Courageous Training

Preface

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If you were a brand-new baby sea turtle, your odds for survival would be grim: of thousands hatched, only a dozen or so make it to adulthood. From jellyfish to dandelions, this is the way nature works. Thousands of seeds are dispersed in the seas or winds, but only a few are viable survivors.

What seems to work OK in the world of nature is not effective in the world of business. Investments in workplace learning are meant to give birth to new capabilities that employees can use to improve job performance. Odds are better here than for sea turtles, but not by a huge amount. If you wanted a sure bet, your best guess would be 15% to 20% of trainees who participate in the typical workplace learning event ever employ their new capabilities ...