What you'll learn
- Adoption succeeds when you design strategy before tactics.
- Learners only change behavior when content matches their journey.
- Reinforcement (not launch) determines long-term success.
Meet our guest
Tactics Don't Create Adoption. Strategy Does.
Background context: When Sean kicks off a new project, he often hears the same thing: “We bought a new tool. We need training. Can you help?” But what’s actually being handed over is a leadership mandate, not a strategy. No defined outcomes. No metrics. No timeline clarity. No learner journey. Just an expectation.
🎤 “Leadership gives you these loose, back-of-the-napkin objectives..and we have to figure out how to translate that into an actual programmatic rollout” - Sean Adams
Rather than jumping to content or communication, Sean pauses. He re-centers the rollout around the fundamental question: Why? This is the foundation of the 5D Framework — a reset from reactive execution to intentional design.
Discover
You have to define success before you build anything. Sean begins every adoption initiative by translating ambiguity into clarity. Discover is where you build the Objective Brief, identifying:
- What outcomes matter
- How success will be measured
- What is driving the initiative
- Why now
- What constraints or risks exist
🎤 “You’re looking for what success looks like. And you want to take those objectives and break them into specific measurable outcomes.” - Sean Adams
Without Discovery, teams default to guesswork. With Discovery, they operate with purpose.
Design
With the “why” in place, Sean turns to the program architecture. You need to build the rollout first, before you touch any of the training.
Design is where you answer:
- Who is the audience?
- What is the scope of work?
- What's the cadence and timeline?
- What milestones matter?
- Who owns what?
🎤 “You’re picking scope, timeline, what the milestones are, and who’s involved… these are almost always cross-functional projects.” — Sean Adams
This is where pilots are shaped, crawl–walk–run plans are formed, and rollout friction is eliminated before it begins.
Document
Documentation isn’t about producing more content — it’s about producing the right content, mapped to the learner’s psychological and practical needs. Sean emphasizes designing content through the Learner Adoption Journey:
First Exposure - Why this matters
Orientation - When and where it fits
Ramp & Practice - Safe practice and simulations
Competency - Real world execution and support
Reinforcement - References, updates, and long term stability
🎤 “If you jump straight into competency content… the learner may not know the context as to why they should do it.”— Sean Adams
Documenting with the learner journey ensures each piece of content is not just instructional — but usable.
Downloadable Resources
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