70:20:10 – towards 100% performance

Many books provide a good read and then go on the shelf, where they stay. The latest publication from the 70:20:10 Institute, entitled 702010 towards 100% performance, is not that type of book. It should stay on the desk of any learning & development professional and be used as a constant resource. The book is big, in number of pages, size, and content. I was amazed at how much practical information the authors were able to put into it, and how accessible it is.

The book consists of 100 practitioner-focused articles, many of which provide checklists and examples. It is focused on helping people to implement the reference model. Five roles are identified (not all for traditional L&D professionals) with sections focused on each:

Performance Detective

Performance Architect

Performance Master Builder

Performance Game Changer

Performance Tracker

The reference model integrates training, performance improvement, and social learning. This book fills a gap in the professional literature on workplace learning and provides a much-needed integrated perspective. The golden age of training is over, and it’s time to “pop the training bubble”.

“The twentieth century was the golden age of training. Organisational learning achieved worldwide growth, with more L&D professionals, trainees, theories, research, conferences, instructional design models and professional associations as well as bigger budgets. It made sense to separate work from learning, replicate the schooling process and provide formal solutions in classrooms or conference rooms away from the workplace. This was the beginning of the training bubble …

The training bubble was the logical consequence of twentieth-century Taylorism, with its emphasis on standards and efficiency. As it expanded, so learning and working became separated, and L&D produced and delivered training, and later eLearning, on a larger scale. The bubble was an effective response to the twentieth century view of organisational development, with its strong need to provide formal, standardised learning and even to track the amount of time employees spent on it.”

I highly recommend this book, and it is not one I will be giving away anytime soon. I look forward to the pending release of the 70:20:10 app and the launch of the online community. In the meantime, you can dip into the model with the moving to social workshop.