Future-Focused with Christopher Lind

Skills. In the famous words of Inigo Montoya, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” Like many other trendy buzzwords, people often say the same words but mean very different things. Given their significance and the critical role L&D plays, we  must be clear on the definitions, their implications across the talent  spectrum, and the specific impact on our operations. To s...

Last week's session just wasn't enough time.   The effort to support folks dealing with a job loss, potential upcoming loss, or even struggling with the overall uncertainty in their current role continues. The first session focused primarily on skill development, staying relevant, and networking as an L&D professional. This week, the focus is on standing out and navigating seemingly impos...

I've recently seen and heard from an unfortunate number of folks in my network about the loss, or potential loss, of a job. Even many securely in their positions are questioning their stability and planning for the worst. With global economic uncertainty and many companies attempting to get their bearing, I predict it's a trend we'll see for a while. To help people through this turbulent time, I c...

“I’m confidently competent in constructing critical core criteria and capable in connecting conditional constraints with care,” said the alliterating learning leader during their annual review. Learning and competency assessment is, well, complicated. The biggest challenge lies within the burden of proof. Streamlining evidence-based assessment at scale is still something L&D often overlooks as...

“People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint” – Steve Jobs The advent of presentation software brought us out of the dark ages from the classic overhead projector that had been used for decades. Anyone remember those?   However, much like other early digital transformations, it became a blessing and a curse. The ease of use built an overdependency on cut-and-paste creatio...

Interactive content is an expectation from users.   Static video won’t cut it in the #futureoflearning . Digital learning has historically relied preponderantly on the logic of passive consumption. The key for learning leaders today is identifying interactive opportunities within the scope of industry parameters and then designing and creating them.    In this Learning Tech Talks ,...

Recommendations are everything.    Good or bad, recommendations fuel the discovery of new ideas,  compound preexisting knowledge, or challenge pre-existing assumptions. Stop and think about your life and how many things have come based on a  recommendation.  When it comes to learning, recommendations are key to building a sustainable learning culture.    With con...

“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's  June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so  soon?” ~Dr. Suess The conference season is here. The holiday season will be here before you know it. Before you know it, we’ll be stepping into 2023. In our industry, we talk about not being  order takers, but that requ...

How do you tell a story? Some of my most formative learning experiences have come from someone else’s story. A story is nothing more than an account of a real person with a real experience. How a story is perceived is rather subjective. Everything from the medium  that a story is shared to the language used to detail an account can influence a learner's understanding of the moral. How do we,...

Does anyone ever wish that they could create change magically? It sure would be a lot easier to put on a sorcerer’s hat to create change and influence with the flick of the wrist and have immediate results. However, if the sorcerer’s apprentice taught us anything, it’s that effective change doesn’t magically happen. Dreams of grandeur can influence our ability to make change a reality. Change happ...

Does the employee experience matter in 2022? I assumed it has always mattered and will indefinitely! Different organizations value and prioritize the employee experience differently.  The key takeaway, however, is organizations that excel at it get the talent, retain the talent, and continue to have a strategic competitive advantage in the market. While hybrid work has changed what this looks...

What makes a good leadership cohort? Do I have any cohort strategists out there? I  imagine there are a lot of valid arguments for what makes a good cohort, but I think a better question to ask is, what would make a bad leadership cohort? Simply grouping individuals together for peer-to-peer discussion is not enough to produce engaging, effective,  and long-lasting outcomes. Strategy and...

Innovation is a process.    Innovation is also something that many fear more often than they’d like to admit. This can sometimes hinder our ability to accept change and embrace a new generation that looks different than our own. Remember, not all of our predecessors embraced the change that we brought with us. Use  Esports as a modern-day case. Organizations that aren’t quick to emb...

How often are privacy, security, customization, and configuration a part of the conversation on your learner's journey?   Looking back at the past few years at some of the large-scale misuses of personal data collection, I can’t help but include security and data collection in my conversations with enterprise vendors more frequently. We all love AI. AI needs data to effectively do its job. Th...

Will YouTube ever be a thing of the past?   It’s been some time since we’ve talked about content on this show.  How is everyone holding up with their current enterprise content manager  (ECM)? Today’s learners are now comfortable and accustomed to viewing virtual content. Their expectations and their ability to engage is predicated on their historical content consumption.  &nbs...

The blank stare of death. Anyone else been there? You’re new to a company or learning new software, and suddenly, you become paralyzed by the anxiety and mental exhaustion of what to do next. I remember teaching my brother how to use our family Gateway 2000 computer. I knew if I just told him what to do, he’d run back into my room 5 minutes later and ask for help. KNOCK PLEASE! Eventually, I found...

while ( ! (succeed = try() ) ); It used to bother me that my coding abilities were rather lacking compared to some of my peers. Coding can be intimidating for reskillers, yet tons of creative minds have much high-level to offer in software development. My confidence was boosted when a colleague told me, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest.” In the future of work, a lot of coding will be do...

Just because we work in the field of skills doesn’t mean we’re immune from having to develop our next generation of skills. If anything, there’s an even greater need to stay ahead of the curve to ensure we can keep pace with the rest of the organization. A quick Google search demonstrates there’s no shortage of blogs,  research articles, and graphics highlighting what skills we and others bel...

YOU are more capable of acquiring skills and unlocking potential than you think you are. Can’t is a simple contraction I’m not very familiar with. One echo chamber  I’ve noticed lately is the confidence of individuals whom I surround myself with regarding their adaptability and learning. I believe this to be a positive thing, but I’m also aware of the blind spot in my perception as others aro...

Does anyone think that it’s time to slowly retire the buzzword “Gamification” from the L&D industry?   Just to clarify, I’ve used this term liberally to describe organizations providing creative digital solutions in the enterprise learning space.   There are some fantastic products, AND some not so fantastic. Organizations that have created a sustainable competitive advantage are one...

Where is AI today and where is AI headed for the future? I think I speak for many that it's a word that has been absorbed into our vocabulary even though we don't all mean the same thing.   That leaves an opportunity for a continual dialogue regarding AI in the corporate space as definitions and applications vary greatly among different products and markets. Unfortunately, a lot of noise and...

Where could your team be in a month if everyone improved every single week? I ask myself this question daily, and I’m constantly looking for ways to improve myself and others in a positive and uplifting way. As learning leaders, this task is often easier said than done, particularly at scale. There is an everyday sludge between you and the things you’re trying to do that makes this challenging. Wh...

"Are we there yet?" A common question hurled aimlessly from the back seat of our family hauler once the excitement of a long journey has worn off and boredom has set in. It sometimes feels like we are in that part of the journey for AR/VR. The excitement is starting to fade, and the reality that we have a long way to go is making the progress we are experiencing today feel slow. I imagine people w...

Does anyone remember taking a keyboarding class? Mavis Beacon and I go way back. Typing is a learned skill many developed in the classroom that allowed us to function as adults. However,  editing audio/video wasn’t something my generation was ever taught in school. There are technical aspects that my children know better than I  do. Given content creation plays a vital role in the workpl...

In the last five seasons of the Premier Football League, there was an average of 2.74 goals scored per game. In a 90-minute match, teams grind for roughly 30  minutes before they accomplish their goal of getting the ball in the opponent's net. Everyone goes insane. Can you imagine having that kind of energy pouring into you and your team when you accomplish a goal? Maybe you can, but it’s jus...