Leading Through Culture, Teams, and AI-driven Change John Helmer discusses organizational culture, collective leadership, and AI's impact on future workplaces with Kevin Oakes (CEO, i4cp), Kim McMurdo (Global Head of OD, Standard Chartered), and Terry Jones (Sr. Director, Global Talent & Development, Palo Alto Networks). Key themes include culture renovation, developing team-centric leadership capabilities, and leveraging AI for enhanced human productivity in rapidly evolving organizations. The ...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 12Ep. 112
The Battle To Keep Inclusion on the Organizational Agenda. Is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) under existential threat? With political shifts and corporate cutbacks, is this the end of D.E.I. as we know it—or just a moment of transformation? In this episode, John Helmer speaks with Amri B. Johnson , author of Reconstructing Inclusion and CEO of Inclusion Wins, about the evolving landscape of D.E.I. in the workplace. They discuss whether D.E.I. is fundamentally flawed, if it will persis...
Mar 17, 2025•52 min•Season 12Ep. 111
In this episode, John Helmer engages with UK-based artificial intelligence expert Robert Guidi to explore the potential impact of AI on Learning and Development (L&D). With a background in data science and technology policy, Robert has worked across industries to help organizations navigate the opportunities and risks of AI adoption, translating complex AI concepts into practical strategies. They discuss whether AI poses an existential threat to the L&D profession or offers new opportunities for...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 12Ep. 110
Mastering Skills Tech: Implementation, Validation & Organizational Change. In this episode, we delve into the evolving landscape of skills technology with Teresa Rose, an award-winning learning and performance consultant and founder of ConsultHer Ltd. With over 16 years of experience in organizational and people development, Teresa shares her insights on implementing skills technology, the importance of skills validation, and how organizations can adapt to make skills initiatives successful. We ...
Feb 10, 2025•51 min•Season 12Ep. 109
Challenging assumptions about learning, performance, and the rise of AI. Nick Shackleton-Jones returns to The Learning Hack to challenge assumptions about learning theory, discuss his Affective Context Model, and reflect on the future of workplace learning. From TikTok as a learning platform to the risks of deceptive AI, this thought-provoking conversation will inspire and provoke in equal measure. Prepare for fresh insights and bold perspectives from one of learning’s great minds. 00:00:00 - St...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 12Ep. 108
Voices from Berlin: Learning in the Age of AI. In this episode, John Helmer reports from the Online Educa Berlin (OEB) Conference, engaging with four influential voices in learning and development: futurist Gerd Leonhard, workplace learning expert Laura Overton, digital education innovator Maribel Reyes-Millán, and L&D thought leader Donald H. Taylor. Together, they discuss the transformative power of AI, strategies for navigating disruption, and the evolving demands of learning in an uncertain ...
Jan 13, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Season 12Ep. 107
Revisiting Learning Theories: Insights and Challenges for the Future In this special live episode of Great Minds on Learning, recorded at Online Educa Berlin 2024, Donald Clark and John Helmer tackle listener questions about learning theory’s relevance, biases, and practical applications. They reflect on three years of the podcast, exploring 2,500 years of educational thought, and discuss the future of learning, including the transformative impact of AI. Engaging and insightful, this episode is ...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 37
Breaking Barriers: Disability Awareness and Cultural Change in Workplaces In this episode, Chris Jay, founder of Bascule Disability Training, shares insights into creating inclusive workplaces and tackling stereotypes about disability. Drawing from personal experiences as a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, Chris discusses the economic benefits of inclusion, the challenges of hidden disabilities, and the importance of cultural change. He also explores disability representation in media throug...
Dec 02, 2024•41 min•Season 12Ep. 106
Send in your questions for the Great Minds on Learning Q&A! Donald Clark and John Helmer will answer them at Online Educa Conference in Berlin, which will be recorded for a podcast episode to be issued before Christmas 2024. Email them in to [email protected] or reach out on social media.
Nov 21, 2024•58 sec
Strategic Insights on Leadership, AI, and Skills for Tomorrow John Helmer explores the future of learning with Anne-Valérie Corboz (HEC Paris), Jane Underwood (Reckitt), and Sarah Otley (Akkodis Academy). They discuss leadership evolution, generative AI’s impact, and strategies for building future-ready skills. From innovation challenges to aligning L&D with business goals, this episode offers actionable insights for learning professionals navigating rapid technological change and preparing for ...
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 11Ep. 105
The Future of Learning with AI: Moving Past Simple Applications to Transformational Impact (Learning Leaders pilot) This episode premieres the newest podcast from the Learning Hack stable, Learning Leaders, produced by NIIT in association with The Learning Hack. In this pilot episode, John explores the future of AI learning with Gregg Collins and Sailesh Lalla. Moving beyond content creation, they discuss how AI can drive performance by delivering personalized, real-time learning experiences. Di...
Nov 04, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 11Ep. 104
Exploring Appalachia’s Culture and Countering Stereotypes Through Podcasting In this episode, John Helmer is joined by Brigid McCormack, podcast producer and researcher, to discuss her study on podcasting in the Appalachian region of the United States. Brigid shares how local podcasters in this culturally rich yet often stereotyped region are using the medium to tell authentic stories and challenge long-standing negative narratives. She also touches on the power of oral storytelling and podcasti...
Oct 21, 2024•44 min•Season 11Ep. 103
An innovative performance support project in healthcare points the way to significant productivity improvements. In this episode, John Helmer is joined by Saskia Huusen, Sanne Mateman, and Callum Clark to discuss a groundbreaking AI-powered learning project at the Alrijne Healthcare Group. This practical conversation dives deep into the real-world application of AI in learning, demonstrating eye-opening time savings and efficiency improvements in a healthcare setting. The team shares how they im...
Oct 07, 2024•57 min•Season 11Ep. 102
The Chair of iVentiv’s upcoming Learning Futures conference talks AI, performance and L&D complacency. John Helmer speaks with Charles Jennings, managing director of Duntroon Consultants and a founding partner of the 70:20:10 Institute. Charles has over 40 years of experience in corporate learning and performance improvement and is widely known for advocating the 70:20:10 framework. The conversation delves into the future of workplace learning, exploring how L&D professionals can evolve their st...
Sep 23, 2024•52 min•Season 11Ep. 101
How a top CLO, author and podcaster transforms learning strategy. In this special 100th episode of The Learning Hack podcast, we celebrate a milestone by diving deep into curiosity and corporate learning with Simon Brown, Global Learning and Development Leader at EY and best-selling author of The Curious Advantage. Simon, formerly CLO at Novartis, shares his insights on the pivotal role curiosity plays in driving personal and organizational growth. We explore how AI is reshaping learning landsca...
Sep 09, 2024•54 min•Season 11Ep. 100
Learning Technologies London is Europe's leading showcase of organisational learning and the technology used to support learning at work. John Helmer visited the show and talked to a rich mix of the most interesting people he found there: the analyst, the ingenue, the philosopher, the CLO, the keynoter, the vendor, the budget holder and the pirate (yarr!). The result is a snapshot of the industry, and a deep dive into key themes and insights shaping the future of the learning profession. 00:00:0...
May 20, 2024•3 hr 35 min•Season 10Ep. 99
An award-winning learning designer reflects on 30 episodes of our sister podcast, Great Minds on Learning. This episode features a deep dive into the history of learning theory with Leonard Houx, Director of Learning Design at the Cambridge Education Group. Host John Helmer and Houx embark on an intellectual journey through the evolution of educational philosophy, touching on the contributions of ancient Greeks, German idealists, and the foundational concepts of modern education systems. 00:00:0...
Apr 08, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Season 10Ep. 98
What does the intense focus on AI in learning today have to say about the future of L&D? Don Taylor is a well-recognised commentator and thinker in the fields of workplace learning and supporting technologies. He speaks world-wide, and has chaired the Learning Technologies Conference in London since 2000. His annual L&D Global Sentiment Survey, started in 2014, provides a unique perspective on L&D trends from over 100 countries, asking the question, what’s going to be hot in L&D? No surprise, pe...
Mar 25, 2024•52 min•Season 10Ep. 97
Turning uncertainty from a problem into an opportunity. We are living in a time of great uncertainty. Economies are still suffering the effects of Covid. Countries that are home to nearly half the world's population will hold elections in 2024. Meanwhile the climate is going mad, and geopolitics seem balanced on a knife edge. How do we cope with all this uncertainty in our personal and working lives? Katherine Templar Lewis and Sam Conniff are uncertainty experts, who bring their learning in neu...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min
In the age of AI, what do we need humans for? The latest advances in AI are highlighting human capabilities, and particularly shortcomings, in a way that causes us once again to re-evaluate what it is to be human. Rob Hubbard is Founder of LearningAge Solutions, an award-winning provider of digital learning services that practices what it calls human-centred learning. What exactly does that mean in the age of AI – and what does the future, for people who want to continue to work and provide valu...
Feb 26, 2024•58 min•Season 10Ep. 95
Does the way we talk about learning improve our understanding – or hold it back? The language of learning is charged with resonant abstract nouns that mobilize professionals around new ideas and concepts. But are these concepts really so new in all cases – and do they provide a focus for practical action? To what extent is the debate driven by the commercial imperatives of Learntech vendors rather than the real needs of employees and students? Peter Manniche Riber is Head of Digital Learning at ...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 10Ep. 94
Can business professionals perform better with improv skills? We admire great improvisers in music (Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix, etc.) while tending to be suspicious of leaders in business and government who seem to be 'making it up as they go along'. But are we right to think that way? Berlin-based Belina Raffy runs a consultancy and training company that helps people in organisations develop improvisation ability. She’s lived in many different countries including the UK, and worked in Finance...
Jan 29, 2024•51 min•Season 10Ep. 93
What is the best approach to using AI for learning in an organisation? My guest this time on the Learning Hack thinks that it’s really important to know what problem you are trying to solve with AI in order to use it effectively for learning. The product has to come before the product. Egle Vinauskaite is the award-winning director of the learning innovation consultancy Nodes. Her expertise in learning, behavioural science, and technology has made her a sought-after edtech advisor by top startup...
Jan 15, 2024•47 min•Season 10Ep. 92
BONUS EPISODE: A talk by John Helmer recorded at the New Learning Conference, Netherlands. Podcasts are everywhere, and have become recognised as a powerful information medium. But can a podcast really cut the mustard as a learning experience? This talk by John Helmer of the Learning Hack podcast, given as a 'live podcast session' at the Next Learning event, provides some answers. John looks at the learning theory around audio learning, practical considerations for using podcasts in an organisat...
Nov 06, 2023•23 min•Season 9Ep. 90
What can horses and brain damage teach us about learning? Sarah Ratcliff is an award-winning Learning Consultant, Speaker, and Ambassador for Learning, with over twenty years experience in the industry. She is currently a spokesperson for the learning provider Cegos, and a regular chair for the Learning Technologies conference. In 2020, she earned the esteemed Learning Professional of the Year award from the LPI. She talks to John about how the experiences in her life that have formed her views ...
Oct 16, 2023•43 min•Season 9Ep. 89
'It all started when NASA read our code ...' Jussi Hurskainen is CEO and co-founder of Valamis, a learning systems company with offices in in the US, India, and across Europe, but headquartered in Finland. In a crowded market, Valamis distinguishes itself by the sophisticated way its platform handles data. Jussi tells John about how the product got its start when Nasa engineers read and were impressed by its code – and what it has been like over the last few years running a company whose worforc...
Oct 02, 2023•31 min•Season 9Ep. 88
Lauren Waldman is a learning consultant, educator, and the founder of The Learning Pirate. She is a certified training and development professional and has received qualifications in Neuroscience from Harvard and John Hopkins University, and in Medical Neuroscience from Duke. She works with organizations to create bespoke, scientifically designed learning programs using the latest cognitive and behavioural science. But with whole learning and development departments being laid off currently, she...
Sep 18, 2023•43 min•Season 9Ep. 87
Kevin M. Yates is known in the global training, learning, and talent development community as the L&D Detective. He investigates impact and solves measurement mysteries with facts, clues, evidence, and data. His rigorous but pragmatic approach is informed by 25+ years industry experience serving in diverse roles across multiple industries and brands including Grant Thornton, Kantar, McDonald’s, and Meta (Facebook). Kevin talks to John about how he see the current state of learning evaluation in ...
Sep 11, 2023•42 min•Season 9Ep. 86
With their delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine accomplished, Andy and John head back home, retracing their tracks across Northern Europe. In a harrowing interview, John talks to a Ukrainian elearning specialist now based in Germany following the sad death of her husband on the frontline in Bahmut. And in Theorists Corner we feature John Comenius and Eric Kandel. 00:00 - Start 00:44 - Intro 02:39 - TFI Friday 15:29 - Theorists Corner: John Comenius 18:36 - Interview: Yuliia Kovach 28:18 - How...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Arrived in Ukraine, Andy and John deliver their aid to the hospital in Lviv. With the main object of the trip accomplished, they take a walk around the city and assess the mood. John interviews Vladimir Polo, a learntech entrepreneur based in Odesa about what it has been like to run a learning company in a war zone. And, in Theorists Corner we feature Lev Vygotsky and Wilhelm Reich. 00:00 - Start 01:11 - Intro 01:43 - From the border to Lviv 04:47 - Theorists Corner: Lev Vygotsky 06:34 - Fulfill...
Aug 29, 2023•37 min
