L&D and customer education are similar, but not the same. There is a lot L&D can learn from this parallel profession. In this episode, Debbie Smith joins Jess Almlie to reveal the secrets of successful customer education that L&D should adopt as their own. They discuss why learners should feel empowered, not controlled whether or not those learners are external customers. As well as how L&D can adopt the data-driven, outcome-focused mindset that customer education requires.

Jess and Debbie discuss

• The top priorities of customer education vs. L&D.
• The differences in designing for voluntary vs. captive audiences.
• Applying Mayer's 12 principles of multimedia design combined with cognitive load theory.
• Using adoption paired with company drivers and goals as measures for success.
• Tracking patterns of behavior change long term.
• Focusing on long-term business impact.

About Debbie Smith

Debbie is the Senior Director of Visier University and president of CEDMA (Customer Education Management Association). She is a Customer Education (CE) leader with extensive experience in CE strategy, certification, instructional design, eLearning design and development, customer experience, and project management. As a member of the CE community, she is a sought-after mentor and thought leader in the growth and evolution of the industry. She has led large and small teams at various SaaS companies and serves on a number of customer advisory boards. She has contributed to two books, multiple podcasts, and webinars. She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

Find and connect with Debbie Smith

• LinkedIn
• Website: Visier University
• Website: CEDMA
• DevLearn Conference 2025

Find and connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: jessalmlie.com
• L&D Must Change Newsletter
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Additional Links from the Show

• Article: Mayer's 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning
• Article: Cognitive Load Theory and Instructional Design

Now Available! Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner, published by ATD Press, is now available for pre-order wherever books are sold! To learn more and be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the virtual launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!

Too often, training misses the mark because it skips the most important step. In this episode of L&D Must Change, Candice Mitchell joins Jess Almlie to unpack why context should always come before content in L&D. Candice shares practical strategies for uncovering business needs, building credibility, and shifting away from the traditional order-taker mindset. From gathering macro trends to asking the right stakeholder questions, she illustrates how deeper context leads to faster and more relevant learning solutions. Tune in for a lively, honest conversation full of actionable insights and a few nerdy laughs along the way.

Jess and Candice discuss

• Flipping our ratio of context to content creation by spending more time understanding business context than creating the content.
• A diversified process to gather context in any organization.
• Overcoming time constraints with the stakeholder who doesn't want to allow for time to gather context.
• Reframing requests in business terms vs. L&D terms.
• How to demonstrate value through small wins and consistent communication.
• Avoiding common pitfalls when responding to training requests.

About Candice Mitchell

Candice Mitchell is the founder of Talent Development Nerds and the creator of the Talent Development Academy® which is a strategic learning program that helps L&D professionals become indispensable partners to the business. She’s a fractional Chief Learning Officer and trusted advisor to companies building capability from the ground up. Candice is known for cutting through the noise with practical, business-first advice and a healthy dose of tough love. Her work spans strategy, change, performance, and culture, and she’s on a mission to make L&D more impactful, more respected, and more energizing, for everyone involved.

Find and connect with Candice Mitchell

• Website: www.talentdevelopmentnerds.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candicemitchelltdnerd/
• Instagram (so much fun!): https://www.instagram.com/candice_mitchell_msc/
• Podcast: Development Nerds – available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube link: https://open.spotify.com/show/56cZnQtmXloGpGcDt2McoP?si=d961aac2fadd412f
• YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/@candicemitchell.TDNerd
• Candice's Impact Toolkit: https://talentdevelopmentnerds.com/impact

Find and connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: jessalmlie.com
• L&D Must Change Newsletter
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Coming Soon! Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner will be published by ATD Press later this year. To be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the virtual launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!

What happens when L&D professionals start thinking like marketers? In this episode, Jess Almlie talks with Mike Taylor and Bianca Baumann about how adopting a marketing mindset can transform learning experiences. From learner personas to emotional storytelling and irresistible content design, they share real-world strategies and small shifts with big impact. Discover how to connect more deeply with learners and elevate engagement through their new book, Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro.

Jess, Mike, and Bianca discuss

• The benefits of L&D adopting a marketer mindset
• How to apply key marketing concepts for L&D such as creating learner personas, developing learner journeys, and crafting emotionally resonant content.
• Using the SURE framework (Simple, Useful, Resonant, Easy to scan/process) when writing descriptions, designing content, and communicating with learners
• Small shifts in approach that lead to big impact on learner engagement and content effectiveness
• Leveraging marketing tools like platforms and analytics
• Using learners' subconscious decision making to drive outcomes

About Mike Taylor

With over two decades of experience as a learning consultant, Mike has been a driving force behind transformative instructional design and organizational performance. Known for his captivating speaking style and influential newsletter, Mike is dedicated to making learning more engaging, accessible, and effective. As a faculty member in Franklin University's Graduate Instructional Design and Technology program, he bridges the gap between academic theory and real-world practice, equipping future learning professionals with the skills to excel in today's dynamic landscape. Mike's innovative approach and infectious passion are redefining the way we think about learning.

About Bianca Baumann

Bianca Baumann is a seasoned L&D strategist with more than 15 years of experience in L&D. She is passionate about consulting on effective, new solutions to serve learners’ needs. She has helped dozens of organizations improve their onboarding and reskilling programs. Baumann speaks at international conferences and is a facilitator at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Find and connect with Mike Taylor and Bianca Baumann

• Mike Taylor LinkedIn
• Bianca Baumann LinkedIn
• Mike Taylor's Website and Newsletter: https://mike-taylor.org/
• Bianca Baumann Website: https://www.biancabaumann.com/
• Think Like a Marketer Website: https://trainlikeamarketer.com/
• Book: Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro

Find and connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: jessalmlie.com
• L&D Must Change Newsletter

Coming Soon! Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner will be published by ATD Press later this year. To be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the virtual launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!

Think you need a fancy job title to land your dream L&D role? Think again. In this episode of L&D Must Change, Jess sits down with Sarah Cannistra, L&D career coach, author of Land Your Next L&D Role, and passionate advocate for breaking out of the "one and done" career mindset. Together, they unravel why L&D professionals often don't apply their own learning philosophies to their own career growth and how to change that. If you’re an L&D pro ready to rethink your path and future-proof your career, this conversation is your new roadmap.

Sarah and Jess Discuss

• How L&D professionals tend to approach our career development with a "one-and-done" mindset, contradicting how we view learning for others.
• Expanding our career journey from chasing job titles (title vision) to identifying impact.
• Using your own L&D "niche" as a north star for career decisions.
• How to find and define your L&D niche.
• Viewing your resume as a marketing document vs. a laundry list of activities.
• How to use your resume to stand out from the crowd.
• Using a Boolean search to find relevant roles beyond job titles.

About Sarah Cannistra

Sarah Cannistra is a passionate Learning and Development (L&D) leader and career coach dedicated to helping others grow. She began her career in sales, where she thrived in understanding clients’ needs and guiding them to their perfect homes. As she moved into management, Sarah discovered an even greater passion, coaching and developing people. She built training programs, shadowing opportunities, and learning resources for her team, finding deep fulfillment in their growth. Her career path shifted entirely when she attended a leadership development session and realized that facilitating learning was the work she was meant to do.

That moment led to her first role in L&D—offered to her on the spot—despite having no formal background in the field. Less than two years later, Sarah became the Director of Corporate Training for an organization of over 2,500 employees. Since then, she has led the learning function at five organizations, created hundreds of training programs, hired over 100 L&D practitioners, and served more than 20,000 learners. Since 2020, through coaching, courses, and communities, she has helped over 1,000 people transition into L&D careers, guiding them to find, land, and grow in roles they love. Sarah is also the host of The L&D Career Club Podcast, a top 200 career podcast dedicated to helping professionals break into and thrive in the L&D field.

Find and Connect with Sarah Cannistra

• LinkedIn
• Website: https://www.theovernighttrainer.com/
• Book: Land Your Next L&D Role: Creating a Career that Works for You
• Podcast: The L&D Career Club

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• L&D Must Change Newsletter

Additional Links from the Show

• Using Boolean search on LinkedIn

Coming Soon! Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner will be published by ATD Press later this year. To be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the virtual launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!

Imagine a world where L&D is a driving force behind business transformation, not just a provider of training. In this episode, David James, former Disney L&D leader and current CLO of 360Learning shares why realizing this vision requires L&D to mature beyond reactive and even proactive operational models. He introduces a new L&D maturity model that lays out a clear roadmap for that shift and explains why this evolution is more urgent than ever. This conversation offers both inspiration and a practical starting point for what’s next.

Jess and David discuss

• The need for L&D to mature beyond providing learning.
• How most of the L&D profession is operating at a low level of maturity, stuck in reactive and proactive models.
• Why shifting stakeholder expectations and organizational mindsets is essential for maturing the L&D function.
• An overview of the 5 levels of a new L&D maturity model: Reactive, Proactive, Impacting, Strategic, and Transformative.
• Using this maturity model as both a vision and roadmap for the future.
• The potential a maturedL&D function has to close a $6.5 trillion skills gap.

About David James

David James is the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and a highly respected voice in the Learning & Development industry. With a focus on harnessing technology to drive impactful learning strategies, David is recognised as one of the top 10 global influencers in the L&D space. His expertise lies in helping organisations modernise their approach to workplace learning, ensuring measurable results and business alignment.

David is also the host of The Learning & Development Podcast, which has amassed over 500,000 downloads and ranks in the top 1% of podcasts globally. With nearly 30,000 LinkedIn followers, he continues to shape the conversation around L&D innovation and best practices, drawing on his deep experience, including his time as Director of Learning, Talent & Organisational Development at The Walt Disney Company.

Find and connect with David James

• Podcast: The Learning & Development Podcast
• LinkedIn
• Website
• Take the L&D Maturity Model Assessment

Find and connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• L&D Must Change Newsletter Sign-Up

Coming soon!

Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner will be published by ATD Press later on September 2. To be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the virtual launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!

Good feedback fuels performance and behavior change. Poor feedback does the opposite. It’s one of the most powerful tools in a leader’s toolkit, yet one of the hardest to get right. In this episode, Dr. Ken Nowack and Dr. Sandra Mashihi unpack why feedback often fails, and how L&D can help leaders build the skills to deliver it in ways that actually drive results. From the neuroscience of feedback to practical models like the 3E framework and 4-quadrant approach, Ken and Sandra offer L&D professionals a clear path to elevating feedback across the organization.

What You'll hear:

• How to move beyond feedback systems to personal connections.
• Addressing the gap between leader and employee perspectives on feedback.
• A 4-quadrant model that provides guidelines for personalized performance feedback.
• The neuroscience behind both successful and painful feedback.
• The 3Es of effective performance feedback: Enlighten, Encourage, Enable.
• Cultural considerations for feedback.

About Dr. Sandra Mashihi

Dr. Sandra Mashihi is a distinguished Organizational Psychologist, keynote speaker, and author with over 20 years of experience. She is dedicated to transforming leadership behavior, building high-performing teams, and enhancing workplace relationships. As the founder of Spectra Coaching, Sandra leads with a blend of psychology and practical strategies that have successfully impacted Fortune 500 companies and leaders across industries.

About Dr. Kenneth M. Nowack

Kenneth M. Nowack, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and Senior Research Officer of Envisia Learning, Inc. Dr. Nowack received his doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Nowack is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Division 13: Society of Consulting Psychology and was the former Editor-in-Chief of the Consulting Psychology Journal. He is also a member of Daniel Goleman’s Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations.

Find and Connect with Sandra and Ken

• LinkedIn: Sandra Mashihi, Ken Nowack
• Websites: Sandra - www.spectracoaching.com, Ken - www.envisialearning.com
• Book: Performance Feedback Strategies: Driving Successful Behavior Change

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Subscribe to the L&D Must Change Newsletter

Coming Soon! Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner will be published by ATD Press on September 2, 2025. To be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the virtual launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!

Everyone’s talking about AI—but are we thinking about it the right way? In this special one-year anniversary episode, I finally dive into the AI conversation with Josh Penzell, who challenges us to see AI not as a tool, but as a teammate. This conversation isn’t about learning prompts—it’s about shifting mindsets and imagining what’s possible when we stop trying to make faster horses and start building something entirely new.

Josh and Jess Discuss

• Using AI as a collaborative team member and not a tool.
• Working with AI as a brainstorming partner to reduce cognitive load and improve creativity.
• Developing our skills working with AI, instead of spending time figuring out how to use AI.
• Thinking about AI as a student and our L&D participants as teachers.
• How AI provides an entirely new infinity point of what's possible, busting through current scarcity models and resource restrictions.
• Shifting from the traditional L&D approach focused on creating optimized, one-size-fits-all learning experiences to one that enables individualized learning.

About Josh Penzell

Josh Penzell is the VP of AI-Driven Transformation at ELB Learning and Founder and Chief Transformation Officer at Imagination Applied. He helps organizations rethink how they integrate AI—not as a tool, but as a collaborative force that enhances learning, leadership, and innovation.

With a career spanning Amazon Alexa, Zillow Rentals, and Skillsoft, Josh brings a unique perspective that blends corporate strategy with his background as a musical theater director. This fusion of disciplines led to the creation of TheaterThink®, a methodology that applies storytelling, improvisation, and systems thinking to help businesses navigate change, drive transformation, and make AI work for humans, not against them.

A sought-after speaker at industry events like ATD, Learning Technologies, and Training Industry conferences, Josh is also one of the 14% of qualified autistic professionals in corporate leadership. He is a strong advocate for neurodiversity, AI ethics, and adaptive leadership, helping organizations shift their mindset from AI as a disruptor to AI as an enabler.

Find and connect with Josh Penzell

• LinkedIn
• ELB Learning
• Email: josh@joshpenzell.com
• AI Assistant: JoshPGPT.AI

Find and connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: jessalmlie.com
• L&D Must Change Newsletter

Coming Soon! Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner will be published by ATD Press on September 2, 2025. To be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!

When does the L&D function form in an organization? What's the first order of business when it does? Today's guest, Tom Bowen, is known as the L&D pro who can get an L&D function up and running in the startup world and he's done that job over and over again. He even calls himself a "serial startup guy" for L&D. In this episode, Tom will share what it's like to be the first L&D pro hired into a small start-up business including when he's usually brought in, what he does first, and what makes working in L&D in the startup world unique.

Jess and Tom discuss

• The main focus areas for L&D in a startup.
• Key skills needed for those working in the fast-paced startup environment.
• The need to identify and prioritize all the "fires" according to which will mitigate future issues.
• How a startup's rapid growth requires the ability to scale processes and systems quickly.
• Pairing risk and volatility against the potential for large impact.
• Behaviors L&D can learn from the startup world.

About Tom Bowen

Tom Bowen has been in the talent development world since 2008 and has predominantly focused on the education and tech sectors. He is a "serial startup guy" and really thrives in creating order in the chaos that often comes with a rapidly growing organization. He is most recently at Alchemy, a blockchain infrastructure startup valued at over $10B, where he leads all things people impact and change management. Often described as a divergent thinker, Tom enjoys challenging the status quo and finds the highest ROI activities are the ones where people are finding new ways to gain leverage with their time and energy and unlock their potential.

Find and connect with Tom Bowen

• LinkedIn

Find and connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: jessalmlie.com
• L&D Must Change Newsletter

Coming Soon! Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner will be published by ATD Press later this year. To be the first to get behind-the-scenes updates, early sneak peeks, and join the launch party, join Jess's email list! You'll get the L&D Must Change newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly as well as special updates on the book when available. Click here to join!