Dr. Allison Rossett
Dr. Allison Rossett has written extensively on a variety of topics that are critical to our profession. One of those topics, strategy for learning leaders was the focus of an article for Chief Learning Officer magazine: http://www.clomedia.com/features/2009/April/2603/index.php. She defined strategy as the way in which we communicate to stakeholders who we are (or the team or the organization) and what we intend to accomplish. She quoted Sun Tzu from the fifth century B.C.E. (perhaps the first learning executive), “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” She provided these three reasons for establishing a strategy:
- A great strategy synchronizes the learning organization with the enterprise.
- A great strategy defines the unit.
- A great strategy offers a promise that can be examined.
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As part of the new ASTD Handbook for Measuring and Evaluating Training (edited by Dr. Patti Phillips) which arrives this spring, I had the privilege of interviewing several “legends” of our profession including Don Kirkpatrick, Jack Phillips, Dana Gaines Robinson, Rob Brinkerhoff, Jac Fitz-enz, Roger Kaufman, Mary Broad and Bill Rothwell. They have made important contributions to the field of training measurement and evaluation, shaped our profession and given us the philosophies and tools with which to raise our organizations and ourselves to greater levels of proficiency and effectiveness. This work, the ASTD Handbook for Measuring and Evaluating Training, is a unique contribution to the area of evaluation, destined to continue ASTD’s tradition of codifying and disseminating the distilled wisdom of our profession and continually raising the bar. Its publication could not be more timely. Few can remember in our professional lives a time when we have experienced such a “perfect storm:” pressure to do more and more with less and less while continuing to delivery quality programs and initiatives that drive business results against the challenges presented by a global economy in crisis. Without the ability to articulate the impact of our noble efforts in ways that senior leaders understand and value, we are at even greater risk of significant budget and staff reductions. Read more »
