Thinking more about this idea of real benefit, lately, this story came to mind.
Once upon a time, in a faraway forest*, a Tree from the enchanted forest asked the tiger Laohu to put together a training to teach the elves how to properly log their timesheets. When he asked what for, she explained they were being naughty and “gaming the system”, putting down more time than they actually worked. ‘If you say they’re being naughty’, Laohu asks, ‘it means they know they’re not supposed to do this, right?’ She agrees. ‘And if they’re knowledgeable enough to game the system, it’s not like they don’t know how to do it properly, so it’s not a skill issue. Quite the opposite, they learned it so well, they can now bend the rules, correct?’ The Tree agrees again and says, ‘some managers will even look the other way to keep the site out of trouble and the numbers looking good’.
Laohu let the information sink in for a moment and, after careful consideration, declares: ‘Training is not the answer’. From the top of her age, the elegant oak stares at him in disbe-leaf. He continues, ‘I can do it if that is what you really want, yet this will not solve the problem’. It took him some explaining but, eventually, she agreed. Together, they saved the forest hundreds of thousands of pine coins, and everyone lived happily ever after. Or at least until the next revision cycle of the available training.
(*Any similarities are mere coincidences; no elf was harmed during the production of this story)