In a crowded and competitive market, high quality signaled by accreditation can help a learning business stand out. That’s why we wanted to talk with Randy Bowman, president and CEO of the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training, a nonprofit standards development and accrediting body. In episode 423, Randy talks with Leading Learning Podcast co-host Celisa Steele about what IACET does to support providers of learning, the development and maintenance of important standards like the continuing education unit (or CEU), the benefits of accreditation, and the surprising fact that two-thirds of organizations undergoing IACET’s accreditation process don’t offer CEUs—they embark on the process for the other value it can bring it. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://leadinglearning.com/episode423.

Competitive advantage, whether sustained or transient, is becoming harder and harder to maintain. Collaborative advantage may be the answer. In this episode, number 422, we recap competitive advantage, sustained advantage, and transient advantage and then posit a fourth type of advantage for learning businesses to consider: collaborative advantage. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode422.

Self-reflection is an important tool for learners and an important activity for learning business leaders. Dr. Will Thalheimer includes a succinct list of what a great learning leader should be in his book The CEO’s Guide to Training, eLearning & Work. In episode 421 of the Leading Learning Podcast, co-hosts Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele use his list as the basis for a look at what goes into leading a learning business well. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode421.

Learning businesses are part of the third sector of education—the sector that serves the adult learner after they work through the K-12 sector and, then for some, the degree-granting higher education sector. Higher education institutions are increasingly playing a role in serving lifelong and continuing learners. Kemi Jona is the vice provost for online education and digital innovation at the University of Virginia, and he’s our guest for this episode, number 420, of the Leading Learning Podcast. Co-host Jeff Cobb talks with Kemi about the increasing role technology is playing in lifelong learning and the challenges colleges and universities face as they look beyond their traditional audiences to serve lifelong learners. Some of those challenges will sound familiar to learning business professionals. Kemi and Jeff also talk about the growth of microcredentials and stackable credentials, the role of credit and non-credit offerings, and collaborations between higher education and associations to support lifelong learners effectively. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode420.

In our Learning Business Maturity Model, marketing is one of the five fundamental domains learning businesses need to work on and in to mature and be successful. The Inquiring Mind by Cyril Houle was written in 1961, but it’s a foundational text that can still provide learning businesses with a better understanding of the motivations of the learners they aim to serve. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode419.

For learning businesses, it’s important to truly understand the learners they aim to serve. To help with that understanding, in this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, number 418, co-hosts Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele turn to a text that’s over 60 years old but still incredibly relevant. In The Inquiring Mind, Cyril Houle divides lifelong learners into three categories: goal-oriented, activity-oriented, and learning-oriented. Learning businesses that understand the motivations and activities of each category will be better positioned to serve those learners and provide them with value. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode418.

It’s gotten incredibly easy to produce and consume content. That means the market value of content is approaching zero. And that means that learning businesses need to provide more than just content. Learning businesses that can provide connection are going to attract and retain passionate and engaged learners. Ginger Johnson focuses her work on the power of human connection and the why and the how of connecting on purpose with purpose, and Leading Learning Podcast co-host Celisa Steele talks to her in episode 417. Ginger does the work of connection through keynotes, workshops, and other connection experiences. She’s the author of Connectivity Canon, an inveterate dinner party host, and an enthusiastic, joyful human. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode417.

If you’re looking to improve the reach, revenue, and impact of your learning business, focus on engagement, not content. Content is no longer king. Engagement is everything. In episode 416 of the Leading Learning Podcast, co-hosts Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele talk about why the importance of content and even context is waning and why a focus on engagement is a savvy move for learning businesses committed to creating and delivering value. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode416.

Finding the right balance of online and offline learning to have in a portfolio is one of the critical concerns facing learning businesses in our post-pandemic world because getting that mix as close to ideal as possible is key to securing a learning business’s reach, revenue, and impact. In episode 415 of the Leading Learning Podcast, co-hosts Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele offer nine criteria, accompanying guiding questions, and a scoring rubric that learning businesses might use when aiming for that right online/offline balance. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode415.

On January 1, 2025, we’ll enter the second half of the turbulent 2020s and come that much closer to the Threatening 30s, to borrow the terms of our guest for episode 414 of the Leading Learning Podcast. Organizations of all kinds have a vested interest in seeing the future as clearly as possible and taking action—action to bring about the best possible future for those they serve. Leading Learning Podcast co-host Jeff Cobb talks with Jeff De Cagna about this and much more. Jeff De Cagna is executive advisor for Foresight First, which helps association boards set a higher standard of stewardship, governing, and foresight, and a board’s duty of foresight has been Jeff’s focus for the last 10 years. Jeff and Jeff talk about foresight as an intentional process of learning with the future and about intentional learning as a process of sense-making, meaning-making, and decision-making. While Jeff De Cagna focuses on working with association boards, much of what he has to say about foresight and our duty to our successors can apply more broadly to leaders and other staff in learning businesses. Show notes and a downloadable transcript are available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode414.