“Some clients ask me for a boat. What they really need is to cross a river.”–Ronald Shakespear
When we say, “we need a course about X,” we’re talking about a boat. We put all our energy into its design and construction. Everyone wants their favorite features–shiny chrome, a fun game room. But will it get us across the river? Do we even know where we want to go?
What do we really want?
Often we say we want learners to know something. But what we really want is for them to do something. Here’s a quick interactive that shows what I mean.
Canoe or cruise ship? It depends on where you’re going!
Reminds me of another example. Most people are familiar with the story of Black and Decker realizing that they sold holes, not drills. The reality is that they didn’t take the thinking far enough: They sold hanging your kids picture on the wall or building a picnic table.
Similarly, is crossing the river really the goal? Is knowing something really the goal? Or, is it getting to what is on the other side or being able to achieve an objective that is only possible once you know the something?
Salespeople, as an example, aren’t in business to take courses. Nor are they in business to know about buyers, capabilities, value or products. They are in business to sell something to someone.
I’ve been thinking that we (my group does sales enablement inside a company) should design for and market as helping salespeople achieve results instead of offering training, helping someone learn about our product, etc.
Scott, great point. Training groups and the courses we create could take a lot of pointers from marketing. Instead of offering features (knowledge) we should emphasize the benefits (increased sales). Having the benefits in mind when we design a course will help us develop interactions that will show learners how to apply the knowledge to their jobs.