Let’s work through the problem of Change in both society and Workplace Learning with the first part of a two-part debate with Kate Shaw, Director of Learning at Airbnb. A very high-profile Workplace Learning practitioner with a peerless CV that includes working at both Lucasfilm and Apple - but which started out with Kate studying Russian History at college and which gave her a defining experience visiting with people who were at once so different from us but who also had their own perspective “as valid as my own” - Kate and I go on a journey that hits stops like: Why you can think you’re a depressed nihilist - but how you get betrayed by a love of great food into being a happy Epicurean! How a trip to live among the Cursed Enemy can change you up; How having a Mom that struggled to get the kudos for her work shapes your whole view on life, work, and a Changing workplace; Why a VC was so unimpressed with the original elevator pitch for Airbnb that he asked, ‘I hope you guys have other ideas than this?’… about a platform that has now hosted half a billion nights and is at a higher valuation than its 100-year old biggest competitor; Why you just now and then need to stop working with Silverbacks; The link between Design and Technology, why College just isn’t ever going to enough any more, why the good stuff happens when you make things collide - and much more.

I’d also like to say a big thank you to this episode’s sponsor, Humentum - a global membership association providing training, convening, and support. Humentum works towards social good by helping its partners manage compliance and risk, juggle their finances, design great Workplace Learning programs and overall helping people perform at their best. With offices in Washington, DC, and Oxford, UK, as well as regional hubs in Africa and Latin America, with experts based in a range of countries around the world, Humentum has a mission to inspire and achieve operational excellence at any organization focused on positive societal impact: here’s a great YouTube video that explains what they do.

Resources

Kate and I talked a lot about the idea of ‘Blitzscaling,’ as defined by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh in the book of the same name published last year.

Remember this is the first of a 2-part episode, so we will have more Notes for the second and final part in 2 weeks’ time. Thanks - and enjoy!