Abstract:

Many organizations wish to deliver impactful and rapid learning experiences at scale to accelerate cultural transformation, however resolving these 3 competing tensions-impact, speed and scale has long been a thorny dilemma.

Whilst Speed and Scale can be delivered, such approaches often revert to compliance like knowledge dissemination with questionable impact. E-learning is delivered through mass Learning Management Systems with a tick box type approach which may measure who has watched a video, downloaded an article or participated in a discussion forum, however rarely are any attempts made to analyse learning application. Typically such efforts lead to frustration both on the parts of the organization who deployed them and the individuals who chose, or were forced, to undertake them. Time, energy and money has been invested with little to no ROI.

Impact and Scale can be delivered through repetivite cohorts which are often the ‘go-to’ executive education program. Such efforts typically involve cohorts of middle managers from the same organization who attend an off-site program for a limited (1 week) amount of time. If properly designed, such interventions can be insightful yielding new learnings, opportunities to work on applied organizational projects and represent a team building opportunity as cross departmental bonds are created. Repetitive cohorts can be delivered in typical sizes of 30-50 managers per cohort often yielding measurable impact and enabling increased organizational coverage with each passing cohort, however this often happens over a protracted time period diluting organizational impact and risking that ‘organizational memory’ is lost.

Impact and Speed can be delivered, however these tend to be programs delivered in targeted once off interventions such as with top teams. Whilst extremely effective for the participants involved, such programs typically represent a ‘drop in the ocean’ for the organization leading to solid impact for individuals or their immediate team, but little organizational change. Little is known as to whether cascading from a top team ever took place, with more often than not the top team members getting drawn into operational necessities which overshadow learning and distract even the most ardent learners.

In this presentation I will share empirical examples of how IMD has designed for simultaneous impact, speed and scale and share key learnings and design principles for practitioners. We will look at how to recalibrate outdated notions of instructional design-challenging what is and inspiring what could be-and approach design with a customer centric approach which transcends the typical pedagogical paradigms.

We will also look at how these approaches can unlock a tripe win for individuals, teams and organizations, unearthing hidden benefits which may not have initially been foreseen.

Keywords:

Impact Scale Speed.