Terminology Tuesday: 70:20:10 Model

I was first introduced to the 70:20:10 model from a business perspective, but it’s a great model from the learning and development perspective as well!

70:20:10

Working for an organization that went through three CEOs in a matter of five years was very overwhelming. Each had their own strengths, each had their own level of support, and each had their own new-fangled ideas. One of these CEOs introduced me to the concept of 70:20:10.

From a business perspective, this meant that the organization would focus 70% of their time and effort on core business needs, 20% of their time and effort on projects related to core business needs (e.g. moving into adjacent markets), and 10% of their time and effort on projects outside of core business needs (e.g. moving into an untouched market).

For example, we were a company working on contracts primarily within the air force, so we spent 70% of our time working on projects for the air force, 20% of our time working on or attempting to work on projects in adjacent markets (e.g. naval or army training), and 10% of our time attempting to move into uncharted (for us) markets, such as commercial air training.

But…how can this model apply to learning and development?

I think you can use this model in learning and development as a means for managing your time and effort.

Perhaps you want to learn some new skills that will benefit your role. You could spend 70% of your time pursuing learning opportunities related directly to your role (e.g. if you’re an instructional designer, perhaps you want to learn how to better organize content), 20% of your time learning a somewhat new skill (e.g. perhaps you’ve created basic graphics using powerpoint and want to learn how to use photoshop), and 10% of your time learning something completely unrelated to what you do, but which could still benefit your role (e.g. learning a programming language).

Additionally, you could apply this to your workflow management. You could spend 70% of your time working away at your deliverables, 20% of your time liaising with clients, and 10% of your time seeking new projects.

However you choose to apply the 70:20:10 model, it can be used to more effectively manage your time, which is great if you’re a micro-manager and super planner like myself!