November 12, 2025

42. Organizing L&D for Results with Guus van Deelen

49 minutes

Tired of L&D busywork that doesn't move the needle? In this episode, Jess and Guus van Deelen dismantle "course factory" thinking and show how to organize L&D for results. They unpack the five L&D "chessboards," shift focus from learning to performance objectives, and set clear roles and decision rights to escape order-taking. You'll hear how to segment stakeholders with RIS (Risk, Importance, Size), apply Lean thinking to clean up operations, and run an annual L&D Cleanup Day (yes, on March 12) to kill zombie offerings and refocus on business value.

Jess and Guus Discuss

Why learning is a means—not the goal
The five L&D "chessboards" and choosing must-win areas
Escaping order-taking with clear roles and decision rights
Training internal clients to work with L&D
Replacing learning objectives with performance objectives (or adding both)
RIS stakeholder segmentation: Risk, Importance, Size
Lean habits to fix the back-office mess
Service levels: economy to "royal class" support
The annual L&D Cleanup Day (March 12): what to stop, start, or sustain
Using LMS data to kill underused content
Practical scripts and examples for setting expectations with the business

About Guus van Deelen

Guus van Deelen has held multiple roles in the L&D field, from L&D manager in global multinationals to strategic consultant helping organizations reposition and optimize their L&D departments. He is on a mission to make L&D more "streetwise." designing L&D that truly drives results. Not just delivering more training, but measurable impact on people, performance, and business outcomes. Guus helps L&D teams to create learning strategies, governance models, and talent development frameworks. He is also the author of the book, Organizing L&D for Results.

Find and Connect with Guus van Deelen