The Development Plan

I was speaking to one of my contract managers yesterday, and she was asking me about the culture of my business. She found it intriguing that the people in my business are so passionate about what they do, and she was looking for some insight into why this is the case.

I was more than happy to share my take on it with her.

I explained that it all starts from the moment you recruit people. You must recruit people who are open to learning. Then, you must insure that you support them on their ongoing learning pathway.

One way to do this is to make sure that everyone, including the owner, has a development plan in place that identifies the things that the person should be learning. Such a learning environment in business provides a means of firing up people’s imagination and harnessing their creativity by generating projects that both help you meet your business objectives and help them achieve their learning objectives.

This ensures that everyone is learning in the context of achieving the business’ mission and vision.

The development plan provides opportunities for developing new skills and exposing people to new experiences. We all learn most from doing new things.

The development plan enables people to begin to use their under-developed skills and talents and to build on their strengths. By doing this, we reap great benefits, both personally and in the business. The development plan also provides a means of measuring results and rewarding people when they accomplish their learning goals.