2. Learning & Development
70-20-10
Where development happens
Use when
Designing any development experience; defending against course-catalogue thinking
Experience
Stretch assignments, real projects, job rotations, doing the hard thing with support
Exposure
Coaching, mentoring, feedback, peer learning, watching masters work
Education
Courses, workshops, reading; the launchpad, never the vehicle
“Budget your effort like the ratio, not like the LMS catalogue.”
How to use it
Treat the ratio as design philosophy, not arithmetic; the research base is thin but the direction is right. Practical use: for every workshop day, design four weeks of application (the 70) and a peer/coaching structure (the 20). If a program is all 10, it is an event, not development.
Card details
- Model type
- Grid
- Origin status
- Established
- Content last reviewed
- 28 July 2026
Origin
EstablishedMorgan McCall, Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger, Center for Creative Leadership.