We launched CXL Institute about 5 years ago. We’ve learned a lot about elearning since, and I’ve come to one clear conclusion: elearning is broken for most people. And we’re fixing it with CXL playbooks. 

Let me tell you what the issue is, and how we’re addressing it. 

We've conducted many hundreds of user interviews at CXL. Maybe over a thousand.

There are many things we've learned, but one non-obvious insight is this: most people sign up for an online course because they have a task at hand.

Very few people are long-term strategic about their learning - e.g. "I need to become a VP Marketing in 3 years, I'm missing these skills, so I'm now gonna work on acquiring these skills." It's rare.

How most people sign up for a course: "I need to get this thing done, but I'm not sure what's the best way to go about it. Oh, here's a course on this stuff, maybe that'll do it."

The problem is, if you need to learn how to do this one very specific thing, but now you get a 9-hr course on "everything you need to know about X", it's actually not catering to this use case.

Online courses are great from going from A to B, zero to hero.

After all, traditional elearning has been modeled after classical education systems. There's a place for it, of course - but it's 100% focused on "from zero to hero" use case. If that's what you're after, awesome.

We’ve built in-depth Minidegrees at CXL that have helped thousands of professionals get their career to the next level. It’s absolutely fantastic for the motivated individual, the strategic learner.

But it takes a lot of hours. Our Minidegrees have 40 to 100 hours of content in each. That’s a lot.

Most people want the knowledge - they start the course - but never finish it. They just can’t make time for learning. 

On top of this, your boss always asks you "did you ship XYZ?", not "did you do your learning?". You get judged on the work you ship.

That is why just-in-time learning is actually what most people need.

Just-in-time learning is focused on meeting the learner’s need when it arises, rather than pre-scheduled education sessions that occur regardless of the immediacy or scope of need.

• "How do I build a messaging house?" --> "Here's how to build a messaging house"
• "How do I set up events with Tag Manager?" --> "Here's how to set up event tracking in GTM"
• "How to validate my positioning with my ICPs?" --> "Here's how to validate your positioning"

Most people need a new kind of educational product, one that is task-focused, not discipline-focused.

1. You need to ship a task.
2. Go learn how to do that specific task
3. Then immediately do it. 

Learning and doing hand-in-hand, every single time. It’s the most powerful combo in learning.

That’s why I’m thrilled to announce the launch of CXL Playbooks. 

Yes, the version we’re launching is really an MVP - there’s a long way to go towards our vision for the product - but it’s a great start. We have 2000+ playbooks ready for you, and adding 200+ each month (and ramping up the production). 

The public beta is live now. 

Our address: 901 S Mo Pac Expy, Suite 150, Barton Oaks Plaza One, Austin TX 78746

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