Training With Purpose: Why Your Learning Culture Needs a One-Way Ticket Off the Nakatomi Plaza Rooftop (And How to Actually Fix It)
If you’ve been in business for more than five minutes, you’ve seen it happen: New hire walks in, sits down, and gets locked in a room with an e-learning module that was outdated before it was even built. Leadership pats themselves on the back for their “training program” while the new employee zones out, wondering if they made a terrible mistake accepting this job. Sound familiar? Yeah, we thought so.
But here’s the kicker: Training isn’t just a box to check. It’s not a PowerPoint deck slapped together by someone who left the company two years ago. It’s not a Zoom call where half the team is on mute and the other half is watching TikTok. Training is—brace yourself—a strategic advantage. And if you’re not treating it that way, you’re bleeding money, time, and talent.
Training vs. Learning: The Fight Club Nobody Talks About
Like Tyler Durden said, “The first rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club.” Well, in business, the first rule of training should be that it’s actually learning, and that means it’s not a one-and-done situation. Training is a task. Learning is a culture. And if you want a workforce that isn’t just clocking in and out but actually driving your business forward, you need the latter.
Beth Messich, a leadership and learning expert, recently joined me on Beyond the Bottom Line, and we dug into why so many businesses get training wrong. Beth made a crucial distinction: Training is transactional. Learning is transformational.
When you treat learning as a core pillar of your business—rather than an afterthought—your team grows, adapts, and becomes an asset rather than a liability. And let’s be honest: No one ever left a job because they were learning too much.
The Dirty Truth About Most Training Programs (Or Why Your Training Feels Like Neo Before He Learned Kung Fu)
Let’s get real: Most training programs is an absolute train wreck because they’re built on the premise that people learn by sitting still and clicking through slides. (They don’t.) Here’s how most companies mess this up:
Set-It-and-Forget-It Training – A one-time session isn’t going to cut it. Learning has to be continuous, or your people will stagnate.
One-Size-Fits-All Approaches – Not everyone learns the same way. Some need hands-on experience, some need discussion, and some need a structured program.
Lack of Follow-Up – If there’s no accountability or reinforcement, guess what? It didn’t stick.
No Culture of Learning – If leadership isn’t learning, neither is anyone else. It starts at the top.
Scaling Down Training Teams and Cost-Cutting the Wrong Areas – Many companies think slashing training budgets or downsizing L&D teams is a smart way to save money. It’s not. When training doesn’t keep up with industry shifts, evolving tools, and changing workforce expectations, you’re not cutting costs—you’re stunting growth.
How to Build a Learning Culture That Doesn't Feel Like The Titanic Ignoring the Iceberg Warnings
Beth and I broke this down in our conversation, and here’s what actually works:
Bring in Fractional Experts – Don’t have the resources for a full-time training department? That’s what fractional consulting is for. Get the expertise without the overhead.
Make Learning a Pillar, Not a Perk – Your company culture needs to embed continuous learning, not just offer it as a “nice-to-have.”
Invest in Coaching and Mentorship – And no, coaching isn’t the same as mentoring. Coaching is structured, ongoing, and focused on skill development. Mentorship is about guidance and experience-sharing. You need both.
Ditch the Click-Through Training – Instead, create real-world, applied learning opportunities. Job shadowing, role-playing, scenario-based training—anything but another passive e-learning module.
Train for the Job, Not Just the Checklist – If your training is only about compliance, you’re doing it wrong. Train for competence and growth, not just so HR can check a box.
The Real Reason Most Businesses Don’t Grow Like They Should
You know why most businesses stay stuck? They don’t train. They don’t retain. And then they wonder why they can’t scale. Through my 30 years of experience, I’ve seen it firsthand.
Too many leaders treat training like a weekend project instead of a long-term investment. They roll out a program, check a box, and move on—only to find themselves constantly backfilling roles, fixing mistakes, and wondering why their team isn’t getting better.
The companies that win? They get it. They build a culture of learning from day one, and they make sure their people aren’t just doing a job—they’re getting better at it every day.
So, ask yourself: Is your training setting your team up for success, or are you just checking a box and hoping for the best? Because hope isn’t a strategy. And if you’re still treating training as an afterthought, don’t be surprised when your business stays stuck exactly where it is.