Transforming Learning into Action

Information Overload May 10, 2010

I just presented and attended the New Jersey Organizational Development Network’s Annual Day of Sharing. It was a great event with active and useful sessions. At one point during the day the rate that information changes was discussed. The example given was that every three years information in a given field changes so much that someone entering college as a freshman would before they graduate be outdated in their field.

This point (and other statistics on information growth) creates challenges for both organizations and the learning professional.  One challenge deals with the ability for those hiring to ensure the person knows not only the basics of their field but recognizes the changes in their field. For managers and supervisors the challenge is not only keeping up with current information but creating an environment for all employees to read, attend conferences, and stay current.

One solution for organizations is creating and implementing a training and development strategy that uses business-based board games as a vehicle to learn information and facts while building the skills needed to be successful.  Business-based board games provide an infrastructure that easily allows information to be updated with minimal effort. Activities that teach or practice skill development are additionally easily updated and integrated.

Finally a business-based board game can be used for over a decade – so the cost is pennies when amortized over years with hundreds of employees. It’s a solution that is proven and research based but one that is rarely embraced as the concept of learning through games is still in many cases an unpopular mode of learning. As time continues and information continues to exponentially increase the learning profession will continue to adopt the concept of learning through games more and more.