Three Ways to Improve Training Impact
- Ben Cook
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
Ben Cook, President of Acumen Learning
In the task of trying to “move the needle” with corporate training, I’ve concluded that instruction means little if it fails to produce real-world retention and application. Training metrics—end-of-class surveys, packed Zoom rooms, even perfectly constructed content—are hollow victories unless we see real change in how people think, decide, and lead.
So the question is this: How do you ensure training sticks?
Over the years, through trial and (plenty of) error, I’ve found that improving the impact of training doesn’t begin with flash or novelty. It begins by respecting how people learn and how they work. And while I’d never claim there’s a silver bullet, there are three patterns that, when woven intentionally into the learning journey, dramatically increase the odds of turning insight into behavior.
1. Build from First Principles—And Be Patient
We often forget that even the most seasoned leaders—CFOs aside—carry some unease when it comes to financial language. You say "operating margin" and nods abound, but dig deeper, and no one quite knows what we’re talking about. That’s not because they’re incapable. It’s because too often we begin at step five, when the learner is still trying to find their footing on step one.
Start with the basics. We invite the learner into the subject rather than asserting our own fluency. No shields go up when you ask someone, “What does a business need to succeed?” The answers—"money," "customers," "good people"—are intuitive. And from there, we reveal how those ideas map elegantly to the five drivers.
Suddenly, what felt like foreign territory is revealed to be familiar ground.
This first layer must be intuitive, non-threatening, and immediately recognizable. Because if learners don’t feel confident in the foundation, they will not follow you up the scaffold of more complex ideas. They’ll nod, they’ll scribble, but they won’t use it. And use is the whole point.
2. Multiply Examples—Learning Through the Lens of Others
Next, we must move from the conceptual to the concrete. Theory without application is philosophy, and even as an English major, I can admit that businesses hire for performance.
So once a concept is introduced, the room must hear it applied—again and again and again. Not just by the facilitator, but by peers. A leader shares how an inventory shift impacted cash flow. A manager reflects on how rethinking price helped margin. A marketer realizes why the CEO fixates on revenue per headcount.
These examples don’t just illustrate the concept. They give permission. They prove that these ideas are not only accessible but already in motion across the business. They allow each learner to triangulate: “Ah, that’s how this shows up in the real world. And that’s how it might show up in mine.”
When you layer five or six examples across functions and industries, you’re no longer teaching a tool. You’re creating a mirror, where learners can begin to see themselves inside the strategy.
3. Make Them Say It Back—Because Expression Deepens Understanding
Finally, and perhaps most overlooked: you must require articulation.
We’ve all been lulled into the illusion of understanding. You read the report, nod along with the facilitator, even jot down a note or two. But ask yourself to explain it to a colleague or, better yet, a teenager, and suddenly you realize how little of it has stuck.
That’s why I frequently ask participants to describe, in the plainest terms possible, what a P&L is. Or to explain operating leverage like they’re talking to a high schooler. Because until you can teach it, you don’t really know it.
This moment of putting it into your own words is where knowledge shifts from passive to active. It’s where retention begins. So we build space for that: “Describe this concept to me.” “Summarize it back.” “Teach it to your partner.” And when they fumble, we cheer—not because they got it wrong, but because the work of transformation is finally happening.
The Point is Not the Session
I’ve grown more convinced that training can transform a business. But only if we stop treating it like an event. The most lasting learning is scaffolded—from first principles, shaped through shared stories, and cemented through expression.
To those designing programs, I’d offer this: The point is not what you teach. The point is what they can recall, apply, and teach to someone else a month from now.
That’s the real test of impact. And in my experience, that’s where the real payoff lives—in the next smart decision they make because of it.
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