We believe reflection is one of the most powerful learning tools. That's why we decided to dedicate this issue to it. In our publication, that's exactly what we allow people to do. Reflect about their journeys, their projects, or the things they've learned. We do so to spark new ideas, to ground old ones, and to move ahead as individuals & as a community. So without further ado, here's to reflection! 🍷

There's a lot of chatter about what does the future hold for L&D. There are dozens of ideas out there and it can definitely feel overwhelming when you just hear some words but have no context around them. In this issue, some amazing peers agreed to write about some of the characteristics of the future of L&D.

The L&D world is a puzzle. Each theory we learn and each practice we adopt is one small piece. This issue covers some of the pieces we can use in our own puzzle and ways you can put them together in a coherent way, by crafting your strategy.

As Offbeat grows, we get to explore more diverse topics and dig deeper into impactful practices. Together with some amazing collaborators, in this edition of the digital publication, we take a look at linking L&D with business results, and the employee journey, how peer-coaching can boost learning engagement, why training alone is not enough, and how gamification can help with boosting motivation in hybrid workplaces. Enjoy!

Last month, Offbeat turned 1 year old. We already sent over 50 newsletter issues, and with this edition, we’re completing the cycle of 4 digital publication issues throughout this year. We put this one together with the help of some people who either encouraged Offbeat right from the start or were fond of the project once they discovered it. It’s full of lessons learned, experiments, and know-how for all L&Ds out there.

For the first time since Offbeat was launched, we invited people to take over. Instead of intentionally going towards those we knew we wanted to share their perspectives, we asked everyone to join as Contributors. The cool thing? People responded amazingly. So here we are now, at the third issue of Offbeat, the digital publication, enjoying topics such as automation, mentorship, communities of practice, all the way to stakeholder management, onboarding, and learning needs assessment. All in all, this is the result of the love people showed to Offbeat and to sharing their knowledge with peers.

2020 was crazy. It pushed us. Sometimes maybe right on the edge. But the most important thing we got out of it? Different perspectives about our impact, ways of learning, and using technology. This is exactly what this issue is about. Some things we got out of 2020 in terms of lessons learned and resources.

Prologue is the first issue of Offbeat, the quarterly digital publication dedicated to L&D professionals. We brought together L&D pros from big and small companies, an L&D consultant, and one start-up founder to kick off a new way of helping peers grow through actionable advice. We bet you will find useful their advice on building leadership development programs, designing the L&D strategy, or transitioning from learning to performance.