The Art of the Possible

Store managers get measured on sales, retention, and performance. Almost never on whether their people are actually developing.Ana Velázquez leads learning solutions at the IGA Coca-Cola Institute, which builds turnkey training for independent grocery retailers across rural America. She's been doing it since the program's early days, and she can predict which stores will succeed with a training program before a single course goes live.Ana joins Jay Kolbenson and Megan Beane Torres to talk about building for a workforce with 40% turnover and profit margins under 2%, why her team spent 20 years cutting courses instead of adding them, and how she pulled a full skills framework out of her job descriptions in a single Saturday afternoon.

If you're building learning for people who don't sit at a desk, this conversation is worth your time.

Chapters:
(00:00) The half of training success nobody measures
(01:05) Meet Ana Velázquez and the IGA Coca-Cola Institute
(01:28) Turnkey training for independent grocers in rural America
(03:44) Why the administrator became the whole program
(07:50) Fifty percent tool, fifty percent organizational commitment
(12:01) Why more content makes learners quit
(13:45) From a five-hour cashier course down to three minutes
(17:37) What training looks like on a 0.75% profit margin
(20:27) What pushed the Institute into a skills transformation
(26:02) Skills as building blocks instead of custom curriculums
(28:36) Giving supervisors an observation checklist
(31:13) Why a supermarket is a genuinely dangerous place
(35:13) Online plus on-the-job training is not redundancy
(38:30) Four hours on a Saturday with AI and job descriptions
(48:50) Win of the Week

Resources:
Connect with Ana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-velazquez-72036ba/
Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/kolbenson
Connect with Megan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganbeane/

Have a Win of the Week? We'd love to hear it! Send us a message in LinkedIn and share what's been going well in your work. We might even give you a shoutout in our next episode! 🎉

Megan Beane Torres and Jay Kolbenson tackle why skills-based transformation keeps stalling out and why that's finally starting to change.

They get into what that looks like on the ground: the aging workforce sitting on decades of institutional knowledge who still want to contribute, but on different terms; the Gen Z workforce entering a world where AI may already be doing the entry-level work they'd normally cut their teeth on; and the rise of gig-style, part-time, and rotational arrangements that don't fit the old permanent-job mold. Along the way, Megan and Jay each bring a win of the week that lives inside the same tension: when does playing it safe stop being a virtue?

If you've ever wondered where to even start with skills-based transformation, or whether it's really as complicated as it feels, this conversation will change how you think about the people already sitting in your organization.

Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:12) Today's topic: skills-based strategies and rethinking job architecture
(05:47) A skills strategy is more than a database
(06:46) Rethinking the traditional job architecture
(08:43) Personifying the workers you're solving for
(10:19) The hyper-experienced worker and institutional knowledge
(14:34) Permanent, contract, gig, and part-time roles defined
(21:35) Reframing the entry-level job in an AI-first world
(24:37) Bridging the gap between universities and companies
(26:48) Cross-generational networking challenges
(29:24) Why human skills become more valuable as AI scales
(31:10) How to actually start a skills-based transformation
(34:51) Real examples: Jack Henry and rotational programs
(37:46) Megan's win of the week: reframing problems into possibilities
(39:12) Jay's win of the week: strategic thinking under pressure

Resources:

• Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/kolbenson
• Connect with Megan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganbeane/

Have a Win of the Week? We'd love to hear it! Send us a message on LinkedIn and share what's been going well in your work. We might even give you a shoutout in our next episode!

Jay Kolbenson and Megan Beane Torres kick off The Art of the Possible by addressing the obvious question first: why would two people from a learning technology company start a podcast?

Drawing from years as practitioners, they explore the tension between learning technology and talent strategy, what each side can learn from the other, and why the pace of change in AI and the workplace makes these conversations more important than ever.

They also share the moments that shaped their careers, why solving problems matters more than selling tools, and the kind of community they hope to build for learning and talent leaders who are trying to navigate constant change without losing the human side of leadership.

If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure where learning and talent are headed next, this conversation is for you.

Chapters:

(00:44) Why we're doing this podcast

(03:00) Learning from each other's experiences

(05:15) Unlocking different sides of learning and talent

(06:05) Another vendor podcast? Why should anyone trust us?

(09:00) Why solving problems matters more than selling tools

(11:10) Why now matters

(12:20) AI, change, and the future of learning

(15:00) Attention spans and changing learner expectations

(17:05) What happens to the LMS in the future?

(18:05) Where Jay and Megan see things differently

(21:00) Caring for people versus focusing on technology

(22:00) What "The Art of the Possible" means

(23:00) "Never let anything beat you"

(25:15) Advice for people feeling stuck

(27:15) Why wins matter

(28:15) Jay's win of the week

(30:15) Megan's win of the week

(33:00) Looking ahead to future conversations

Resources:
Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/kolbenson
Connect with Megan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganbeane/

Have a Win of the Week? We'd love to hear it! Send us a message in LinkedIn and share what's been going well in your work. We might even give you a shoutout in our next episode! 🎉

Everyone in talent and learning is feeling it. AI is changing the future of work, but most conversations around talent and learning still happen in silos.

Hosted by Megan Beane Torres and Jay Kolbenson, The Art of the Possible brings together people strategy and learning technology to tackle the challenges talent leaders are facing right now. From AI and workforce transformation to learning and development, every episode offers honest perspectives from both sides of the table.

Sometimes we agree. Sometimes we don't. But every conversation is about seeing the bigger picture and exploring what's possible.

Subscribe for conversations about:

• Future of Work
• AI and Talent Strategy
• Learning and Development
• Learning Technology
• Workforce Transformation
• HR Leadership
• Talent Management

Resources:
Connect with Jay on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/kolbenson
Connect with Megan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganbeane/

Share your Win of the Week and message us on LinkedIn!