" Either you repeat the same old conventional doctrines everybody else is saying, or else you say something true, and it will sound like it's from Neptune. " Noam Chomsky I ran a series of polls on Twitter in May and June - with the ambition to gauge the 'underlying' challenges for L&D leaders, beyond the 'noise' of reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four key themes emerged from the responses: 1. 'Post-COVID' L&D leaders felt their focus should be on enabling adaptability in their organisations 2. Heads of Learning and Development felt that they were unable to define what 'learning' means for their organisation 3. They believe that the biggest barrier to progress is " traditional mindsets"  - both within L&D and in the wider organisation 4. They believe that there are two key challenges preventing L&D teams from seeing " a   new way forward ": - The lack of a 'new narrative' for

" Change washing (noun): the process of introducing reforms that purport to bring about change but fail to result in any substantive shifts in systems, services or culture ." Thea Snow and Abe Greenspoon "The pandemic means things will never be the same in L&D." "There's no going back to the old ways in L&D after the pandemic." "The pandemic has created a 'new normal' for workplace Learning and Development." Against a backdrop of (mostly vendor led) proclamations of " Everything is now different in L&D ", it's arguably more helpful to reflect on what appears to remain the same : Organisations value 'L&D' when reacting to urgent and unforeseen events The 'corporate industrial education complex' is still the overriding approach When organisational 'political capital' is high, 'L&D success measures' are less of a priority The term "learning"