Greetings from the ATD Conference and Exposition in Washington, DC. This week the world of 
Talent Development is on the big stage and it’s clear that the $100 billion industry is thriving and growing at a record pace. There are more than 10,000 attendees and more than 500 unique vendors positioning the value of their talent development solutions.
When all the attendees go home, the only question that should be asked is, “Is the industry getting a worthwhile return on the investment?” It used to be that training and development was a luxury that was only provided to high potentials and senior-level people within the organization. As we can see from the number of large-booth vendors at this years’ ATD, a lot of the content has gone mainstream through scalable technology-based platforms. The question is, and always will be, is it good, bad, or indifferent in terms of making an impact. I can’t judge the quality of other providers but from the lines in the booths to get more information and to see demonstrations it seems to be working.
Spewing out content, no matter how cheap, is never going to be the solution. It was very clear to me after our first day of sharing simulation-centric learning solutions - that are based on a learning-by-doing approach - has reached a high point of acceptance by the large number of key decision makers purchasing talent development solutions. A simulation-centric approach changes the mindset away from traditional learning to learning through experimentation.
Learning through experimentation is defined as providing the opportunity to learn and apply concepts in a safe and risk-free environment where mistakes are identified, course corrections can be made quickly, and the impact of the “best decisions” can be see through business and leadership results within a matter of moments. In other words, real leadership and talent development begins with a real business challenge that leaders need to solve by immersing themselves into the situation, so they can try the different paths that lead to success.
One of the new business simulations we’ve been sharing at ATD this week has been the next generation Global Pharmaceutical Simulation. The simulation, based on real world data, places participants in the role of the executive leadership team of an organization fighting for survival in a global market place under siege from pricing pressures, increased costs of R&D, changing commercial models, and increased negativity from social and news outlets. Participants must assess the situation and set a new overall strategy and then make the tactical decisions to execute the strategy through people and against similar competitors.
And that’s where the experimentation comes in that quickly and effectively drives the development of new business skills.
By looking across the business enterprise, there are an infinite number of permutations of experiences in the areas of Marketing, Sales, Pricing, Manufacturing, R&D, Supply Chain, and Financial Management. Experiments can be conducted by utilizing “what-if” tools and then decisions are submitted, and the actual results are created for review and analysis.
The learning and skill growth come from the cognitive recognition of the difference between what participants thought would be the outcome and the actual results. Which drives further experimentation based upon a deep understanding of the system of business and the complex interrelationships of the business that drive financial performance such as Total Shareholder Return (TSR).
One of the best benefits of this approach is that bad results from experiments often build the skills to avoid similarly poor results back in the “real world.” For example, when I ran this pharmaceutical simulation for a client a couple of weeks ago a group of participants learned the hard way that experimenting and entering a “price war” with a unique innovative product will severely reduce profitability and jeopardize future growth. The entire group was very happy they learned from the experiment in the simulation rather than in their actual marketplace.
In summary, leaders need Business Acumen skills to drive the business. It’s the only way to see a real and significant return on investment. The art of experimentation presents the opportunity to develop those skills and focus on progress over time by providing the opportunity to build the skills today’s leaders need to:
- Understand and align strategy
- Set specific goals and objectives for their teams
- Understand data and financial reports so they can provide feedback to make the best decisions
