The Four Truths of Behavior Change.

The Four Truths

Over the past decade numerous research efforts from a variety of disciplines have derived a set of principles on which performance improvement efforts must be based. Initiatives that do not incorporate these principles are destined to fail. Those initiatives that do include these principles consistently generate higher ROI and ROE. We call these principles the Four Truths.

Huthwaite has spent considerable time looking at two areas of human performance research: (a) the principles of adult learning, and (b) the latest research into effective change management. An interesting conclusion emerges from the juxtaposition of these two bodies of research. Together, they indicate that launching a sales force improvement effort will always fail if it relies on training alone to make the difference. Achieving a measurable, tangible and significant change involves far more than just training.

In short, any such effort must adhere to the Four Truths of sales performance improvement.

• Truth One: Organizations don’t make changes easily, nor do they make changes on demand. Only those things that are measured will get done; the engine of change is measurement.

• Truth Two: Adults only learn in the context of what they judge to be important and relevant to them as individuals. Just because it’s good for the company does not mean it will necessarily be embraced by individual sales people.

• Truth Three: Spending time in classrooms is an expensive proposition. Classroom time should be devoted to the kinds of learning that require interpersonal practice and feedback.

• Truth Four: Organizations don’t make change suddenly. Success will only come from an initiative that nests training experience in a process that includes reinforcement, coaching, and quantified, objective, individual feedback.