In corporate America, approximately $100 billion is spent each year on training. Yet, many studies show that training is only 10% – 15% effective. As Harvard Business School Professor Michael Beer writes, this is…
the great training robbery
Yet, training is a vital part of developing a winning team. So, how can we do training right?
Keep It Simple… Keep It Small… Keep It Focused
Training is only useful when it can be put into action and change our thoughts and behaviors. The best way to do this is to change one habit at a time. As such, our training goals need to be modest and focused on one (or at absolutely most, three) specific concepts at a time. In addition, the trainer needs to be explicit about how the training relates to the trainee’s job and how the training can be put into action.
Idea Summary
“The world is changing faster than ever before.”
To move our companies forward, we need to experiment. We need to try out new products, new sales/ marketing strategies, new processes, and new leadership styles. We cannot be certain if all of these will work. But, to not experiment means that our companies stagnate.
“In a minute, there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.”
Guilty as charged!! I confess that I do, at times, micromanage.
Several years ago, a medical surgeon, Atul Gawande, wrote a best-selling book, 
Our words matter.
It happens to all of us.
Internet entrepreneur, Simon Sinek, has a popular TED talk on asking why. His primary advice in building a successful company is that:
Today’s workplaces are more diverse than ever with more work being done in teams. To ensure that everyone is working together well, companies need to be inclusive and embrace diversity and individual differences.
As business leaders, we strive to have each of our areas improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations, Project Management, Customer Service – each of these parts of the business needs to be as effective as possible. Likewise, each of us needs to be as efficient as possible in getting our work done.
Every Do-It-Yourselfer knows the carpenter’s advice:
The ability to speak well in public – whether giving a sales pitch to a customer, presenting at a Board Meeting, or speaking to a large group of employees – is an essential leadership skill.
Pre-planning
As managers, we need to encourage each of our employees to keep us informed about what is really going on in our companies, both the good and the bad. We need to be kept in the loop about the larger issues, possible challenges, and problems that our employees are facing.
I have previously written about the fundamentals of communication: 
Driving continuous improvement throughout our organizations is fundamental to short and long-term business success.
A fundamental task of a leader is to train and develop his or her team.
David M. Shedd - Move Your Company Forward 