The HR and L&D sectors are built on a foundation of outsourcing. Often, the secret ingredient to ensuring those products and services add value is… the person buying them! So, this week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, we ask: what are the characteristics of a client who has a high likelihood of gaining value from their supplier?   Ross G and Gemma are joined, from our sales team, by Lara Kidd and Samantha Nicks. We discuss: ·       why the client is so important to the implementation of any HR or L&D technology ·       actions the client can take to increase the likelihood of success ·       advice for people in a buying position. In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Gemma discussed Douglas Stuart’s novel Shuggie Bain. Ross G discussed David Grann’s non-fiction book The Wager. 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 or on LinkedIn ·       Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey or on LinkedIn ·       Lara Kidd – LinkedIn ·       Samantha Nicks - LinkedIn

In The Resilience Handbook, occupational psychologist and author Sukh Pabial outlines three elements which can make us more resilient: positive psychology, emotional intelligence and mindfulness. But is this something we can only develop on our own, or can L&D build the resilience of others? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Sukh joins Ross G and Owen to discuss: ·       how inner work is a pre-requisite to being able to help others ·       the extent to which L&D teams running webinars, workshops and courses can help others build resilience ·       the organizational conditions that lead to more resilient teams. You can find Sukh’s book online at: amazon.co.uk/Resilience-Handbook-practical-understanding-resilience/dp/1739331702 During the discussion, Sukh referenced Google’s ‘Project Aristotle’. See: rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/ In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Owen discussed the impact of exercise on health: Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Dumuid, D., Virgara, R., Watson, A., ... & Maher, C. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine. See: bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2023/03/02/bjsports-2022-106195 Sukh discussed Lior Locher’s blog ‘One week in the life of mobility restriction and experiences with the general public’. See: linkedin.com/pulse/one-week-life-mobility-restriction-experiences-general-lior-locher Ross discussed Ezra Klein’s article ‘Beyond the “Matrix” Theory of the Mind’. See: nytimes.com/2023/05/28/opinion/artificial-intelligence-thinking-minds-concentration.html 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 ·       Sukh Pabial - @SukhPabial

You had an idea for say, a product or service. You created it and rolled it out to a small target group. It worked - a success! It’s now time to expand, to unleash it onto the world. How do you make sure it continues to be a success? This is the question John A. List sets out to answer in his book, The Voltage Effect. In this book club episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma is joined by Owen and Ross Dickie to get to grips with List’s suggestions for successful scaling. We discussed:        the avoidable errors that lead to “voltage drops”         the actions that promote “voltage gains” i.e., successful scaling         what these mean for L&D professionals. In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Owen described how he set a goal and trained for the Etape Caledonia 2023. You can find out more about next year’s event here: https://limelightsports.club/event/etape-caledonia-2024 Ross told a story about a cunning negotiation concerning an image on Theodore Roosevelt’s campaign poster. Here’s an article about it: https://wheeler.substack.com/p/update-teddy-roosevelt-the-secret Gemma was astounded to learn of the number of teeth all dogs have. She found this information on this site: https://www.petvaxah.com/site/blog/2022/07/15/dog-teeth 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 Dickie – @RossDickieMT ·        Owen Ferguson – @owenferguson

You might offer employees the best content libraries, training or toolkits in the world, but if they don’t know what’s there, or when or why they’d access it, it’s useless. In these situations, you need a creative approach to grab learners’ attention and give them compelling reasons to keep them coming back. In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma is joined by the team behind a successful engagement project at Heathrow Airport: Steph Constantinides, Charlotte Blake and Claire Gibson. We discussed: ·       how Heathrow colleagues were using the toolkit ·       the idea-generation and production processes for campaign assets ·       the results and the future of campaign-based learning at Heathrow. In What I Learnt this Week, Charlotte discussed the surprisingly low percentage of LinkedIn users who contribute content to the platform. Read more about this here: kinsta.com/blog/linkedin-statistics. Claire discovered that she could get US preclearance in Dublin Airport. If you’re also heading to the US from Dublin (perhaps you’re also going to the Taylor Swift concert?), there’s more about that here: dublinairport.com/flight-information/travelling-to-usa/usa-preclearance/us-customs-and-border-protection-video If you’re not going to the concert, here’s one of Claire’s favorite Taylor Swift songs to make up for it. Gemma described Naismith’s rule, having read about it in Mountaincraft and Leadership by Eric Langmuir. For more from us, including access to our back catalog 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 (some of) our speakers on Twitter: ·       Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey ·       Claire Gibson – @claireisdigital Our other speakers are on LinkedIn, so head over there to connect with: ·       Charlotte Blake ·       Steph Constantinides

For over 20 years, Debbie Carter has been working at industry magazine Training Journal, tracking the changes that have taken place in our field – and occasionally railing against them! In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, she joins Ross G and Owen to discuss:   ·       the state of L&D in the early ‘noughties’ ·       the big changes that have shaped our profession ·       the constants that have remained the same.   You can check out Training Journal at: trainingjournal.com/ You can read Ross’s TJ article, on learning campaigns, at: trainingjournal.com/2023/education-and-skills/if-learning-matters-make-it-a-campaign/  In what is surely our best-researched (and least interesting) ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen revealed the quick-drying properties of microfiber towels from the company Dock & Bay: uk.dockandbay.com. That’s not an affiliate link, just an excellent way to dry yourself quickly. You’re welcome! Ross G discussed, perhaps with greater relevance to our audience, the language that we use to discuss AI. Check out this blog from Donald Clark for more: donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2023/04/7-words-that-worry-me-in-ai.html 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 ·       Debbie Carter - @DebbieCarter20

You can map employee networks in all sorts of ways: formal hierarchy, online interactions, geographic location. But, in this episode, we look at how surveying colleagues unlocks insights into who is a key relationship node – and who is isolated. In this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by Jeppe Hansgaard, CEO of Innovisor. We discuss: ·       techniques for mapping employee networks ·       the role that the 3% play in maintaining a strong network of ·       the impact of network isolation on long-term retention of employees. During the discussion, Jeppe made a reference to the impact of loneliness on health. This was based on research from the National Institute on Aging. See: extension.unh.edu/blog/2022/05/prolonged-social-isolation-loneliness-are-equivalent-smoking-15-cigarettes-day Some of the papers Ross referenced were: Gašević, D., Zouaq, A., & Janzen, R. (2013). “Choose your classmates, your GPA is at stake!” The association of cross-class social ties and academic performance. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1460-1479. Online at: journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0002764213479362?journalCode=absb Lockyer, L., Heathcote, E., & Dawson, S. (2013). Informing pedagogical action: Aligning learning analytics with learning design. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1439-1459. Online at: www.sfu.ca/~dgasevic/papers/Lockyer_abs2013.pdf Owen referenced ‘Dunbar’s number’, which describes the number of relationships we can maintain. See: bbc.com/future/article/20191001-dunbars-number-why-we-can-only-maintain-150-relationships In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen referenced Snapchat’s ‘My AI’ feature: help.snapchat.com/hc/en-gb/articles/13266788358932-What-is-My-AI-on-Snapchat-and-how-do-I-use-it- He also discussed the ‘Artifact’ app: https://artifact.news/ And Ross shared some nonsense about ‘Garfield’ phones: bbc.com/news/world-europe-47732553.amp This episode was sparked by a case study from Innovisor, which provides a good overview of how isolation affects retention: innovisor.com/2023/01/31/79-of-isolated-employees-left-within-2-years-work-with-people-networks-to-win-on-retention/ To find out more about Innovisor, see: innovisor.com/ 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 ·       Jeppe Hansgaard – @JeppeHansgaard

Adults do not learn as children learn. They have prior experience, they have real-world problems to solve and, crucially, they can get up and walk out if they lose interest! In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and ‘Ross Dickie’ are joined by Dr Carrie Graham. In amongst talk of bridge building, we discuss: the core principles of Adult Learning Theory how to apply Adult Learning Theory in the workplace why keeping the life of the learner front-of-mind is so important. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross Dickie got smutty by diving into the acronym shift from SMET to STEM. See more here: McComas, W. F. (2014). STEM: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Language of Science Education: An Expanded Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts in Science Teaching and Learning, 102-103. Online at: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6209-497-0_92 And Ross G got snarky, with a deep dive into the groundbreaking conspiracy theory that surrounds public information game Cat Park. You can play the game at: catpark.game/ Ross read about Cat Park in The Economist. See: economist.com/culture/2023/04/05/games-are-a-weapon-in-the-war-on-disinformation If you’re interested in the conspiracy, you’ll need to do your own research. We don’t recommend. To find out more about Carrie, and to book a CALM consultation, visit: drcarriegraham.com/   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 - @Ross DickieMT Dr Carrie Graham - LinkedIn

In case you’ve missed it, 2023 has become the year when automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) started displacing cognitive and creative work. Chat-GPT, DALL-E and other tools are becoming ubiquitous, so this week we’re asking how L&D and HR should respond.  To answer this question, Owen and Ross D are joined on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast by Ashley Recanati, author of AI Battle Royale: How to Protect Your Job from Disruption in the 4th Industrial Revolution. We discuss:  where the lessons of previous industrial revolutions apply to this one  how ‘knowledge workers’ can adapt their job to work with AI tools the role of L&D in preparing people for the AI revolution.  Ashley’s book is available from Barnes and Noble: barnesandnoble.com/w/ai-battle-royale-ashley-marc-recanati/1142352394  You can find him on LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/ashley-r-974173171/     Also, exciting news! The Mind Tools team will be exhibiting at the Learning Technologies Conference on May 3 and 4.  You can find us at Stand J50, next to Theatre 6.  Our live sessions are:  The problem your LXP can't solve: Useless content (3rd May / 12:30 / Theatre 6 - 30 mins) Watching someone speak in front of a slide deck is a terrible way to learn  (3rd May / 16:05 / Bitesize Learning Zone 2 - 15 mins)   Panel: 20 Years of Benchmarking, with Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers (4th May / 11:45 / Theatre 6 - 30 mins)   Let’s make a podcast! (4th May / 11:45 / Theatre 6 - 30 mins)  Full details at: mindtoolsbusiness.com/resources/events-webinars/events/learning-technologies23   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 – @Ross DickieMT  Owen Ferguson – @OwenFerguson  

In an uncomfortable first for The Mind Tools L&D Podcast team, we’re handing over this week’s hosting duties to friend-of-the-show Matt Pleger, Organizational Development Consultant at UMass Memorial Health. Matt has been a long-time client of Ross G’s, and this time HE’S asking the questions.  Owen, Ross G and Ross D discuss:  how we got started in L&D  what we’ve gained from doing the podcast  our L&D ‘hot takes’ (something we believe about L&D that is provocative and maybe has some truth to it).  In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen discussed Artifact, a new app from the minds behind Instagram: artifact.news/  Ross D discussed the AI companion who will never die, argue, or cheat: thecut.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-replika-boyfriend.html   And Matt discussed Google Lens (https://lens.google/), and why he keeps a ‘Commonplace’ book: wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book  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 - @Ross DickieMT  Owen Ferguson – @OwenFerguson  Matt Pleger - @UmassMatt  

Used effectively, video can be the most emotive part of a learning experience. So how do you get it right?  In this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Gemma are joined by Samson Owolabi, Creative Director at Bearded Fellows, to discuss:  what ‘high-impact video’ means in a learning context   how to go about designing videos that will resonate with your audience  how to overcome common challenges in the creative process  You can find out more about Bearded Fellows on their website: beardedfellows.co.uk/. Or, if you’re old-school like Samson, you can call them on +441618702000. ;)  In WILTW, Gemma mentioned Poet Laureate Simon Armitage’s poem ‘Plum Tree Among the Skyscrapers’, written as part of a collaboration with the National Trust. You can read or listen to the poem at: nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/news/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-creates-blossom-inspired-poem  Gemma also recommended the National Trust’s guide to spotting and identifying different types of blossom in the UK: nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/nature/trees-plants/how-to-spot-different-types-of-blossom  The Jean-Claude Van Damme documentary Samson referenced was, in fact, ‘Jean-Claude Van Damme, Coup sur Coup’: imdb.com/title/tt27201766/  If, like Ross D, you can’t help peeking at the dessert menu at the end of a heavy meal, you can read more about ‘sensory specific satiety’ at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory-specific_satiety  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 t;o share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers  Ross Dickie - @Ross DickieMT  Gemma Towersey - @gemmatowersey  You can find Samson on LinkedIn.