Frontline Unscripted

Most retail strategies don't fail on paper—they fail on the sales floor. Matt Brown, former SVP Business Development, Operations, Client Success at MOHR Retail shares why execution breaks down at scale—and what leaders can do differently. If you're leading retail ops or frontline teams, this is a must-watch on turning strategy into consistent execution.

What separates retail brands that execute from those that just strategize? Recorded live at NRF 2026, this candid conversation with retail influencer Liza Amlani, Principal at Retail Strategy Group, gets straight to the realities of retail performance. Hear practical insights into what’s really driving results on the shop floor — and what’s getting in the way. In this discussion between Liza and h...

Frontline workers continue to grapple with long-standing challenges like burnout and inconsistent support. Axonify’s annual Deskless Report examines these issues in depth, highlighting the most urgent needs and providing actionable insights to help organizations better equip their frontline teams for success. In this episode, a panel of ITK faves—Matthew Daniel (Guild), Al Dea (The Edge of Work) a...

Retail managers are at a breaking point. Facing staffing shortages, burnout and labor hour reductions, they’re struggling to keep operations running smoothly while balancing increasing demands. With the holiday season fast approaching, retailers are relying on frontline operations to deliver 20-30% of their annual sales at a time when inflation-wary consumers are reducing discretionary spending. H...

Have you ever had two leaders telling you two different things that are in direct opposition to each other? It’s a common dish served in foodservice, where franchised locations, channel teams or contracted locations mean that a worker might suddenly feel like they’re sandwiched between more than one boss. And that disjointed experience makes it hard to rally employees around a consistent and engag...

Frontline managers have the power to change lives. But 49% are burned out on a daily basis. If we’re going to rely on them to run our businesses and take care of our people, they’ll need our help. Monica Rothgery, former Chief Operations Officer of KFC U.S., joined JD Dillon to discuss the essential role frontline managers play in today’s workplace. They explore practical strategies for helping ma...

Which companies provide the BEST customer service? Names like Disney, Zappos and Southwest Airlines immediately come to mind for their ability to deliver exceptional service while running efficient, safe and profitable businesses. But what if we told you that one of the world’s greatest service cultures can be found at a deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan? Zingerman’s Delicatessen opened its doors in 198...

It's our smallest episode ever! But it’s not the runtime that’s shrinking, it’s your learning strategy. That's right—we’re talking about microlearning. Robyn Defelice, Consultant at RADLearning and co-author of Microlearning: Short and Sweet , joins JD Dillon for the latest on all things microlearning.  They break down the key principles of microlearning design, discuss how AI is making...

Creating compelling training content is tough. You're often forced to choose between building it on your own, which is time-consuming and expensive, or borrowing it from an off-the-shelf library, and we all know how disengaging generic training modules can be.  What if you could leverage a proven method for telling powerful, meaningful stories to boost your training effectiveness?  We’re expl...

Four years—that’s currently how long the typical employee sticks around before looking for new opportunities. But it wasn't always this way and median employee tenure has dropped 10.9% since 2012. The idea of staying with the same company for an entire career is a thing of the past thanks to high-profile layoffs, technological advancements, the rise of the gig economy and a renewed focus on w...

How do you survive toxic leadership that goes beyond bad managers? We're talking the kind of leaders who bully, intimidate and exploit their teams, creating a work environment that erodes trust, damages relationships and undermines the well-being of employees. If you have a toxic leader, what are your options? And how can your organization protect the workplace so employees feel safe to do th...

"We don’t have time for learning!”  How many times have you heard this objection in your L&D career? There’s just too much going on in the operation to make time for L&D activities. Plus, people are already overloaded with compliance training. This means learning is often seen as a distraction from work rather than an essential part of the job.  How do we make learning a top priority,...

When should you PUSH training to employees, and when should you make learning resources available for people to PULL on their own? Daniel Johnson and John Parsell from Merck sit down with JD Dillon to discuss the challenges of balancing the push/pull reality of workplace learning. They explore the complexities of L&D within a highly-regulated industry and the problems that can arise when emplo...

Think back to your most memorable hotel experiences. What do they have in common? Moments of delight. It’s when you’re greeted by name at reception. Or when that bottle of champagne suddenly appears in your room. Or when an associate goes out of their way to get you that dinner reservation. Those are the moments that build lifelong loyalty. But those moments are hard to scale. How do you empower a...

Great customer service in healthcare is essential but includes added expectation thanks in part to the sensitivities and vulnerabilities associated with the industry. People want to be treated with respect and empathy and have easy access to reliable, accurate information. But providing this type of experience can be a challenge when you have thousands of employees across multiple business units....

AI is already taking on tasks typically completed by people. It’s answering contact center calls, taking drive-thru orders and writing marketing copy. Companies are betting on AI to reduce costs, alleviate staffing challenges and improve efficiency. But where does this leave workers? Is AI just going to replace people, or can this technology actually make work more human?  Join Juan Naranjo and JD...

To celebrate AxoniCom 2023 taking over Nashville, host JD Dillon invited some of the conference’s movers and shakers to ITK. Foot Locker’s former CEO Dick Johnson discussed what attendees can expect from his fireside chat with Axonify Co-founder and CRO Christine Tutssel. Then, Dessy Daskalov, Axonify’s SVP of Development, shares three nuggets about Axonify and AI. And Vijitharan Nageswaran, podca...

How do you build a truly great and healthy workplace culture, and what does it take to bring the values posted on office walls to life, every single day? Melissa Daimler , CLO at Udemy and author of "ReCulturing: Design Your Company Culture to Connect with Strategy and Purpose for Lasting Success," joins JD to explore the key elements of building exceptional workplace cultures and how be...

What do today’s employees want in a job? Dr. Steven T. Hunt , Ph. D., SAP’s Chief Expert of Technology & Work, joins JD Dillon to share his perspective on what it takes to create a desirable workplace. Steve digs into trendy topics, like generational differences and remote work, and explains why they’re distractions from the important ideas organizations should focus on: job design and human p...

How much learning technology do you actually need? Rachel Horwitz joins ITK to discuss learning tech optimization. Rachel has managed HR and L&D practices at Mars, The Estée Lauder Companies and ConvaTec. Now her team at Learning Culture Partners helps organizations improve the utility, scalability and cost-effectiveness of their learning tech ecosystems.  If you want expert tips on how to get...

We’re celebrating the release of Learning Experience Design Essentials , the new book from one of our favorite ITK guests, Cara North ! Cara’s gone from “accidental instructional designer” with Amazon to L&D director with Circulo Health to literally writing the book on modern learning design. Now she joins JD for a rousing game of Agree to Disagree! where they both share their takes on the hot...

Who deserves the chance to get better at their jobs? Everyone, of course! And while the answer is obvious, delivering on that promise is more nuanced than you may realize. Diane Elkins , co-founder of Artisan E-Learning and founding member of Inspire Accessibility , joins JD to share practical insights for improving equity in workplace learning and explains why accessibility is about so much more...

If you want tried-and-tested tactics to keep your people engaged and invested in the success of your business, look to startups. If larger organizations can successfully tap into that agile innovation … you’ve got the potential for magic. Endy , Canada’s leading online mattress brand, is building a culture of deliberate and continuous learning that starts on day one. The goal? Build out a team of...

Did you know the average person will have between 3 and 7 different careers over the course of their professional lives? We explore modern tactics for career development with Al Dea , Leadership Development Consultant and host of The Edge of Work podcast . Al's work has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Fast Company and The World Economic Forum. Now he joins JD on ITK to redefine c...

Elizabeth Thompson (Founder and Chief Experience Officer for Intuitive Quest ) has seen it all in her 20-plus year career in HR.  From mass layoffs at Starbucks during a recession to having a front row seat to a Chapter 11 experience with Southeastern Grocers as the Chief People Officer and how the grocer came out of the experience not only wiser but transformed to a level that resulted in a Harva...