In November I attended the Learning 2018 conference in Orlando. This was the 28th year of this conference, which brings learning and development professionals together from around the world. This year there were 1873 attendees from 27 different countries were represented, who are responsible for learning and development for over 30 million employees worldwide.
The theme of the conference this year was "Learning Changes." Learners are changing, technology is changing, as are expectations and the economy. The other main theme of the conference this year was the need for diversity, what it really means, and that cultivating diversity isn't just culturally positive, but can bring about economic improvements as well. Other themes running through the conference included leadership development and designing effective onboarding for new staff.
One idea that regularly was mentioned was the idea of fear and how it prevents us from achievement. Keynote speaker Leslie Odom Jr. said that he recognized that all the things he wants in life are "on the other side of my fear," and session leader Deepak Sethi suggested that the way to overcome fear is to do more of the thing that you fear. I even experienced a tiny bit of fear myself when trying to drive a bulldozer in the construction simulation machine, where the danger isn't real but is noticable and can affect performance.
I also learned some interesting but random things, like the fact that there are conferences for people who design and run haunted houses, that walking in a small group in a natural setting is the best stress reliever, and that Plants vs. Zombies is a good learning game because you have to plan ahead and adapt. I also learned that when NASCAR pit crews change tires they leave the lug nuts on the ground and they are routinely hit by these and other debris as the car returns to the track, and that in Fortune 1000 companies there are more CEOs named David than there are women, and only 3 are African-American.
Lisa R. Kenyon
Staff Development and Training
