Zsolt Olah’s Post

Today is my 3rd year Amaversary with Amazon. I've worked with many smart engineers, talented leaders, and innovative learning professionals during this time. I've also learned lessons along the way: 1. "Have you ever tried a bottle of Smartwater? They’re tasty, measurable, and smart. But that’s not the only way to deal with thirst." In other words, when people are not completing courses on time, it doesn't mean they don't believe in the original intent. They might just put your solution as a low priority because a) you never bothered to see if they are thirsty at all b) you assume that your solution is THE solution, or c) the way you designed this solution for "everyone" basically is a waste of time. Instead of adding gamification, a tracking dashboard, and chasing emails, rethink your content approach. Measure the application of knowledge and skills you're after, not the course. 2. Managing and influencing without authority up, down, and across is a fundamental skill you must learn. It is less about technology and process, and more about change management, negotiations, and interpersonal skills. 3. Learning is not the ultimate goal. Doing is. Don't put "learning" in the way of doing. When/if the time comes to choose between skills pills and wonderful learning experiences, the skill pills will most likely win. Focus on how you can help them on the job. Sometimes, by getting out of the way. 4. Who's responsible for learning? L&D? Who's responsible for the business impact? L&D? The attached "shared responsibility model" is not some comprehensive, earth-shattering new framework. It is a simple reminder that different parties should take ownership of different parts of learning to drive the expected outcome. A lot of effort can be put into the learning experience design part without thinking of what happens AFTER. Or even BEFORE! Or even, do we need that learning experience in the first place? A lot of things are now missing from this (now two-years-old) reminder but the concept remains the same: we can't design learning, we should focus on the best conditions for learning, including how individuals can effectively apply that on the job. And all that, working backward from the business goals. 5. Don't believe everything you read on LinkedIN. If you do, you may feel like you're always behind the eight ball: FOMO all the way! At this point, you may feel like you should be an expert storyteller, data whisperer, researcher, AR/VR practitioner, game designer, microlearning guru, prompt engineer, AI no-code-chat-bot developer, animator, JavaScript and Python geek, TikTok influencer; and damn, you're 30 without having your Steve Job moment with the LinkedIn post and it's already 7am... As Taylor Swift says: You need to calm down! Separate Now, Short-term, and Long-term goals. Make a list, get shit done, and have fun. Write your own narrative, don't let others do it for you. #data #lessonsLearned #LXD #LearningDesign #Leadership #CalmDown