Learn by Doing. It’s the Only Way.
Introduction: Why Knowledge Alone Fails
For years, organizations have invested in training programs built on a simple assumption: if people know more, they will perform better. But reality tells a different story.
Reading a manual does not make you a pilot. Sitting in a lecture does not make you a leader. Watching someone else solve problems does not make you better at solving your own.
The truth is direct: people do not change because they hear something new. They change because they do something new.
As Phil Geldart, our founder, puts it:
“People who hear, forget. People who see, remember. People who do, understand.”
If you want lasting impact, you must let your people learn by doing.
Why Doing Is the Difference
Information fades. Experience endures.
Research proves it:
The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve shows that without practice, people forget up to 90% of new knowledge within a week.
Deloitte reports that organizations using experiential learning are more likely to improve performance outcomes compared to traditional training.
LinkedIn Learning’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report found that employees rank practice-based learning as the number one format they want, above videos, lectures, and articles.
The message is clear: knowledge without practice is wasted potential. Knowledge with doing is transformation.
The Experiential Learning Formula
In his book Experiential Learning, Geldart outlines four pillars of lasting behavior change:
HEART (Conviction): People must believe change is worth it.
HEAD (Knowledge): People must understand what to do.
HANDS (Skill): People must practice doing it.
HARVEST (Results): People must see the outcomes of their effort.
Traditional training often delivers only the HEAD. It tells people what they should do. But without HEART, HANDS, and HARVEST, nothing changes.
That is why experiential learning works. It creates conviction, provides knowledge, demands practice, and shows results. It does not just inform, it transforms.
What “Learning by Doing” Looks Like
So what does this look like in practice? It means shifting away from passive content and creating environments that demand participation.
Examples include:
Simulations: Immersive experiences that mirror real challenges, allowing people to test decisions in a safe environment.
Role Plays: Practicing key conversations so the first attempt does not happen in front of a customer or employee.
Stretch Assignments: Real projects that push people beyond their comfort zone while still offering support.
Team Challenges: Activities that force collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability.
These are not gimmicks. They are practice grounds. They give employees a chance to fail safely, learn quickly, and build confidence that lasts.
Why Leaders Must Champion Doing
Leaders often ask: Why does training not stick? The answer is simple: because people never had the chance to apply what they learned.
Your role as a leader is not to provide more information. It is to create experiences where people must act. That means:
Designing environments where mistakes are safe.
Expecting employees to apply new skills immediately.
Reinforcing behaviors after training so lessons become habits.
When leaders set the tone, employees follow. When leaders demand action, organizations grow.
The Cost of Ignoring This Truth
Consider the alternative. Organizations that rely on passive learning spend millions every year on programs that fail to produce change. Employees leave with binders full of notes, but no new skills.
The result is wasted time, wasted money, and wasted potential.
The choice is stark:
Teach by telling, and people will forget.
Teach by doing, and people will change.
Conclusion: Doing Is the Only Way
If your goal is real impact, there is no shortcut.
You can give people information, but they will forget it. You can inspire people with vision, but they will not act on it. Only when they practice, stumble, and try again does change take root.
That is why experiential learning is not optional. It is essential. It is the bridge between knowing and doing, between theory and behavior, between intention and results.
Learn by doing. It is the only way.
