Use Design Thinking to Maximize Impact

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make in learning and development is starting with content instead of outcomes. A request comes in for a workshop, a course, or a certification, and the machine starts moving.

But no one stops to ask the most important question: what business problem are we actually trying to solve?

That’s why I pursued formal certification in the Kirkpatrick Model of Learning Evaluation. At its best, Kirkpatrick isn’t an after-the-fact measurement tool. It’s an end-to-end design framework that forces clarity from the start.

When you design with Level 4 in mind the business results you want to see you naturally work backward to identify the behaviors, skills, and experiences that will actually move the needle.

This approach aligns closely with design thinking and with the principle to “begin with the end in mind,” popularized by Stephen R. Covey. In learning design, that means resisting the urge to ask “What should we teach?” and instead asking “What should people do differently as a result of this learning?” Only after that question is answered do content, modality, and tools come into focus. Cathy Moore really brings this to life in her Action Mapping approach, and I'm a huge fan because it works and drives results.

At Claron Formations, I approach learning design as a business problem solver.

Learning designers are not order takers. We are strategic partners who translate business goals into behavior change. That’s where Kirkpatrick Levels 1 and 2 support the journey, but Levels 3 and 4 is where credibility is built. Level 4 asks whether learning influenced outcomes leaders actually care about: productivity, quality, retention, engagement, risk reduction, or revenue.

Defining the business problem is the first step to effective workplace learning interventions.