Host Brian Washburn talks with Katrina Kennedy, author of Learning That Lasts: Reflection Activities for Trainers and Designers, about how reflection helps transform training from a one-time event into lasting behavior change. Katrina shares practical ways to integrate reflective activities before, during, and after learning—what she calls “pre-flection” and reflection—to deepen understanding and strengthen application. She also offers tips for choosing the right activities based on outcomes, time, and audience, and explains why skilled facilitation and time management are key to making reflection work.

📖 Check out Katrina Kennedy's book Learning That Lasts: Reflection Activities for Trainers and Designers

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox +AI, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

Research shows that management quality is the single biggest predictor of employee satisfaction and retention. In this episode, Brian Washburn speaks with Dan Lawner, Founder of Bevel Talent, about why managers are the key to employee engagement and organizational success. They discuss common challenges mid-sized organizations face as they grow, what makes leadership development programs effective, and practical ways to start improving leadership, even without formal programs.

From accountability and peer support to mentorship and cohort discussions, Dan shares actionable strategies to address leadership gaps and help organizations align managers, boost engagement, and drive performance.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox +AI, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

Too often in L&D, we’re handed a “training solution” and asked to deliver it without question. In this episode, Brian Washburn talks with L&D expert Jess Almlie about how to stop being an “order taker” and become a strategic business partner. They discuss why relationships matter, how small mindset shifts—from helper to partner—can increase influence, and practical ways to add real business value. Packed with actionable insights, this episode is perfect for anyone looking to elevate their impact in learning and development.

📖 Check out Jess Almlie's book L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox +AI, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

If you're interested in how L&D professionals can support better leadership at every level of an organization, check out my latest podcast with The HR Lady, Wendy Sellers. Wendy brings a direct, practical approach to leadership, and she doesn’t shy away from tough conversations or tough truths.

Tune in to hear thoughts on what leadership really means, why titles don’t make leaders, and how HR and L&D can work together to support stronger workplace culture and retention.
Wendy also shares a practical technique (something you could try tomorrow with your team!) to help leaders step outside their own perspective.

📖 Check out Wendy's book Suck It Up, Buttercup: Be a Leader People Will Follow.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox +AI, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

What does it really take to build a lasting business? Brian Washburn and Tim Waxenfelter, co-founders of Endurance Learning, pull back the curtain on 10 years of grit, unexpected pivots, and hard-won lessons. No sugarcoating; just real stories from the trenches of entrepreneurship. The episode serves as both a celebration of their milestone and practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in Learning & Development or consulting.

⛵Endurance Learning is a full service training development company, delivering the best in elearning, instructor-led training, and train-the-trainer sessions. 

🎩Check out Small Business Founder where Tim and Brian share lessons they've learned with other small business owners.

🎯 Use AI in your training process with the free learning objectives generator.

📙Brian simplifies training design in his book,  Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📘 Brian’s book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources on this topic and others from Endurance Learning. 

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox with AI, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

Host Brian Washburn chats with learning consultant and author Mike Taylor about his new book, Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro, which he co-authored with Bianca Baumann. Taylor dives into the overlap between marketing and learning & development (L&D), arguing that marketers are far better at capturing attention and sparking behavior change, two areas where L&D often falls short. He shares ways that, with just a shift in mindset, applying marketing principles to training design can create a strikingly more engaging and effective learning experience.

📖 Visit Mike Taylor's book website Train Like a Marketer

📗Get Mike Taylor's book: Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro

🎯 Use AI in your training process with the free learning objectives generator.

📙Brian simplifies training design in his book,  Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📘 Brian’s book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources on this topic and others from Endurance Learning. 

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox with AI, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

Donald Taylor’s 2025 Learning & Development Global Sentiment Survey reveals AI’s explosive impact on workplace learning, but the real story is how professionals are moving from buzz to action—using it for everything from quick content fixes to reshaping skills strategies. Yet, the timeless challenge remains: proving L&D’s value. Are we chasing trends or driving results?

🗄️Download Donald Taylor’s 2025 Learning & Development Global Sentiment Survey

📜 Read the full transcript of The Pulse of Learning: The 2025 L&D Global Sentiment Survey.

🎯 Use AI in your training process with the free learning objectives generator.

📖 Brian's own perespective on the future of L&D is in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources on this topic and others from Endurance Learning. 

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox with AI, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

Whether you are working in an NGO or not, this discussion with Gretchen Regehr from Conservation International will have you thinking more deeply about the role of both talent management and talent development in your organization.

I've added some links below to relevant resources including the newest, our Free Learning Objectives Generator!

🎯 Create training session descriptions and learning objectives with a free learning objectives generator.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of the discussion of Talent Development in NGO's.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

We love cooking up new resources for the L&D field. We get excited when people download them. But we don't often know how they're being used. I had the opportunity to talk to two early childhood leaders, Glenna Gamble and Sharon Norris, and learn about how the integrated Endurance Learning's Activity Cookbook into their early childhood training session. 

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

Brian spoke with John Edinger, a trainer he met while delivering a train-the-trainer session.

John shares just what it was about the design of the program that he went through that inspired him to be doing things new or differently or better, even though he'd already been training for a while. 


📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

This is the followup conversation with  Tim Barnosky, Manager of Training and Development for Innovative Solutions about his work building an L&D function from scratch. Check out episode 147 to hear the first part of this conversation.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning.
 
🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning: www.endurancelearning.com

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

How strategic is your training program? How outcome-oriented, governed or sustainable is it? In today's podcast, Danielle Duran speaks with Brian Washburn about how to objectively measure your training program in those four key areas.

Endurance Learning is a full-service training design and development firm that has helped dozens of organizations build out mature training programs using elearning, instructor-led training, and train-the-trainer programs. Since 2015, our team of expert instructional designers and developers has helped professionals with deep subject matter expertise design and develop training that delivers real impact.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing. training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning.

🆓 Get access to more free resources to help develop your training program from Endurance Learning. 

📝 If you want to learn more about creating your own training, read about what questions you should ask yourself when building a program.


🎙️Listen to Brian talk with Michelle Baker about some of the most common training elements and how to use them effectively.

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course, which can help you build a training program, at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Build your training program faster with a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals create facilitated training and develop training programs faster and better.

When participating in a DEI-focused session led by Jolene Jang at a recent conference, Brian Washburn found himself continuously shaking his head. Every time she pointed out another way learning design can be more inclusive, and quite frankly inviting, to all learners, he thought: there's something else I'm not currently doing. Join Endurance Learning's Brian Washburn as he sits down with Jolene Jang to find out more about ways to design more inclusive training programs.


Endurance Learning is a full-service training development partner, specializing in elearning, instructor-led training, and train-the-trainer programs. Since 2015, our team of expert instructional designers and developers has helped professionals with deep subject matter expertise design and develop training that delivers real impact.


🎙️Listen to Brian talk to Carrie Heron about finding success in DEI training.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

💻 Visit Jolene Jang’s website and learn more about why inclusivity matters in training.

📖 Still trying to figure out how to build inclusive training? Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning.

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course and dive deeper into creating inclusive training at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Want to apply what you’ve learned in this episode? Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox and build your own inclusive program with the revolutionary tool that's helping professionals create facilitated training faster and better.

Natalie Mazzie, an experienced sales enablement professional, discussed the crossover between training and sales enablement. Hear the Top 3 Sales Enablement Lessons for Learning & Development Professionals and more in this conversation with Endurance Learning's Brian Washburn.

www.endurancelearning.com

Is your ILT designed with accessibility and inclusion in mind? Gwen Navarrete Klapperich wants to make sure you consider accessibility and inclusion in your ILT design, and offers some suggestions on how to do just that.
Brian Washburn is the CEO of Endurance Learning where he helps find and grow a team of incredible instructional designers, elearning developers, and all around amazing people who build high quality and affordable training solutions for a wide variety of organizations. Brian ’s Train-the-Trainer sessions help transform teams of subject matter experts into trainers & facilitators that lead highly engaging workshops.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning. 

🎙️Listen to Brian talk to Jolene Jang about inclusive training design.

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy and get more information on how to inclusively design training.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox and create inclusive training quicker than ever with the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better

If you've ever been to an escape room, you can observe what a group of highly engaged people look like for 60 straight minutes. Is there a way to harness escape room design elements and bring them into the world of corporate training? Brian talks to Nate Martin, often cited as the founding father of the American escape room experience.

While the team at Endurance Learning hasn’t designed any actual escape rooms (but did include a digital escape room in its Foundations of L&D program) it is well known as a full-service training development partner, specializing in elearning, instructor-led training, and train-the-trainer programs. Since 2015, our team of expert instructional designers and developers has helped professionals with deep subject matter expertise design and develop training that delivers real impact.


📖 Learn more about how you can use instructional design and how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Brian's book Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems.

📝 Read about how you can combine AI and instructional design to perfect your results.

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Want to perfect your instructional design? Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals create facilitated training faster and better.

When you're applying for an L&D job, how do you best position yourself to get a call from a recruiter or hiring manager? Experienced HR professional, Maria Leggett, offers her insights in today's podcast.

Endurance Learning is a full-service training development partner, specializing in elearning, instructor-led training, and train-the-trainer programs. Since 2015, our team of expert instructional designers and developers has helped professionals with deep subject matter expertise design and develop training that delivers real impact.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems.

🎙️Listen to Brian talk to L&D professionals Asha Aravindakshan and Rae Button about how you can successfully transition to a career in L&D.

🆓 Get access to more free resources that can help you build an even better resume from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Want to make your resume even stronger? Learn about Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of Brian’s discuss about resumes for L&D.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals created facilitated training faster and better.

If you're looking to pivot into a role in the corporate training or learning and development space, this episode will give you some insights and questions to think about.

Transitioning fields can be tough, but Endurance Learning’s team of instructional designers can ease the pressure. Endurance Learning is a full-service training development partner, specializing in elearning, instructor-led training, and train-the-trainer programs. Since 2015, our team of expert instructional designers and developers has helped professionals with deep subject matter expertise design and develop training that delivers real impact.


📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Pivot into corporate training and L&D effectively with Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula?  that helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems. You can also check out the companion website, 51 Elements of Learning.

🎙️Listen to Brian talk more with Asha Aravindakshan about pivoting into L&D. 

📖 Read Asha Aravindakshan’s book Skills: The Common Denominator and learn more about transitioning careers.

🆓 Get access to more free resources about corporate training and learning & development from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn everything you need to know to be successful in learning and development with Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of this episode.

💻 Need some help in your new corporate training position? Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals create facilitated training faster and better.

How do you build an L&D team from scratch? Tim Barnosky of Innovative Solutions is currently in the process of answering that question. Today's podcast revolves around his vision and the challenges he anticipates.

Useful Links:

• Endurance Learning
• Soapbox
• L&D Pro Academy

The constructal law of design and evolution in nature can actually be applied in very concrete ways to the world of learning and professional development to help individuals, teams and organizations flow more efficiently.

Endurance Learning is a full-service training development partner, specializing in elearning, instructor-led training, and train-the-trainer programs. Since 2015, our team of expert instructional designers and developers has helped professionals with deep subject matter expertise design and develop training that delivers real impact.

📖 Brian shows how the build-borrow-buy approach can help small L&D teams deliver amazing training in Instructional Design on a Shoestring. 

📖 Brian’s first book, What’s Your Formula? helps professionals find the right approach for their business problems.

🆓 Get access to more free resources from Endurance Learning. 

🎓 Learn more about incorporating natural laws of design and evolution with Endurance Learning’s Foundations of L&D course at L&D Pro Academy.

📜 Read the full transcript of Connecting Theoretical Physics with Learning & Development.

💻 Start a FREE TRIAL of Soapbox, the revolutionary tool helping professionals create facilitated training faster and better.