Most Corporate Training Is Strategically Irrelevant

If your training initiative were to disappear tomorrow, would any business metrics be affected?

I’ll venture to guess the answer is, “probably not.”

Most corporate L&D isn’t designed to move the business.

So, why all the big talk about improving performance and delivering ROI?

Neither of these magically happens after the fact.

If it does, it's by coincidence, not by design.

What does most corporate L&D actually do, then?

Here it is in a nutshell:

• It fills calendars.
• It bloats the learning catalog.
• It fills inboxes with course announcements.
• It gives employees a break from their work.
• It generates completion reports.
• It reports satisfaction scores.
• It makes L&D teams look productive.

Here’s what it rarely does:

• Reduce costs
• Increase revenue
• Drive value

From the outside, most L&D looks like a bunch of time-consuming, productivity-preventing activities.

That’s what leaders and executives see.

Deep down, we probably see it, too, and we hope nobody else does.

That’s bad.

What’s worse is that we’re not aware that it’s supposed to be different.

If It isn't Meant to Move a Metric, It Isn’t Strategic

If a learning initiative isn’t tied directly to a measurable business metric up front, it’s not strategic.

• It may be well-designed.
• It may be engaging.
• It may even be necessary for compliance.
• It’s not strategic.

Strategic means we aim to have a measurable impact on our stakeholders' business results, we achieve those results, and we prove it to our stakeholders.

• We say that revenue will increase, then it does, and we prove it.
• We say that costs will decrease, then they do, and we prove it.
• We say that error rates will drop, then they do, and we prove it.
• We say that productivity will improve, then it does, and we prove it.
• We say that customer retention will be strengthened, then it is, and we prove it.

If you can’t connect your work to metrics like these, you’re operating instructionally, you're acting tactically, not strategically.

Start with the Business Gap

Strategic L&D begins with a business gap, not:

• Content ideas
• New technologies
• Trending topics

It begins with measurable gaps like:

• Revenue is 4% below target.
• Customer churn has increased by 7%.
• Operational cycle time has slipped.
• Safety incidents are trending upward.

Only then do we ask:

• What business, operational, and process factors are behind this gap?
• What performance behaviors are influencing these?
• Where are those behaviors breaking down?
• Are knowledge, skill, or attitude gaps part of the cause?
• If so, what specific capabilities must improve?
• If not, training isn’t the solution, so let’s figure out what is.

That’s disciplined analysis.

That’s the difference between training providers and business partners.

Which are you?

Which do you want to be?

Effectiveness Drives the Real Value Chain

There’s a simple chain that defines the value of strategic L&D, and it relies on effectiveness.

Effectiveness is defined as:

• Producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect (Merriam‑Webster)
• Successful in producing a desired or intended result (Oxford English Dictionary)
• The extent to which planned results are achieved (ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems)
• The degree to which objectives are achieved and targeted problems are solved (Drucker‑influenced usage)

Effective L&D is about solving problems to achieve defined goals.

In the corporate world, strategy is inextricably linked to one goal: building wealth.

Strategic L&D’s value rests on its effectiveness in enabling the company to achieve that goal.

That doesn’t mean that training today translates directly into rising stock value and employee bonuses tomorrow.

There’s a value chain through which strategic L&D intentionally, measurably, and effectively contributes to the company’s success at building wealth.

It looks something like this:

1. Effective L&D boosts employee capability.
2. Effective employee capability boosts work performance.
3. Effective work performance boosts process outputs.
4. Effective process outcomes boost operational outcomes.
5. Effective operational outcomes boost business results.
6. Effective business results boost financial impact.

This value chain doesn’t just materialize, however.

There’s got to be intentional alignment among all levels, from one level to the next, from one end to the other, with the aim of achieving the defined goal.

Break that chain anywhere, and L&D loses strategic integrity.

If you can’t trace your solution through that chain, up front and after the fact:

• You’re not strategic.
• You're not effective.
• You're not valuable.
• You're just busy.

Nothing is of value unless it’s effective in building wealth.

I know how cynical that sounds, but let’s get something straight:

• Businesses exist to make money.
• Shareholders invest to make money.
• Banks lend money to make money.
• Employees work to make money.
• So do you.

You were given the job to build wealth for your stakeholders.

You took the job to build wealth for yourself.

Stop clutching your pearls and get down to business.

The Hard Reality

Strategic L&D isn’t about producing more learning.

It’s about driving visible, measurable value for the organization.

Until we hold ourselves to that standard, we shouldn’t expect to be seen as valuable.

I’ll ask you again: If your training initiative were to disappear tomorrow, would any business metrics be affected?

If not, why are you building it?