The initial post in this blog series on intellectual capital challenged the notion that content is still king. Let’s explore this concept in more depth and consider some food for thought as you continue to build your talent development offerings.

The Holy Grail in any highly competitive marketplace is to be supremely different in some way.  Like most things, this sounds simple, but it is easier said than done—particularly in industries that are commoditized or where the value proposition has been traditionally difficult to articulate and calculate. This is certainly the case in our so-called “soft” business of talent development.

However, many attempts have been made to try to quantify and differentiate the business of talent development business. For instance, the industry has started to introduce finite ROI formulas for developing and retaining talent. Unfortunately, these calculations are often portrayed by many as voodoo economics. It seems that there are just too many relatively intangible costs that are difficult, if not impossible, to assess. Consequently, there are really only a few ways to differentiate the business of learning, talent development, and performance improvement: content, delivery, or expertise.

Closer Look at Content

Historically, it has been said that “Content is King.” But in the Information Age, content is relatively easy to create, imitate, access, and obtain. How many 2x2 interpersonal styles models are there that assess exactly the same dimensions, but are just labeled differently? How many assessment tools purport to measure exactly the same capabilities, but do so with different questions? How many leadership theories, approaches and competency models can there be? Ultimately, all the theories and models boil down to pretty much the same thing—despite what their architects would have us believe.

While it is true that some intellectual property is protected if original, particularly with ample research to support it, it doesn’t take long for another firm to create a “similar but different” version of this same content.  As a result, how are we, as content recipients and users, supposed to differentiate this vast array of similar programs and services?

Delivery Makes a Difference

One way to differentiate content is through its application or delivery. Delivery refers to the experience created to convey or distribute content, goods, and services for the end user. In talent development, this is typically the learner. In other words, just as your company works diligently to deliver a quality customer experience that produces loyalty, talent development departments must deliver their offerings in a manner that resonates with their internal customers and delivers expected performance improvement results. 

At the end of the day, however, it is the entire learner experience, whether pre-work applications, classroom, online, post-work resources, or a combination of all, that must fulfill the needs of both your organization and its targeted learners.

Enter Expertise

World-class content and delivery are not enough to fully differentiate most talent development solutions. Rather, the expertise that serves as the engine driving both the content and delivery is equally paramount.

Case in point: Training and consulting firms that have been in business longer (and have more experience helping clients effectively use their content) are more likely to demonstrate how their content and delivery is uniquely capable of addressing pressing business challenges. In short, there is very little substitute for deep expertise, and this is how many top consultancies differentiate themselves. On the other hand, guru-led shops with bestselling books often lose their prominence, because they can’t be everywhere all the time and must off-load their work—but not intellectual prowess—to others. In fact, there are legions of examples where one-trick ponies die quickly, bestselling programs have a short shelf-life, or guru-founded businesses are quickly sold to larger companies only to have the guru depart as soon as his or her employment contract is up.

Clearly, there are many talent consulting firms that can fulfill a specific bill of goods, and the really top ones tend to stand out over and over again because they likely focus more on conducting research, staying up-to-date on current trends, and continually perfecting their craft. This begs the question: How can you apply this sort of expertise to your internal talent development functions?

Moving Forward

It is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate a talent development solution on the basis of content alone—without a strong focus on creating a truly compelling learning experience forged by deep expertise, regardless of format. In other words, content alone will continue to be challenged for its throne as the real king in the talent management world.

Hopefully, however, this information can help you navigate the slippery legal slope in identifying, selecting, and using various learning and development concepts, models, programs, and tools. What’s more, as you move forward developing talent development offerings, I hope you will consider a few parting questions:

• What true differentiation strategies have you seen operate successfully for your internal learning and development group?

• How have these sustained themselves over the years or effectively combatted the competition?

• Which factors—content, delivery, or expertise—have you found to be the real differentiator in your learning and development group? How does this same question apply to the offerings you develop internally versus the solutions you bring in from outside resources?