On the Trdev list my thoughts on training and other stuff:

Hi folks,

Constantly have this question asked from my customers when we approach them
with training programmes that we do.
"It seems very reasonable, but can you prove it?"

In reality what he/she is asking is "How do I know that you can really do
the things you claim to do?"

(maybe, this is going to lead this thread into a wholly new
dimension....pardon me for that!)

The questions get asked in various ways, couched as ROI, 'value' ,
'references' etc

We really don't know how to 'handle' these questions...important as they
are...and the fact that we do programmes that are called "Building
Innovative Teams" doesn't help :-))

That is because:

1. We have had cases where a group was triggered enough by the training to
go out there in 'real life' and apply the things they learnt to achieve
business successes
2. We've also had cases where we'd had to handhold the participants after
the program and work them through projects where they apply tools and then
notice the change
3. We've also have cases where we've worked everything with a group from
training to facilitation to consulting and they've been unable to break out
of their patterns of mental models and behaviour

So, the whole discussion has to take into account even the group of people
'getting trained' and looking at the learning climate of the whole
group...and one aspect is that of transferring the learning from the
abstract fields of the classroom to the 'real' field of the business...if I
had to look for the competency of the 'perfect' learner...that would be it
!! Maybe the people who read "who moved my cheese" have that ability to
transfer learning better than some trainers :-))