For decades, I have been part of countless associations, task forces, collaborations and focus groups related to workforce development, education and talent. Across all of them, the pattern is familiar.

We gather to talk about challenges in the system, the gaps in coordination, the lack of actionable data and the barriers that slow progress. The themes are consistent: Funding is complicated. Systems are fragmented. Employers and educators move at different speeds.

As employers adopt new technologies and processes, we lose ground in our effort to build a talent pipeline to move our economy forward as we continue to focus only on what cannot be done rather than on what can change. While the conversations are meaningful, they too often end with lists of problems instead of a plan to solve them. And those lists get longer and harder to manage as Indiana’s economy continues to evolve.

The Need for Clear Action

If we truly want progress, every meeting must end with clear next steps, defined outcomes and realistic expectations. It is not enough to agree that something is broken. We must decide what will be done, who will do it and how we will know if it worked.

Stephen Covey said it best: “Begin with the end in mind.”

Before you gather again for your next meeting, I suggest you ask three simple questions:

• What are we trying to change?
• How will we know if we are making progress?
• What is the next concrete step?

When it comes to making progress in Indiana’s workforce development ecosystem, we must acknowledge that we cannot take on the entire ocean. Trying to fix everything guarantees that nothing gets fixed. Instead, let’s choose a few high-impact priorities and move them forward together.

From Talking to Doing

The measure of success is not how many meetings we hold, but how much progress we make between them.

Let’s commit to leaving every conversation with a clear sense of ownership, accountability, and action. I’m holding my team to these principles as we work together to drive systems-level change in Indiana’s workforce system. One of our efforts includes centralizing data, working with leading Indiana stakeholder groups that collect, analyze and consume data and aligning on the key metrics that will drive meaningful progress. Data is one piece of the workforce development puzzle we can help solve and, with the right people in the room, we can collectively agree on what data is needed and how that can be used to drive meaningful change.

Let’s continue to celebrate the small wins—they create the momentum needed for larger, lasting change.

The future of our workforce depends on it.