The impact map

“I wisely started with a map.”
J. R. R. Tolkien

Life may be all about the journey and not the destination, but such is not the case in business. Nor was it the case for J.R.R. Tolkien when he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings:

“I wisely started with a map and made the story fit … The other way about lands one in confusions and impossibilities.”

Enter the impact map, an essential tool for learning journeys no L&D leader should be without. An impact map provides a clear line of sight between what is being learned, how it will be applied back on the job, and how those actions drive positive impact to the business.

The impact map structure was first created in the 1980s by Dr. Robert O. Brinkerhoff as part of his research on training evaluation. For more than 20 years now, he has been an Advantage Performance Group thought leader partner for High Impact Learning Systems®: The Advantage Way(sm), our proprietary methodology that links learning to business results. This framework is at the heart of every learning initiative we create for our clients.

Dr. Brinkerhoff and Mary Steiner, an Advantage Performance Group partner based in Minneapolis, recently wrote about the importance of impact maps for Chief Learning Officer and included testimony from 4 learning map devotees on how they are successfully using them in their organizations.

Read their article here!

One great thing for 04.12.22 – 3 quick and easy ways managers can support learning  + a free leader’s playbook