When I was a little girl, my mother decided we were going to move from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Rochester, Minnesota. To say I took it badly is an understatement — I was content with the little ecosystem I had created for myself in Scottsdale and couldn’t comprehend living in a different house, going to a different school and making new friends.
But I adjusted to the move just fine. And in just a few short years, I realized that moving was the best decision my mother could have made for us. I now consider Rochester my hometown and love it dearly. In fact, I plan on doing a “staycation” there with my bridesmaids and girlfriends, as opposed to a typical bachelorette party, for my wedding this year.
As a little girl, I struggled immensely with change. Children who aren’t used to change will naturally be afraid of it, but adults aren’t necessarily that much different. Humans are resistant to change because it threatens our sense of control. It’s disruptive. It could encompass a lot of uncertainty. The outcome could be negative.
There is a biological reason behind why we fear, resist or avoid change that can be traced back to ancient populations. For our ancestors, most changes had to do with survival. You’ve heard of “fight or flight,” right?
Arguably not much has changed since. People who are equipped to handle change are better off, and organizations that are agile and fluent in change are more successful.
What’s your perception of change? Was it different three years ago?
It’s safe to say that Chief Learning Officer has had its fair share of changes since 2020. Like many companies, we took full advantage of technology to keep serving the industry and stay connected. With heavy hearts we sunset CLO’s print magazine issues. We began hosting all of our events virtually, including our flagship annual event, the CLO Symposium. At the beginning of 2021, four of our dedicated senior-level employees founded BetterWork Media Group, CLO’s new parent company, providing us a unique platform to continue connecting, supporting and empowering senior learning and development leaders. And here we are with yet another change: The return of print.
I’m a novice at change management (maybe it’s time for some personal development in that area) and I always experience a brief moment of panic when I start something brand-new. Still, my fully fledged adult brain is now much better equipped to handle novelty and newness, and I am able to set aside those negative feelings much more quickly nowadays. I’ve grown accustomed to the consistency of change.
You’ll notice that Chief Learning Officer magazine has changed a bit too. We’ve swapped out the “Your Career” section for a new spread called “Trending” (and you can still access the “Your Career” archive online). In “Trending,” you’ll find a collection of content recommendations and top-of-mind commentary from your fellow industry members. This issue’s front-page story is a feature spread on an award-winning L&D team and the especially compelling work they’ve been doing. We also rebranded our “Business Intelligence” research analysis section as “By the Numbers.” And finally, my favorite change — per recommendation by BMG’s associate editor Calvin Coffee — is the addition of an original comic in every issue!
On top of printing issues in June and December, CLO and our sister publication, Talent Management, are also fully embracing the term “multimedia” and continuing our venture into podcasting as a fresh medium for reporting and information-sharing across the corporate learning and talent development industries. Tune into “Voices of CLO” and “Talent 10x” each month on your favorite podcast platform.
It’s full-steam ahead at BMG. Thank you for being a part of our journey this far, dear readers. We’re looking forward to producing more top-quality editorial content and commentary on the corporate learning and talent development industries for you.
Here’s to many more changes.
