What a year it was! In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, HowNow's Nelson Sivalingam joins Ross G and Ross D to reflect on 2025 and look to emerging trends in 2026. We discuss:

• AI (obviously) and how it's evolving
• the rise of instructor-led training
• how market consolidation is changing the choice of suppliers for L&D leaders.

During the discussion, Ross G referenced a number of new stories:

• Only 22% of organizations have a visible AI strategy
• Three in five workers say they use unapproved AI tools at work
• 95% of organizations see no measurable return on AI, partly due to 'workslop'

We also discussed Don Taylor's Global Sentiment Survey 2025, Don's AI in L&D report written with Eglė Vinauskaitė, and Hemsley Fraser's 2025 L&D Impact Survey.

Finally, Ross G referenced the 'enshittification' of AI products.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared an example of learning through lyrics.

Nelson discussed Gmail's new 'Manage subscriptions' tool.

And Ross G discussed the process of making a teaser trailer for his novel, Centauri's Shadow. You can view the trailer on LinkedIn.

For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment.

And for more from HowNow, visit getthehownow.com.

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Connect with our speakers

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

• Ross Garner
• Ross Dickie
• Nelson Sivalingam