Brad Ulmanu, Director of Learning Experience at Expedia Group, joins us to talk about why storytelling is one of the most important skills in learning and development. Brad started his career as a journalist before moving into L&D, and he ties storytelling to instructional design, eLearning content creation, and learning experiences people want to finish. A useful frame for any learning leader rethinking corporate learning and development.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

00:00 What great learning is actually competing with.

01:56 How a journalism career led Brad into L&D.

02:51 What made the move into L&D worth it for Brad.

03:59 Brad's advice to his younger self.

07:54 What Brad's learned about first impressions.

09:37 The real AI challenge facing learning leaders.

12:28 The most important skill in the workplace right now.

13:29 Brad's go-to resource for L&D research.

14:12 Two books every aspiring L&D leader should read.

16:29 Why Brad's team designs learning like a media team would.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please leave a 5-star review and subscribe to "Learning Leader Spotlight: Interviews with Corporate L&D Leaders," brought to you by TrainingPros — because when you have more projects than people™, the right L&D consultant makes all the difference.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Expedia Group website:

https://expediagroup.com/

i4cp (Institute for Corporate Productivity), a research subscription Brad's team uses for L&D and future-of-work insights:

https://www.i4cp.com

“The Leader's Guide to Storytelling” by Stephen Denning, on using organizational narrative to spark action and align teams:

https://www.amazon.com/Leaders-Guide-Storytelling-Mastering-Discipline/dp/078797675X

“The Design of Everyday Things” by Donald A. Norman, on mental models, feedback loops and human-centered design:

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262640374/the-design-of-everyday-things/

#LearningAndDevelopment #CorporateTraining #LeadershipTraining