We’ve been asked for a long time when Strategic Doing practitioner training – the 2.5 day in-person session that more than 1,300 people have completed, sometimes referred to as the “301” – would be available online. It’s fallen into the “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” category, but of course COVID has changed all that. With that in mind, while we certainly hope that the 2.5 day experience will return in the first half of 2021 (and with appreciative optimism, plans are underway), there are now a couple of online avenues to getting training. The Agile Strategy Lab at Purdue is offering the training in an all-Zoom format over a number of sessions, while the Agile Strategy Lab at UNA has designed an online course that combines asynchronous (learn-on-your-own) learning through videos, discussion forums and the like, with a set of live two-hour Zoom sessions. The learning outcomes are the same as for the 2.5 day training – but of course, there’s no cold drink with your classmates at the end of the day. For those people outside the US, in particular, here’s your chance! For now, we’re keeping an open mind as to whether to keep offering online sessions post-COVID. We’re finding that both modes have their advantages and drawbacks, from a teaching and learning perspective – there are certain exercises that just can’t be replicated online, but the ability to have more than a 10-minute coffee break between course segments allows participants to reflect more deeply on what they’re learning.

As you’re making your professional development plans, the next online offering from UNA begins in January – or February, depending on how quickly you want to move through the material. Here’s what it looks like:

You can always find the list of both online Strategic Doing training offerings and – soon, we hope – in-person sessions at our calendar page.