The Learning Trap

To hear executives, never has a budding workforce been so unprepared for work. How can this be? Today's high school graduates are more technologically savvy than any generation prior, they have the capacity to receive information faster than ever before and they can process that knowledge faster than ever before. The gap isn't in the preparedness of this generation; it's the unwillingness of business to work on bridging that gap.

Apprenticeship is an old school idea of preparing people for their careers by allowing them to work under the tutelage of a seasoned veteran of the trade. Giving them the time to grow in their skills and eventually assume the role of the retiring employee. In management we used to have such titles as assistant plant manager, assistant branch manager, and assistant vice president -- grooming positions for the long-term stability of the company.

Black Monday of 1987 dramatically shifted corporate focus on preparation. Suddenly business was more concerned with showing short-term profits than long-term stability and the word "downsizing" became a common loathsome term. No one was concerned with employee learning and all of those "soft" positions were eliminated. Survival mode occupied the corner offices and semi-panic rippled through businesses. How much can we get out of the people we have left was the concern. Who had the money for training? Who was even hiring new people? It was a time to hunker down and weather the storm.

The rebirth following that storm was a strong one. Add in the speed of emerging computer technology to the robust 90's economy where profit-taking was as easy as picking a peach from a tree, and companies were suddenly short-staffed and orders were piling up! Employees were overwhelmed with the expected work loads placed upon them. Who has time for learning and development? The motto was, "Teach the bare basics as fast as possible" and let the new employees learn on the fly, because we have orders to get out, profits to make, and shareholders to satisfy.

This is how business created the Learning Trap. Companies vacillated between not having enough money to teach and then not having enough time to teach. Business is now bipolar when it comes to employee development. We have stripped all of the learning slots from companies and now place people in positions where they have to learn on the go in order to succeed without an opportunity for failure. Any wonder why we have such a large number of obesity, diabetes, and other stress related illnesses. Businesses are placing everyone in high stress situations and telling them "Don’t screw up!" There is a better way.

Relax, breathe, and get a grip. It's time for executives to reclaim their work environments from the stockholders and the accountants and return it to the profit makers -- the employees and the customers.


1. Start by asking yourself: Who are the key people if lost tomorrow would cripple your success?

Key players are not always in the highest profile of positions. Everyone in touch with their organization can quickly name these individuals. Next ask yourself: Who are the successors with time, learning and development could step into those positions to not only maintain our progress but make it better? Creating learning opportunities or positions for these people isn't a needless expense as your CFO's are telling you; it's an investment in your organization's future. It's part of your legacy in creating a lasting company.

2. Identify your workhorses

Who are the key players in your organization that have their tongues hanging to the floor in near exhaustion trying to give you what you want even though you've not given them what they need? First of all, write each of them a hand written note thanking them for all they do. Secondly, ask them what skills they want to learn to improve and what training they want to give to their employees to achieve even greater success.

The reason 78% of the American workforce is unhappy is because they want to succeed but aren’t being given the opportunity. Job hoping today has less to do with chasing money than it does with chasing opportunity, chasing better work environments, and looking for belonging in a corporate setting.

Mr. Executive, do you want to create an environment for success and profits as well as a satisfied motivated workforce? Lock the door on your CFO's office and create a work environment where knowledge is fresh and excitement abounds because people actually have the tools to work with they need. Make learning a cornerstone of your organization. You will attract the best a generation has to offer because they want to learn. You will attract the best customers because people buy from those like themselves, and you will create profits because your efficiency and ability to perform will far outgrow the investment you made in educating your employees.