October 23rd, 2001. A day that will live in infamy. The day the music…lived. Up until that point, people listened to their favorite tunes on physical media – CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, and records. And while this date likely didn’t mark the first digital music player, it birthed what would soon become the most well-known:
The iPod.
Apple’s initial offering featured a whopping 5GB of storage, capable of holding approximately 1000 songs, utilized a click wheel for navigation, and was available in any color imaginable, so long as that color was “iBook white.” Steve Jobs’ baby not only changed the way the world would acquire and listen to music (hello Napster and iconic hard-as-a-rock earbuds), but became a status symbol, quickly outpacing competitors such as Microsoft Zune and the Creative Zen players.
Simply put, this was a disruption to the market that left everyone else playing catch up. Some were not willing to change, believing their way would stand the test of time, come what may. This short parody video illustrates very well how embracing change and facing reality was for many, a bridge too far.
As learning professionals, we face similar challenges when faced with change and disruption. Will we intentionally choose discomfort to grow, stretch and embrace the new or will we stick our heads in the sand, rolling out the same tired slide decks and e-learning modules (see the earlier reference to slide decks – they are probably the same)?
We are at a crossroads and employees are moving forward with or without us.
The New Learning Architect Workshop is for people who dare to prepare for an unexpected and exciting future. It is for the brave ones who desire to exploit the growing opportunities in digitization and modern learning architecture.
The choice is yours. Zune or iPod. It’s up to you.
Author
Ray Jimenez, PhD
Vignettes Learning
“Helping Learners Learn Their Way”
Vignettes Learning Workshops
1. The New Learning Architect
2. Developing Critical Thinking for Modern Learners
3. Microlearning for Disruptive Results
4. Instructional and Experience Design for Workflow Learning
5. The Masterful Virtual Trainer Online Workshop
6. Hyper Story-Based eLearning Design Workshop
7. Training Frontline Leaders as Learning Accelerators
8. HYBRID Remote and Hands-on Training
9. Advanced Skills in Webinars