The longer you wait, the less of the problem you actually get to solve.

Fix the Work is a clear, no-fluff guide for anyone tired of watching good people waste time inside broken systems. It explains where things actually go wrong, from misaligned ownership to bloated processes to delayed decisions, and shows you how to get results without getting stuck in training loops, endless meetings, or polite inaction. If you care about doing meaningful work, this book will help you do it faster, with less friction and more impact.

My blueprint for cutting through the noise.

I wrote Fix the Work because I’ve spent over 25 years watching talented people get stuck in broken systems. Projects drag, reviews pile up, and training gets built for problems no one owns. Most of the time, the issue isn’t the content. It’s the work around the work.

After co-authoring Leaving ADDIE for SAM and writing Uptrain, I wanted to write something sharper. More honest. Something that speaks to the real reasons training fails—not theory, but delay, overbuild, and misalignment.

Fix the Work is for people who are tired of endless feedback loops, bloated courses, and polished solutions that show up too late. Inside, I break down seven principles that help teams move faster, build leaner, and actually make an impact.

If you’re ready to stop admiring the problem and start solving it, this book will show you how to move. For real.

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What People Leaders Are Saying About Fix the Work

  • Mei | People Strategy Partner

    "We got into this habit of saying yes too quickly. Every time something broke, the answer was “build a course.” Even when that wasn’t the issue. Fix the Work gave us a reset. It gave us permission to ask a better question first. Now we stop and figure out if training is even the right tool before we start building anything."

  • Travis | Head of People Enablement

    "I’ve launched more initiatives than I can count. Toolkits. Programs. Campaigns. A lot of them looked great but just didn’t move. Fix the Work helped me let go of the idea that more stuff equals more impact. Now I focus on traction. If no one’s picking it up and using it, I don’t care how polished it is."

  • Devon | Senior HR Business Partner

    "We used to overbuild everything. Full frameworks. Custom visuals. Detailed guides. All in the name of adding value. But most of it slowed people down. Fix the Work helped me shift gears. Now we ask what would make this easier, not what would make this impressive. The difference is huge. It’s not less strategic. It’s more effective."
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What You'll Learn

This book gives you principles for operational clarity and momentum:

  • Proactivity: Delay is drift disguised as strategy
  • Originality: Rebuilding wastes time you don’t have
  • Urgency: Speed is your competitive advantage
  • Collaboration: No owner, no outcome
  • Punctuality: Deadlines are design tools
  • Durability: Build for today, not forever
  • Simplicity: Every extra layer adds drag
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What L&D Leaders Are Saying About Fix the Work

  • Ethan | Corporate Learning Consultant

    "Reading this book was like getting called out by someone who’s been in the same meetings. I thought my job was to build great learning. Fix the Work made me see that my real job is helping people do the work better, faster, with less friction. It’s not about engagement. It’s about usefulness. And that shift changed everything."

  • Rachel | Talent Development Lead

    "We spent months on our onboarding experience. Custom everything. It looked amazing. And barely anyone used it. Fix the Work made me realize that most of our complexity was self-inflicted. We were designing to prove we were strategic. Not to actually help people. I look at everything differently now."

  • Jasmine | Instructional Design Manager

    "We used to build courses for everything. Big builds. Full modules. Polished packages. But sometimes the solution is embarrassingly simple. Like, one good checklist. Fix the Work helped me let go of the idea that effort equals impact. Now I aim for useful, not impressive. And I get better results with half the effort."
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Who Is This Book For?

For HR & People Ops Leaders

Tired of being asked to "do more training" instead of solving the root problem

Frustrated by programs that look good but get ignored

Pulled into performance conversations after it’s too late

Ready to reframe training as an operational strategy, not a reaction

For L&D Professionals

Buried in revisions, requests, and stalled projects

Building content that’s overdesigned and underused

Wanting to ship faster and actually fix problems—not just document them

Ready to say no to fake work and yes to smarter output

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Don't Waste Another Moment. Fix the Work.

This new book by Richard Sites is now available on Amazon.

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