Welcome to the Adoption Curve podcast.
Over the course of this series, we'll dive into what learning and enablement leaders are really doing every day to move beyond reactive training, bridge the gap between leadership vision and frontline needs, and unlock the true value of their technology investments.
Join host Sean Adams as he uncovers the frameworks, strategies, and practical approaches that turn technology from a cost center into a competitive advantage.
Check out iorad's interactive tutorial builder: https://www.iorad.comHow to Lead Change at ScaleIn this episode of The Adoption Curve, I sit down with Andrea Shaikin, a business enablement and transformation leader at Blue Rewards, to unpack how she helped lead a complex transformation from AIR MILES to Blue Rewards on a hard launch deadline.Andrea shares practical lessons on change management, cross-functional collaboration, process improvement, partner enablement, and building organizational readiness when you don't have formal authority.Andrea reveals why visibility across departments can put you in position to lead your organization's biggest transformation projects—and explains why readiness matters more than simply assigning deadlines. We also dive into her approach to mapping sequential dependencies, building seven cross-functional workstreams, and working backward from a launch date to determine what needs to be ready at every stage.You'll learn how to:• Identify transformation risks and dependencies before they become last-minute problems• Build cross-functional alignment without relying on formal authority• Work backward from a hard launch date to establish meaningful readiness milestones• Adapt processes without unnecessarily disrupting the teams responsible for them• Manage external partners through major technology and process changes• Use AI to document, summarize, and turn completed project work into reusable frameworksIf you're a learning and development leader, change management professional, enablement leader, or operations manager looking to improve technology implementation, employee enablement, user adoption, and training effectiveness, this conversation provides practical approaches you can apply to your next transformation project.💡 FREE RESOURCE: TRANSFORMATION READINESS WORKSHEET - https://learning.iorad.com/the-adoption-curve/SOCIALS:👨💻 Connect with Sean - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-adams-sales/👨💻 Connect with Andrea - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreashaikin/🌍 IORAD website - https://www.iorad.com⏰ TIMESTAMPS00:00: Introduction to Andrea and the AIR MILES transformation02:49: Why a hard deadline changed the transformation strategy05:09: How to position yourself for high-visibility projects07:34: Building cross-functional visibility and solving problems12:19: How to structure transformation workstreams from the start16:32: The readiness framework and working backward from launch17:37: Keeping teams aligned through communication and weekly updates21:33: Improving inefficient processes without creating resistance25:35: How to identify and manage sequential dependencies29:28: Managing external partners through major transformation39:07: Creating documentation and reusable project frameworks43:18: Where AI can support transformation and change management48:34: Building for change, hypercare, and an imperfect launch#LearningAndDevelopment #EmployeeEnablement #TechAdoption #ChangeManagement #Transformation #SoftwareImplementation
2 Sept 2026
The Future of Adoption Is Headless (and So Is Learning)
Check out iorad's interactive tutorial builder: https://www.iorad.com
The Future of Adoption Is Headless (and So Is Learning)In this episode of The Adoption Curve, Sean Adams explores the rise of headless learning and what it means for software adoption, technology implementation, employee enablement, and modern L&D strategy.
Sean breaks down why headless learning isn't actually a new learner expectation — AI and new technology have simply made it possible to deliver learning where people already work. He explains why destination-based learning is beginning to erode and how organizations can move from LMS-dependent training toward learning that follows employees throughout their workflows.
You'll learn how to use the Learner Adoption Journey — from exposure and practice to competency, reference, and reinforcement — to design learning that supports real behavior change. Sean also shares practical questions for assessing whether your organization is ready for headless learning, including how portable your content is, whether guidance is available in the flow of work, and whether AI can surface your existing knowledge effectively.
If you're an L&D professional, enablement leader, change management practitioner, or operations leader looking to improve software adoption and training effectiveness, this episode provides a practical framework for making learning more accessible, actionable, and embedded in the employee experience.
💡 FREE RESOURCE: Headless Learning Readiness Worksheet — use this framework to assess your organization's readiness for headless learning and identify opportunities to improve content portability, deployment, and user adoption: https://learning.iorad.com/the-adoption-curve/
SOCIALS:
👨💻 Connect with Sean - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-adams-sales/
🌍 Connect with iorad - https://www.linkedin.com/company/iorad/
⏰ TIMESTAMPS
00:00: Introduction to headless learning and the future of adoption
01:47: What “headless” learning actually means
02:51: Why AI is changing expectations for learning
04:49: Why destination-based learning is beginning to erode
05:08: The Learner Adoption Journey: exposure to reinforcement
09:29: Headless learning readiness: can your content escape the LMS?
11:39: Finding your organization's most important learning FAQs
12:42: Is your training content portable outside the LMS?
15:13: Learning in the flow of work vs. linking out
18:29: How AI accelerates headless learning
21:35: Shifting from content creation to content deployment
23:43: Designing learning around surface areas
25:44: “The future of learning is not a location — it’s a layer”
#LearningAndDevelopment #EmployeeEnablement #TechAdoption #SoftwareImplementation #ChangeManagement #UserAdoption
11 Jun 2026
Ep. 30: Closing the Training Speed Gap
Check out iorad's interactive tutorial builder: https://www.iorad.com/Closing the Training Speed GapIn this solo episode of The Adoption Curve, Sean Adams shares a four-part framework for closing the training speed gap: the costly window between when software changes and when your people are actually ready for the new version. Most L&D teams accept this gap as inevitable. It isn't.Sean breaks down why the gap exists (it's a cadence mismatch, not a workload problem), how to get upstream of software changes before they ship, the two-question change triage that tells you exactly what needs training, and why capture-based builds close the gap faster than any course development approach.If you're an L&D leader, enablement manager, or training professional responsible for software adoption at your organization, this episode gives you a repeatable system to close the gap and keep it closed.
FREE RESOURCE: The Change Readiness Playbook: https://learning.iorad.com/the-adoption-curve/SOCIALS:Connect with Sean - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-adams-sales/IORAD website - https://www.iorad.com/TIMESTAMPS00:00: Introduction: The training speed gap defined02:27: Why the gap is a cadence problem, not an effort problem04:51: Getting upstream: three places to plant yourself07:07: The change triage: the four-box framework09:13: Capture vs. create: stop authoring from blank11:35: Three rules for fast capture in real environments12:28: The three-layer delivery model and which to build first14:47: Why awareness without in-flow help is just anxiety18:04: Maintenance trigger: wire updates to the release not the calendar20:25: Measuring the gap in days and tracking time to competency#TrainingSpeedGap #SoftwareAdoption #LearningAndDevelopment #EmployeeEnablement #ChangeManagement #SoftwareTraining
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Sean Adams host the show. Published by iorad.
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