The 20/80 Rule

On Learning Circuits Blog last month, Sam Adkins posted an item entitled "We are the Problem. We are Selling Snake Oil," that declared that Training doesn't work, eLearning doesn't work, Blended leanring doesn't work, KM doesn't work." (Disclaimer: Sam and I are co-founders of the Workflow Institute.) Sam expected to start a debate, but instead he began a movement. His article was emailed far and wide. A record number of people responded on the Leanring Circuits blog. Few disagreed that learning and KM were out of touch with the requirements of business.

This lit up my cerebral panels. If Sturgeon's Law ("90% of everything is crap") applies to learning, isn't it time to take out the garbage? If lectures, courses, shovelware, PowerPoints, and assorted chrome aren't doing the job, let's flush 'em down the toilet. We can simplify our lives and improve out reputations by eradicating exercises that are irrelevant, unclear, poorly packaged, dogmatic, boring, unsupported, or not engaging.

We would become champions of purposeful learning that works. I imagine we'd be promoting discovery learning: watching others, solving problems, creating one's own vision, picking things up from others, and taking time to reflect. Conversation, dialog, and debate are great teachers. We'd make learning part and parcel of figuring things out, from Googling an answer to being prompted by a smart system. Teaching others works because it requires reflection and making our own connections. Storytelling works because our internal storytellers create our own private versions that relate to what we already know and believe.

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Workflow Institute

We're experiencing some pushback from people who think Sam and I are calling for turning ALL training into some Orwellian nightmare. For example, Stephen Downes wrote, "Honestly, if it's all about productivity, I want to pack up my computer and take up a new line of work. These predictions by Sam S. Adkins of the Workflow Institute seem well grounded, but they miss the wonderment that defines real change. 'Enterprise Application Integration accelerates.' Yawn. 'Productivity gains from new mobile technology explode.' Sigh. Where's the motivation, the urgency? He could have written all his predictions in one line: online learning will continue to be commodified and co-opted. Is all this what people really want out of our great new internet?"

No, we're not saying Workflow Learning is all people want out of the Internet. We are predicting a new era in corporate training fostered by enterprise application integration, web services, contextual collaboration, and learning at the point of need. The motivation and urgency come from replacing lackluster, ineffective training programs with something more effective and less expensive. Our vision is new, so we're groping along with too many four-syllable words and three-letter acronyms. Yawn. Co-opted? C'mon. Sam and I are trying to share some good news, not commodify our life's work.

Rendezvous in Q1?

You'll find me at:

• Collaborative Learning, online, January 13-15
• Webinar with GBN on Scenario Planning, January 20
• eLearning Forum, Scenario Planning, January 27
• ASTD TechKnowledge, Anaheim, Feburary 10-12
• eLearninternational, Ediburgh, February 18-19
• eLearning Forum, Open Source, February 25
• eLearning Forum, Advanced Learning Technology, March 19

Parting Advice

If you value your privacy, please follow my example by running AdAware and Spybot to kill off the spyware villains installed on your computer when you weren't looking. (Download these from tucows.com or download.com.) And don't tap anything into a computer at a cybercafe or at a conference's free email stations: they're probably sending your every keystroke to some dubious character.

Change your passwords. Frequently. And don't be stupid. Somewhere this year I read about a scheme that could crack into the systems of most major corporations. Bait senior executives with a free, high-quality porn site. Most of those who sign up will use their single, all-purpose passwords. Use those passwords to access their corporate accounts. Could this happen to you?

All the best!

Jay Cross
Internet Time Group