Exploring the Appeal of Entrepreneurial Training Programs

Through the Design Thinking Visualization Tool

The Challenge

I am the Head of Communication at one of the leading private sector developmental agencies. As a  governmental entity, we play a pivotal role in the establishment, development & growth of SMEs within  the country. The support we offer is delivered through smart funding, export promotion & training  programs, which are at the core of the challenge at hand. In my current role I work closely with the  Learning & Development Department to promote our myriad training programs to local entrepreneurs;  however, and despite the fact that our programs are offered free of charge, the number of participants  enrolling in these programs has dwindled noticeably over the last several months. And while our  portfolio of training programs seemed to be wide-ranging from a distance & the performance of our  marketing campaigns was reaching the primary audience, it became apparent that we had to take a  deeper dive into the challenge to unravel the root cause of the sluggish program uptake.

Tool Selection

The other challenge that we had to overcome was convincing the Learning & Development team (L&D)  that the problem we faced was likely more complex than we had originally thoughts. It was obvious that  the L&D team would push back & focus on secondary issues that were unrelated to the training  programs themselves, thus I opted to utilize the Visualization Tool in order to achieve a sense of  agreement amongst the L&D team & align on a broader level with other relevant stakeholders. We had  to make sure that we were asking the right question before we even attempted to find the appropriate  solution. For this specific challenge, the Visualization Tool was used for the exploration phase, in order  to identify certain areas within the entrepreneurial journey that might have been overlooked in the  training program development phase.

Application

It was clear from the beginning that for the Visualization Tool to generate tangible impact & actionable  insights we had to secure a diverse group of participants in the Exploration Session. The session  consisted of the L&D team, members of the Customer Excellence team – that is responsible for gauging  the feedback of people that complete our training programs – and finally a diverse group of  entrepreneurs (startup founders) that volunteered to take part in the exercise. The session kicked-off  with each of the five entrepreneurs taking a few minutes to draw their daily “entrepreneurial journey”  on a whiteboard, while highlighting the key components of their business. Having each startup founder  illustrate how he or she view his or her own business gave everyone participating in the session a visual,  inside peek into the mind of the entrepreneur.

The second step involved grouping each entrepreneur with two members of the L&D team, as well as a  member of the Customer Excellence team. In parallel, and on a separate whiteboard, we wrote down all  the current training programs that were on offer – roughly 15 programs – with a brief description of  each, for the teams to use as reference. We then asked each team to take a closer look at the  entrepreneurial journey that was assigned to them and try to match the programs with the various  components within each business, with the sole purpose of identifying which programs were relevant &

which ones were not. Each team was given 10 minutes to complete this task, and they were asked to  present their findings in a large table template that was hung on the wall for everyone to view.

The final and most important step required each team to go around the room for 15 minutes & assess  the various tables that were completed in step two, taking note of the programs that were relevant &  the ones that were not. They were then given 25 minutes to revisit all the entrepreneurial journey  illustrations in the room & identify at least three components that were not addressed by any of the  current training programs. Lastly, all whiteboards & tables were removed from the room & replaced  with five blank 3-column tables, in which each team was asked to list the three programs they would  keep, the three programs they would remove and the three business areas that were not addressed by  any program on offer. Upon the conclusion of the session, the entrepreneurial journey illustrations were  recreated in PowerPoint – to be used as reference by the L&D team – and the final tables were  recreated in Excel sheets for the next phase of the Design Thinking process: What If.

Insight

The Visualization exercise, within an exploration context, was tremendously enlightening for everyone  involved, as the L&D team was able to visualize the entrepreneurial journey from the founder’s  perspective. Numerous insights emerged from the session, including some key observations that could  potentially reshape the manner in which our training programs are both designed & delivered. We  quickly realized that a one-size-fits-all approach was outdated, as each entrepreneur perceived their  business differently, including the areas in which they required training. It was also obvious that the  entrepreneurs were at different stages of growth, and each stage presented its own set of unique set of  challenges that could be addressed through specialized training programs. Moreover, and through  engaging directly with the entrepreneurs, the L&D team realized the value of adopting a lean mindset  when developing new programs, and the importance of validating their purpose & modules within a  select group of key customers before putting them on offer to a wider audience. The team is now well  prepared to tackle the What If stage with confidence, knowing that there is room for improvement,  optimization & innovation.

Approach

Considering that the session placed the entrepreneurs’ journey at the heart of the Visualization exercise,  and alternative tool that could be used to solve future challenges is Mind Mapping. While every  entrepreneur thinks & manages their business differently, the Mind Mapping tool would allow us to  efficiently navigate future challenges by enabling the identification of patterns & insights from large  volumes of data that are gathered from a large sample of entrepreneurs from within our database & the  broader ecosystem. The Visualization tool is most effective when applied amongst smaller groups of  stakeholders, while utilizing the Mind Mapping tool allows us to process data from a much larger sample  size, which could yield more tangible & diverse insights (hundreds of entrepreneurs from various  industries & sectors).


Exploring the Appeal of Entrepreneurial Training Programs Through the Design Thinking Visualization Tool The Challenge I am the Head of Communication at one of the leading private sector developmental agencies . As a governmental entity , we play a pivotal role in the establishment , development & growth of SMEs within the country . The support we offer is delivered through smart funding , export promotion & training programs , which are at the core of the challenge at hand . In my current role I work closely with the Learning & Development Department to promote our myriad training programs to local entrepreneurs ; however , and despite the fact that our programs are offered free of charge , the number of participants enrolling in these programs has dwindled noticeably over the last several months . And while our portfolio of training programs seemed to be wide - ranging from a distance & the performance of our marketing campaigns was reaching the primary audience , it became apparent that we had to take a deeper dive into the challenge to unravel the root cause of the sluggish program uptake . Tool Selection The other challenge that we had to overcome was convincing the Learning & Development team ( L&D ) that the problem we faced was likely more complex than we had originally thoughts . It was obvious that the L&D team would push back & focus on secondary issues that were unrelated to the training programs themselves , thus I opted to utilize the Visualization Tool in order to achieve a sense of agreement amongst the L&D team & align on a broader level with other relevant stakeholders . We had to make sure that we were asking the right question before we even attempted to find the appropriate solution . For this specific challenge , the Visualization Tool was used for the exploration phase , in order to identify certain areas within the entrepreneurial journey that might have been overlooked in the training program development phase . Application It was clear from the beginning that for the Visualization Tool to generate tangible impact & actionable insights we had to secure a diverse group of participants in the Exploration Session . The session consisted of the L&D team , members of the Customer Excellence team – that is responsible for gauging the feedback of people that complete our training programs – and finally a diverse group of entrepreneurs ( startup founders ) that volunteered to take part in the exercise . The session kicked - off with each of the five entrepreneurs taking a few minutes to draw their daily “ entrepreneurial journey ” on a whiteboard , while highlighting the key components of their business . Having each startup founder illustrate how he or she view his or her own business gave everyone participating in the session a visual , inside peek into the mind of the entrepreneur . The second step involved grouping each entrepreneur with two members of the L&D team , as well as a member of the Customer Excellence team . In parallel , and on a separate whiteboard , we wrote down all the current training programs that were on offer – roughly 15 programs – with a brief description of each , for the teams to use as reference . We then asked each team to take a closer look at the entrepreneurial journey that was assigned to them and try to match the programs with the various components within each business , with the sole purpose of identifying which programs were relevant & which ones were not . Each team was given 10 minutes to complete this task , and they were asked to present their findings in a large table template that was hung on the wall for everyone to view . The final and most important step required each team to go around the room for 15 minutes & assess the various tables that were completed in step two , taking note of the programs that were relevant & the ones that were not . They were then given 25 minutes to revisit all the entrepreneurial journey illustrations in the room & identify at least three components that were not addressed by any of the current training programs . Lastly , all whiteboards & tables were removed from the room & replaced with five blank 3 - column tables , in which each team was asked to list the three programs they would keep , the three programs they would remove and the three business areas that were not addressed by any program on offer . Upon the conclusion of the session , the entrepreneurial journey illustrations were recreated in PowerPoint – to be used as reference by the L&D team – and the final tables were recreated in Excel sheets for the next phase of the Design Thinking process : What If . Insight The Visualization exercise , within an exploration context , was tremendously enlightening for everyone involved , as the L&D team was able to visualize the entrepreneurial journey from the founder ’s perspective . Numerous insights emerged from the session , including some key observations that could potentially reshape the manner in which our training programs are both designed & delivered . We quickly realized that a one - size - fits - all approach was outdated , as each entrepreneur perceived their business differently , including the areas in which they required training . It was also obvious that the entrepreneurs were at different stages of growth , and each stage presented its own set of unique set of challenges that could be addressed through specialized training programs . Moreover , and through engaging directly with the entrepreneurs , the L&D team realized the value of adopting a lean mindset when developing new programs , and the importance of validating their purpose & modules within a select group of key customers before putting them on offer to a wider audience . The team is now well prepared to tackle the What If stage with confidence , knowing that there is room for improvement , optimization & innovation . Approach Considering that the session placed the entrepreneurs ’ journey at the heart of the Visualization exercise , and alternative tool that could be used to solve future challenges is Mind Mapping . While every entrepreneur thinks & manages their business differently , the Mind Mapping tool would allow us to efficiently navigate future challenges by enabling the identification of patterns & insights from large volumes of data that are gathered from a large sample of entrepreneurs from within our database & the broader ecosystem . The Visualization tool is most effective when applied amongst smaller groups of stakeholders , while utilizing the Mind Mapping tool allows us to process data from a much larger sample size , which could yield more tangible & diverse insights ( hundreds of entrepreneurs from various industries & sectors ) .