Some Definitions

Learning vs. Performance

A word about how the terms "learning" and "performance" are used in this book. "Learning" refers to the acquisition of skills, knowledge, and attitude—through instruction, self-study, or coaching. "Performance" refers to the deployment of these newly acquired skills in the workplace, and the concrete results of these efforts. The two words form a sequence, as follows:

• Learning: designates the acquisition of new skills, knowledge, or attitudes

• Performance: designates the results produced by putting this learning into practice on the job

Training vs. Learning

The word "training," which I also use liberally in this book, is an older designation. The trainer-centric world is now shifting, in the twenty-first century, to a learner-centric one. It's all a matter of perspective. Because not all organizations make this distinction, however, I use learning and training interchangeably in this book.

Training vs. Education

Education, much like training, refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. But—to oversimplify the point—education is to training as theory is to practice. To cite the old saw: Sex education is not the same thing as sex training. The distinction actually goes back to the industrial age of the 1800s, when education (traditionally associated with morality and the religious tradition) was viewed in opposition to training, which was associated with the rise of the new vocational schools. Education is the broader, more generalized term, whereas training is specific to real-world jobs.