23: Beg, borrow and build
In the last email (subject: Recalculating…), we acknowledged that a Performance Guidance System is not a new tool or another learning platform. It’s a completely new layer of support, helping both humans and AI perform by improving how work is designed. A layer previously unseen by those for whom we're designing (both users and stakeholders).
Now, I'm conscious my emails have remained largely conceptual. We took a brief detour into Notion, on the understanding this would demonstrate what's possible, rather than being a practical solution for all. Notion isn't feasible for many of us because the organisations for whom we work already have well established systems, managed by tech. Not to mention, L&D rarely has the mandate to suggest new ones.
Having said that, if you do happen to have enough of a seat at the table to influence platform decisions, then Notion would be a great option. In the email: Right Tool, Wrong Shed, I shared an example of an opportunity to design guided workflows to improve sales onboarding. That company was already using Notion, and so, leveraging existing tech seemed like a no brainer. But in that situation, the issue was less of a tech limitation, and more of a strategic misalignment - fixing sales onboarding wasn’t a high priority for HR.
So, if we can’t use Notion, what can we use?
Well, as far as I know, there are no alternatives that allow us to build a network of integrated workflows in the same way that Notion does.
But whilst the pragmatists among us may feel compelled to stop reading, us idealists won't let you.
And here's why...
AI is forcing businesses to understand their work, so it can leverage AI strategically. And so, organisations are scrambling - trying to figure out who does what, so they can embed AI. We know this because if you were to go back to 2024 and ask a business leader about their workflows, you'd get a blank stare.
Whereas today, workflows are high priority.
Just think about the implications of this - the business prioritising workflows as the number one mechanism to realising business value.
And so, whilst we might not be able to build the utopian performance solution outlined in prior emails, we can guide our stakeholders in the right direction - because by doing so, the demand for the solution we’re evangelising will create supply. Meaning, it won’t be long before the technology catches up with our needs.
But in the meantime, where do we start?
Well, we’ve already mentioned it - guided workflows.
And how do we do this?
Well, my friend and mentor Jerald Rogers was recently telling me about a story from the eighties, in which he helped a group of professionals write better government proposals. Their issue was inconsistent quality. So, Jerald created standardised workflows in ring binders. He gave copies to each person so they were available 'just in time'. The workflows cross-referenced best practices and good and bad examples. He said it reduced training time, improved quality, and reduced the time it took to write the proposals.
Mission success.
So, if you can do it with paper and pens, we can do it with today’s tooling - OneNote, SharePoint, Microsoft Loop, project management tools, intranets, spreadsheets, shared docs…
Are they elegant? Nope. Are they capable of creating what we need? Hell yeah.
The real problem is most organisations have never defined their work, captured what good looks like, or embedded guidance into the tools they already use.
And when it comes to performance improvement, L&D has made the mistake of bypassing this as a nice-to-have, with knowledge transfer and skill building as its focus.
But we’re beginning to see the light. When the initial rush of AI training has passed, and when generic awareness programmes are no longer enough, and when businesses realise access to AI doesn’t automatically produce better performance… the ability to interview employees, uncover how work really happens, define workflows and embed guidance into the flow of work will become a superpower.
So, we don’t need to wait for the perfect platform - we can meet organisations where they are.
Yours,
- Ant
