Have you ever attended an excellent course, seminar, or workshop, then returned to work and failed to apply what you learned? Of course, it happens to all of us. Why? There are a number of reasons why we "lose it and don't use it." These include: treating the course (and education) as an event instead of a process, having unclear goals, trying to apply too many ideas, failing to celebrate small implementation steps, not knowing how to link new learning to current systems or habits...

Sir Francis Bacon once wrote that knowledge is power. It is not. Applied knowledge is power. So, next time you or your team want to get the most out of any educational endeavor, try the step-by-step system outlined below. Many participants have told me that this scientific and practical approach has helped them use it and not lose it.

1. Brainstorm challenges and strategy. Prior to attending any class, ask yourself: What major challenges am I facing? Let your ideas flow and keep your pen moving as you brainstorm the answers to this question. In addition, reflect on your professional goals.

2. Write a S.M.A.R.T. goal. Based on your business challenges, professional goals, and your organization's strategic imperatives, write a S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Responsible, Timed) goal for your class. What do you want to do better or differently because of the class? For example, one executive at our recent 5-day leadership course said her goal was: Improve my coaching skills by mid-year to help my clients and business grow.

3. Create an insights, ideas, and behaviors page. At the start of class, write your goal at the top of the back page of your study guide. Beneath your goal, write: insights, ideas, and behaviors (IIB). As you proceed through class, whenever you hear or think of an IIB that might help you reach your goal, write it down on this page. By the end of the class you should have several IIBs on this page.

4. Review your favorites with a partner. Review your insights, ideas, and behaviors with a classmate near the end of your educational program. Focus your discussion on a few IIBs that you feel will help you best reach your goal. Tell your partner how you're going to use these few IIBs when you get back to work.

5. Create a list of four behaviors. Translate those few, insights, ideas and behaviors into four specific behaviors you will implement when you get back to work. Write these four behaviors in the left-hand column on a blank sheet of paper. A well-written behavioral action helps you adapt your IIB into a behavior that you can actually see yourself applying. Here's an example: I will write the my new coaching skill of asking questions on a Post-it note, and place it on my computer screen during my coaching sessions.

6. Link the new behavior with an old habit. One of the best ways to remind yourself to practice your new behaviors is to link those new behaviors to an existing habit or system (old habit + new behavior = new habit). For example, in the previous step, the old habit is conducting coaching on the phone, in front of your computer. Linking the new habit of asking questions (i.e., new behavior) with a Post-it note on the computer screen will help create the new habit of asking questions during your coaching.

7. Review and celebrate progress. When you are back at work, solicit feedback from a colleague or loved one regarding your implementation of these behaviors. Once a week, report the progress and challenges you are experiencing as you use your new behaviors. Make sure you also celebrate your small successes. Don't worry too much about your goal, concentrate on behaviors. Research tells us that you will accomplish your big goal by, paradoxically, focusing on small steps.

When you use this simple system to help you apply what you learn, you are also using the scientific equation: Goals = Commitment x Belief x Feedback. This powerful and predictive equation is a synthesis of 2,000 research studies on how people achieve goals. So, feel free to adapt these eight steps to help you and your team use it and not lose it.

See you in class,
Dave

P.S. Dave Jensen is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership Education at Emory University's School of Business and president of the training/consulting firm S3, Inc. He and his team help organizations achieve eXtraordinary results using eXpansive thinking. Dave is also a coach and popular speaker at conferences, meetings, and workshops. He can be reached in Los Angeles, CA at (310) 397-6686.