Listening to a podcast the other week, I heard two quotes that work in the L&D space. These were conversations with actors describing their craft. The first was:

Ready, Fire, Aim.

The world of L&D feels a bit like that sometimes. We fire first, then draw the target around whatever results we can find afterwards.

The second was just as useful:

I’m always better on the 100th performance than the first night.

Again, what are we doing to develop people, and I mean develop rather than train, so they perform better over time rather than just look competent when they leave our clutches?

If performance improves through rehearsal, feedback, adjustment, and repetition, then the learning event is only the start of the work.