About Guild Articles
Find practical, solution-oriented information—on design, development, management, technology, and executive matters—that you can use to make well-informed business decisions to ensure your organization’s success with learning.
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Baselines & Benchmarks: How Raw Data Becomes Actionable Insights
If your function uses an intake form, you’re sitting on more than a decision tool. You’re sitting on an amazing data source that, with analysis, becomes information you can act on.
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Fitting in Feedback
Feedback is complex. It includes what employees experience themselves and what they see happening to colleagues.
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Aha Moments from DevLearn 2025: Why Community Is Still L&D’s Competitive Advantage
For all the focus on AI at DevLearn 2025, some of the most meaningful “aha” moments had nothing to do with technology. Instead, they pointed to something more enduring: the importance of connection, conversation, and community in a time of rapid change. As we asked influencers what stood out most, and what they said pointed to the fact that in moments defined by disruption, people are what make the difference. Relationships are still the engine behind the work Even as tools evolve and capabilities expand, the core driver of progress in L&D remains the same: relationships. The ideas that move organizations forward are often sparked through conversation around sharing…
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Play Is the Method, Not the Motivation
Graded environments incentivize defensiveness and performance; games incentivize experimentation.
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Workplace Readiness: Can Higher Education Develop AI-Ready Students?
Internships, simulations, and cross-disciplinary projects can help students practice human-AI collaboration, resilience, and decision-making in environments that mirror the workplace’s ambiguity and complexity.
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The Thirty Under Program Returns in 2026…to DevLearn!
The Learning Guild’s Thirty Under 30 program is back for 2026, and this year it’ll be at DevLearn Conference & Expo (Nov 4-6). Designed to spotlight the next generation of emerging leaders, the program recognizes young professionals who are already making an impact in L&D, customer education, higher education, and other roles focused on adult learning, training, and performance enablement and development. Applications are now open through April 30. What is Thirty Under 30? Thirty Under 30 is more than an award, it’s a career-accelerating experience. The program identifies and supports rising learning professionals under the age of 30, offering them visibility, mentorship, and opportunities to grow within the global learning community. Participants are…
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Urgent Patience in the Age of AI
The future of learning and development will not be defined by how quickly organizations deploy AI tools. It will be defined by how well their learning systems continue to evolve once their expertise becomes observable.
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Customer Education as a Growth Lever: A Conversation with Debbie Smith, President, CEdMA
Customer education can serve many roles. In some companies, it generates revenue. In others, it reduces churn, lowers support costs, drives adoption, or fuels expansion. The problem is not choosing the wrong role—it’s never asking the question in the first place.
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Debunking L&D Myths: What DevLearn Attendees Want to Change in 2026
At DevLearn, we asked attendees what L&D myths they’re ready to leave behind in 2026. Their answers reveal an industry eager to challenge assumptions and rethink how learning really works. Learning isn’t easy to create One of the most direct misconceptions attendees called out is the idea that creating learning is simple. There’s often a perception that anyone can quickly put together a course or training and call it effective, but in reality, impactful learning design requires intention, expertise, and a deep understanding of the audience. Learning is more than slides and handouts One attendee challenged the notion that learning is synonymous with PowerPoints or static handouts. While those tools still have their place, modern learning…
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L&D’s Impact on Career Growth & Mobility
Most HR leaders believe L&D supports progression, but many employees still don’t feel the connection. The good news is that this gap is fixable.