The Mindtools L&D Podcast

Animations can be beautiful and mesmerising pieces of art. This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma talks to Selina Wagner, Creative Director at Ping Creates, and Ross Garner about how we can use this art form to create impactful learning experiences.

We discuss:

• when and where animations can become an effective part of a learning solution
• the process of designing and creating animations
• how to think through and overcome challenges

Show notes

Gemma refers to 'Fantasmagorie' - the first animation created. You can watch it, along with other early animations, by exploring this interactive New Yorker article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/30/the-surprise-and-wonder-of-early-animation

You can read more about Ross' IP discoveries (and his incorrect fact) in the following articles:

Avvo IP discussion: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-i-sell-my-own-artwork-depicting-a-celebrity--435063.html

The office Licensing Site of Albert Enstein: https://einstein.biz/#licensing

Article about Michael Biehn's image appearing in Alien3: https://www.cbr.com/michael-biehn-paid-more-alien-3-than-aliens/

Selina's work can be found at Ping Creates: https://pingcreates.com/ For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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:

• Selina Wagner - @blobina and @pingcreates
• Ross Garner - @rossgarnerew
• Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey

In the final of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Gemma Paterson and Danny Seals about product management.

This interview was recorded for the episode: 250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management?

Find the full episode in your podcast feed.

Show notes

Danny commented that Spotify don't use the Spotify Model. He was referencing this post: agility11.com/blog/2020/6/22/spotify-doesnt-use-the-spotify-model

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can chat to us on Twitter using the hashtag #MindToolsPodcast. Or connect with our speakers:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW
• Gemma Paterson - @GemStGem
• Danny Seals - @TheDannySeals

In the second of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Sukh Pabial about product management.

This interview was recorded for the episode: 250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management?

Find the full episode in your podcast feed.

Show notes

Sukh wrote about the role of a product manager in L&D at: pabial.wordpress.com/2020/01/30/the-role-of-a-product-manager-in-ld/

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can chat to us on Twitter using the hashtag #MindToolsPodcast. Or connect with our speakers:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW
• Sukh Pabial - @SukhPabial

In the first of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Myles Runham about product management.

This interview was recorded for the episode: 250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management?

Find the full episode in your podcast feed.

Show notes

Myles has written extensively on product management on his blog, at: mylesrunham.com/tag/product-management/

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, you can chat to us on Twitter using the hashtag #MindToolsPodcast. Or connect with our speakers:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW
• Myles Runham - @MylesRun

We're trying something new! For five years, The Mind Tools L&D Podcast (formerly The Good Practice Podcast) has enjoyed a conversational format. Today, for this anniversary special, we thought we'd try emulating the documentary-style podcasts we love: This American Life, Freakonomics and Radiolab.

So this week we're asking: What can L&D learn from product management?

We're speaking to independent consultants Myles Runham and Sukh Pabial, as well as Venndorly founder Danny Seals and Legal & General's Gemma Paterson.

We discuss:

• what product management is
• what L&D can learn from product management
• what 'the product' is in L&D - is it L&D itself?

Show notes

Myles has written extensively on product management on his blog, at: mylesrunham.com/tag/product-management/

Sukh also wrote about the role of a product manager in L&D at: pabial.wordpress.com/2020/01/30/the-role-of-a-product-manager-in-ld/

The product that Danny's working on is Venndorly: venndorly.com/

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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, you can chat to us on Twitter using the hashtag #MindToolsPodcast. Or connect with our speakers:

• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieEW
• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Myles Runham - @MylesRun
• Sukh Pabial - @SukhPabial
• Gemma Paterson - @GemStGem
• Danny Seals - @TheDannySeals

Back in mid-March we spoke to Emerald Works' CEO John Yates and Frontline Pedagogy Lead, Laura Watkin, about their experience of starting senior roles remotely. This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma talks to freshly recruited team members from the same organisations - Emerald Works team member, David Sharkey and People Coordinator at Front, Simi Manik - on their remote onboard experiences.

We discuss:

• what remote onboarding involves - the positives and negatives
• how it's different to joining a company "in person"
• what organisations might consider doing to best support remote newbies

Show notes

Gemma's tomato-based factoids came from James Wong's book, How to eat better.

Simi recommended the book Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala.

David's nugget about door frame heights came from Bill Bryson's At Home: A Short History of Private Life

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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:

• Simi Manik - www.linkedin.com/in/simi-manik-b8a763123/
• David Sharkey - www.linkedin.com/in/david-sharkey-117319135
• Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey

As there's no set or prescribed route into or through a career in L&D, no two career journeys are the same.

This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma and her guests, Zahra Clarke-Johnney, Digital L&D Manager at English Institute of Sport, and Mind Tools' very own Sami Chan and Nahdia Khan, consider how to best plot one's way in, and through our evolving profession.

We discuss:

• routes into the profession
• where to find support
• what the profession might hold in the future.

Show notes

In 'What I Learnt This Week', Sami talked about food production in the Victorian era. You can find out more by watching this "Absolute History" YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkQ0RFTHvIo

Gemma's discovery about Gagarin's landing in a potato field came from the BBC podcast "Gagarin and the lost Moon". You can listen in BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09j922z

We also mentioned the CIPD's New Profession Map. This can be found here: https://peopleprofession.cipd.org/profession-map#gref

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit emeraldworks.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:

• Zahra Clarke-Johnney - @ZahraCJ
• Sami Chan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantachan
• Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan
• Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey

In this 1-minute announcement, Ross G, Ross D and Gemma reveal some exciting changes taking place at Emerald Works.

To check out our new-look website, visit: emeraldworks.com

We'll be back next Tuesday as normal!

In this special episode, the regular Good Practice Podcast team have given up the microphone to Frontline's Laura Watkin, who returns to the show as guest host.

Laura last appeared on episode 236, 'Working with strangers', and wanted an opportunity to reflect on her experience by leading a conversation with Ross G and Ross D. This episode includes some material we would normally cut, in order to provide a behind-the-scenes look at podcast production.

We discuss:

• what makes a great podcast
• tips for taking part in a podcast
• tips for hosting a podcast.

Show notes

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

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross shared an article from The Atlantic: 'The Life in The Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable': theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/life-simpsons-no-longer-attainable/617499/

Connect with our speakers

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

• Laura Watkin - @TalentEdMagpie
• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW
• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieEW

When we think of 'innovation', we tend to picture the bright ideas that people have in the bath. In reality, innovation is the product of hard work, collaborative effort and repeated failures.

In this week's episode of The Good Practice Podcast, Ross G and Owen explore innovation with Alan Cabello, Senior Research Fellow and Innovation Lecturer at ETH Zurich, and founder of SparkWorks and Sparkademy.

We discuss:

• the environmental factors required for innovation to happen
• how organizations can increase the chances of innovation taking place
• what individuals can do to become more innovative.

Show notes

In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen recommended Stephen Johnson's book Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer.

If you're wondering what Ross was talkng about in response to Owen, he was mangling a reference from The Political Gabfest: slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest/2021/04/biden-first-100-days

Ross recommended Dungeons and Dragons as a team activity.

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

You can find SparkWorks at: sparkworks.ch, and SparkAdemy at: sparkademy.com

Connect with our speakers

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

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerEW
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Alan Cabello - @AlanSKbyo