"We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn."
-- Peter Drucker

Got problems? Get training! The billions that corporations are investing in training are, for the most part, haphazard allocations toward fixing a perceived or real problem. What is wrong with this scenario?

The band-aid approach to problem solving or attaining compliance is often training. Unfortunately, band-aids alone never address the infection beneath.

The infection beneath is the failure to plan toward and articulate value. The answer is three fold:

Training professionals and the learning officers above them rarely complete the trifecta. For a trifecta to occur, not only must the three components be selected properly, but also in the correct sequence. Setting the Objectives for training must go well beyond "fix-it." Objectives must also deal with the "why" question for all actors involved. The best training in the world is worthless if it is based upon the wrong objectives or if it is imposed instead of embraced. That is where a learning strategy comes into play. Learning embraces the three key actors: 1) external stakeholders, 2) organization, and 3) employees. All three must have objectives in the training/learning event so that instead of being an imposed moment of time, it becomes an embraced transformational change. Therefore, to be successful, training must set clear objectives that are owned by all three actors.

Measures have come a long way. Today, learning professionals seek to measure not only the training itself, but also its impact on performance. That is a significant step in the right direction, but not enough. All too often, the very individuals the training is designed for are not included in the measurement process. The question to ask is, how are the employees enabled to measure the impact of the training on their own objectives? This missing component is key to employee ownership in process.

Finally, Value is key. The value of the learning event, process, or strategy must be clearly articulated to all three actors. This value cannot be imposed, it must be discovered. What processes are designed pre-intervention, to discover the value of success to all three actors? Once discovered, then it must be articulated. By completing this missing step in the trifecta, the external stakeholders can see the value potential, the organization can reach the values it desires in the obtaining of business goals, and the employee will not only own the training intervention, but be motivated by it.

I believe that if these components are put into play, and done well, the result is not training or "fix-it" at all. The result is learning at its best!