Almost every learning vendor (including USERTECH/Canterbury) develops and sells materials that instruct people how to do things—how to fill out a form; how to code in JavaScript; how to navigate an ERP application; how to create a report; even how to do their jobs—better. Often, though, the biggest challenges (not to mention, the greatest rewards) we face in our business careers and personal lives lie more in knowing when and why to do those things.

Generally, once you understand the reasons for taking an action, and the conditions under which you should act, learning the necessary procedures is comparatively easy. And, that's probably why most organizations (clients and vendors alike) devote the bulk of their budgets and development efforts to the mechanics—often at the expense of underlying substance.

So, while you invest in your employee's (and customer's) need to know how, don't underestimate your need for them to understand when and why as well. It's high time to stock that other set of shelves...

Kartoon Knuggets by Troy Knechtel reproduced by permission.