From Order Taker to Strategic Partner with Tracie Cantu

The business is your customer. The learner is your consumer. If you’ve been thinking about it the other way round, this episode will make you think a little differently.

Tracy Cantu, Senior Learning Leader and author of Running L&D Like a Business, opens with the idea that when L&D designs for the wrong “customer,” teams end up busy, but not necessarily effective. The result is often more content with outcomes that don’t match.

Think learning needs to be formal? Think again. A post-it note on a monitor can be learning if it helps someone do their job, because in some cases, the best L&D output is a job aid, not a course.

Governance comes up as well, which Tracy describes it as bowling alley bumper guards. The structure helps teams make decisions without waiting for approval at every step.

Learning points from the episode include:

1. 00:00 – 01:06 Introduction
2. 01:06 – 03:29 Tracy’s book and why she wrote it
3. 03:29 – 07:05 The difference between a customer and consumer
4. 07:05 – 09:07 Choosing the right format for the right moment
5. 09:07 – 13:41 AI, job loss, and the rise of L&D business partners
6. 13:41 – 20:59 Letting go of the wheel and empowering others to self-serve
7. 20:59 – 24:41 Governance, intake management, and treating learning like a portfolio
8. 24:41 – 27:11 The 72% onboarding data and proving learning impact
9. 27:11 – 29:15 Brag like the sales team
10. 29:15 – 30:37 Where to find Tracy
11. 30:37 – 32:22 Outro

Important links and mentions:

1. Buy Tracy’s book: https://tracywroteabook.com
2. Visit Tracy’s consulting firm: https://yourclo.net
3. Connect with Tracy Cantu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traciemcantu/
4. Learn more about Camtasia: https://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/