Diagnose First—Design with Intent—Demonstrate Impact
Organizations invest heavily in learning, yet leaders still struggle to answer fundamental questions:
Are people doing anything differently on the job?
Did performance actually improve?
Was the investment worth it?
The Five Essential Questions Performance System was created to solve this problem.
It is a diagnostic and measurement-driven performance improvement system that helps organizations make better decisions about training, design for observable behavior change, and demonstrate results leaders can see, measure, and trust.
This is not a traditional training workshop. It is a repeatable performance decision system—delivered through an applied experience and guided implementation—to ensure learning investments drive real business impact.
What the System Solves
Training is often deployed as the default response to performance problems—even when the real causes are unclear expectations, broken processes, misaligned incentives, inadequate tools, or leadership barriers.
At the same time, Learning & Development teams are under increasing pressure to demonstrate value, often with evaluation methods that stop at participation or satisfaction.
The Five Essential Questions Performance System addresses both challenges by:
Diagnosing performance problems before solutions are prescribed
Designing learning around observable job behaviors, not abstract content
Connecting behavior change to business outcomes and operational metrics
Building evaluation into the design process—not bolting it on afterward
The result: fewer wasted training investments and greater confidence in performance decisions.
The Five Essential Questions
The system is anchored in five questions that determine whether training will work—and how its impact will be evaluated:
1. What specific behaviors should change?
2. How will behavioral change be measured?
3. What outcomes will this initiative improve?
4. What metrics will be used?
5. When should results be evaluated?
When these questions are answered clearly before training begins, organizations move from activity to accountability—and from assumptions to evidence.
What Organizations and Participants Gain
By engaging in the Five Essential Questions Performance System, organizations develop the capability to:
Diagnose performance problems before committing resources
Distinguish training needs from system, process, incentive, or leadership issues
Define clear, observable behaviors that reflect real job performance
Build behavior-based learning objectives that support Level 3 and Level 4 evaluation
Link learning initiatives to measurable business outcomes
Select metrics leaders already use to make decisions
Establish realistic 30-60-90-day evaluation timelines
Communicate impact using stakeholder-ready reporting—not anecdotes
Participants leave with tools, templates, and decisions applied to real organizational initiatives, not hypothetical cases.
Who This System Is For
The Five Essential Questions Performance System is designed for professionals accountable for performance—not just participation:
Learning & Development leaders and practitioners
HR and People Operations leaders
Instructional designers and internal consultants
Operational and functional leaders involved in workforce performance
Anyone responsible for proving training impact, value, or ROI
No advanced analytics background is required—only real performance challenges.
System Delivery & Application Model
Eight-Hour Applied Experience
The system is delivered through a highly applied experience designed to move participants from diagnosis to execution.
Delivery options include:
One full eight-hour day, or
Two four-hour sessions delivered across one or two days
Virtual or in-person delivery available
The experience emphasizes:
Real-world diagnostic practice
Hands-on use of proprietary tools and worksheets
Behavior mapping and learning objective development
Measurement, evaluation, and impact planning
Integration and action planning tied to active initiatives
This is practical, scenario-driven, and focused on application—not theory alone.
What’s Included
Organizations receive access to the complete Five Essential Questions Performance System, including:
Facilitated applied experience (eight hours)
Proprietary tools and templates, including:
o Seven-Question Diagnostic Framework
o Training vs. Non-Training Decision Tree
o Behavioral Mapping Worksheet
o Learning Objective Builder
o Evaluation and metric planning templates
o 30-60-90-day evaluation timeline tools
o Stakeholder-ready impact and reporting templates
Scenario-based practice using realistic performance challenges
Unlimited internal use of all system tools and templates
10-Week Guided Support (Included)
Organizations engaging in the complete system receive 10 weeks of guided application support at no additional cost.
This phase ensures the system is not only learned, but applied correctly.
Guided support includes:
Weekly 30-minute virtual sessions
Support for one active organizational initiative
Review and feedback on:
o Diagnostic conclusions
o Behavior maps and learning objectives
o Measurement and evaluation plans
o 30-60-90-day timelines
o Stakeholder impact and ROI reports
Guidance on manager reinforcement, data interpretation, and credibility of results
This structured support bridges the gap between insight and measurable impact.
Flexible Engagement Options
While designed as an integrated system, components may also be delivered independently, including:
Diagnose First, Train Second (Seven-Question Diagnostic Framework)
Learning Objective Builder (Behavior-Based Objectives)
The Five Essential Questions Framework (Design & Measurement)
Measurement & Evaluation Planning
ROI & Impact Analysis
Stakeholder Impact Reporting
This allows organizations to pilot the approach or address immediate needs while preserving the option to scale.
Ready to Make Better Performance Decisions?
Every training request is an opportunity to guess or to diagnose.