If you are planning a training session, I want you to pull out a piece of paper and a pen, and do 2 things.
First - draw the current reality
Turn your paper so it's landscape, and draw a line down the middle. On the left-hand side, draw a picture of what the current situation is in your company. What isn't working? Why are you doing the training at all?
If your reports are completely inaccurate, and management can't accurately budget, you could draw something like this...
If new employees show signs of progress, but then take a big dip in productivity or performance ratings, you could draw this...
If your sales team isn't selling a product as much as they could (and should), then your drawing could just be a couple of bar graphs...
If your employees aren't able to respond to requests in a timely manner, then perhaps you could draw a picture like this...
Don't worry about whether your drawings look great. Just make sure that you (and your boss) can easily understand what the picture is communicating.
Second - Draw what you'd like it to be
On the right-hand side of your paper, draw a picture of what you'd like the situation to look like.
It could be something as simple as managers and VPs seeing accurate reports (and smiling big)...
Or maybe the dip of poor results during a new employee's first year disappears, and performance is more consistent...
If selling more of product A is ideal, then bar graphs will work perfectly...
Or you could show that your call center is able to resolve customer questions more efficiently...
Before and After
Now you have a before training picture, and an after training picture to explain to your boss what you're doing, focus your efforts, and measure your success.
This idea of drawing your current situation and your desired outcome is simple, and it's powerful. Now, there's still a lot of work to be done to achieve your desired outcome, but at least you have a clear vision of what you're doing.
Don't draw pictures like this...
It will be tempting, but don't draw before and after pictures that look like this:
Passing an assessment should not be your desired outcome. That's a milestone – not an outcome.
And increasing logins should not be your desired outcome. That's an indicator that you can track, but you should have a bigger vision than just logins.
Clarify Your Purpose, Get Management Support
One thing I've learned from consulting trainers is this: if you don't have a clear vision of what your training will do, it will be very difficult for you to get management's support.
If you can clearly articulate what your training will do to the bottom line, then management will be much more willing to help you get there.
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