Learning in the Pandemic

Learning Pivots eBook Published by Elliott Masie

Saratoga Springs, NY (USA), November 2020 - Elliott Masie, CEO of The MASIE Center and Chair of The Learning CONSORTIUM, has published an 80-page Learning Pivots eBook on how learning organizations, learning leaders, and learners themselves have been pivoting in the pandemic.

Learning in the pandemic is PIVOTING. Learning needs to change rapidly, as employees (and customers) are working virtually, marketplaces are changing, and jobs are radically shifting.

Learning in the pandemic has required that learning organizations, learning leaders, and learners themselves, pivot to new methods, technologies, and habits for learning. Elliott Masie has assembled a "right-now" free-of-charge 80-page eBook about these pivots, with content from business leaders and learning professionals, plus interviews with over 200 employees around the world.

Learning Pivots focuses on several key issues. These include the massive migration to virtual and online learning; potential roadblocks to learning from home and their impact; empathy for learners and co-workers; the increased focus on mental health and overall well-being; the agility of learning professionals and organizations; and much more.

Many voices from the field are featured, including those of Chief Learning Officers, trusted learning professionals, and learners themselves. Concise, focused chapters have been contributed on a variety of topics by Keith Resseau (PwC), Lisa Cannata (Kroger Specialty Pharmacy), Jennifer McCuen (Atlantic Union Bank), Bob Collins (Association for Supply Chain Management), Karen Kanne Ngowe (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Michelle Douglas (US Navy), and several others.

Learning Pivots features a thought-provoking foreword by Rob Lauber, Former Chief Learning Officer at McDonald's and Founder of XLO Global, LLC. It also features special perspectives by Learning CONSORTIUM Deans Richard Culatta, Bob Mosher, and Serene Wang. Serene explores how the pandemic has impacted learning and AI in China, and she has provided a Mandarin translation for our Chinese colleagues.

In addition, Learning Pivots shares a wide variety of diverse quotes from the field. Marshall Goldsmith, a leading global corporate coach, added his perspectives on learning pivots and shifts in the workplace:

  • authenticity!
    Times are very stressful for many people. "Pep talks" do more harm than good. Leaders and educators need to honestly face the hard reality that exists for many people. (This does not apply to all industries. It does apply to many.)
  • flexibility!
    Participants may have to leave what they are doing to check on family members. Distractions abound. We need a "backup plan" for many interactions.
  • efficiency!
    Conferences with leisurely breakfasts and dinners are not happening. Attention spans are short on Zoom calls. Get to the point. If there is a lot of content, schedule more than one session.

Elliott Masie has assembled the field-based Learning Pivots eBook to curate ideas and perspectives from colleagues and corporations around the world. It is a free-of-charge publication to support the changes that learning organizations are leading for impacted and often disrupted workplaces.