The Mindtools L&D Podcast

In 2008, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein published Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. Since then, nudges have been applied to public policy, healthcare, business and tech. Today on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma, Ross G, Ross D and Sean look at how nudge theory can be applied to workplace learning. We discuss: What nudge theory is How understanding learner context helps us identify nudges Criticisms of nudge theory. The book we based most of this discussion on has just been revised. Check out the latest version of Nudge here: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300262285/nudge  We also referenced Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman: wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow  We mentioned Dan Pink's Drive: danpink.com/books/drive  And Deci and Ryan on 'Self Determination Theory': wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determination_theory  If you want to hand over cash to help you make commitments, then stickK offers this service: stickk.com (We've never tried it, so this isn't an endorsement). In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G discussed The Book of Boba Fett, now streaming on Disney+. For more on spinning space stations, you nerds, check out: wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_wheel_space_station  And Gemma discussed her experience of Julie Drybrugh's Write Nights: fuchsiablueblog.wordpress.com/write-nights-at-fuchsia-blue/  Julie joined us to discuss writing back in episode 278. You'll find that episode in this podcast feed. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT Sean Brown - @SeanBrownHRTech

Is 'education' a liberating force that prepares children for a rapidly changing world? Or a system of control that kills their enthusiasm for learning. On this week's Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Ross D are joined by Patrick Cootes, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of Mindstone, to debate. We discuss: Traditional perspectives on education The purpose of education How systems reinforce one another. During the discussion, Ross D mentioned a podcast segment about students who wondered what it would be like to live on the moon. This was a reference to The Ezra Klein Show: nytimes.com/2022/02/11/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-johann-hari.html  Ross G referenced the Freakonomics episode 'Freakonomoics goes to college: Part 1': freakonomics.com/podcast/freakonomics-goes-to-college-part-1  And research from Pew: pewresearch.org/social-trends/2011/05/15/chapter-5-the-monetary-value-of-a-college-education  In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared the story of Lena Forsen, covered by Wired: wired.com/story/finding-lena-the-patron-saint-of-jpegs And the story of Shirley Page, covered by 99% Invisible: 99percentinvisible.org/episode/shirley-cards  Ross G shared trivia from the Martin Scorsese film Casino: imdb.com/title/tt0112641/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv For more from Patrick, see: mindstone.com Patrick has also written about education at: medium.com/@patrick_85173/the-future-of-learning-3196b05452a3  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT Patrick Cootes - @MindstoneHQ | LinkedIn

What is a 'brand'? Why is it important? And how can your team 'build their brand'? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Nahdia are joined by branding expert Professor Doctor Jonathan Wilson to explore these questions. We discuss: personal branding the benefits of building a brand the effort required to connect with your audience. For more from Jonathan, see: drjonwilson.com Jonathan offers a course on personal branding at: futurelearn.com/experttracks/developing-your-personal-brand The book Ross mentioned, by Dorie Clark, was Stand Out: dorieclark.com/books In 'What I Learned This Week', Nahdia discussed research from McKinsey into 'The rise of the inclusive consumer': mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-rise-of-the-inclusive-consumer Jonathan shared Jason Bell and Osi Umenyiora of The NFL Show discussing racism in hiring practices: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_black-coaches-have-to-be-great-and-it-is-activity-6896410129554554880-fuyX See more at: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_flores-sues-nfl-teams-in-racism-claim-activity-6894754539036061696-khgA  Jon also discussed the ongoing Joe Rogan backlash. See: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_what-the-joe-rogan-backlash-reveals-about-activity-6894645124333133824-LtY7 And: edition.cnn.com/2022/02/05/media/joe-rogan-racial-slur-apology-india-arie/index.html Ross discussed Allison Robicelli's night at Chicago O'Hare airport: washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/01/11/ohare-airport-things-to-do For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan Jonathan Wilson - @DrJonWilson | LinkedIn

Emerging tech will shape the future of how we work. It's just a question of when! This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ger Driesen joins Ross G and Owen to explore what's possible. We discuss: what the metaverse(s) is(are) how blockchain and NFTs can shape the metaverse economy whether your digital avatar needs to look like your physical body. See Facebook's announcement about their rebrand as 'Meta' at: about.fb.com/news/2021/10/facebook-company-is-now-meta/ Owen referenced Moxie Marlinspike's blog post on web3: moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html The 'let the tiger eat me' anecdote was taken from: futurism.com/neoscope/vr-injuries For a longer discussion on blockchain, with Ger, see our earlier episode 'Blockchain for L&D (Yes, really!)': podcast.goodpractice.com/96-blockchain-for-ld-yes-really  For 'How to Troll an NFT Owner', see: slate.com/technology/2021/11/nft-image-ownership-right-clicking-saving-copying-trolling.html Mike Howard, of Oculus, has described the difficulty of creating a digital avatar at: tech.fb.com/avatars-the-art-and-science-of-social-presence/  In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen discussed criticism of Johann Hari's latest book. See: twitter.com/StuartJRitchie/status/1480219761824915461  You can find out more about Hari at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Hari Ger shared his thoughts on 'labyrinthitis'. And Ross discussed survey results on what a 'dream job' looks like: rajaworkplace.co.uk/dream-job  You can find more from Ger on LinkedIn and at: anewspring.com/author/ger  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson Ger Driesen - @GerDriesen

In The Business of Race, authors Gina Greenlee and Margaret Greenberg argue that the workplace is the ideal place to talk about race, racism, and anti-racism. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, they join Ross G and Nahdia to explain why. We discuss: opportunities for teachable moments the moral case vs business case for racial equity the reasons to separate conversations about racial diversity from other diversity initiatives. Show notes Find out more about The Business of Race, including links to order a copy, at: businessofrace.com  The LinkedIn page is: linkedin.com/company/the-business-of-race  The Facebook page is: facebook.com/businessofrace  In 'What I Learned This Week', Nahdia discussed the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022, online at: edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2022-01/2022%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer%20Global%20Report_Final.pdf  Gina shared Akala's Oxford Union address, available online at: youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4  Akala's website is: akalamusic.com  Margaret recommended The Winternight Trilogy, from Katherine Arden: katherinearden.com  And Ross discussed 'The accessibility stalemate', by Christian Heilmann: christianheilmann.com/2021/07/20/the-accessibility-stalemate  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan Gina Greenlee - @TheGinaGreenlee / LinkedIn Margaret Greenberg - LinkedIn

What is it about writing that fires up our souls? And, for those who hate it, is there any hope? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G, Ross D and Gemma are joined by friend-of-the-show Julie Drybrough to answer these questions. We discuss: writing for work, fun and reflection techniques to spark creativity how writing in groups can give you more freedom. Show notes Details of Julie's 'Write Nights' series can be found on her blog at: fuchsiablueblog.wordpress.com/write-nights-at-fuchsia-blue  Details of Dr James Pennebaker's 'writing to heal' are online at: emotionalaffair.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Writing-to-Heal.pdf  See also: Pennebaker, J. W. (1999). Health effects of expressing emotions through writing. And, from Positive Psychology: positivepsychology.com/learned-optimism  In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared that he'd started taking notes with Evernote: evernote.com  Gemma discussed the VR app 'Notes on Blindness', based on the film of the same name: notesonblindness.co.uk/vr  And Ross discussed The Paper Sky, by Eleanor Mansell: canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781848257672/the-paper-sky  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT Julie Drybrough - @Fuchsia_Blue

By some measures, the last two years have seen a surge in demand for consumer learning platforms like Masterclass, CreativeLive and Skillshare. Often, these platforms position themselves as an alternative to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Is this part of a broader trend towards learning as entertainment? If so, what does that mean for learning in the workplace?  In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Owen, Nahdia and Ross G discuss: whether there truly is increased demand for 'edutainment' the difference between entertainment and 'fun' the role of entertainment in the design of workplace learning Show notes At the start of this week's show, Ross G challenged the premise of Ross D's opening question by citing data from the ONS. You can find these data here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/satelliteaccounts/bulletins/coronavirusandhowpeoplespenttheirtimeunderrestrictions/28marchto26april2020 In WILTW, Ross D recommended Stuart Russell's Reith Lectures on artificial intelligence: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001216k/episodes/player The Netflix series Nahdia mentioned was School of Chocolate: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81207686 Ross G discussed the history of the burpee, created by Royal Huddleston Burpee Sr. You can find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burpee_(exercise) For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT Nahdia Khan - @_nahdia_khan 

Owen was miserable, to begin with. There is no doubt about that. Oh! But he was a long-suffering, data driven, learning-style hating, old L&D practitioner. Five years of this podcast, listening to his co-hosts ramble enthusiastically about the same tired old topics, had left him jaded and disillusioned with the industry he once loved. And so I say again, that Owen was miserable to begin with. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate... Starring: Ross Garner as Charles Dickens (@RossGarnerMT)   Owen Ferguson in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge (@OwenFerguson)   Peter Casebow as the Ghost of Christmas Past (@PeterCasebow) Gemma Towersey as the Ghost of Christmas Present (@GemmaTowersey) Ross Dickie as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (@RossDickieMT) And Hollywood’s Jimmy Stewart as Bob Cratchit Show notes In 'What I Learned This Christmas', Peter shared details of a trip he went on with photographer Andy Howard: andyhoward.co.uk  Gemma shared an episode of Matthew Syed's podcast Sideways on 'Oostvaardersplassen: A Wild Idea': bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0012fp4  Ross D shared how 'video on-demand' changed the way we think, from the book 1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think: amazon.co.uk/1001-Ideas-that-Changed-Think/dp/1844037509  And Ross G shared the article 'No chips, no problem: Why old video games are better than news one', from Justin Heckert in The Economist's 1843 Magazine: economist.com/1843/2021/11/24/no-chips-no-problem-why-old-video-games-are-better-than-new-ones  We'll be back on January 11. Until then, you can find our back catalogue of podcasts at mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. From everyone at Mind Tools, we'd like to thank you for listening to us for a whole other year! And if you'd like to thank us, please do leave us a review. Preferably five stars. Merry Christmas!

Recent announcements from Facebook and Microsoft have brought the 'metaverse' into the mainstream. But what actually is the metaverse, and what are its implications for the way we live, work, and learn? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Owen and Ross G discuss: what 'metaverse' means, and how it's different from VR or AR how it might change the world of work, both positively and negatively how it might be applied to digital learning Show notes The song Ross D mentioned was Total Entertainment Forever by Father John Misty. In WILTW, Ross G referenced a recent conversation on the Slate Political Gabfest podcast, focusing on predictions made in a 1997 article from Wired magazine. You can find out more at: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/wired-1997-predictions/ The podcast Ross D recommended was 'The Exponent', including a recent episode titled 'Forecasting the Metaverse'. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT

To solve a complex problem, should we ask a single genius or tap into our networks? It's a question that's answered by Matthew Syed in his book Rebel Ideas: The power of diverse thinking.  In this episode, Nahdia, Owen, Ross G and Gemma gather to contemplate the book. We discuss: what rebel ideas are diversity and its benefits (and what we lose when we don't have it) practical ways to harness collective intelligence. Show notes In WILTW, Owen shared his finding of an animated introduction to machine learning. You can experience this visual explanation here: http://www.r2d3.us/visual-intro-to-machine-learning-part-1/ Ross mentioned watching the documentary The Beatles: Get back. You can stream this on Disney+. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.  Finally, you have until the end of the year to complete the Learning Performance Benchmark. Get started now at: mindtoolsbusiness.com/solutions/learning-performance-benchmark  Connect with our speakers  If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:  Ross Garner @RossGarnerMT Owen Ferguson @OwenFerguson Nahdia Khan @NahdiaKhan Gemma Towersey @GemmaTowersey