Does everyone have a book in them? How hard it is to take an idea to publication? In this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, authors Andy Lancaster, Nelson Sivalingam, Michelle Parry-Slater and Gary Cookson join Ross G to share their experiences. We discuss: ·       why they wanted to write a book in the first place ·       how to get started ·       advice for overcoming the stress of a deadline. Andy’s book is Driving Performance Through Learning. Nelson’s is Learning at Speed. Michelle’s is The Learning and Development Handbook. Gary’s is HR for Hybrid Working. All four are available from Kogan Page and Amazon. During the discussion, Gary referenced Rob Baker’s book Personalization at Work, available at: tailoredthinking.co.uk/personalizationatwork Michelle recommended Scrivener for writing: literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview In What I Learned This Week, Nelson referenced the ‘Eisenhower Matrix’. You can see our article on this at: mindtools.com/al1e0k5/eisenhowers-urgentimportant-principle Michelle discussed her new podcast series, Learning from the Edge. Andy, while recovering from surgery to his shoulder, recommended the paper: Roberts, C. E., Phillips, L. H., Cooper, C. L., Gray, S., & Allan, J. L. (2017). Effect of different types of physical activity on activities of daily living in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of aging and physical activity, 25(4), 653-670. Online at: journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/japa/25/4/article-p653.xml Gary recommended Aftermath by Harald Jahner: waterstones.com/book/aftermath/harald-jahner/shaun-whiteside/9780753557884 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 ·       Andy Lancaster - @AndyLancasterUK ·       Nelson Sivalingham - @ThatNelsonDude ·       Michelle Parry-Slater - @MiPS1608 ·       Gary Cookson - @Gary_Cookson

The opportunities we have access to in life are shaped by our background, our environment and our networks. It is difficult to create equitable organizations if a single homogenous group are making most of the decisions.  In Reverse Mentoring: Removing Barriers and Building Belonging in the Workplace, coach and author Patrice Gordon describes how connecting senior decision-makers with more junior mentors can help them understand one another.  This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Patrice joins Ross G and Nahdia to discuss:  what ‘reverse mentoring’ is   the benefits of reverse mentoring for both parties  the pitfalls of a reverse mentoring relationship – and how to avoid them.   You can buy the book at: littlebrown.co.uk/titles/patrice-gordon/reverse-mentoring/9780349435008/  During the discussion, Ross also referenced The Business of Race. See episode ‘298 — How can L&D promote an anti-racist workplace?’ at: podcast.goodpractice.com/298-how-can-ld-promote-an-anti-racist-workplace  In What I Learned This Week, Nahdia discussed the TV show Abbot Elementary, streaming now on Disney+ (and not in fact on Apple TV, though we give a virtual high five to the fine folks at both streaming giants).  Patrice discussed I, Human and the work of Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic.  And Ross G shared more nonsense from his interactions with ChatGPT.  For more from Patrice, see Eminere.co.uk, or follow her on Instagram @MsPatriceGordon.  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.    Mind Tools also covered reverse mentoring at: mindtools.com/aznnj4n/reverse-mentoring  For our blog on ‘equality’ and ‘equity’, see: mindtools.com/blog/what-is-gender-equity/   Connect with our speakers     If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:  Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan  Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT  Patrice Gordon - @MsPatriceGordon 

Discussions on the effectiveness of learner surveys, tips on creating actionable survey questions, and why learner surveys can be 'pure sex'. Plus, recommendations on a book and insights on the logistics of 1st and 2nd class stamps by the Post Office.

Can we improve our workplace performance through learning outside of work? Are there benefits to this? How might we go about it?   This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma and Ross Garner are joined by David Hayden and Steve George, authors of 'Adjacent Learning' to discuss the possibilities and practicalities of learning elsewhere. We cover:   what adjacent learning is   how we can learn purposefully from other places  how can we reflect on what we know and do outside of work that will help inside work?   You can buy the book here:  https://www.koganpage.com/product/adjacent-learning-9781398608238  In WILTW, Ross summarized the findings of a UK-based trial of a four-day working week. You can read the full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/feb/21/four-day-week-uk-trial-success-pattern  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 elearning, 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  David Hayden - @HaydenDavidhrd  Steve George can be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-george-frsa-assoc-cipd-gmbpss-1a80931b/ 

What do business leaders think about L&D? What do they expect? What’s the reality for L&D? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma is joined by Nahdia and Anna to discuss our latest Leadership report – Turning pressures into opportunities. We cover: ·       what questions we asked ·       the headline takeaways from this year’s report ·       the practical implications. To read the report in full, download it from our Research reports site: mindtoolsbusiness.com/research-and-reports/turning-pressures-into-opportunities In WILTW, Gemma talked about the three definitions of twilight. You can read more about this on the Royal Museums Greenwich website: rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/when-dawn-dusk-twilight  Nahdia mentioned a book she’s reading called The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom: amazon.co.uk/Happiness-Hypothesis-Finding-Modern-Ancient/ 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: ·       Nadhia Khan - @NahdiaKhan ·       Gemma Towersey - @gemmatowersey ·       Anna Barnett - @drannabarnett

What are L&D practitioners excited about in 2023? Is it the rise of artificial intelligence? Or is it the Metaverse? What about skills-based talent management? Or learning analytics? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D is joined by Donald Taylor to discuss the results of the Global Sentiment Survey 2023. We cover: ·       what the GSS is (and what it isn’t) ·       the headline takeaways from this year’s survey ·       regional differences in the data If you’re interested in reviewing the results of the Global Sentiment Survey, Don shared a breakdown, along with some initial reflections, on his website. donaldhtaylor.co.uk/insight/gss2023-results/ Ross D also shared some of his own reflections on this year’s results in the latest edition of The L&D Dispatch: lddispatch.com/p/local-sentiment-survey In WILTW, Ross D discussed his success propagating a Monstera plant, by following the steps in this article: pottedpixie.com/how-to-propagate-a-monstera-in-water/ 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 ·       Donald Taylor - @DonaldHTaylor

Explore key questions in choosing a learning platform, spotting 'red flags', and the influence of AI. Learn about ethical concerns in edtech and AI content generation. Discover how OpenAI tackles bias. Get insights on the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.

What do employees and managers care about in 2023? How do we keep them feeling happy, interested and safe? A new report from Reward Gateway offers six human-centred strategies to build strong, resilient teams. So, this week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by Chief People Officer Nebel Crowhurst to discuss their findings. We explore: ·       - whether it’s important that your manager ‘cares’ about you ·      -  the role of mental, physical and wellbeing support in engaging employees ·      -  if it’s OK just to turn up and do your job. You can find the full report online at: https://www.rewardgateway.com/hubfs/Resources-eBooks/uk-2023-employee-engagement-trends-report.pdf In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen discussed Mastodon and Mark Gilroy’s YouTube tech reviews: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatMarkGilroy Nebel discussed Australia’s new approach to domestic violence leave: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/family-and-domestic-violence-leave Ross discussed Glasgow City Council’s plans to build a ‘feminist’ city: https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/glasgow-becomes-uks-first-feminist-city-as-town-planning-motion-from-councillor-holly-bruce-passes-3896633 For more from Nebel and Reward Gateway, visit: https://www.rewardgateway.com/uk 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.  And, this week, we’re giving a special shout out to our Learning Performance Benchmark. Not sure how your L&D function is performing? Find out now, for free: https://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 (or https://mastodon.scot/@owenferguson) ·       Nebel Crowhurst - @HR_Nebel

Ten years ago, Henry Stewart wrote The Happy Manifesto, outlining 10 principles for happier workplaces. Among them: Make your people feel good; Be open and transparent; Celebrate mistakes.  This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Henry joins Gemma and Ross G the relevance of these principles in 2023. Spoiler: They’re even more important.  We discuss:  how the workplace has evolved  the emergence of ‘self-managing organisations’  the factors that stop leaders creating a happy workplace.    During the discussion, Henry recommended the following books:  Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet  Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux  Maverick by Ricardo Semler  No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer    He also mentioned the paper: Edmans, A. (2011). Does the stock market fully value intangibles? Employee satisfaction and equity prices. Journal of Financial economics, 101(3), 621-640.  actions you can take when budgets are tight  how the lessons of 2008 can be applied today.  In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross discussed the use of cannabis to unlock creativity at work (or not, as it turned out): economist.com/business/2023/01/12/how-to-unlock-creativity-in-the-workplace  The original paper is at: Heng, Y. T., Barnes, C. M., & Yam, K. C. (2022). Cannabis use does not increase actual creativity but biases evaluations of creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology.  Henry discussed neurodiversity, sparking Ross to recommend this Learning Guild article from Judy Katz: learningguild.com/articles/designing-for-autism-adhd-and-more-representing-neurodivergence/?rd=1  For more from Henry, see https://www.happy.co.uk. Or you can contact him at: henry@happy.co.uk  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  Henry Stewart - @HappyHenry 

With inflation high, and high profile redundancies hitting the headlines, L&D is once again under pressure to demonstrate the value it offers and to have an impact in our organisations. So what can you do if your budget is slashed? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, David James shares his experiences of managing the L&D team at The Walt Disney Company during the 2008 financial crisis.  David is the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and host of The Learning & Development Podcast, and joins Ross G and Owen to discuss: the impact that recessions and cost savings typically have on L&D actions you can take when budgets are tight how the lessons of 2008 can be applied today. David has also written about this topic for Forbes, which you can read at: forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/01/04/heres-how-ld-can-achieve-more-with-less/ During the discussion, David referenced a LinkedIn post from Ross Stevenson, which you can see here: linkedin.com/posts/rstevensonuk_learninganddevelopment-education-humanresources-activity-7019651016069410816-tAGI?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross mentioned a LinkedIn post from Dr Philippa Hardman on ChatGPT for educators. See: linkedin.com/posts/dr-philippa-hardman-057851120_chatgpt-for-educators-a-practical-guide-activity-7020331313136074752-xxik For more from David, see 360learning.com/ or subscribe to his podcast: looop.co/podcast 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.   You can find out more about The Mind Tools Expert Voices Podcast, including where to subscribe, at: https://www.mindtools.com/podcast/ 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 David James - @DavidInLearning