Leading Learning Podcast

As CEO of Vista Cova and a Certified Professional Facilitator, Lowell Aplebaum collaborates with organizations to create transformative dialogue around vision, strategic planning, community, and value. He’s passionate about building a better future and his inclusive, learning mindset carries through in his work helping others recognize their potential for lasting impact. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, Celisa talks with Lowell about the components of an effective strategy, how strategy has evolved related to learning and education, and the importance of having an invitation mindset to involve others on the journey set by the strategy. They also discuss inclusion as a silver lining from the coronavirus pandemic, what to consider about hybrid events going forward, and the difference between doing things for those we serve versus doing things with those we serve. Full show notes and a transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode289.

As professor emeritus and senior fellow at the University of Illinois Springfield and senior fellow at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), Ray Schroede is a leading expert in higher education and online learning. With decades of experience teaching, leading, curating, and writing, Ray brings unmatched knowledge and passion to the conversation around emerging technologies and the future of education. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, Jeff talks with Ray about COVID’s indelible impact on teaching and learning, the metaverse, blockchain, non-fungible tokens, artificial intelligence, teaching ahead, and how Google’s wildly popular certificates make the case for relevant, efficient, economical learning going forward. Full show notes and a transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode288.

The turning of a calendar from one year to the next is a natural time for reflection and preparation. In the previous episode, we looked back at the year that was for learning businesses. In this episode we turn forward to focus on the year that is. Drawing on data collected at the end of 2021, we uncover the top areas that learning businesses are prioritizing in the new year. We also reveal three trends and two major barriers that will impact learning businesses in 2022. Full show notes and a transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode287.

As we just said goodbye to 2021 and rang in a new year, it feels only natural to pause and take a moment—or, in this case, an episode—to reflect. And, as learning business leaders, we know what a profound impact reflection can have on learning. That’s why in this first new episode of 2022, we’re looking back at the broader learning landscape and larger trends that shaped the previous year, including how the pandemic impacted learning businesses. We reflect on what we can learn from the year that’s been and what we might carry forward to elevate our learning businesses in the year ahead—and beyond. Full show notes and transcript available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode286.

We’ve covered a lot of ground in the first six “courses” in the series for our mythical learning business MBA, and we’ve mostly focused on what—identifying the key skills and knowledge learning businesses need to survive and thrive. The what is important, but so too is the who—finding people with the key skills and knowledge and cultivating those skills and knowledge in your team. This includes people (the human resources), but it also extends to how to support those people in doing their work. In other words, this is about capacity. In this final installment in our seven-part series before winter break, we dig into the key ideas related to capacity for learning businesses. We discuss the importance of investing in the training and development of your internal team and common barriers preventing this. We also offer a simple but effective tool to help you uncover, track, and achieve your capacity goals. Full show notes and a transcript are available at leadinglearning.com/episode285. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Cadmium. *** The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the merging of events and education for organizations across the globe. Organizations have realized that synergizing their education and events strategies produces immeasurable benefits, but they need a technology solution that facilitates that merge. Cadmium is focused on providing a full suite of technology solutions enabling organizations to meet the changing environment head on. From a host of event technologies to integrated learning management and content creation tools, Cadmium offers everything an organization needs to generate revenue and drive engagement. Learn more, and request a demo to see how Cadmium can help your learning business at gocadmium.com.

We've reached our next-to-last installment in our learning business MBA series, where we're continuing to explore the question "What kinds of skills, knowledge, and behaviors do learning businesses need to be successful?" A common theme has emerged as an answer. (1) You have to know your market and audience, and (2) you have to get product development right. But there's another component that too often does not get added—or doesn't get added with enough discipline and consistency—and that's financial modeling. But it's critical that learning businesses do the financial projections to establish that their right audience and right product add up to a financially viable offering. That's why in this sixth episode in our learning business MBA series we're offering a crash course on the basics of financial modeling for learning products. We discuss why you need to start with an irresistible offer and what to consider in terms of time horizon, projected revenue, cost of sales, and expenses. We also share the many ways financial modeling can be used to help grow and improve your learning business. Full show notes and a transcript are available at leadinglearning.com/episode284. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Cadmium. *** The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the merging of events and education for organizations across the globe. Organizations have realized that synergizing their education and events strategies produces immeasurable benefits, but they need a technology solution that facilitates that merge. Cadmium is focused on providing a full suite of technology solutions enabling organizations to meet the changing environment head on. From a host of event technologies to integrated learning management and content creation tools, Cadmium offers everything an organization needs to generate revenue and drive engagement. Learn more, and request a demo to see how Cadmium can help your learning business at gocadmium.com.

Steven Schragis is founder and director of One Day University, an adult education program that brings the best and most popular professors from all over the country to develop fun and engaging talks that inform and inspire adult “students-for-a-day.” At One Day U, learning isn’t driven by career advancement goals or earning a degree; it’s for people who simply want to engage in the pure joy of lifelong learning. Steven has positioned One Day University to effectively meet the needs of a large niche market of learners while maintaining a clear and unique value proposition. This makes Steven the perfect professor for you, our learning business MBA student-for-a-day. In this fifth episode in our seven-part series on the learning business MBA, Jeff talks with Steven about creating One Day U, how it has evolved as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and the importance of keeping fun in mind when developing at least certain types of learning offerings. They also discuss how to successfully leverage partnerships. Full show notes and a transcript are available at leadinglearning.com/episode283. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Cadmium. *** The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the merging of events and education for organizations across the globe. Organizations have realized that synergizing their education and events strategies produces immeasurable benefits, but they need a technology solution that facilitates that merge. Cadmium is focused on providing a full suite of technology solutions enabling organizations to meet the changing environment head on. From a host of event technologies to integrated learning management and content creation tools, Cadmium offers everything an organization needs to generate revenue and drive engagement. Learn more, and request a demo to see how Cadmium can help your learning business at gocadmium.com.

Jim Obsitnik is the chief executive officer at Cadmium, a software-as-a-service provider that brings events and education technology together. He believes in the higher social calling of learning and education and has spent many years in the learning space. Jim also holds an MBA from the Wharton School with a focus in marketing, which makes him an excellent guest lecturer in our learning business MBA series. In this midpoint episode in our seven-part series, Jeff talks with Jim to get his expert perspective on strategy, product development, the commonalities of software-as-a-service and learning businesses, the relationship between revenue and learning portfolio diversification, and more. Full show notes and a transcript are available at leadinglearning.com/episode282. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Cadmium. *** The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the merging of events and education for organizations across the globe. Organizations have realized that synergizing their education and events strategies produces immeasurable benefits, but they need a technology solution that facilitates that merge. Cadmium is focused on providing a full suite of technology solutions enabling organizations to meet the changing environment head on. From a host of event technologies to integrated learning management and content creation tools, Cadmium offers everything an organization needs to generate revenue and drive engagement. Learn more, and request a demo to see how Cadmium can help your learning business at gocadmium.com.

This podcast series is our attempt to offer a theoretical learning business MBA program, and we invite you to play along. Imagine you’re in business school and about to hear a guest lecture by Mary Byers, a speaker, facilitator, consultant, and author of several books, including Race for Relevance: Five Radical Changes for Associations. She’s also host of the Successful Associations Today Podcast. Her work centers on helping organizations remain relevant in a rapidly changing environment, and her main area of interest is innovation and evolution in all things—organizationally, educationally, and otherwise. In this third episode in our seven-part learning business MBA series, Celisa talks with Mary about what it takes to succeed as a learning business and her related thoughts around innovation and continuous evolution. They discuss the idea of shrinking to grow, why organizations need a digital-first mindset, and the importance of a go-forward strategy. Full show notes and a transcript are available at leadinglearning.com/episode281. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Cadmium. *** The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the merging of events and education for organizations across the globe. Organizations have realized that synergizing their education and events strategies produces immeasurable benefits, but they need a technology solution that facilitates that merge. Cadmium is focused on providing a full suite of technology solutions enabling organizations to meet the changing environment head on. From a host of event technologies to integrated learning management and content creation tools, Cadmium offers everything an organization needs to generate revenue and drive engagement. Learn more, and request a demo to see how Cadmium can help your learning business at gocadmium.com.

Both marketing and strategy are fundamental to the health and success of a learning business, which is why we knew we had to address them in the context of the learning business MBA.  Of course, the learning business MBA doesn’t exist yet, rather, we’re using it as shorthand for the key skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed by those working in market-facing learning businesses so they can ensure their organizations survive and thrive. While a single podcast series won’t allow us to do the work of a true advanced graduate degree, we can cover some key areas, give you ideas to ponder, and offer tools to try in your learning business. In this second installment in our seven-part series on the learning business MBA, we focus on two fundamental areas of knowledge for those leading and working in learning businesses: strategy and marketing. We offer simplified definitions of each and share related resources and tools to help you grow your learning business in each of these areas. Full show notes and transcript available at leadinglearning.com/episode280. We are grateful to our sponsor for this series, Cadmium. *** The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the merging of events and education for organizations across the globe. Organizations have realized that synergizing their education and events strategies produces immeasurable benefits, but they need a technology solution that facilitates that merge. Cadmium is focused on providing a full suite of technology solutions enabling organizations to meet the changing environment head on. From a host of event technologies to integrated learning management and content creation tools, Cadmium offers everything an organization needs to generate revenue and drive engagement. Learn more, and request a demo to see how Cadmium can help your learning business at gocadmium.com.