Monday, April 28, 2014

Quick Thought: The Importance of Learning Org vs Training Dept

I don't normally get much activity on LinkedIn, however this Jack Welch quote seems to resonate with many.
I have never seen Mr. Welch deliver a keynote, and I don't think I've ever read any of his books. With that said, I'm hoping you might be able to clear up for me exactly what he is referring too.

I'd like to think that the Training & Development industry relates to this sentiment for reasons other than the importance of the training department in an enterprise.  Does this statement still hold true for smaller organizations that do not have a training department? I believe we would all say yes.  But my concern is that maybe...just maybe...we read quotes like this from important people and instantly feel validated in the work we do and elevate our standing in the corporate org chart of importance.

An organizations ability to learn is more dependent upon its culture and less dependent on the training department.  Even though training departments support organizations with strong learning cultures as well as weak learning cultures, it might be wise to understand that training departments are more necessary and important to the latter. And, if this is true, we might now see Mr. Welch's quote as not so flattering to our chosen career and/or field of study.

What do you think?



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