January 25, 2010 by Stephen MeyerAdults want to consume learning in small chunks. One of our customers calls it “snack-sized” learning. I’m sure this was true 20 years ago as well, but today it’s even more so. We’ve all been trained by Google to expect instant solutions in the moment of need. We’re all multi-taskers. We all have to some degree what I call “occupational A.D.D.” When modern adults engage in a learning event, they want it to give them what a successful Google provides – EXACTLY what they’re looking for. And they want it FAST!
January 22, 2010 by Stephen MeyerThe term Relapse Prevention banishes all illusions about training "stickiness." When you’re trying to rehabilitate a drug abuser, you have no illusions that the treatment will stick without post-treatment. In fact, many would argue that what happens after treatment is MORE important than the treatment itself. But in the workplace for some reason we assume that you can teach people something in training and expect it to stick. That's totally false, but we tend to believe it. This explains why we spend 10% of our time and effort preparing for training, 85% on the training event itself, and just 5% on follow up. If the substance abuse relapse metaphor can help us dispel the illusion that training will stick without follow-up, we’ll be more likely to do what it takes to ensure people retain what they learned.
