Quit Discussing Tools

Imagine this.

You hire a handyman to fix a few things around your house. You explain what’s broken—leaky faucet, busted cabinet hinge, a light fixture that needs swapping. But instead of talking about the work, he launches into a 10-minute monologue about his hammer.

It’s titanium. Balanced grip. Top-tier brand. 

You nod politely. 

Then he says he’ll be using it for the light fixture.

Now you’re confused. What does a hammer have to do with wiring?

Same story, different job:

You hire an architect to design your dream home. She sits down and tells you blue is calming and rectangles are stable.

Great.

But what about the kitchen layout? Or where the windows go?

You go to a fancy restaurant for your anniversary dinner. You’re handed a menu that just says:

• Saffron
• Shallots
• Truffle oil

No dish names. No descriptions. Just parts.

You ask, “What are we eating?”

The waiter smiles. “High-quality ingredients.”

This is exactly what L&D sounds like when we lead with tools and terms.

We talk about authoring tools, engagement strategies, learning models, and “cognitive load.” We throw around acronyms like ADDIE and SAM and SMEs and LMSs. We list our favorite platforms and our process steps like they’re the star of the show.

But none of that means anything if we haven’t asked what’s broken. Or what someone’s trying to build. Or what result actually matters to the business.

Tools are just... tools. They aren’t the job. They aren’t the value. They’re the method—not the reason.

Start With the Problem
Most business leaders don’t care how you build. They care what gets fixed. They care if performance improves. They care if the onboarding process stops bleeding new hires. They care if managers feel confident coaching their teams. They care if sales reps finally stop botching the product demo.

They don’t care if you used Rise or Storyline or sticky notes or hand puppets.

L&D has to stop thinking the value lies in how polished or strategic our tools are.
The value is in solving a problem.

So next time you’re in a kickoff meeting, try this:

• Don’t lead with what you can build.
• Ask what hurts right now.
• Then build the thing that helps.

Even if it has nothing to do with your hammer.