Access to technology like we've never had means that we can get the information we want, when we want it and the format that works best for us. Traditional methodologies for training are facing challenges from every angle.
All too often I hear that people cannot be released from their 'business as usual' activities to attend a training course - they're just too busy! Well here's the rub and it goes back to something my boss said to me when I was fairly new into the learning and development world; "Going slow is going fast!"
I was more than a little confused. What? It didn't make sense at all - how could going slow mean we were going fast?
She went on to explain her view of the meaning of the phrase: time spent in the training room, on developing our skills and abilities and working out how to be better and more effective in the 'real world' would pay exponential dividends and reap rewards when put into practice. Essentially we can be better and more effective, have more productive relationships and get more things done. So taking time out - slowing down - to help ourselves be better will allow us to do more, achieve more - go fast.
It suddenly made sense. I understood. Going slow is going fast.
I try to remind business leaders, managers and even delegates on training courses of this seemingly paradoxical phenomenon all the time. We may have unlimited access to information at our fingertips but speed isn't the important thing. Spending time understanding the information is crucial, the relevance to our world and how we can use the knowledge to improve relationships is all time well spent.