Ten years, 500 shows, countless guests. To celebrate our anniversary, we're releasing a special four-part series looking back at the evolution of L&D.

In part one, Ross G and Ross D are joined by friend-of-the-show Julie Dirksen to revisit our early years.

We discuss:

• whether L&D has yet become 'evidence-based'
• dumb ideas we fall for, get over, and fall for again
• evidence-based orthodoxies which we once believed, but now aren't so sure about.

During the discussion, we referenced the Mehrabian fallacy, problems with the forgetting curve, and how psychologst Anders Ericsson improved his memory by forming connections with running times.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D referenced A History of the United States in 100 Objects, a podcast collaboration between the BBC and 99% Invisible. He wants you to know that his description of the 'screws' episode is inaccurate.

Ross G discussed the carrier pigeon-based social media app Roost.

Next week, we'll be revisiting our second Era: The pandemic years.

You can find details of Julie's books, Design for How People Learn and Talk to the Elephant, at our website usablelearning.com

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And if you want to work with us, please do visit mindtools-kineo.com or find us on LinkedIn. We'd love to hear from you.

Connect with our speakers   

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Dickie
• Ross Garner
• Julie Dirksen

According to Dr Tessa Forshaw, Faculty Director of the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Workforce Learning and Innovation Initiative, workplace learning has never been more important. It's also never been at greater risk.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Tessa joins Ross D and Matt to discuss:

• the role of L&D at a time when the World Economic Forum has estimated that 59% of the global workforce will need retrained by the end of the decade
• the importance of 'desirable difficulty' in learning, and how this is undermined by technologies like AI
• what the future of L&D should look like in an environment where skills needs are evolving at such a rapid pace.

You can find out more about The Future of Workforce Learning and Innovation certificate programme here. Enter the code MIND5 for a discount on the programme.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Matt referenced research exploring the similarities between whale and human communication.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service.

Connect with our speakers   

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Dickie
• Matt Mella
• Dr Tessa Forshaw

Our Building Better Managers research identified that employees care about having an empathetic manager, but only half reported having a manager who was fair and empathetic.

All is not lost. Empathy is a skill, and like any other skill, it can be developed. So what might that process involve?

In this episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Loren Sanders joins Ross G and Gemma to discuss:

• the difference empathy makes
• developing self-awareness to develop empathy
• tact as the expression of empathy.

You can find out more about Loren and her book Empathy is Not A Weakness and Other Stories from the Edge at loren365.com.

Ross referred to Self-awareness and empathy that Ross referred to : Whiteside, D. B., & Barclay, L. J. (2016). The face of fairness: Self-awareness as a means to promote fairness among managers with low empathy. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(4), 721-730

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross recommended C.J Cooke's gothic thriller A Haunting in the Arctic.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll find out how we can help your organization build AI skills, and how our Skills Practice scenarios help build human skills.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Loren Sanders
• Ross Garner
• Gemma Towersey