In defense of longer programs

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Salaam and Greetings,

Well, having it shorter and faster has its advantages. Your people don’t spend too much time, unnecessarily in a classroom, learning things they don’t require. This allows your people to spend more time on the work they are paid to do. To grow the company and profits.

However, if you do a little bit of research, you will discover that, the high performing sustainable organizations that have lasted through the test of times, good and bad, tend to have a few things in common. And one of them is that they have consistent developmental training programs. Their programs are customized and their programs are never short.

Example. I have a friend in GE. He is going for a program that is six days long, called Advanced Management Program (AMP). He needs this program if he wants to have a chance to be promoted. An article in Korn/Ferry Institute Briefings on Talent & Leadership Issue 7 Q3.2011, featured Cisco’s Talent Management Program. The article titled, Brains on Fire at Cisco talks about how they develop programs to replace the leadership they lost.  One of the programs they developed is a 16 week long program called Executive Action Learning Forum (EALF). The participants are their senior management, including John Chambers, their CEO.

My experience, talking about these long programs to local companies, is a sacrilege. Their immediate response is, “Why so long?”, “I can’t spare that much time”, “I am a busy person”, “My company don’t have that kind of long programs”.

FYI, even local companies have embarked on such a similar program, knowing the impact and benefits they can bring to the company. I know Axiata is currently doing it, because I just helped completed a case study on their Human Capital Development program.

There are more. But, that is how it is. If you want to be the best, you need to invest the time, effort and money to turn you people into the best. Cutting corners and looking for shortcuts, just doesn’t… cut it. Working them hard without energizing them with newer skills, with different perspectives, will only make them burn out faster.

When I was in the Army, our functional and developmental programs are NEVER 2 – 3 days long. It is at least a week. But, what I learned is not just the content, it is the networking, the building of camaraderie. I still cherish them all till today.

I am not against or for shorter programs or even longer programs. All I can say is that, we need to have a balance. I have seen enough to know, it works best when both are utilized. How?

I have done it that I conducted 2 – 3 days program, covering all the areas. But, I have a resource either DVD, or online video (youtube or the like), to assist them, if they need refresher. Obviously they can’t recall everything. One example I did was, a course on Giving and Receiving Feedback. The 2 day program allows participants to practice the skills with a partner, which gives the participants feedback on how they perform. Which a video can’t do. However, the video allows them to refresh what was learned.

To those who only have either making things shorter or just longer, I have this to say, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you treat everything else like a nail”.

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