Future-Focused with Christopher Lind

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 blind ambition can have the ability to overshadow strong organizations with an impactful product that effectively creates change in the workplace with AI.    In this Learning Tech Talks, Kian Katanforoosh from Workera joins me again to go deeper into their AI solutions and provide clarity on the benefits and applications it has in a forward learning culture. We'll also get some Workera updates and talk about some of the successes and challenges that they’ve faced since we last talked and possibly where the future of AI is headed from the company’s perspective.

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. What are some ways that you remind yourself and others of the goals and changes you want to see? In this Learning Tech Talks, I’m talking with Leslie Caputo from Humu to learn how to move from intention to action and how ‘nudges’ build habits that help accomplish your most important goals and to develop the behaviors and skills proven to drive mission-critical outcomes.,

"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 who saw the vision for the internet in the 90’s felt that too. On this Learning Tech Talks, I’m joined by Dr Alexander Young from Virti to talk about his journey as a surgeon, who encountered countless real-world high-pressure scenarios, and his vision to make those situations and others available to learners to best prepare for their roles using cognitive decision-making research combined with immersive video.

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 workplace and as learning leaders, how are we making editing easy and accessible to everyone equally? In this Learning Tech Talks, I’m hanging out with Jeff Rozic from Descript to talk about how they're taking the technical aspects of a/v editing  and making it as simple as editing a Word document. All this to help content creators create faster with more professional results. As a user, I'm also excited to hear about their big update being released this week and hopefully get some details on their complete redesign.

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 just a matter of perspective.    In this Learning Tech Talks, I’m joined by Michael Kester from Lead Belay to talk about what it means to take leaders to a higher level of thinking and give them the keys to unlock their own confidence to lead while helping others climb to provide support, guidance, and feedback as they ascend.

How does your learning technology leverage your spatial cognitive ability to lead learners effectively? Problems surrounding spatial ability with regard to learning performance have been the focus of many learning technology debates over the years. However,  the conversation is almost exclusively centered around the learner with little attention given to leaders and instructors. There is an underlying expectation for leaders to inherently understand and be proficient with the tech that we are provided with. Spatial ability needs to be a two-way street for both the instructor and learner to provide sustainable learning in the #futurowork.    In this Learning Tech Talks, I'm excited to meet with Chris Olson from Class to hear more about some of the concerns and solutions for instructors as they seek to change the way the world learns and address some of the remaining band-aids from the pandemic and how to leverage existing tools to meet the needs of both the instructor and learner effectively and efficiently.

“Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backward” – Aldous Huxley    I’ve often wondered about the rate of change with regards to learning technology and solutions. Somewhat analogous to Moore’s Law of Computing, ideally humans should have some formula that demonstrates how technology increases our ability to learn better and faster. With the advent of AI and data processing, the ability to consistently track learning programs should provide us with this information, and it is our duty as learning leaders to leverage that information for continual progress.    In this Learning Tech Talks, I’m catching up with my friend Judy Albers from Area9 Lyceum to talk about an academic approach to learning that is grounded in years of research enabling organizations to create a high-impact transformative learning experience that allows learners to achieve their full potential through a truly personalized experience.

How do you know that you know what you know? How do we as learning leaders distinguish justified beliefs shared by our colleagues, and formed by ourselves, from opinion? There are varying degrees of confidence that we all have within different areas of our lives and as we navigate our careers. It's not only important to continually review our levels of confidence in key areas,  but also in others as you seek to create a high-performing culture.    In this Learning Tech Talks, I’m chatting with Josh Kamrath from Bongo about how video assessment can bridge the gap and help organizations facilitate their journey to find out what stakeholders know in their respective positions.

Keep calm, I have the meeting notes for that.  Something I’ve observed while navigating different roles in my career is that highly effective teams are incredibly organized and efficient with their meetings. Like, crazy organized.  I can’t say this is something that I always appreciated, in fact, early in my career it was something that I resented. Documentation is the lifeblood of a sustainable team and is unfortunately often overlooked entirely or not prioritized by members equally.  In this Learning Tech Talks, I'm chatting with Darren Chait, Co-Founder and COO of Hugo, about how streamlining meeting documentation and planning connects meetings to their team and to the tools that are used daily to provide a bottom-up and decentralized decision-making environment with the goal of making every meeting more productive. 

Dear Past, thank you for all of the lessons. Dear Future, I’m ready for you!   While not directly on the topic of L&D, I occasionally delve into some of the broader workplace technology that has significant potential for our industry. The ability to collaboratively connect and facilitate live conversations and share knowledge with industry leaders across the globe and reach people wherever they are is futuristic and something that was unthinkable a short time ago and often taken for granted.   In this Learning Tech Talks, I’m chatting with 🎬 Anya Razina from Restream about the obstacles and opportunities we face as video traffic continues to grow and how to leverage live video as a way to cut through the noise and create meaningful content while connecting with others.