Scooplery

Why do we call it cutlery?

Knives cut. But forks and spoons don’t. And yet we don’t say pokelery or scooplery.

All eating utensils are associated with the sharp stabby one despite each having different uses. Same thing happens in learning.

We slap the word “training” on everything, even when what’s actually needed is a job aid, a coaching convo, or shadowing.

Training is just the knife. It can be bloody useful for cutting a steak. But what if you’re having soup for dinner?

That’s what happens when orgs yoink the nearest training template instead of diagnosing the real issue. Time, money, and brain cells get wasted. Learners get cranky. And often instead of realising they should have used a spoon or fork, they say the knife needs to be sharpened.

We’ve overused “training” so badly that we’ve tanked its credibility. Now it’s synonymous with sad muffins, Comic Sans, and forced-fun where you have to pretend you’re a resilient penguin (this actually happened to me).

When it’s done well, training really works. But few of us have had the opportunity to see that because we’re busy blaming the quality of the utensil rather than questioning if it was the right choice for the job.

If we only ever reach for the knife, don’t be surprised when people keep trying to slice their soup and spill it all over themselves in the process.