The Mindtools L&D Podcast

This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Nahdia are joined by branding expert Professor Doctor Jonathan Wilson to explore these questions. We discuss:

• personal branding
• the benefits of building a brand
• the effort required to connect with your audience.

For more from Jonathan, see: drjonwilson.com

Jonathan offers a course on personal branding at: futurelearn.com/experttracks/developing-your-personal-brand

The book Ross mentioned, by Dorie Clark, was Stand Out: dorieclark.com/books

In 'What I Learned This Week', Nahdia discussed research from McKinsey into 'The rise of the inclusive consumer': mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-rise-of-the-inclusive-consumer

Jonathan shared Jason Bell and Osi Umenyiora of The NFL Show discussing racism in hiring practices: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_black-coaches-have-to-be-great-and-it-is-activity-6896410129554554880-fuyX

See more at: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_flores-sues-nfl-teams-in-racism-claim-activity-6894754539036061696-khgA

Jon also discussed the ongoing Joe Rogan backlash. See: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_what-the-joe-rogan-backlash-reveals-about-activity-6894645124333133824-LtY7

And: edition.cnn.com/2022/02/05/media/joe-rogan-racial-slur-apology-india-arie/index.html

Ross discussed Allison Robicelli's night at Chicago O'Hare airport: washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/01/11/ohare-airport-things-to-do

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan
• Jonathan Wilson - @DrJonWilson | LinkedIn

This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ger Driesen joins Ross G and Owen to explore what's possible. We discuss:

• what the metaverse(s) is(are)
• how blockchain and NFTs can shape the metaverse economy
• whether your digital avatar needs to look like your physical body.

See Facebook's announcement about their rebrand as 'Meta' at: about.fb.com/news/2021/10/facebook-company-is-now-meta/

Owen referenced Moxie Marlinspike's blog post on web3: moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html

The 'let the tiger eat me' anecdote was taken from: futurism.com/neoscope/vr-injuries

For a longer discussion on blockchain, with Ger, see our earlier episode 'Blockchain for L&D (Yes, really!)': podcast.goodpractice.com/96-blockchain-for-ld-yes-really

For 'How to Troll an NFT Owner', see: slate.com/technology/2021/11/nft-image-ownership-right-clicking-saving-copying-trolling.html

Mike Howard, of Oculus, has described the difficulty of creating a digital avatar at: tech.fb.com/avatars-the-art-and-science-of-social-presence/

In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen discussed criticism of Johann Hari's latest book. See: twitter.com/StuartJRitchie/status/1480219761824915461

You can find out more about Hari at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Hari

Ger shared his thoughts on 'labyrinthitis'.

And Ross discussed survey results on what a 'dream job' looks like: rajaworkplace.co.uk/dream-job

You can find more from Ger on LinkedIn and at: anewspring.com/author/ger

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Ger Driesen - @GerDriesen

In The Business of Race, authors Gina Greenlee and Margaret Greenberg argue that the workplace is the ideal place to talk about race, racism, and anti-racism. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, they join Ross G and Nahdia to explain why. We discuss:

• opportunities for teachable moments
• the moral case vs business case for racial equity
• the reasons to separate conversations about racial diversity from other diversity initiatives.

Show notes

Find out more about The Business of Race, including links to order a copy, at: businessofrace.com

The LinkedIn page is: linkedin.com/company/the-business-of-race

The Facebook page is: facebook.com/businessofrace

In 'What I Learned This Week', Nahdia discussed the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022, online at: edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2022-01/2022%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer%20Global%20Report_Final.pdf

Gina shared Akala's Oxford Union address, available online at: youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4

Akala's website is: akalamusic.com

Margaret recommended The Winternight Trilogy, from Katherine Arden: katherinearden.com

And Ross discussed 'The accessibility stalemate', by Christian Heilmann: christianheilmann.com/2021/07/20/the-accessibility-stalemate

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan
• Gina Greenlee - @TheGinaGreenlee / LinkedIn
• Margaret Greenberg - LinkedIn

What is it about writing that fires up our souls? And, for those who hate it, is there any hope?

This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G, Ross D and Gemma are joined by friend-of-the-show Julie Drybrough to answer these questions.

We discuss:

• writing for work, fun and reflection
• techniques to spark creativity
• how writing in groups can give you more freedom.

Show notes

Details of Julie's 'Write Nights' series can be found on her blog at: fuchsiablueblog.wordpress.com/write-nights-at-fuchsia-blue

Details of Dr James Pennebaker's 'writing to heal' are online at: emotionalaffair.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Writing-to-Heal.pdf

See also: Pennebaker, J. W. (1999). Health effects of expressing emotions through writing.

And, from Positive Psychology: positivepsychology.com/learned-optimism

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared that he'd started taking notes with Evernote: evernote.com

Gemma discussed the VR app 'Notes on Blindness', based on the film of the same name: notesonblindness.co.uk/vr

And Ross discussed The Paper Sky, by Eleanor Mansell: canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781848257672/the-paper-sky

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey
• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Julie Drybrough - @Fuchsia_Blue

By some measures, the last two years have seen a surge in demand for consumer learning platforms like Masterclass, CreativeLive and Skillshare. Often, these platforms position themselves as an alternative to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Is this part of a broader trend towards learning as entertainment? If so, what does that mean for learning in the workplace?

In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Owen, Nahdia and Ross G discuss:

• whether there truly is increased demand for 'edutainment'
• the difference between entertainment and 'fun'
• the role of entertainment in the design of workplace learning

Show notes

At the start of this week's show, Ross G challenged the premise of Ross D's opening question by citing data from the ONS. You can find these data here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/satelliteaccounts/bulletins/coronavirusandhowpeoplespenttheirtimeunderrestrictions/28marchto26april2020

In WILTW, Ross D recommended Stuart Russell's Reith Lectures on artificial intelligence: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001216k/episodes/player

The Netflix series Nahdia mentioned was School of Chocolate: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81207686

Ross G discussed the history of the burpee, created by Royal Huddleston Burpee Sr. You can find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burpee_(exercise)

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Nahdia Khan - @_nahdia_khan

Five years of this podcast, listening to his co-hosts ramble enthusiastically about the same tired old topics, had left him jaded and disillusioned with the industry he once loved.

And so I say again, that Owen was miserable to begin with. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate...

Starring:

• Ross Garner as Charles Dickens (@RossGarnerMT)
• Owen Ferguson in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge (@OwenFerguson)
• Peter Casebow as the Ghost of Christmas Past (@PeterCasebow)
• Gemma Towersey as the Ghost of Christmas Present (@GemmaTowersey)
• Ross Dickie as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (@RossDickieMT)
• And Hollywood's Jimmy Stewart as Bob Cratchit

Show notes

In 'What I Learned This Christmas', Peter shared details of a trip he went on with photographer Andy Howard: andyhoward.co.uk

Gemma shared an episode of Matthew Syed's podcast Sideways on 'Oostvaardersplassen: A Wild Idea': bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0012fp4

Ross D shared how 'video on-demand' changed the way we think, from the book 1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think: amazon.co.uk/1001-Ideas-that-Changed-Think/dp/1844037509

And Ross G shared the article 'No chips, no problem: Why old video games are better than news one', from Justin Heckert in The Economist's 1843 Magazine: economist.com/1843/2021/11/24/no-chips-no-problem-why-old-video-games-are-better-than-new-ones

We'll be back on January 11. Until then, you can find our back catalogue of podcasts at mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

From everyone at Mind Tools, we'd like to thank you for listening to us for a whole other year! And if you'd like to thank us, please do leave us a review. Preferably five stars.

Merry Christmas!

Recent announcements from Facebook and Microsoft have brought the 'metaverse' into the mainstream. But what actually is the metaverse, and what are its implications for the way we live, work, and learn?

In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Owen and Ross G discuss:

• what 'metaverse' means, and how it's different from VR or AR
• how it might change the world of work, both positively and negatively
• how it might be applied to digital learning

Show notes

The song Ross D mentioned was Total Entertainment Forever by Father John Misty.

In WILTW, Ross G referenced a recent conversation on the Slate Political Gabfest podcast, focusing on predictions made in a 1997 article from Wired magazine. You can find out more at: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/wired-1997-predictions/

The podcast Ross D recommended was 'The Exponent', including a recent episode titled 'Forecasting the Metaverse'.

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT

To solve a complex problem, should we ask a single genius or tap into our networks? It's a question that's answered by Matthew Syed in his book Rebel Ideas: The power of diverse thinking.

In this episode, Nahdia, Owen, Ross G and Gemma gather to contemplate the book.

We discuss:

• what rebel ideas are
• diversity and its benefits (and what we lose when we don't have it)
• practical ways to harness collective intelligence.

Show notes

In WILTW, Owen shared his finding of an animated introduction to machine learning. You can experience this visual explanation here: http://www.r2d3.us/visual-intro-to-machine-learning-part-1/

Ross mentioned watching the documentary The Beatles: Get back. You can stream this on Disney+.

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Finally, you have until the end of the year to complete the Learning Performance Benchmark. Get started now at: mindtoolsbusiness.com/solutions/learning-performance-benchmark

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner @RossGarnerMT
• Owen Ferguson @OwenFerguson
• Nahdia Khan @NahdiaKhan
• Gemma Towersey @GemmaTowersey

What are the challenges of managing a team who are sometimes present and sometimes not? How do we make sure hybrid working is inclusive? Is a hybrid meeting - that's effective for everyone - actually possible?

In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, speaker and writer Gary Cookson joins Ross G and Owen to share insights from his research.

We discuss:

• what hybrid working is
• the hybrid working challenges faced by employees, managers and organisations
• strategies for developing networks within organisations

Show notes

For background, see 'Most people in the UK did not work from home in 2020, says ONS' at: theguardian.com/world/2021/may/17/home-working-doubled-during-uk-covid-pandemic-last-year-mostly-in-london

And, from the ONS: 'Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest insights: Work 19 November 2021' at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/work#homeworking

Gary's book will be published by Kogan Page in June 2022. You can find him at: epichr.co.uk/

In WILTW, Owen discussed how Google has made us feel overconfident: Ward, A. F. (2021). People mistake the internet's knowledge for their own. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(43). Available online at: pnas.org/content/118/43/e2105061118

This paper is discussed at: phys.org/news/2021-10-online-overconfident.html

Ross shared insights into the Sheldon Spectrum, covered by Wired at: wired.co.uk/article/ocean-creature-size

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner @RossGarnerMT
• Owen Ferguson @OwenFerguson
• Gary Cookson @Gary_Cookson

We're used to dilemmas: Do I take path A or path B? But in this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, we rally against binary thinking with the 'tetralemma'.

This 3,000-year-old model for decision making has real-world applications today, and author, coach and TEDx speaker Lior Locher joins us to explain why.

Lior, Ross G and Owen discuss:

• the difference between binary and non-binary thinking
• examples of non-binary thinking in practice
• applications of the tetralemma at work.

Show notes

For more on the tetralemma, see Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetralemma

Andreas Schoetz also has a fascinating blog on the topic: linkedin.com/pulse/tetralemma-3000-year-old-method-21st-century-andreas-schoetz/

And Lior has written about non-binary thinking at: liorlocher.me/2019/12/08/how-to-unblock-either-or-thinking/

In WILTW, Owen discussed the metaverse: stratechery.com/2021/microsoft-and-the-metaverse/

And he shared details from NVIDIA's keynote: blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/11/09/nvidia-ceo-accelerated-computing-ai-omniverse-avatars-robots-gtc/

Ross discussed an episode of The Exponent podcast, where the hosts discussed the metaverse: exponent.fm/episode-196-forecasting-the-metaverse/

Lior discussed Peter Davidson's book: The Idea of North: reaktionbooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9781861892300

For more from Lior, see: liorlocher.me

Lior's books The DIY Phoenix (amazon.co.uk/dp/B094YPXRDN) and Values-based (amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RNGQQNH) are both available now.

Lior's TEDx talk is online at: ted.com/talks/lior_locher_what_we_lose_through_binary_thinking_and_what_to_do_instead

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner @RossGarnerMT
• Owen Ferguson @OwenFerguson
• Lior Locher @ChristineLocher