"They don't want you to maximise efficiency. They want to optimise it without altering the existing power dynamic. That is not the same thing." Charles Lambdin The '702010' model fails to scale because no one is incentivised to do so. Vendors fill the learning strategy vacuum (because they need to SELL), whilst corporate L&D leaders act as internal vendors ("comfort is the enemy of progress"). Leaders are happy with just enough PR noise around 'growing talent' and 'learning culture' - as the present model contracts out responsibility and protects their preoccupations in the current power system. So '702010' fails because the systemic prerequisites needed to embed this approach are still unpalatable: 1. Acknowledgement of the fact that working and learning are inextricably linked 2. Acknowledgement that the majority of workplace learning comes from and through the work itself; followed by learning from and with colleagues and...

"Many vendors are tied into content-rich, context and interaction-poor learning solutions when they should be focusing on interaction-rich and highly contextual solutions." Charles Jennings Providing generic content libraries is a passive, non-strategy. You're relying on a) magic and b) luck to change people's performance. (Which is fine as enabling performance change probably isn't the goal).

"What you're not changing, you're choosing." Bruce Lee Most senior leaders don't have any specific, strategic expectations for the 'learning' function. Behind the disconnected, swirling soundbites of ' learning ', ' skills ' and ' talent ', the underlying status quo persists: Topic centric content production 'Set piece' events management Digital content distribution Administration and reporting based on content consumption and event attendance. These are what organisations are still choosing .

" Engagement is a poor proxy for performance impact " Guy W. Wallace The goal of most 'L&D marketing' is to ' drive engagement with our products '. This is inevitable in a system which relies on maintaining the status quo; ('L&D' own 'learning', 'L&D' know what's best for you, 'learning' = education, 'consuming our content and events will change your results' etc.). The alternative? Replace the self serving goal of 'engagement' with the empathetic goal of 'usefulness'. Rather than 'L&D' campaigning to distract people from their work to do what they need them to do, L&D should aim to become famous for only creating resources and experiences that help people to do their jobs. (And then the people will spread the word).

"I think a major act of leadership right now, call it a radical act, is to create the places and processes where people can learn together using our experiences.' Margaret J Wheatley Lack of acknowledgement of systems and systems change by L&D leaders is increasingly indefensible The level of deliberate 'transformation' / transition in the corporate L&D function should be equal to or greater than the level of change / transition across the organisation as a whole The L&D function needs an 'appetite statement' that confirms the new level of ambition and expectation " People don't have time to learn " is a systemic red flag (as "learning" still only means "training")  The training paradigm persists as it's in the interests of L&D leaders and senior managers to collude to maintain it  Generic content libraries can't (possibly) change performance Interaction rich highly contextual approaches can enable perfo...

"The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence. It is to act with yesterday's logic." Peter F. Drucker L&D folks: Try replacing the word " learning " with the words " working " or " performing ". How does that feel? Why?

"A major barrier in health and care is the Einstelling effect. It occurs when, facing a new problem, we apply a repeated solution we have learnt from old problems, based on what we know and are comfortable with, preventing us finding a better solution.  It creates a cycle of non achievement of results." Helen Bevan   Corporate L&D is an example of group-think, fear, and the Einstelling effect. There is typically a collective devotion to conventional thinking: The training course is still the main unit of 'learning' (see the Shirky Principle )  Focusing on only 'course attendance' and 'attendees reactions' reinforces and justifies this Which means 'allocating time to learn' is the inevitable mantra needed to support this  'Badging' and 'credentials' are part of the same paradigm (cult?) (Corporate life with less courses still seems unthinkable and unpalatable on all sides?)

"Fear is the enemy of learning. Fear is the enemy of excellence in any endeavor where there is uncertainty." Amy Edmondson Fear - implicit or explicit - is a feature of most organisational work cultures: Fear of perceived failure Fear of those with higher status Fear of loss of status Fear of uncertainty Fear of change Fear of being 'found out' Fear of new ideas Fear of being 'on the outside' Work cultures reflect the system*, and the system emerges from the assumptions and beliefs of senior leaders (who often have expensive lifestyles to maintain). * Leaders choice of goals, incentives, reward mechanisms, rules, policies, processes, metrics, information flows, teams, groups, hierarchies, team structures, roles and responsibilities, career paths. 

"A deterministic mindset and command and control culture leads to no or limited space for learning for individuals nor for the organisation." Jonathan Smart You can't prioritise formal learning (training courses and e-learning modules), which are separated from work - and then complain about people not having the time to stop working and 'consume' your 'solutions'. (You   decided to make it that way :)

"We need to make a shift from the institutional model of scalable efficiency to a model of scalable learning."  John Hagel Five fundamental building blocks for an effective corporate Learning and Development operating model: 1. A performance and change oriented vision; a clear and compelling 'appetite statement' (beyond 'provide training material and manage events') 2. A focus on enabling team and organisational performance; (over 'fixing individuals through attending training and consuming content') 3. A solution design ethos that capitalises on how people learn - namely through their everyday work and their networks (over formal learning 'interventions', separated from work) 4.  A solution design approach focused on employees' tasks to be done and concerns to be addressed (beyond vague 'understand...' and 'be aware of...' goals) 5. Performance oriented success criteria; (beyond 'course attendance', 'conte...

"We tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system. And wonder why our deepest problems never get solved." Peter Senge We know that providing isolated formal learning interventions (usually e-learning modules and training courses) have little or no impact on individual or team performance.  It takes courage, curiosity and foresight for leaders to see beyond the training paradigm (and to stop colluding in it) and start to see enabling new capability and performance as a connected, inter-dependent system. Some new questions that can help start this new practice might include: What are the short, medium, and long term success measures for this initiative? Who has defined these success measures? Why? How effectively do this success measures link to our overall strategy and stated ' values '?  How will we create time for leaders and their teams to focus on this new initiative? (What will stop?) Where does this initiative sit in the priorities of its 't...

"Compliance is seductive because it comes with short term prizes. If you fit in all the way, it might feel a bit less frightening. The centre of the herd may in fact be safer, but the view is terrible." Seth Godin Long tenures can create blurred vision and / or blinkered vision Lack of incentives to change (discomfort, uncertainty, risk to status) Defending sunk costs  Leadership should be more than logistics management Strategy and tactics are very different things Plans are still the dominant currency (Which reinforces the training course as the unit of 'learning')  'Everything has to change' (but only if things can stay the same?) People do like to be busy (regardless) Systems thinking is feared - so status roles shape business performance instead.