'What did you think of the trainer' and 'How was the lunch?' These are two questions we won't be asking today, as we get stuck into effective learner surveys. Ross G and Owen are joined by Gent Ahmetaj, Head of Research at Mind Tools for Business, to discuss: the problem with traditional learner surveys the features of an academically robust survey issues with this approach and how to resolve them. Show notes For more details on our Insights team, and a delightful photo of Gent, see: https://emeraldworks.com/solutions/mindtoolsinsight In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen discussed The Oatmeal's 'Why the mantis shrimp is my new favorite animal' and 'Why it breaks your brain to take a compliment'. Gent discussed Veritasium's YouTube video on the '3x + 1' problem: youtube.com/watch?v=094y1Z2wpJg And Ross discussed the time that the Australian army went to war with the emus, and lost: blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/the-great-emu-war-in-which-some-large-flightless-birds-unwittingly-foiled-the-australian-army/  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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 - @RossGarnerEW Owen Ferugson - @OwenFerguson Gent Ahmetaj - @GentAhmetaj

Over the last two years, L&D has been forced to adapt to rapid, unprecedented change. As learning leaders find new ways of supporting their organizations, is now the perfect time for them to rethink their learning strategy? This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, the two Rosses are joined by Michelle Ockers to discuss: what we mean when we talk about 'organizational learning strategy' what a good strategy looks like in practice how to develop a strategy that accounts for uncertainty the common pitfalls to avoid when developing a strategy Show notes To find out more about Michelle's work on learning strategy, check out her website: https://learninguncut.global/ For details of the Australian Public Service's learning strategy, visit: https://www.apsc.gov.au/learning-and-development/highly-capable-future-ready-aps-learning-and-development-strategy In WILTW, Ross G shared a story about Utah's novel approach to 'restocking' fishless lakes. You can find out more at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/13/fish-plane-video-utah-lake The book Michelle mentioned was How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter: Ross Dickie - @RossDickieEW Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW Michelle Ockers - @MichelleOckers

'Jobs To Be Done' (JTBD) is a framework that can be used to define consumer needs and identify how to meet them. In this week's Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by aNewSpring's Ger Driesen to explore how this can be applied to learning design. We discuss: what 'Jobs To Be Done' is examples of Jobs To Be Done how to apply this framework to your learning design challenges. Show notes Jobs to be Done, by Anthony W. Ulwick, is available as a free e-book at: jobs-to-be-done-book.com  Clay Christensen's 'milkshake' explanation is on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=sfGtw2C95Ms  This article explains why you only need five users for user testing: nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/  Ger has blogged at: linkedin.com/pulse/jobs-to-be-done-approach-empathy-matters-learning-design-ger-driesen/ And his colleague Corjan Bast also wrote on this topic, at: anewspring.com/professionals-dont-want-training-they-want-the-result-of-the-training/ In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen shared a study on 'bullshit ability as an honest signal of intelligence': Turpin, M. H., Kara-Yakoubian, M., Walker, A. C., Walker, H. E., Fugelsang, J. A., & Stolz, J. A. (2021). Bullshit Ability as an Honest Signal of Intelligence. Evolutionary Psychology, 19(2), 14747049211000317. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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: Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW Ger Driesen - @GerDriesen

We tend to assume that, faced with the same problem on separate occasions, professionals will typically arrive at the same judgements — doctors will make the same diagnoses, mortgage lenders will set the same rates, judges will hand down the same sentences. But is professional judgement really as reliable as we think it is? This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, the team discuss Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement, the new book from Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein. We cover: what 'noise' is in the context of judgement the distinction between noise and bias strategies for minimising noise potential implications for L&D Show notes Noise is out now and is available from all good booksellers. The ProPublica article Ross G mentioned can be found at: https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing He also referred to 'This Place Is Full of It: Towards an Organizational Bullshit Perception Scale', a paper which is explored in this article: https://www.psypost.org/2021/07/researchers-explore-employee-perceptions-of-bullshit-in-the-workplace-with-the-organizational-bullshit-perception-scale-61415 For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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 - @RossDickieEW Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW Nahdia Khan - @_nahdia_khan Gemma Towersey - @gemmatowersey

It's been 17 months since we last spoke to authors Mark Britz and James Tyer. Since then, the world has shut down - on multiple occasions - and many of us have been working from home on a long-term basis. In this context, how do we make organizations 'social by design'? Ross G and Owen are joined once again by Mark and James to debate. We discuss: the impact that Covid-19 has had on their earlier predictions whether widespread 'working from home' has made organizations more (or less?) social the small changes that we can make to increase opportunities for social connection. Show notes Social by Design is available now. The audio version is available in the US and Canada: audible.com/pd/Social-by-Design-Audiobook/B097TTWYVJ (US) audible.ca/pd/Social-by-Design-Audiobook/B097TSRRGZ (Canada) For more from Mark, visit: sxdsolutions.co  James referenced the Beezy 2021 Digital workplace trends report. Find it online at: beezy.net/2021-digital-workplace-report  He also referenced soundbite.ai and solvable (social by design for ESG and sustainability teams). In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen discussed Github co-pilot. See copilot.github.com for details and fastcompany.com/90653878/github-copilot-microsoft-openai-coding-tool-backlash for backlash. Mark discussed the impact of chance encounters on innovation: nytimes.com/2021/06/23/upshot/remote-work-innovation-office.html  And Ross combined his two great loves: Star Trek and behavioral science: timharford.com/2021/07/me-spock-is-not-as-logical-as-hed-like-to-think/  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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 - @RossGarnerEW Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson Mark Britz - @Britz James Tyer - On LinkedIn

Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on L&D, super-charging existing trends and forcing learning leaders to re-evaluate pre-pandemic practices. More than a year into 'the new normal', how have perceptions changed within the profession? This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D is joined by Gent Ahmetaj and Nahdia Khan to discuss our 2021 L&D Benchmark Report. We discuss: the history of the annual benchmark report, and what it tells us about the state of the profession the top-line takeaways from this year's report the extent to which Covid-19 has accelerated or reversed pre-pandemic trends Show notes If you're interested in poring over the benchmark report in more detail, it's due to be launched on 14 July. You'll find a copy of it on our website, www.emeraldworks.com.  In 'What I Learned This Week', Gent mentioned Google's '20% Project'. You can find out more about the project at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20%25_Project Ross D recommended the Jeff Tweedy episode of the Ezra Klein Show, which you can find at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/01juWYlRq8LuckUJscRASq?si=LuE7Mq17SiOoiOT18GBnkw&dl_branch=1 For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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 @RossDickieEW Gent Ahmetaj @GentAhmetaj Nahdia Khan @_nahdia_khan

Lots of organisations use survey tools to listen to employees, or capture 'employee voice'. But then we hear that no action is taken, or leadership teams don't know what to do with the results. Is there a better approach? On this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen speak to James Anderson and Donna Hamilton from employee listening platform Peachy Mondays. We discuss:  why employee engagement surveys often fail to have an impact where employee listening offers value strategies for encouraging employees to take part in such initiatives. Show notes In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen recommended The Wheel of Time book series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (soon to be a TV series from Amazon): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time  James shared that 4 million Americans a month are quitting their roles: theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/23/people-quitting-jobs-record-numbers-companies-take-note-treat-them-better  And, in a related note, Ross shared predictions on the future of work from Freakonomics, episode 464, 'Will Work-from-Home Work Forever?': freakonomics.com/podcast/work-from-home/  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. For more from Peachy Mondays, visit: peachymondays.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson Donna Hamilton - donna@peachymondays.com James Anderson - james@peachymondays.com

Animations can be beautiful and mesmerising pieces of art. This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma talks to Selina Wagner, Creative Director at Ping Creates, and Ross Garner about how we can use this art form to create impactful learning experiences.  We discuss: when and where animations can become an effective part of a learning solution the process of designing and creating animations how to think through and overcome challenges Show notes Gemma refers to 'Fantasmagorie' - the first animation created. You can watch it, along with other early animations, by exploring  this interactive New Yorker article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/30/the-surprise-and-wonder-of-early-animation You can read more about Ross' IP discoveries (and his incorrect fact) in the following articles: Avvo IP discussion: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-i-sell-my-own-artwork-depicting-a-celebrity--435063.html  The office Licensing Site of Albert Enstein: https://einstein.biz/#licensing  Article about Michael Biehn's image appearing in Alien3: https://www.cbr.com/michael-biehn-paid-more-alien-3-than-aliens/  Selina's work can be found at Ping Creates: https://pingcreates.com/   For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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: Selina Wagner - @blobina and @pingcreates Ross Garner - @rossgarnerew Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey

In the final of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Gemma Paterson and Danny Seals about product management. This interview was recorded for the episode: 250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management? Find the full episode in your podcast feed. Show notes Danny commented that Spotify don't use the Spotify Model. He was referencing this post: agility11.com/blog/2020/6/22/spotify-doesnt-use-the-spotify-model  Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can chat to us on Twitter using the hashtag #MindToolsPodcast. Or connect with our speakers: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW Gemma Paterson - @GemStGem Danny Seals - @TheDannySeals

In the second of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Sukh Pabial about product management. This interview was recorded for the episode: 250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management? Find the full episode in your podcast feed. Show notes Sukh wrote about the role of a product manager in L&D at: pabial.wordpress.com/2020/01/30/the-role-of-a-product-manager-in-ld/  Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can chat to us on Twitter using the hashtag #MindToolsPodcast. Or connect with our speakers: Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW Sukh Pabial - @SukhPabial