The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: Transforming Training into Business Results

In today's dynamic business environment, the effectiveness of training programs is paramount. "The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning," a framework developed by Calhoun Wick, Roy Pollock, and Andrew Jefferson, offers a strategic approach to ensure that training initiatives translate into tangible business results. This article delves into the core principles of the 6Ds, highlighting their importance in creating impactful learning experiences.

Introduction: Beyond Traditional Training

Traditional training programs often fall short of expectations, with a significant portion of learning being lost post-training. Wick, Pollock, and Jefferson address this issue by advocating for a profound shift in how corporate-sponsored learning is viewed and managed. They argue that it should be seen as a strategic investment in employee development and a critical element of business functions rather than simply an obligation of the HR department. The domain of learning and development ought to be steered by a clear understanding of the company's objectives and assessed according to its contribution to achieving these objectives, similar to how marketing, sales, and research functions are evaluated.

The authors draw a parallel between the journey of learning and self-improvement and various types of business investments to underscore their message. The authors argue that the rationale for allocating funds to training should be based on its ability to deliver financial benefits, just as one would evaluate the costs of new equipment or marketing efforts.

The Dismal Success Rate of Training

According to Wick and Jefferson, the success rate of many training programs is surprisingly low. They use the analogy of FedEx only delivering 15% of their packages on time to illustrate the point. This dismal success rate highlights the need for a more effective approach to training and development.

The 6Ds Framework: A Strategic Approach to Learning

The 6Ds framework provides a structured approach to designing and implementing training programs that drive measurable business success. By mastering these disciplines, organizations can move beyond isolated training sessions and create complete learning experiences that deliver value before, during, and long after the event.

Discipline 1: Defining Business Outcomes

The first discipline emphasizes the necessity of ensuring that educational programs are in sync with the company's strategic goals. It emphasizes the importance of considering company-facilitated education as an essential aspect of business operations, rather than just an activity related to human resources. To guarantee the effectiveness of any educational program, it is crucial for Pollock, Jefferson, and Wick to underscore the necessity of defining precise goals that correspond with the anticipated results an organization aims to achieve. The method focuses on shifting the emphasis from the anticipated learning outcomes at the end of the course to improving the company's workplace performance by applying the newly learned skills and knowledge.

The identification of business outcomes is dependent on a dynamic dialogue between organizational leaders and learning experts. The authors recommend using the Results-Oriented Planning Framework to guide these conversations. This systematic approach helps reduce the tendency among business leaders to view training requests as routine, without a clear understanding of the specific outcomes they aim to achieve.

Instead of focusing on what individuals will do at the completion of the course, the emphasis should be on the improved performance desired on the job. Having manager input and support is critical to success.

Example: The goal of a sales training program is not “to know the product better,” but “to increase the customer conversion rate by 10% within three months.”

Discipline 2: Designing the Complete Experience

Wick et al. stress that all parts of a training event are important to include the pre-training, training, and post-training segments. In the pre-training phase, we need to manage expectations. Participants want to know “What’s in it for me?” This is another recurring theme throughout the book. Participants come to a training event with expectations. These expectations may be shaped by previous participants. These expectations may also be shaped by their manager’s attitudes about the training. Participant expectations help determine if they will participate or not. We need to clearly explain what the benefit is to the participants as well as the managers. Wick et al. also stress that we need to move the finish line by at least three months.

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Discipline 3: Delivering for Application

The selection of examples, simulations, exercises, instruction activities all helps to bridge the gap between learning and doing. Poor presentations and passive listening do not help to close the gap between learning and doing. The brain wants hands-on activities, typically we provide passive lecture activities. The most notable quote in the book is “Teaching skiing in the classroom with PowerPoint was never an option” (Wick et al., 2010, p.119). Additionally, participants should walk out of the course with concrete goals to achieve based on the training. These goals should be shared with their managers.

Discipline 4: Driving Learning Transfer

Discipline 4 - driving learning transfer stresses the need to stay in contact with course participants after the course to help them apply what they have learned. Corporations spend $100 billion on training with a 10-15% transfer of learning. This means 85-90% is learning scrap… basically, a waste of time and effort for trainers and participants. I don’t know about you, but I do not like to have my time wasted. According to Wick et al. training typically fails post-training (75%). The greatest opportunity to improve learning transfer is after the training event. The authors recommend scheduling post-training activities to assess learning transfer as well as provide regular feedback.

Discipline 5: Deploying Performance Support

Discipline 5 - deploy performance support focuses on supporting the learner once they are back in the work environment. As Wick et al. pointed out when you buy a refrigerator, you are provided with more support than when you typically complete a training course. If customers are satisfied, they will tend to continue with a product. However, people become frustrated and quit when they are not able to make something work, for example, when they can not remember what to do after training. People often struggle with doing something on their own for the first time. Wick et al. recommend making performance support easily accessible and available 24/7 with information necessary to succeed. Provide trainees with job aids to help them work through a task rather than require them to do it by memory. A job aid is a physical memory. Performance support can be materials, systems, or people. For example, participants want access to their instructors. They want continued contact.

Discipline 6: Documenting Results

Discipline 6 - Document results really focuses on answering the question: Has the program made a difference? An important part of this section is measuring the right things. Business results indicate a change in behavior, typical learning organization metrics do not. “The fact that the participants completed the course, or rated it highly, or even learned a lot, is irrelevant if the initiative did not improve performance in the target areas” (Wick et al., 2010, p. 264). If you measure to see if the course is enjoyable, you will end up with an enjoyable course. We must measure to see if it made a difference in what we decided in Discipline 1 - Defining business outcomes. As Wick et al. point out if you are spending $1 on training but not getting results, you are overspending.

The Importance of Process Thinking

Process thinking has transformed businesses and generated consistently higher-quality goods and services at lower cost. Process thinking has also reshaped the nature of competition, so that today “competition is not between people, products, or companies: it is between processes”. The 6Ds framework aligns with this concept, emphasizing that successful training is a strategic process, not an isolated event.

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