Hey Reader,

Welcome to the 7th edition of the 3-2-1

• (check out previous issues here).

You're getting this because you care about developing people.

I write about transforming ICs -> Impact Contributors (and I took last week off for Thanksgiving 🦃).

Today, we're talking about learning in the flow of work.

Let's flow then, shall we?

3 Things for Work (in L&D)

​Learning In The Flow of Work (Josh Bersin)

• The article that coined the term. Bersin argues that knowledge workers have just 24 minutes per week for formal learning—so we need to embed learning into the platforms where work actually happens. If you've heard "learning in the flow of work" but never read the origin piece, start here.
• 🏃 Effort ≈ 8 min read

​LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2025​

• 91% of L&D pros say continuous learning is more important than ever. Career development champions are seeing higher retention, more internal mobility, and better business performance. The data makes a strong case for linking learning to career progression.
• 🏃 Effort ≈ 25 min read (or skim the executive summary)

​2026 L&D Trends: Reinforcing the Strategic Value of Learning​

• As you plan for 2026, this piece argues L&D must move beyond participation metrics and connect learning directly to organizational performance. The key insight: strategic alignment isn't a one-time effort—it's an ongoing dialogue.
• 🏃 Effort ≈ 8 min read

2 Things for Life

​40 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Year (Steph Ango)

• December means it's time for my annual review ritual. This list of 40 questions has become my go-to for reflection because of the trends that emerge after years of asking the same questions. I've been publishing my reviews for four years now. Here's my 2024 review if you want to see.
• 🏃 Effort ≈ 2 min read (plus a week of reflection)

​7 Questions to Upgrade Your Dinner Conversation​

• "How was school today?" → "Good." Sound familiar? I found seven questions that transformed my dinner conversations with my five-year-old. Instead of one-word answers, I now get stories, reflection, and connection. I shared the full list on LinkedIn.
• 🏃 Effort ≈ zero (just ask)

1 Idea from Me

🏃 Effort ≈ 90 sec read

Why Nobody Shows Up to Your Training

I was on a call with a client recently. She asked me a question I hear all the time: "How do you get people to actually make time for learning?"

My answer surprised her.

The problem isn't that people don't want to learn. They do. The problem is we've set up learning and working as two separate things. People feel like they have to choose. And work always wins.

Peter Senge wrote about this years ago. He said most companies don't help people connect learning to their actual jobs. So everyone just wings it. New leaders come in, push new ideas, and ignore everything that came before. Nobody builds on what worked. Nobody learns from what didn't.

It's a mess. And it doesn't have to be.

Here's what we started doing that changed everything: we stopped teaching people and then sending them back to work. Instead, we have them bring their work into the learning.

They show up with a real project. A real problem. A real deliverable they need to finish. Then they learn something and apply it right there. They leave with actual work done—not just notes they'll never look at again.

When learning helps you get stuff off your to-do list, people stop skipping sessions.

So, as you plan for 2026, here's a question worth asking: Are you building programs people attend? Or programs people actually use?

That's the whole game.

And that's it for this week - enjoy your Sunday!

I'll be back in two weeks ✌️

Andrew

P.S. Planning your 2026 leadership programs? I'm opening up a limited number of free 30-minute strategy calls to help L&D leaders think through their approach. 👉 Click here to book your session​

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