Why Companies Invest in Training But Don’t Develop Capability 

By Steven Haines 

Founder, Business Acumen Institute and Sequent Learning Networks 

Introduction 

Organizations spend billions annually on professional development, yet capability gaps persist. Product management, in particular, suffers from a systematic failure: companies invest in training programs that optimize for cost and completion metrics rather than measurable capability development and business outcomes. 

The problem isn’t what product managers know. Why? Because most can recite frameworks and describe best practices. The problem is what they can’t do: build defensible, credible business cases, secure the right data to analyze market dynamics, approach decision-making with financial rigor, prioritize strategically when everything is “urgent,” or connect product decisions to P&L impact. 

I’m writing this because I want to share with you my research that examines why training programs preferred by companies are falling short, and to reveal a proven methodology for developing strategic capability that drives measurable business results, especially within the product management community. 

Over 20 years, through Sequent Learning Networks—the product management professional development division of Business Acumen Institute—I’ve worked with more than 500 organizations across six continents. I’ve trained 30,000+ product managers. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. And I can tell you this: there’s a better path forward. 

The L&D Challenge: Doing More With Less 

Let me start by acknowledging the reality L&D departments face. 

You’re asked to develop capabilities across hundreds or thousands of employees. You have limited budgets. You need solutions that scale. You’re pressured to show completion rates and satisfaction scores. You read research suggesting that modern learners prefer bite-sized, on-demand content. So you invest in platform licenses—LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Udemy—that promise affordable, scalable training. 

This makes sense. These platforms serve an important purpose. They provide baseline knowledge, introduce concepts, and offer convenient access to a wide range of topics. 

The challenge is that platforms alone can’t develop strategic capability. 

Let me show you what I mean. 

The Gap: Knowledge vs. Capability 

Here’s what I’ve learned from two decades of research: there’s a critical difference between what people know and what they can do. 

Platforms excel at developing knowledge. Product managers can watch videos, complete modules, pass quizzes, and earn certificates. They learn vocabulary. They’re exposed to frameworks. They gain awareness. 

But knowledge without application doesn’t drive business results. 

Let me give you a real example. A mid-sized B2B software company with 15 product managers invested in LinkedIn Learning for their entire product team. 

What they invested: 

• LinkedIn Learning: $300 per person × 15 PMs = $4,500 

• Employee time: 15 PMs × 30 hours = 450 hours 

• At $120/hour fully-loaded cost = $54,000 

• Total direct investment: $58,500 

The metrics looked great: 

• Completion rate: 94% 

• Satisfaction scores: 4.2 out of 5 

• L&D reported strong engagement 

What happened 12 months later: 

• Product revenue missed targets by 23% ($12M shortfall on $52M goal) 

• Two strategic product launches failed due to weak market analysis 

• Finance rejected 60% of product business cases for lack of financial rigor 

• Three senior product managers left for companies with more development opportunities 

• CEO started making product decisions because the PM team struggled with strategic thinking 

The actual cost: 

• Revenue miss: $12M × 15% margin = $1.8M lost profit 

• Failed launches: $900K wasted 

• PM turnover: $450K in replacement costs 

• Finance overhead: $36K reworking weak business cases 

• Engineering drag: $200K in rework and delays 

Total impact: $3.4 million in one year 

The platform training developed knowledge. Product managers could describe prioritization frameworks, business case components, and customer discovery methods. But they couldn’t actually prioritize under pressure, build defensible financial models, or translate customer insights into strategic product decisions. 

This isn’t a failure of the platform. It’s a mismatch between what platforms can do and what strategic capability requires. 

What Strategic Capability Actually Requires 

Strategic capability—the ability to think, analyze, decide, and execute at a higher level—requires something platforms can’t deliver: 

• Deep understanding of concepts, not surface-level exposure 

• Practice with real business complexity, not simplified examples 

• Coaching from practitioners who’ve seen hundreds of situations 

• Application to your specific business context—your industry, your competitors, your challenges 

• Time to practice, make mistakes, get feedback, and iterate 

• Managerial reinforcement that connects learning to real work 

This is what Sequent Learning Networks delivers through our applied learning approach. 

The Sequent Learning Approach: Applied Learning That Builds Capability 

Sequent Learning Networks is the product management professional development division of Business Acumen Institute. For over 20 years, we’ve focused exclusively on developing strategic product management capability through customized, outcome-driven programs. 

Our approach is fundamentally different from platform training. 

Step 1: Comprehensive Assessment 

We start by measuring both knowledge and application across 12 critical dimensions of the Product Management Life Cycle: 

1. 1. Understanding customers and customer segments 

2. 2. Assessing the industry and competition 

3. 3. Formulating product strategies and roadmaps 

4. 4. Product planning and prioritization 

5. 5. Product design and validation 

6. 6. Oversight of product development 

7. 7. Launch and commercialization 

8. 8. Product pricing 

9. 9. Product promotion and customer education 

10. 10. Sales, channel, and distribution performance 

11. 11. Post-launch performance management 

12. 12. Cross-functional team leadership 

For each dimension, we use dual-rating scales: 

Knowledge: What do they understand? (No knowledge → Basic understanding → Expert level) 

Application: How do they use it? (Never practiced → Practiced regularly → Deep expertise) 

The gap between these ratings creates a Capability Gap Signature that shows exactly where development will have the greatest impact. 

Capability	Knowledge (Can Describe)	Application (Can Execute)
Market Analysis	Knows TAM, SAM, SOM definitions	Builds defensible market sizing with data sources, assumptions, sensitivity analysis
Prioritization	Can list prioritization frameworks	Makes evidence-based decisions aligned to strategy
Business Cases	Knows components of business cases	Builds financial models with NPV, IRR, payback period
Customer Discovery	Understands discovery theory	Translates customer insights to product strategy

We also segment results by role, level, product line, and business unit to reveal organizational patterns. For example, we might discover that senior PMs understand strategy but struggle with financial modeling, or that one product line excels at performance management but misses competitive threats. 

This diagnostic precision is what allows us to design targeted development programs. 

Step 2: Two Approaches to Capability Development 

Once we understand capability gaps, we design programs that develop actual capability, not just knowledge. We use two distinct approaches depending on what you need: 

Approach 1: Customized Workshops (2-3 Days) 

Our foundational programs—Product Management Essentials, Business Acumen Essentials, Product Strategy and Roadmapping, and others—are delivered as customized 2-3 day workshops. 

Here’s what makes them different from platform training or generic workshops: 

Before the workshop, I: 

• Research your company deeply—your business model, competitive position, product portfolio 

• Study your industry—market dynamics, customer segments, regulatory environment 

• Analyze your competitors—their strategies, vulnerabilities, your competitive advantages 

• Review your products, processes, and organizational structure 

• Meet with executives to understand strategic priorities and capability gaps 

During the workshop, participants: 

• Learn foundational concepts and frameworks 

• Practice using YOUR products as examples (not generic case studies) 

• Work with YOUR processes and organizational realities 

• Analyze YOUR competitive landscape and market dynamics 

• Build work products they can actually use after the workshop 

• Understand how to apply concepts to their specific roles and challenges 

The critical success factor: managerial reinforcement after the workshop 

Here’s what I’ve learned from 20 years: workshops develop capability, but behavioral change requires managerial support. 

After the workshop, effectiveness depends on whether managers: 

• Help people stop doing things they shouldn’t be doing (tactical firefighting, low-value activities) 

• Coach and enable them to do things they should be doing (strategic thinking, business case development, cross-functional leadership) 

• Create opportunities to apply new capabilities to real work 

• Provide feedback and reinforcement as people practice 

• Hold people accountable for using what they learned 

Without this managerial reinforcement, even excellent workshops won’t drive lasting behavioral change. The capability is there—people know what to do and have practiced it—but they need their managers to create space for them to actually do it. 

This is why executive engagement is critical from assessment through implementation. 

Approach 2: Applied Learning Programs (2-3 Months) 

For capabilities that require deep practice and iteration—particularly Product Strategy and Business Case Development—we use an applied learning approach. 

These aren’t workshops. They’re extended engagements where I work with teams over 2-3 months as they practice the method on their actual work. 

How applied learning works: 

We start with the same deep customization: 

• Research your company, industry, and competitive landscape 

• Understand your strategic priorities and business challenges 

• Identify the specific business cases or strategies teams will work on 

Then, over 2-3 months: 

• Teams work on their actual business cases or product strategies (not exercises) 

• I provide coaching through multiple iterations—they build, I review, they refine 

• They practice the method with real stakes—these deliverables have to work 

• We address real organizational constraints and stakeholder dynamics as they emerge 

• Managers see work products evolve and provide reinforcement throughout 

• By the end, teams have built real business cases that get approved or real strategies that guide execution 

The difference? With workshops, capability development happens during the program and behavioral change depends on post-workshop reinforcement. With applied learning, the coaching is built into the process—I’m there as they practice, providing feedback in real-time over multiple cycles. 

Both approaches work. The choice depends on what capability you’re developing and how much coaching teams need. 

Step 3: Measure Business Outcomes 

We don’t measure completion rates or satisfaction scores. We measure: 

• Pre- and post-program capability assessments showing improvement in both knowledge and application 

• Business outcomes: product revenue, margin improvement, decision quality, time-to-market 

• Behavioral change observed by managers and cross-functional partners 

• ROI calculation based on measurable business results 

Organizations that complete Sequent’s programs typically achieve 5-10x ROI within 12 months, measured through: 

• Improved product revenue and profitability 

• Reduced organizational drag (fewer escalations, faster decisions, better collaboration) 

• Stronger business cases that connect investments to strategic outcomes 

• Product managers who can think strategically and execute with financial accountability 

• Executive confidence in product leadership 

A Complementary Approach: Platforms + Applied Learning 

Here’s what I recommend for L&D departments serious about developing strategic product management capability: 

For Foundational Knowledge: Use Platforms 

Platforms are excellent for: 

• Introducing new product managers to basic concepts 

• Providing baseline exposure to frameworks and terminology 

• Offering convenient, on-demand access to a range of topics 

• Supporting continuous learning at scale 

Sequent also offers self-paced online courses with certification for individual product managers who need flexible, foundational training: 

• Product Management Essentials (online training and certification) 

• Product Strategy and Roadmapping (online training and certification) 

• Product Management Career Accelerator 

For Strategic Capability: Use Sequent’s Customized Programs 

When you need to develop strategic capability that drives business results—financial accountability, strategic thinking, business acumen, cross-functional leadership—invest in customized programs that are tailored to your business: 

Customized 2-3 Day Workshops for foundational capabilities: 

• Product Management Essentials 

• Business Acumen Essentials 

• Product Strategy and Roadmapping (workshop format) 

• Leading Product Management 

• And other core competency areas 

These workshops: 

• Are customized to your products, processes, and competitive context 

• Combine knowledge building with practice using your actual business 

• Require managerial reinforcement after the workshop for behavioral change 

• Work best when executives create space for people to apply new capabilities 

Applied Learning Programs (2-3 months) for capabilities requiring deep practice: 

• Product Strategy Development 

• Business Case Development 

• Other capabilities requiring extended coaching and iteration 

These programs: 

• Work with teams over 2-3 months on their actual business challenges 

• Provide ongoing coaching through multiple iterations 

• Produce real deliverables (business cases that get approved, strategies that guide execution) 

• Build in the managerial reinforcement through the extended engagement 

Both approaches include: 

• Comprehensive capability assessments to identify precise gaps 

• Customization to your specific industry, competitors, and strategic context 

• Practice with your actual business (not generic examples) 

• Measurement of business outcomes, not just completion 

This combination gives you the best of all approaches: scalable foundational training through platforms for knowledge, customized workshops for core capabilities with managerial reinforcement, and applied learning programs for capabilities requiring extended coaching and practice. 

The Path Forward: Partnership for Results 

If you’re an L&D leader who recognizes that platform training alone isn’t developing the strategic capability your organization needs, I’d like to partner with you. 

Here’s what that partnership looks like: 

13. 1. Start with a comprehensive Product Management Competency Assessment to identify capability gaps 

14. 2. Review assessment results together to understand organizational patterns and priorities 

15. 3. Design the right approach for each capability: customized workshops (2-3 days) for foundational capabilities, or applied learning programs (2-3 months) for capabilities requiring extended practice 

16. 4. Deliver programs customized to your products, processes, and competitive context 

17. 5. Work with managers to ensure post-workshop reinforcement and support 

18. 6. Measure business outcomes to demonstrate ROI 

This isn’t about replacing what you’re doing. It’s about complementing platform training with applied learning that develops the strategic capabilities platforms can’t deliver. 

The result: product managers who can actually do what your business needs them to do. 

Conclusion: Hope and Results 

I understand the pressure L&D departments face. Limited budgets. Demands to scale. Pressure for metrics. The appeal of affordable platforms. 

But here’s what I’ve learned from 20 years and 500+ organizations: when it comes to strategic capability, there are no shortcuts. 

The good news? You don’t have to choose between affordability and effectiveness. Use platforms for what they do well—foundational knowledge at scale. Invest in customized workshops for core capabilities—tailored to your business with practice using your actual products and processes. Use applied learning programs for capabilities requiring extended coaching and iteration. 

And critically: ensure managers reinforce new capabilities after workshops. 

This is often the missing piece. Workshops develop capability. Managers enable behavioral change by helping people stop doing low-value work and coaching them to apply what they learned. 

When you combine all three—platforms for knowledge, customized programs for capability, and managerial reinforcement for behavioral change—you get the ROI executives are looking for: product managers who think strategically, build defensible business cases, make evidence-based decisions, and connect product work to P&L impact. 

That’s the professional development that actually develops professionals. 

I’d welcome the opportunity to discuss how Sequent can partner with your L&D team to develop the strategic product management capability your organization needs. 

About Sequent Learning Networks and Business Acumen Institute 

Sequent Learning Networks is the product management professional development division of Business Acumen Institute. For over 20 years, Sequent has specialized in customized product management training, diagnostics, and advisory services for complex organizations globally. 

Through comprehensive assessments, outcome-driven applied learning programs, and ongoing coaching, Sequent has trained 30,000+ product managers and worked with 500+ organizations across six continents. 

Founded by Steven Haines, author of 11 books on product management and business acumen, Sequent’s Product Management Life Cycle Model and frameworks are taught at Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, and Stanford. 

Unlike platforms that deliver generic content or bootcamps that focus on tactics, Sequent develops strategic capability through rigorous assessment, customized programs, and measurable business outcomes. 

Learn more: 

Business Acumen Institute: www.business-acumen.com 

Sequent Learning Networks: www.sequentlearning.com 

Contact: sjhaines@business-acumen.com