I have been drafted into a ‘learning’ project that spans two organisations in our group. Originally I was told my role was just to develop (i.e. code) a finished script for our delivery platform, to match the way it was being developed for the other organisation’s platform, consistency etc etc. When I saw it, I thought it was the brief from hell:
We’re working on the basis of about 6000 words or 45 minutes. The aim is to embed the corporate values in the xxx process without actually training about the process itself – we don’t want anything too specific as process and procedure training will be done separately.
That’s a slight exaggeration but only slight. I tried to do some Action Mapping on what I’d read, but without any details on the process the business goal seemed to be nothing but raising awareness. Well ok, raising awareness it is. But it’s very political – there seem to be about five signoff authorities, at three or four different levels, the top being one person whose mind is reportedly apt to change from day to day. I felt a long holiday coming on. There’s a marketing agency involved? Good, that’ll help. They’re involved AFTER the script has been signed off. Eh? The first draft of the content came to me – ‘At the end of this module you’ll be able to state …’ Sniff, sniff, where’s my cave?
But wait. I got to speak to the person making the script, who turned out to be very open to a different way of looking at it, although nervous about upsetting the signoff tree. I suggested a more dramatic approach, beginning with a character who was angry and rewinding to see how the situation could have been handled differently. We managed to get the marketing agency to meet us earlier, and now have a prototype first section in Powerpoint and the opportunity to pitch this idea to the marketing agency and get their input. I somehow think they’ll be more likely to run with this than ‘At the end of this module …’ and will be able to supply more stories and memorable language. And if an expensive marketing agency likes it the signoff tree might be more willing to support it than if it’s just an idealistic developer?