Your Learning Stack is a Jenga Tower

It’s 10 AM and you’re in back-to-back demos.

The tabs are open. The AI-powered coaching platform that promises to transform your managers. The “next-gen” learning experience platform with the beautiful UI. The microlearning app that integrates with Slack.

The decision looms. Which new tool will finally solve the engagement problem? Which platform will fix skills transfer? Which block do you add to the stack?

But the data tells conflicting stories. Your existing LMS is underused. Your team complains about tool fatigue. Your gut says this is just another shiny object; your stakeholders want to see innovation.

You feel responsible. Forward-thinking. Strategic.

But this instinct to keep adding is deceptive.

What feels like building a solution is often just adding another block to a wobbly Jenga tower.

I know because I’ve been there, proudly adding another expensive, wobbly block to the pile, hoping it wouldn’t all come crashing down.

It’s easy to think the right tool will fix everything. We see a problem, like low course completion rates, and we immediately jump to a technology solution. We get seduced by slick demos and impressive feature lists.

We believe the vendor’s promise that this new block is the one that will finally stabilise the whole structure.

I’m guilty of this. I’ve bought tools I thought were game-changers, only to see them gather digital dust six months later. The excitement of the new purchase quickly fades, replaced by the quiet hum of underuse.

Here’s the twist: The quest for the perfect tool is the enemy of a good learning strategy.

We are addicted to buying solutions before we have properly diagnosed the problem. Each new platform adds complexity, another login, and another point of failure. The issue isn’t a tool gap; it’s a strategy gap.

So, how do you break the cycle? You stop looking for things to add. You start asking what you can take away.

Before you are allowed to add a new tool, you must nominate one to remove.

This simple rule changes everything. It creates a trade-off. It stops the endless accumulation and forces you to justify not just the new tool’s value, but an old tool’s lack of it.

Is this new functionality worth losing something else?

More importantly, can an existing tool do the job if you just used it better?

Think of it like a “one in, one out” policy for your wardrobe. It prevents clutter. It ensures everything you keep actually has a purpose. The goal isn’t to have the most clothes; it’s to have the best outfits. The same is true for your tech.

Stop starting with the tool. Don’t say, “We need a new video platform”.

Start with the job to be done. Say, “Our sales team needs to practise their pitches in a safe environment and get instant feedback”.

When you frame the problem from the user’s perspective, the solution often changes. When you define the “job” with absolute clarity, you might find you don’t need a new tool at all. The answer might be a better-designed workshop, a peer-review process, or even a simple checklist.

You don’t buy a drill because you want a drill. You buy a drill because you want a hole in the wall.

Focus on the hole, not the drill.

Every new tool has a hidden tax. It’s not the price tag on the invoice.

It’s the cost of implementation. The time your team spends on admin. The developer hours needed for integration. The cognitive load you place on your learners every time you ask them to learn yet another system.

Map out this “tax” before you buy. A “free” or “cheap” tool can have an incredibly high tax, making it far more expensive than you realise over its lifetime.

It’s like buying a cheap printer. The machine itself is a bargain, but the ink cartridges will bankrupt you. Don’t get fooled by the low sticker price. Calculate the total cost of ownership.

Stop looking for the next block to add to the tower.

Start looking for the ones you can pull away to make the entire structure more stable. A simpler stack is a stronger stack. It’s easier to manage, easier to use, and far more likely to deliver actual results.

The best learning stack isn’t the one with the most tools.

It’s the one that disappears, letting the learning shine through.