As a training professional, I often get asked to deliver training in less time than is needed for students to learn the material. For example, recently I was asked to deliver what is normally a seven-hour training session in only two hours.

QUESTION: What does this tell us?
ANSWER: Some business leaders don’t understand a darn thing about how human beings learn.

Sadly, these types of people shortchange everyone when they do this — even themselves. Allow me to make some comparisons:

Comparison 1: Let’s say a chef tells you his award-winning barbeque ribs must cook seven hours at 250 degrees. If you told him he has only two hours to prepare them, do you think the ribs would taste as good?

Comparison 2: A nutritionist instructs you that to be healthy, you need to eat 2000 calories a day, and that it’s best to eat that as five 400-calorie meals spread throughout the day. If you ignore that advice and stuff 2,000 calories into your mouth within two hours, do you think your body will be healthy?

Comparison 3: After taking your car to the shop, an auto mechanic says it will take seven hours to fix it. If you tell him he has only two hours to get the work done, do you think the repair will be trustworthy?

Hopefully, you get the point: For things to work well, the proper time and attention are needed. The same holds true for workplace learning and training.

If we want successful companies, we shouldn’t be conducting just enough training to get by. We should be doing the type and quantity of training needed to be successful.

In other words, either do it right — or don’t bother.

PS. As a training professional, I provide quality work. If I tell someone training will require “x” hours, it will take “x” hours to do it right. If you’re the type who will tell me to cut that time in half, I may ask if you like poorly prepared ribs and shoddy repair work.

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Filed in Training, Management, Leadership, Corporate Culture