The 10 Lies of Learning: Lie #6: “But What About the _____ Generation?!?”
Continuing our countdown of the biggest lies in Learning & Development, we reach #6—the persistent myth that generational differences fundamentally change how people learn and work. “The millennials need bite-sized microlearning!” “Gen Z won’t sit through anything longer than a TikTok video!” “Boomers can’t adapt to digital learning!” “Gen X needs work-life balance in their […]
The 10 Lies of Learning: Lie #7: Our [Insert L&D Capability] is Broken and Awful”
Continuing our countdown of the biggest lies in Learning & Development, we arrive at #7—the persistent complaint that something in L&D is fundamentally broken, when the real issues often lie elsewhere. “Our onboarding is terrible.” “Our leadership development is broken.” “Our performance management system is a disaster.” “Our learning technology is woefully outdated.” Sound familiar? In my years […]
The 10 Lies of Learning: Lie #8: “Thou Shalt Comply”
As we continue our countdown of the biggest lies in Learning & Development, we arrive at #8—the persistent myth that mandating learning completion drives behavioral change. Let me be crystal clear about what I’m addressing here. This is NOT an attack on compliance training itself. Harassment prevention, safety protocols, data security, and other regulatory training […]
The 10 Lies of Learning: Lie #9: Learning is Over Here in the Training Room; Work is over There in the Office
Continuing our countdown of the biggest lies in Learning & Development, we arrive at #9—the artificial separation of learning and work that has been hampering organizational effectiveness for decades. Picture this: A fresh-faced employee emerges from a two-day training workshop armed with an entire new kit of new templates, methods, tools and more along with […]
The 10 Lies of Learning, Lie #10: If We Build It (a Learning Program), They Will Come
Welcome to our countdown of the biggest lies in Learning & Development. We’re starting with #10 – a comforting fiction that has launched a thousand LMS implementations. You’ve seen the movie Field of Dreams. Kevin Costner hears a whisper in his cornfield: “If you build it, he will come.” He constructs a baseball diamond, and […]
The 10 Biggest Lies in Learning & Development: A Contrarian’s Guide
A Brief Foreword from Cathy Thornhill: We’re delighted to welcome Josh LeFebvre as our guest contributor. While never officially a member of our team, Josh has been an invaluable part of the Smartfirm ecosystem for years—first as a client, then as a trusted advisor. His unique perspective bridges both sides of our business relationship, offering […]