In this episode of Being Intrepid, Sam Herring sits down with Malika Viltz-Emerson, Chief Learning Officer at Allstate, to explore what happens when leaders meet learners where they are. 

Anchored by a powerful story about helping a mother and daughter navigate an escalator for the first time, Malika challenges learning leaders to recognize that every learner starts from a different place. She shares how AI can amplify personalized learning, surface gaps in learning design, and accelerate insight while also warning against moving too fast or ignoring bias and equity implications. 

What you’ll learn: 

• The promise of adaptive learning powered by AI 
• How AI can reveal gaps in learning design 
• Why learning leaders must slow down and ask, “What are we solving for?” 
• The importance of keeping humans in the loop with AI solutions 

Connect with Malika  

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Listen to more episodes: https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ 

In this episode of Being Intrepid, Sam Herring talks with Scott Blanchard, CEO at Blanchard, about what leadership looks like in a time when people show up to work already stressed. Scott shares why psychological safety is a real prerequisite for learning, what still matters most as the “how” of leadership development shifts, and why spaced learning over time can outperform the one-day workshop. 

Scott also discusses the Blanchard Institute and Student Self Leadership, a free program helping teens build responsibility, confidence, and self-leadership skills. 

What you’ll learn: 

• Why managers are under unique pressure right now 
• How safety unlocks learning and performance 
• Spaced learning vs. the one-day classroom model 
• The “manager has my back” leadership test 
• How Blanchard is investing in teen self-leadership 

Connect with Scott
Blanchard | Blanchard Institute

Connect with Sam

Listen to more episodes: https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ 

How do you design executive education that creates business impact at scale? 

In this episode of Being Intrepid, Sam Herring speaks with Anna Seguret, Executive Director of Participant Experience at INSEAD Executive Education. Anna shares how her background in video game development shaped her approach to learning design, and why the future of executive education lies in immersive, learner-centered journeys rather than one-off programs. 

They explore how INSEAD blends face-to-face, online, and in-the-flow experiences, how organizations can better measure learning impact, and how AI can meaningfully enhance learning without replacing the human experience. 

And lastly, Anna also discusses INSEAD’s Microcredentials program, recently recognized with a Brandon Hall Group award, as an example of how flexible, rigorous learning can fit into the flow of work while delivering measurable outcomes. 

Key topics include: 

• Designing learner-centered executive education journeys 
• Delivering transformation by scaling impactful learning across an organization 
• Measuring impact for leadership and soft skills 
• How AI can enable scaling learning without losing the human touch

Connect with Anna

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Listen to more episodes: https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ 

Most organizations exploring skills strategies remain “skills curious” to skills ready, and struggle with where to start. In this episode of Being Intrepid, Sam Herring sits down with Craig Friedman, Talent and Skills Transformation Leader at St. Charles Consulting Group, and author of Enterprise Skills Unlocked to demystify skills-based talent strategies and what they mean for learning leaders. 

Craig explains why a skills-based strategy is fundamentally a data transformation, and how it can unlock diverse enterprise value such as career mobility, opportunity marketplaces, and personalized learning pathways. He also flags the biggest trap he sees: buying technology before defining the business strategy. Tune in for a practical roadmap for leaders ready to move from interest to execution. 

Key topics: 

• What a “skills-based strategy” really means in practice 
• Learning pathways, gigs, and staffing tied to skills 
• Common implementation traps and how to avoid them 
• AI’s role in making skills data usable at scale 
• Getting started with a business-driven roadmap 

Connect with Craig
Order Craig’s book: Enterprise Skills Unlocked: A Blueprint for Building Skills-based Talent Management 

Connect with Sam

Imposter syndrome is part of the human experience worldwide, but generative AI and rapid change are amplifying it in new ways. 

In this DevLearn Unwrapped episode of Being Intrepid, Betty Dannewitz, Learning Solutions Architect at Blanchard and host of the ifyouaskbetty podcast, joins host Sam Herring to explore how imposter syndrome shows up for L&D professionals, how technology can trigger it, and what it means for both practitioners and learners. Betty shares insights from her interviews and practical research, along with personal stories about reframing and extending grace to ourselves. 

Listeners will gain language and strategies to recognize imposter feelings, respond more constructively, and intentionally design learning experiences that build confidence over time for learners who often feel like imposters when they face something new. 

Connect with Betty

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Catch more Being Intrepid Podcast episodes at https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ 

In this DevLearn Unwrapped episode of Being Intrepid, Megan Torrance, CEO (Chief Energy Officer) and Founder of TorranceLearning, joins host Sam Herring to unpack Agile learning project management with the LLAMA framework, her three-zone view of AI in L&D, and new research on what tools organizations are actually using. Megan explains how to design for change, avoid “random acts of AI,” and keep business performance at the center. 

Listeners will walk away with practical ways to experiment thoughtfully with AI, structure projects for inevitable change, and make smarter choices about evaluating new technology investments. 

Connect with Megan

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Virtual classrooms have come a long way from early corporate training experiences in the 2000s to the emergency pivot to Zoom and Teams in 2020, yet many organizations are still suboptimizing virtual learning experiences. 

In this DevLearn Unwrapped episode of Being Intrepid, Cindy Huggett, virtual training expert, consultant, facilitator, author, and speaker, joins host Sam Herring to explore how virtual facilitation is evolving in the age of AI.

Cindy shares stories from global programs including real-time translation, AI-supported video overviews, and avatars that help hesitant participants show up on camera. She also explains why human communication skills like active listening are more important than ever. 

Listeners will come away with a clearer view of how AI can support facilitators and why human presence, judgment, and active listening remain irreplaceable. 

Connect with Cindy

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Catch more Being Intrepid Podcast episodes at https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ 

Sometimes big transformations begin with a small problem. For Nick Bird, that problem was improving audio quality for e-learning and it opened the door to exploring new ways of designing and facilitating learning experiences with genAI tools. 

In this DevLearn Unwrapped episode of Being Intrepid, Nick Bird, Director of Learning and Development at American Tire Distributors, joins host Sam Herring to share his practical journey leveraging genAI to improve learning experiences. Nick started with a simple text to speech need, and steadily expanded into using generative AI for scenario design, knowledge management, and everyday instructional design tasks. 

Nick offers clear advice on context-rich prompting, experimenting with different tools, safety, and keeping humans firmly in the loop. 

In this episode, you will learn: 

• How a single audio problem opened the door to using AI for design at ATD 
• Ways to use LLMs across instructional design workflows 
• How to balance speed with quality and safety 
• Why you should experiment with multiple LLMs, not just one 
• Why AI powered coaching could be a major opportunity for L&D 

Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-d-bird/   

Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-herring-5944b/  
 
Catch more Being Intrepid Podcast episodes at https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ 

What happens when you look at learning strategy through the lens of cognitive science instead of the latest buzzwords? 

In this DevLearn Unwrapped episode of Being Intrepid, Sam Herring sits down with Clark Quinn, Executive Director at Quinnovation, to explore how learning science, spaced learning, and reactivation should shape modern design. Clark shares his journey from early computer-based education and cognitive science doctoral research to a career advising organizations on how people really think, learn and work. 

You will hear thoughtful takes on industry buzzwords like microlearning and “learning in the flow,” as well as the hype around generative AI, plus practical guidance on where to start with better design. 

In this episode, you will learn: 

• Why learning professionals must understand the fundamentals of learning science 
• What spaced learning is and how it works 
• How microlearning can be used to reactivate learning over time 
• Why Clark is cautious about the learning efficacy of large language models  

Connect with Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinnovator/  

Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-herring-5944b/  
 
Catch more Being Intrepid Podcast episodes at https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ 

In this DevLearn Unwrapped episode of Being Intrepid, Sam Herring sits down with Josh Cavalier, Founder and CEO of JoshCavalier.ai and author of Applying AI in Learning and Development: From Platforms to Performance. Josh shares how his diverse background in art, science, and technology prepared him for the rapid rise of generative AI, and why he believes L&D roles are shifting toward what he calls the “Human Machine Performance Analyst.” 

Listeners will hear practical advice on getting started with genAI for learning professionals, the importance of finding a community to support your professional development, and preparing for a future where audio-based coaching and bi-directional learning experiences become mainstream. 

In this episode, you will learn: 

• How the role of “Human Machine Performance Analyst” reframes the profession 
• How to navigate fear and change through community 
• Why audio may be the most underrated generative AI capability 

Connect with Josh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshcavalier/  

Order Josh’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1960231529/ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_0Y138BYGSJDHX9RZY145 

Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-herring-5944b/ 
 
Catch more Being Intrepid Podcast episodes at https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/