476 — Christmas Special: Die Hard on an LMS
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
Yippee-ki-yay, Christmas Turkeys! In our final episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast for 2025, the gang are climbing to the top of Nakatomi Plaza: foiling a criminal plot and solving L&D challenges as we go. We answer: What rule exists at work that, if broken, would have the biggest impact on performance? (Tony) What should L&D pros be stealing to maximise their impact this Christmas? (Heinrich) What advice would you give an L&D professional as they plan for 2026? (Marco) What do we need to let go of in L&D? (Hans Gruber) During the discussion, Gemma referenced play at...
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475 — Is self-directed learning a myth?
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
The promise of self-directed learning is that employees will take charge of their own development, if we only create the environment for them to do so. But does this actually happen? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Mindtools Kineo Head of Product Daniel Potter joins Ross G and Gemma to discuss self-directed learning, with a focus on: what self-directed learning journeys look like how motivation is different for mandatory vs self-directed learning how our approach to learning design needs to align with learner motivation. During the discussion, Gemma referenced . In...
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474 — So long 2025, what's hot for 2026?
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
What a year it was! In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, HowNow's Nelson Sivalingam joins Ross G and Ross D to reflect on 2025 and look to emerging trends in 2026. We discuss: AI (obviously) and how it's evolving the rise of instructor-led training how market consolidation is changing the choice of suppliers for L&D leaders. During the discussion, Ross G referenced a number of new stories: We also discussed Don Taylor's , Don's report written with Eglė Vinauskaitė, and Hemsley Fraser's . Finally, Ross G referenced the '' of AI products. In 'What I Learned This...
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473 — Learning at LV=
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
How do you run an organization-wide learning function with just two people? At LV=, that's the main focus for Talent, Learning and Development Partner Rob Foster. This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Rob joins Claire and Ross G to discuss: how building relationships throughout the organization helps support induction, mentoring and reverse mentoring programs how internal champions expand the impact of digital resources (like Mindtools!) advice for teams working on a similarly small scale. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed the structure of Taylor Swift's ''. For more from...
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472 — Delivering business value
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
The L&D industry has always talked about 'business value' as an elusive concept. Now, a new book from Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers, The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business Value, articulates what that looks like in practice. This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, they join Ross D and Dr Anna to discuss: how L&D teams can transition through different stages of maturity the role of data in shaping business value the role of community and where to find it in the post-Twitter world. The book, , is available now from Kogan Page. For more from...
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471 — A long-term view on learning
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
In many organizations, not least within L&D, urgent and important short-term challenges often crowd out the bigger picture. So, how do we step back and take the long view? In this week's episode, Ross D and Claire are joined by Nina Bressler, founder of Reimagined Value, to discuss: Nina's background and what she means by the term 'societal learning' How to work with business stakeholders to help them decide what to focus on How to measure the impact of long-term initiatives. To find out more about Nina's work, check out . In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D mentioned the article from...
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470 — AI in L&D: The Race for Impact
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Donald Taylor and Eglė Vinauskaitė have released four reports exploring L&D's use of AI. In this week's episode, Don joins Ross D to discuss the latest report — AI in L&D: The Race for Impact. We cover: What's changed over the last three years, and why we're at an inflection point How L&D's use of AI has slowly matured over time, evolving into more sophisticated use cases A vision for the future of L&D, beyond content-creation. You can download a copy of the full report . In 'What I Learned This Week', Don recommended the book...
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469 — How businesses can hold on to their best people
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
In his book Targeting Turnover, Dick Finnegan argues that, as the global population ages and more people enter retirement, it is imperative for organizations to retain the talent they already have. In this week's episode, Dick joins Claire and Cammy to discuss: Why turnover is a problem for businesses The strategies organizations can deploy to reduce turnover The impact this might have on the L&D industry. You can pick up a copy of Targeting Turnover . For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops,...
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468 — What can L&D learn from product management? (Rebroadcast)
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
Hello listeners! No new episode this week, but we wanted to take the opportunity to revisit our 2021 'documentary special' on product management. It took a lot more work than our usual roundtable format, but we think it paid off. ;) To make this episode, we spoke to Myles Runham, Sukh Pabial, Danny Seals, and Gemma Paterson, discussing: what product management is what L&D can learn from product management what 'the product' is in L&D - is it L&D itself? For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual...
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467 — Decisions, decisions, decisions... by AI?
The Mindtools L&D Podcast
When Dr Anna Barnett, Ross Garner and Ross Dickie discussed the role of empathy in decision-making in Episode 463, they started to ponder the role that AI plays in our decisions. In this week's episode, Ross Garner, Anna and Gemma return to the topic of smart decisions to continue that conversation. We discuss: The impact AI is having on our decisions and decision-making processes The pros and cons of using AI to help us make decisions How we might use AI to make more effective decisions. In 'What I Learned This Week', Anna recommended using the '' app to plan your outdoor adventures....
info_outlineThe L&D industry has always talked about 'business value' as an elusive concept. Now, a new book from Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers, The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business Value, articulates what that looks like in practice.
This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, they join Ross D and Dr Anna to discuss:
- how L&D teams can transition through different stages of maturity
- the role of data in shaping business value
- the role of community and where to find it in the post-Twitter world.
The book, The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business Value, is available now from Kogan Page.
For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment.
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