Based

ontheanswers,youmayproceedtoimplementingchangesimmediatelyoryoumayneedtoaskmore

questions.ThequestionsareorganizedintothefollowingareasoftheLearningModelCanvas:

• Product&Services

• ServiceDeliveryModel

• Strategy&Governance

• Investment&Return


4.15.19v2 116

Products&Services

Howalignedareourproductswiththeexpectationsofourcustomersegment?

Whilethismayfeelsubjective,Irecommendtakingamoreobjectiveapproachtoansweringthis

question.CLOscanassessthecurriculumagainsttheexpectationsmapandcapabilityrequirements.

Whatpercentageofthelearningportfoliois"on-demand"orhowmany"interactive"solutionsare

offered?Isthereacommonthemetoproductsandservicesthatareandarenothittingthemark?

Themesmaybeaspecificcontenttype,businesspartnerorevensolutionarchitect.Bytakingthisview,

CLOscanquicklyidentifyareasforfurtherexplorationandaction.

Whatprocessesdowehave,orneedtoimplement,toensureaportfolioofproductsandservicesare

alignedwithourcustomer'sexpectations?

Howwillalignmentbemanagedmovingforward?Doesexpectationalignmentgetincludedalongside

businessalignmentindesignguides?Isthereaneedforquarterlyorannualreviews?Intoday'sbusiness

environment,customerexpectationsareamovingtarget;itisbesttohaveadynamicprocessfor

ensuringtheportfoliokeepsupwiththem.

Howarewemanagingourproductsformaximumvalue?

ThisquestionreturnstothePortfolioManagementdashboarddiscussedearlier.L&Dneedstobeclear

onhowtobestmanagetheentirelifecycleofasolutionfromreleasetotermination.Aretherepolicies

orstandardsregardingexpirationandupdates?Isthereanidentifiedownerformanagingthis?


4.15.19v2 117


WhataretheactivitiesL&Dmustexecutetodelivertheproductsandservicesrequiredbythevalue

proposition?

Thefocushereisonallthedifferentactivitiesrelatedtothecreationofthevaluepromisedtoyour

customers.Solutiontypes,deliverychannelsandinfrastructureallrequireasetofactivitiesrelatedto

creation,administrationandmaintenance.KeepinmindtheconceptofTotalCostofOwnership(TCO)

aswell.Whatengagement,relationshiporsupportactivitiesarenecessary?Activitiesassociatedwith

theroleoftheCLO,suchasstakeholderengagementandrecruitingshouldalsobeincluded.

Whereshouldthoseresourcescomefrom?

WhetheraneededresourceshouldcomefrominsideoroutsidetheL&Dorganizationisafunctionof

threevariables.Thenecessaryresourcevolumeandthecertaintyofthatvolumeisthefirst.Whether

theresourcerequiresspecializedexpertiseorisitamoregeneralskillset,isthesecond.Thethird

variableistheextenttowhichtheresource'sperformanceiscriticaltothedeliveryofthevalue

proposition.Theanswerstothesequestionsprovideaframeworkforclearandconsistentdecision

makingregardinghowtobestsourceneededcapability.

WhatadditionalresourcesdoesL&Dneedtoperformthoseactivities?

Inadditiontothecapabilitiesneededbytheteam,theanswertothisquestionneedstoidentifyalltypes

ofresourcesincludingbudget,facilities,people,toolsandsupport.Forexample,isadatawarehouseor

ananalyticstooltoprovidemetricsrequiredbyyourcustomers?Arespecialfacilitiesrequiredtoenable

VRtraining?

HowalignedarethecurrentresourcesandactivitieswiththeexpectationsofL&D’scustomers?

DeploymentofL&Dresourcesshouldbeareflectionofwhattheorganizationfeelsisimportant.A

simplereviewofwhereL&Dstaff'stimeisspentcanofferinsightintoneededreallocationoftime,

possibleinefficienciesandopportunitiesfordeliveringmorevaluewiththesameteam.


4.15.19v2 118

StrategyandGovernance

TowhatextentdoalllevelsofthecompanyunderstandthevaluepropositionofL&D?

AstheCLO,itisonethingtoknowwhatL&D’svaluepropositionis.However,itisentirelyanotherthing

tohaveyourcustomersknowyourvalueproposition.Allofyourcustomersandstakeholdersshouldnot

justknowyourvalueproposition;theyshouldexperienceitineveryinteraction.Theanswertothis

questionsupportsimprovedcommunicationstrategiesandothertouchpointssuchasmaterialsor

portals.Thefirststep,however,isforeveryoneintheL&Dteamtounderstandthevalueproposition.

HasL&Dengagedtherightexecutivesandmanagersasitsadvisoryboard?

L&Dneedschampions,evangelistsandinfluencersmanytimesduringtheyear.Whodoyouhavethat

canbeareferenceforbuildingarelationshipwithanewexecutive?Rememberthenewtechnology

adoptioncurveillustratesthatmovingtotheearlyandlatemajoritysegmentsrequiresdifferentvalue

driversthanforearlyadopters.Referencesandproofpointsareacoupleofthosedrivers.


4.15.19v2 119

InvestmentandReturn

Whatarewespending?

Thekeystounderstandingtotalinvestment,orspending,werecoveredintheLMCsection.Makingthe

twoelementsoflearningspend,visibleandhidden,knowntoallisanimportantstepingettingbuy-in

fornewapproaches.Ihavenotdoneasingleclientassessmentwheretheslidecontainingthetrue

investmentfigurewasnotgreetedbysurprisefromthebusinesssponsors.Returningtoourshareof

walletconcept,itisalsoimportanttoreviewthelearningspendthatbusinessesaremakingwithout

involvingL&D.Fragmentedspendcanoftenmeanlossofpricingleverage,lackofconsistencyandlossof

quality.ItisalsoindicativeofthelevelofvaluecurrentlyseenbythebusinessesinL&D.

Whatarewegettingforit?

Everyoneagreesthatlearningdeliversvalue.Eventhefirstbookrecognizedthatcompanies

acknowledgedthevalueoflearning.Thequestionis,whatdatayourL&Dorganizationhastoproveit?Is

thatdatacredibletoyourcustomers?HowisL&Dsharingthedatawithitscustomers?L&D

organizationsandthesolutionstheydeliverareaninvestment.Aninvestmentthatiscompetingwith

otherusesforbudgetandresources.IfthebusinesssponsorsaresurprisedbythespendonL&D,they

areequallysurprisedbythelackofcrediblereturnoninvestmentdataforthatspend.


4.15.19v2 120

FinalThoughts:EmbracetheJourney

"I'mconvincedthatabouthalfofwhatseparatesthesuccessfulentrepreneursfromtheunsuccessful

onesispureperseverance."

-SteveJobs,co-founder,Apple.

Iofferafinallearningfromtheworldofstartups.Startupsarehardwork.Sotooisthepathtorun

traininglikeastartup.Thisjourneyisamarathon,notasprint.Whilethepathmaybeunknown,whatis

certainarethesetbacks,hurdles,andrisksthatwillbefaced.Successfulfoundersknowthisandyetthey

continuebuilding.

AmyRosen,formerPresident&CEO,NetworkforTeachingEntrepreneurshipsaysthat,"high

performingentrepreneursseeproblemsastemporaryobstaclesonaworthwhilejourneyforwhichthey

arehighlymotivatedtoseethrough."CLOsandtheirteamsmustaccepttherealitiesofchangeand

uncertainty,takecalculatedrisks,learnfromfailure(andsuccess)andneverstopbeingcurious.The

futureisbuiltbypeopleandlearninganddevelopmenthelpsbuildbetterpeople.Itistimeforallofus

togetbacktobuilding.


4.15.19v2 121

AbouttheAuthor

J.Miguez

Aseasonedstrategist,consultantandserialentrepreneur,J.Miguezhasspenthisentirecareerdriving

growthforcompaniesthroughinnovativesolutions.Hehasspentthelast20yearsattheintersectionof

Learning&Developmentandinnovation.HewasthearchitectandleadconsultantfortheForum

Corporation'sstrategictrainingassessmentofferingworkingwithglobal1000companiessuchasOracle,

GoldmanSachs,E.on,andNatwestBank.HedesignedandlaunchedtheTrainingOutsourcingofferingby

FranklinCovey,lateracquiredbyMellon.J.haspreviouslyheldthepositionofSeniorTalentSolutions

ArchitectforAonHewittfocusedonbringingnewapproaches,solutionsandpartnershipstoclients.

ThroughouthiscareerJ.hasworkedwithclientsaroundtheworldonoptimizingtheirlearning

organizationstomeettoday'sbusinesschallengesofspeed,flexibility,efficiencyandeffectiveness.

J.hasalsofoundedtwosuccessfulstartups,wasafoundingorganizerofStartItUpDE(apublic-private

partnershipthatlaunchedtheDelawaretechecosystem)andisanadvisortoinvestors,foundersand

largecorporations.Hehastaughtentrepreneurshipaspartofacceleratoranduniversityprograms.For

thelast7yearshehasauthoredGrowingUp,aslightlyoff-centeredblogforstartupsandinnovation.

Currently,J.isfocusedonbringingthebestpracticesusedbyfastgrowingstartupstoLearning&

Developmentfunctionsinlargeorganizationsandauthorsseveralblogs.

Running Training Like A Startup v2...Running Training Like a Startup 4.15.19 v2 2 To all that...

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