Throughout my career selling technology solutions, I would often say to prospects and potential clients, “Listen, buying this software doesn't solve anything for you.” Although counterintuitive, this got their attention because it wasn’t what they usually heard from salespeople.
“What?” they might say.
I’d smile. “Software doesn’t solve problems. People do.”
I enjoyed consulting with people way more than selling the software and even more than them buying the software. If by helping customers create the solution they also found a need for our software, then I was happy to sell it to them. Sometimes, though, in the development of that solution, they realized, “Hey, I actually don't need the software.” And I say, “Great, don't buy it.”
What I love about BookClub is not only do I get to consult with teams and leaders to build solutions tailored for them, I also get to show them the strength of their teams in solving problems. They create the solutions and we deliver and enable those solutions utilizing our people and our technology.
Learning is not an event; It’s a Journey.
I remember taking road trips in the family minivan as a child. We drove all over. Those trips were, at times, terribly boring and difficult for this kid with ADHD. I just wanted to immediately be at my destination. Once I got my driver’s license though and I began to drive those roads myself, I found a different level of satisfaction in the journey. I began to appreciate the skills of navigation and exploration and the immense value of regular road signs and landmarks to guide you along the way to your destination. The incremental appearance of the road signs and natural landmarks helped you to take directions and apply them in real time.
Can you imagine instead of incremental directions, there was only one giant sign with every bit of instruction, direction, landmark; all of the things you could possibly think of to help with navigating and you could only see it once before the journey began?
That would be crazy! Yet this happens all of the time in education and corporate learning environments. We cram, and cram, and cram our way through a few days of training. Then, when the expected learning results don’t follow, the blame typically falls to the students.
Just like the landmarks and the signs that pop up along the road, learning should be bite-sized enough to be absorbed and applied all throughout the journey. Of course it doesn’t end there. Anyone in learning and development can tell you that learning isn’t just about consumption, but rather about application, behavioral change, and contextualizing a principle within a team.
Reliably Developing High Performing Teams
Consider that all over the world, every organization is structured in teams. What BookClub does is help those teams become high performing teams in a custom multi-touch learning experience based on the organization’s strengths, initiatives, and desired outcomes, while working within its very real time constraints.
I don’t know any managers or leaders who would be comfortable with a mediocre or even a slightly above average team. Everyone wants to have and be part of a consistently high performing team. Inevitably the question is asked: How can teams reliably build up to and maintain top end performance?
Consistent and frequent opportunities for growth and development within the team are critical. BookClub is here to help. We provide your teams with mini-lessons (sourced from the most transformational books) which are consumed individually and spark ideas for team discussion. Then, BookClub prepares your team for and facilitates regular conversations around the core topics you’ve learned. During these conversations your team will deepen connections, strengthen alignment, and devise ways to apply these ideas and solutions directly within the team environment. The true test of team learning isn’t whether a team can intellectually comprehend something, but rather how well they embody the concepts and principles in consistent behaviors and performance.
What if teams could reliably develop better trust, connection, and overall communication in a remote/hybrid-work world? What if teams could predictably level up by 1% every week for an entire year? What if an entire organization’s adaptability quotient (AQ)—enabled by each individual team’s overall ability to learn—could increase so that the company was consistently ready to address the ever-changing needs of the business?
At BookClub, we want to help you achieve great results. Not because our software solves all of your problems, but because you work with amazing people. They will solve your problems if you let them. It’s time to unlock their potential.
Ben Lowell
Head of Sales at BookClub
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