I’m an educator and consultant focused on non-linear growth, non-traditional career paths, and navigating ambiguity.
Respect your learners. Don’t waste people's time. Especially in-person time. Be hyper-relevant and provide extra resources for those who want more. Actively support learners from underestimated backgrounds and those with neurodifferences.
Ask WHY before HOW. Know your learners' WIIFM (what's-in-it-for-me?) and be able to articulate that what you're asking them to do will make their lives easier.
Define problems before you try to solve them. Validate assumptions with data. Make sure you're addressing the right problem. Establish what success looks like up front. If you don't have baseline data, capture it in parallel with program development.
Reduce friction. Make it easy for people to find what they need when they need it. Be where learners are: email, apps, phones. Training isn’t always the answer, and an LMS can be a terrible place to hide information.
Make the learner a hero. Leverage stories, scenarios, roleplays, and case studies. Our brains are wired to learn from narratives. Learning objectives can be always framed as user stories.
Build, evaluate, iterate. Launch with high-quality MVPs: learners often teach you more than your SMEs. Keep things micro and MECE. Work harder not smarter: design for scale and extensibility to leverage tested content across multiple programs.