Uber / Facebook and training

I got this quote (apologies I don’t know who said it) and it got me thinking about how this links to training? For me I view this as end-user driven enterprises. What Uber and Facebook have gotten right is to create the correct platforms for ideas / thoughts / “things” to be self-directed. A lot of the time in learning and development we tend to be very prescriptive;  On what people should learn, on how the “company strategy”  is translated into learning programs and curriculum (and even that we don’t get right).  VERSUS just creating the right culture / space for learning to happen. Learning is natural in every single aspect. A baby is not born with a set curriculum or programs that it needs to learn to survive. It just does.  We somehow underestimate and try to control learning way too much.

We do understand as L ad D specialist that single pockets of learning (delivered in what-ever format) is at most not effective. We retain (from research) about 20% at most from a course / program.  What increases the effectiveness of any learning intervention is when a dedicated action happens before a training event (think manager having a conversation with the learner on what they expect to get out of learning) followed up by another action after the training took place (how do you expect to implement what you have just learned). Sometimes we create “checklists” for supervisors and managers to guide them. BUT I am proposing that we need to spend more time creating the right environment for learning then too much time spending on trying to develop the right content. Don’t get me wrong content is important, but the right environment is even more critical. Maybe we can learn from Uber – create the perfect platform for people to self-create and self-direct their own learning content and experience? Have a “true want and need” fulfillment learning experience.  I am not talking about a LMS, I am talking about creating the space / the platform / the technology for learning to be effective.

I don’t think we have even begun to understand just how important self-created learning content is going to become. IF Uber and Facebook is anything to go by, we better wake up to the reality that a soft revolution has begun where people are taking back what is rightfully theirs – including their learning experience. If a person truly wants to know something they will give extra effort to finding that piece of information they are looking for – if that means looking the information up on the internet, asking their peers or simply “try things out and see how they fit” – and we can try and capture best practice but ultimately training should (as always) be self-directed. 

Will we see a future where a training company or learning & development department, actually have no training content?