‘Dear Training’…A Breakup Letter from L&D Professionals

Dear Training,

We’re sorry, but it’s over.

It’s not you, it’s us. We’ve changed, but we’ll always value what we had together.

Do you remember how we first met? That summer day when we gently crafted our first elearning module? Or how we stood, full of trepidation, as we prepared to deliver that face to face workshop? We were so young.

There were times when something seemed amiss, but you always knew how to reassure us. You were so confident, with your Flashy smile and concise learning objectives. You promised so much. We were going to change the world together, one course at a time…

Listen, there’s no easy way to say this. We’ve met someone else. Let’s just call them ‘P’.

P doesn’t make empty promises, they just deliver. You can’t believe what a relief that is after decades of being with you.

And don’t get us started on how rigid and formal you are in comparison. It’s like you have two gears: ‘on’ and ‘off’. The worst part is when you’re ‘off’ you expect us to wait, frozen in time.

P isn’t like that. For a start, P fits in with our work and life rather than insisting we spend dedicated time away from the rest of the world. P is always there, encouraging us in ways we never even considered. 

Sure we can’t control everything, but we’re not trying to anymore. P doesn’t care how long we spend together, or about ticking meaningless check boxes… P just cares about making a difference.

So yes, this is the end of our… what did we have exactly? A long term affair? A marriage of convenience? Whatever it was, it’s over.

Please don’t be angry, and don’t go posting those embarrassing photos of us… you know the ones when we were dressed up and did those role plays? You don’t want to burn any bridges. Besides, we still want to be friends. There’s a place for you in our life, only a much smaller place than before.

How much smaller? If you had to push us for a number, we’d say you can have somewhere around 10%… that’s all you ever needed anyway!

We’d better go, P’s calling.

P’s full name? You really want to know who stole our hearts? Well, we probably owe you that much.

It’s Performance. We know, probably French or something.

Goodbye Training. We’d say ‘thanks for the memories’ but frankly, even they tend to fade away when once you’re out of sight.

Yours,

Broken Hearted L&D Professionals

P.S. We’re keeping the dog.

 This article was first published on 15th September 2015 on linkedin here.

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