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My company does a lot of training to introduce lean project delivery approaches to client teams. We use a coaching approach rather than a front-of-the-room teaching approach. David Maister's, author of numerous books, latest article caught my attention, Why (Most) Training Is Useless. He makes the case that the way people attempt training is useless. He encourages people to think about training the way we think about athletic training. A trainer works with you as you workout. Attention is given to performing something new and performing better.

David is provocative.

"Becoming good at dealing with people (inside or outside the organization) is not accomplished by taking a college course in psychology, sociology, anthropology, or any other '-ology' where people sit around and intellectualize about "human resources" or "market segmentation" but never have to actually deal with a real, live human being."

And, he is quite practical. David offers these questions to guide thinking on training:

• What behaviors by top management need to change to convince people that the new behaviors are really required, not just encouraged? If the behavior is going to be optional, then so should the training be.
• What measurements need to change?
• What has to happen before the training sessions occur in order to bring about the change?
• What has to be in place the very day they finish?

David goes on,

"The best training is usually done by the firm’s own practitioners…Outsiders should be used only to help develop programs and "train-the-trainers.""

David has strong opinions. There's value in that. If you are considering any serious training, then at least consider his opinions.

And if you like David Maister's view, then you might also like David's manifesto published at ChangeThis Strategy and the Fat Smoker.