Editor’s Note: This article is part of our “L&D Reflections” series, where learning leaders share what they’ve learned over the past year and how those insights are shaping their work.

Are you familiar with psychic numbing?

It’s a psychological effect where people stop feeling the impact of very large numbers. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that Americans waste 133 billion pounds of food every year. That’s an enormous amount! However, the scale makes it difficult to wrap your head around the problem. The number is so big that most people can’t connect the challenge to their everyday choices. As a result, the situation doesn’t improve.

The same thing happens in the workplace. Industry reports and sales pitches are full of massive statistics meant to spur action. You’ve likely heard numbers such as:

• Gallup estimates that low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion every year in lost productivity.
• Economist Impact and Dropbox found that workplace distractions drain $468 billion annually from U.S. companies.
• The American Institute of Stress reports that burnout costs U.S. employers more than $300 billion each year.

These numbers seem impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, they’re also impossible to feel. We know the problems exist. We reference the stats in presentations and blog posts, and then continue working as usual. Numbers rarely move people to act, especially when decision-makers must choose between long-term systemic improvements and immediate business results.

Inspiring Change on the Front Line

This psychological phenomenon was top of mind as I wrote “The Frontline Enablement Playbook.” The book brings together insights from more than 50 contributors and draws on my 25 years of experience supporting deskless workers to offer learning and development (L&D), human resources (HR) and operations professionals practical ways to better support their essential teams.

I could have shared plenty of big numbers to convince organizations to prioritize their front-line teams:

• Nearly 80% of the global workforce is deskless.
• Employee turnover costs U.S. businesses more than $1 trillion every year.
• Workplace injuries cost employers $167 billion annually, concentrated almost entirely in front-line roles.

But none of this is new. These challenges have been well-documented for years, and yet the front line remains one of the least supported segments of the workforce. That’s why I knew it would be a mistake to rely on stats. Dropping more numbers wasn’t going to create urgency. To motivate meaningful change, and help readers put ideas into practice, the approach needed to be different.

Turning Insight Into Human Experience

The playbook includes proven tactics and real-world examples from practitioners who deeply value the front-line workforce. Like me, many of the contributors started in front-line roles. I began my career managing movie theaters and theme parks, and those experiences shaped my perspective on front-line enablement. But while I’ve supported front-line teams my entire career, it’s been a decade since I worked on the front line myself.

This gap matters. I couldn’t write a book about front-line workers without grounding the story in their current reality. So, I interviewed more than 20 deskless workers from around the world. I asked them about their jobs, challenges, frustrations, motivations and opportunities they see for the future. These conversations shaped 12 “Letters from the Frontline” that capture their voices within the book. These entries quickly became the most important pages because they bring the work to life in ways statistics cannot.

Packing an Emotional Punch

Although the book won’t publish until 2026, I’ve been testing the content in presentations for months. People appreciate the tactics and take plenty of notes. But nothing lands like these front-line stories. When I read a letter out loud, the energy in the room shifts. People lean in. They tear up. Sometimes they even cheer.

Stories connect us. They translate abstract ideas into human experience. A woman working three jobs to make rent. A flight attendant pulled into a physical altercation at 30,000 feet on his first day. A construction worker learning a new trade to make his son proud. These moments remind us what it feels like to do these jobs and reveal the stakes in ways numbers never will. Most importantly, they show that improving front-line enablement is more than a business decision. It’s an opportunity to change people’s lives.

Borrowing From the Best

I first learned the power of story at Disney, where I saw how meaning and emotional connection can motivate people to change. We used the same storytelling principles that make their movies so memorable to shape our training programs and help cast members see how everyday actions impact guests.

Most organizations don’t value storytelling in the same way. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work, pushing information at employees to meet stakeholder demands. Executives hand down objectives, and we point people to the numbers as the reason to work hard. But we fail to connect the work to deeper meaning. Writing my new book reminded me how important it is to find the stories in everyday work. A simple example or personal moment can reach people in ways that are far more powerful than business goals.

As you plan your next program or address the next business challenge, look for the stories. Listen to the people doing the work. Capture their experiences. Leverage these stories to remind employees why the work matters — beyond the next KPI. Don’t let the people you support get numbed by big numbers that feel out of reach. Instead, refocus the conversation on the real impact their actions can have every day.

As you reflect on your own learning journey, explore how the Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM) program can help you grow the skills you need to lead training with confidence.