Leadership Launchpad

In this compelling episode, Matt Gjertsen engages with the insightful Tonille Miller, author of "The Flourishing Effect" and Ext founder. They delve into diagnosing and tackling organizational challenges, beyond surface-level symptoms. Tonille unveils her intricate process of interviews and data analysis to unearth underlying issues for true change. They explore concepts like the new employee-empl...

Join us on this week's episode of Making Better as we dive into an enlightening discussion with talent development expert Stephen Mostrom. With the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank as a backdrop, Stephen shares valuable insights on the real risks of the corporate world and the hidden opportunities in entrepreneurship. Discover the importance of a 'develop daily' mindset and the power of adap...

Join us on this week's episode of Making Better as we welcome Jill Schulman, an inspiring former Marine Corps officer and expert in applying positive psychology to leadership development. In our enlightening dialogue, we delve into the essential components of fostering a thriving workplace—asking for help, helping others, and nurturing positive connections. Jill shares her transition from the phar...

Join us as we dive into an insightful dialogue with Rachel Lyons, executive director of Space for Humanity. With her inspiring transition from industrial to aerospace engineering, Rachel shares her deep-seated passion for space exploration and the transformative power it holds for humanity. We touch on the importance of emotional intelligence and self-awareness in leadership, the personal growth n...

Join us on Making Better as host Matt Gjertsen sits down with Megan Galloway, a seasoned expert in learning and development. Megan shares her insights from transitioning HR strategies to the frontlines of fast-paced companies. We delve into the critical role of culture strategic planning in cultivating real behavioral change within organizations. Discover Megan's tactics for earning executive buy-...

In this episode of the Making Better podcast, we talk with Ana Smith, the Chief Learning Officer of BrightFlare Performance Solutions. A veteran of companies like Microsoft, GE, and American Express, Ana specializes in helping senior leaders manage the human side of digital transformations. In this episode we talk about a wide range of subjects from career planning and resilience to the importance...

In this episode, host Matt Gjertsen has a personal conversation about the motivation behind creating Better Everyday Studios and the Making Better podcast. He shares his optimism for the future of talent development and emphasizes the importance of continuously pushing the boundaries of individual, team, and organizational capabilities. Matt discusses his ambitious goals for the podcast in 2024, w...

In this special year-end episode of Making Better, we dive into the transformative lessons learned in 2023 with a lineup of dynamic industry leaders. From Matthew Daniel's work to build new workplace skills to Sarah Cannistra's fateful embrace of change, our guests reflect on growth and strategy. We hear about aligning passion with business needs, the shift from expert to facilitator, and the cour...

Prepare to be propelled into a realm where personal growth meets the stars in episode 52 of "Making Better." Join us as Lorettaa Hidalgo Whitesides shares the "most helpful skill for success,"—letting go of resentments, a process she calls "getting off it." She unveils her unique 8-week Space Kind Leadership Training program, focused not on accolades, but on nurturing self-love, daily joy, and dee...

Betty Dannewitz shares her story on today's episode how she broke into AR, the untapped potential it holds for the learning industry, and her hands-on experience with tools like Zapper. We’ll explore the challenges AR faces, its comparison to the rise of e-learning, and the innovative ways it can be integrated with learning management systems. We'll also touch on Betty’s passion for karaoke and ho...

This week’s episode is an amazing conversation with Billy Saleebey, a great friend of mine. Billy is the former Head of Global Sales & Product Training and is currently CEO and Co-Founder of Podify, a podcast production company, and is the host of the business podcast Insight Out. During this conversation we talk about his career, the most common insights that move people forward and how to cr...

Welcome to Making Better, the podcast dedicated to creating a better world through individual and organization development. I'm your host, Matt Gjertsen, and today we're having a deep-dive conversation on episode 49 with our remarkable guest, Andy Storch. Andy is an inspiring author, speaker, facilitator, and a master at connecting people. In his quest to inspire people to be intentional with thei...

Ryan Findley is a strategist, product leader, designer (product & learning experience), and lifelong educator. He is currently the Chief Learning Strategist at Learn to Win, a learning platform focused on delivering more actionable and focused-learning experiences. In this discussion we touch on Ryan’s time leading learning programs in Africa and what technology can do to improve learning outc...

On this week’s episode of Making Better, we talk with Kristin Torrance, an Immersive Learning Engineer who focuses on applying learning sciences, instructional design, and data science practices to create effective learning experiences. In this episode we discuss the current state of XR technology, the situations it is best suited to, and how learning teams should think about using Virtual Reality...

Ann Rollins is going to shed light on an important aspect of learning content development: copyright and protected content. With the prevalence of information at our fingertips, it's easy to fall into the trap of using content without permission, but Ann is here to help us navigate the dos and don'ts of content usage. She'll explain the potential pitfalls of misusing copyrighted content and offer...

Matthew Meyers is a seasoned leadership development expert with over two decades of experience, having worked with renowned organizations such as T Mobile, Frontier Airlines, Crocs, and even TikTok. Our discussion with Matthew revolves around the importance of clear thinking, self-reflection, and questioning the information we encounter in various aspects of life, including personal decisions, bus...

Matthew Daniel is the Senior Principal of Talent Strategy at Guild and has had an impressive career working with Fortune 500 companies and startups. In this episode, we dive into Matthew's experiences at the Department of Defense and the lessons that can be learned from their talent development strategies. We'll also explore the importance of investing in employees, integrating talent development...

Welcome back to another episode of "Making Better"! In today's episode, we have a very special guest, Al Dea, a talent and leadership development consultant and facilitator. Join our host, Matt Gjertsen, as they dive deep into the ever-evolving world of work and how organizations can create conditions for collaboration between humans and non-humans, such as AI and technology. Al shares valuable in...

It is often said that training can help with three things, knowledge, skills, and mindsets. When you look at the training industry, I would say that about 90 percent of what we create is focused on knowledge, about 10 percent is behavior, and basically nothing focuses on mindset, at least as far as I can see. That is why I wanted to talk today with Heli Nehama Ozery. Heli is the founder and CEO of...

In today's episode, we have a special guest, Dr. Heidi Kirby, a renowned learning and development professional with a wide range of experience in various industries. Heidi is the co-founder of Useful Stuff, a website and newsletter dedicated to providing helpful resources for L&D professionals. She is also the host of the Block Podcast, focusing on building learning and organizational culture....

In today's episode of the Making Better we talk with Eric Girard, the CEO of Girard Training Solutions. Eric has over 30 years of experience in improving the performance of managers and specializes in helping new managers successfully transition into their new role. In this episode, Eric shares his expertise on empathy, mindset shifts, and the challenges faced by new managers in the 2020s. Stay tu...

Our guest today is Dr. Alaina Szlachta, an expert in data-enablement systems for small businesses to show outcomes and impact of their learning programs. She is the founder and creator of Measurement Made Easy, a community of practice which uses micro-learning, mentorship, and real case studies to create simpler solutions to common measurement and evaluation challenges. Alaina is also the author o...

Welcome to a bonus episode of the Making Better podcast! In this episode, we have the pleasure of continuing our conversation with Kristi Oliva, a program manager at Amazon. In our previous discussion, Kristi shared her inspiring journey of transitioning into learning development and the valuable insights she gained along the way. Today, we delve deeper into her story, exploring the challenges she...

In this bonus conversation with Russell Sweep, we dive into the challenges and growth of learning and development professionals. Russell reflects on his own career journey and shares how he overcame major obstacles, including the need for self-improvement and navigating a lack of support. Russell also discusses the importance of networking, giving back to the community, and finding a balance betwe...

Garima Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Artha Learning. After our initial conversation a few weeks ago about integrating ChatGPT with Storyline, she stuck around to talk a bit about her journey from the software world into learning and where she is hoping to go from here. I hope you enjoy.