While the theme of this issue is technology, I dedicate this column to two extraordinary people who sadly passed away in recent months and leave impressive learning and development (L&D) legacies: Jack Zenger and Phil Jones.
During his 60-plus-year career, Zenger became one of the world’s foremost authorities on leadership development. According to his family, even at the age of 94, Zenger never retired: In his final days, he was still mapping out the next 10 years of his business and talking about artificial intelligence. He authored more than a dozen books; co-founded two companies; and received multiple awards, including not one but two “Thought Leader” awards from the International Society for Performance Improvement and Workplace Learning (ISA-ALP) and The American Society for Training and Development’s Lifetime Achievement in Workplace Learning and Performance Award.
Over the last 50-plus years, Phil Jones served in multiple roles for the Training brand, including editor, conference director, managing partner, and mentor. He blazed a cutting-edge path in the L&D profession and was renowned for his ability to curate content and connect people as he helped transform the publication and its in-person events. Click here for more on Phil’s legacy.
Speaking of legacy, I’d like to highlight two milestones for the Training brand, one recently achieved and the other coming in 2027: Our social networking community, Training Magazine Network (www.TrainingMagNetwork.com), hit the 250,000-member mark on July 1. And our Training Conference & Expo will celebrate its 50th anniversary February 22-24, 2027, in Disney World. I hope you will join us in Orlando as we not only look back on the impact this event has had but begin designing the next 50 years of learning and development together.
Check out the brochure and register at: https://www.trainingconference.com/
Let’s create our own L&D legacy together!