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Is It Time To Declare “Learning Bankruptcy” For Your Company?

I was flying on Delta, headed to Salt Lake City. You may remember that they were pretty much forced to declare bankruptcy — the nature of their market had changed drastically, they were burdened by old models and equipment, and if they’d continued doing business as usual they would have collapsed. So they took advantage of the opportunity to call a temporary halt and change how they operated.

No, this didn’t mean that they changed their overall objective. And it has resulted in a successful operation that satisfied my needs as a consumer. But there were some groups that had to drastically change what they got from the pie, some that vanished entirely, and a few that are still smarting. What would it mean if you decided to declare “Learning Bankruptcy” for your company, and restructured to match the realities of your current situation?

Address The Changes In Your Situation
State up front what has changed in the situation — lower budgets, more training areas, younger employees who are more tech-savvy — and re-cast expectations from your audience. Maybe it’s no longer realistic to expect that your major method of delivery is Instructor-Led Training. Maybe you can no longer take on every training request, and need to start a system of charge-backs or funding options. Maybe you need to quickly move to new technology and learning models, to match your new learners expectations.

Negotiate With Your Stakeholders
Airlines found that some stakeholders (like airline manufacturers) were willing to structure long-term agreements that would lock in purchases, but were more suited to the financial realities of the market. But some stakeholders (like pilot’s unions) were unwilling to budge. In some situations you’ll need to make a major change that just isn’t going to satisfy everyone, in order to put your ship in order. (Yes, I’ve mixed the metaphor. Get over it.)

Communicate Broadly — Both Benefits and Pain
Make sure that you are transparent and open across your org — both in the “bankruptcy filing” and the “restructuring plan” parts of the process. It’s important that everyone understand the cause of the crisis, the possible options, and the process for making decisions. You might be surprised what some stakeholders would be willing to do, short term, to ensure a seat at the table in the future.

Bite The Bullet, and Move On
Once you’ve got a plan, set a deadline and implement it. Endless discussions and negotiations probably won’t make the situation better, and it’s usually pretty easy to see where the big problems are. (I doubt that Delta spent a lot of time negotiating with the cocktail napkin providers. Or the pillow manufacturers.)

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So — what would it look like if you filed for protection? Would your executive team support you? Would your stakeholders understand the need and work together?

Or has your ship already taken on so much water that you’re just waiting for the band to stop playing?