Harald’s Curious Corner

Harald Overaa

Harald’s Curious Corner is where curiosity meets connection. Harald chases that question with a guest, gathers perspectives from voices across the industry, and then steps back to reflect on what it all means. The show unfolds like a story arc, part exploration, part roundtable, part reflection, blending imagination with analysis. The result: trusted insights, meaningful conversations, and forward-looking takeaways that shine a light on where learning is headed next.

  1. 4 HR AGO

    Building Learning Infrastructure For The AI Era

    People are already learning with AI. The question is whether L&D helps shape that learning, or gets left handing out content no one asked for. Mirza Selimovic’s story does not begin in a classroom or a corporate learning team. It begins with resilience. As a refugee from Bosnia, a first-generation graduate, and someone who wrote his dissertation while his newborn son was in the NICU, Mirza brings a deeply human lens to learning, growth, and leadership. In this episode, I speak with Mirza about what happens when L&D stops acting like a content function and starts working closer to the business. His view is grounded in adult learning theory, shaped by real operational pressure, and sharpened by the speed of AI. Learning, for Mirza, is not just an art or a science. It is both, and the best teams know how to hold those two ideas together. Some curious takeaways: Design learning around real business problems, not requests for more contentUse AI to test, build, and learn faster without losing sight of the human needGive teams the infrastructure to solve local learning problems with shared guidance Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (00:33) How resilience shaped Mirza’s view of learning (02:18) Writing a doctorate from the NICU (04:28) Finding the path from healthcare to L&D (05:06) Building a corporate university that changed culture (07:32) Why adult learning theory still matters (09:47) What AI is forcing L&D to rethink (11:40) Moving fast without losing business focus (13:41) Why L&D is becoming an enablement architect (16:58) What happens when people learn without L&D Connect with the guest: Dr. Mirza Selimovic, EdD on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merzudinselimovic/  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    17 min

  2. 14 MAY

    From Sugar Pills to Strategy: L&D's AI Wake-Up Call

    Most L&D teams are using AI to go faster. The best ones are using it to ask harder questions. Egle Vinauskaite joins me for a conversation that sits at the intersection of AI, performance, and the evolving identity of Learning & Development. Fresh from the keynote stage at Docebo Inspire, she brings both an evidence-based and practical lens to what separates high-performing L&D functions from the rest. That perspective comes through in everything we discuss. In this episode, we look at why so many L&D teams are still treating AI as a small tweak rather than a wholesale shift in how work gets done. Egle reflects on why performance is a systems problem, not a content problem, why the highest-performing L&D leaders think like business leaders first, and what it means for our field when organisations start rolling out AI strategies without us in the room. Some curious takeaways: AI is changing the work L&D supports, not just the tools L&D usesThe highest-performing L&D leaders think like business leaders, not learning leadersSolving the obvious problem is often solving the wrong one Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (00:47) What genuinely excites Egle about L&D right now (02:25) How AI tools are enabling deliberate practice (04:41) Moving from course builder to learning architect (05:28) What the organization actually expects from L&D (07:42) The danger of treating AI as just a small tweak (09:36) L&D as investigative journalist and problem solver (10:23) The diagnostic mindset and holistic performance (11:29) What separates high-impact L&D teas in 2-3 years (14:23) The pharmacist vs doctor approach to L&D Connect with the guest: Egle Vinauskaite on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinauskaite/  Explore Nodes: https://www.nodes.works/  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    17 min

  3. 7 MAY

    The New Role of L&D Leaders Architects of Experience and Knowledge

    How can L&D leaders use technology to drive real business impact? In this wrap-up, I summarize what went down in Docebo Inspire 2026 and discuss what truly stood out during the conference. Time and again, the focus was on how learning and development can go beyond just creating programs to becoming architects of impactful experiences. The conversation constantly returned to the need for L&D to embrace AI and technology not as shiny new tools but as strategic partners that help solve real business problems. The most successful L&D teams are those that stay grounded in the needs of the business, use data to drive decisions, and remember that human connection remains at the heart of learning. I’m also evolving the direction here. Instead of just focusing on a series of conversations, I’ll be diving into more standalone insights, giving me the flexibility to explore the latest trends and most exciting developments in L&D, customer education, and enablement. Some curious takeaways: Focus on architecting meaningful learning experiences, not just programsAI is most effective when used strategically to solve real business problemsTrue L&D leadership lies in aligning technology with human connection Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (01:10) The evolution of L&D from facilitators to experience architects (03:00) The importance of staying close to business problems (05:20) Leveraging AI to solve real problems, not just speed up tasks (08:00) How L&D can use data to drive meaningful change (10:15) Moving from building programs to designing impactful experiences (13:10) The role of human connection in a tech-driven world (16:05) Reflecting on the future of L&D and what comes next Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    21 min

  4. 23 APR

    How L&D Can Drive Real Behaviour Change

    The real challenge for L&D is not delivering content. It is helping people change how they work. Jon Harald Espolin joins me for a conversation that sits at the intersection of leadership, learning, and change. Before moving into consultancy, and later becoming SVP of Learning & Development at XXL Sport & Villmark, he spent a decade in the army, where he became fascinated by a simple question: what actually helps people grow? That question stayed with him as he moved into corporate learning. In this episode, we look at why so much workplace learning still struggles to shift behaviour, especially when the realities of the job get in the way. Jon Harald reflects on what retail reveals about motivation, why most development efforts ask too little of practice, and what L&D can borrow from elite sport when the goal is lasting change. Some curious takeaways: Stop telling people what to do and create the conditions for reflection insteadIn retail, learning only gets prioritised when managers are measured on itLeadership change needs practice in the real world, not inspiration in a meeting room Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (01:50) How the army shaped his view of leadership (04:59) Moving from presentation to real learning (07:02) Better questions create better learning (11:47) Moving in-house at XXL Sport & Villmark (13:27) Rethinking training in a retail business (14:55) Choosing an LMS in the real world (18:00) When implementation gets difficult (24:50) Managers decide what gets prioritised (27:06) The deeper challenge of behaviour change (28:50) Lessons leaders can take from top athletes (31:33) Practice and feedback build culture (36:05) Why so much training still fails Connect with the guest: Jon Harald Espolin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-harald-espolin-johnson-43aaa334/  Explore XXL Sport & Villmark: https://www.xxl.no/  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    42 min

  5. 16 APR

    Why Shiny Solutions Don’t Hold Up

    Across these conversations with Dave Derington, John Leh, Debbie Smith, Courtney Sembler, Kristine Kukich, Dan Braithwaite, Melissa Kruminas, Clea Mahoney, and Vicky Kennedy, one question kept resurfacing for me: what actually makes customer education matter? In this wrap-up, I’m reflecting on where the season kept landing. Again and again, the conversation drifted back to the same tension: customer education is full of things that look promising on the surface yet leave the real problem untouched. What stayed with me is the gap between motion and meaningful change. The teams making a genuine difference are not the ones chasing more for the sake of more. They are the ones staying close to the business problem, taking foundations seriously, paying attention to what changes in practice, and treating AI as something that needs judgement rather than blind enthusiasm. I’m also taking the podcast in a slightly different direction from here. Instead of building around longer story arcs, Harald’s Curious Corner will open up to more standalone conversations, which gives me more room to follow the most interesting people and ideas across learning, enablement, and customer education. Some curious takeaways: Start with the business problem, not the surface-level fixAI adds value when the foundations are already strongReal progress shows up in outcomes, not activity Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (00:55) The tension between activity and real progress (02:15) Solving the real problem before reaching for more (04:22) AI as a tool, not a rescue plan (07:57) Measurement that reaches business impact (12:04) Building customer education around what actually works (14:28) Speed, clarity, and the pressure to do more (19:46) Looking back on the season and looking ahead A look back at this arc: Dave Derington’s Journey From Music to Customer Education: https://youtu.be/K8WSyVmuug4  How to Tie Learning to Revenue: https://youtu.be/hNfQW7G_4XM  What Great Customer Education Looks Like at Scale: https://youtu.be/7G5GZkCH_EM How HubSpot Academy Revolutionized Customer Education: https://youtu.be/Jau6asUxEKY Customer Education Metrics That Actually Impact Revenue: https://youtu.be/I39ghnpdTkw Why Customer Education Needs Strategy First: https://youtu.be/7zALcAUrzvw Connect with the guests: Dave Derington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derington/  John Leh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnleh/  Debbie Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiecareysmith/  Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/  Kristine Kukich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinekukich/  Dan Braithwaite on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjamesbraithwaite/  Melissa Kruminas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-kruminas/  Clea Mahoney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleamahoney/  Vicky Kennedy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickykennedy/  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    22 min

  6. 9 APR

    Why Customer Education Needs Strategy First

    Customer education fails when teams rush to buy technology before looking at the problem they’re trying to solve. In this episode, I sit down with Vicky Kennedy, Founder and Chief Education Architect of Echtus, to explore why so many customer education programmes look impressive on the surface but fail to drive meaningful business outcomes. Vicky brings a rare blend of experience across higher education, tech, product, and strategy and makes the case that education should be treated as a strategic lever, not a content factory or a box-ticking exercise. We explore the gap between programmes that look good and programmes that truly shift behaviour, and why that gap usually starts much earlier than teams think. We also get into AI, enterprise education architecture, and why messy foundations only lead to faster mess when automation enters the picture. If you are trying to connect education to adoption, retention, or growth, this conversation is full of practical perspectives. Some curious takeaways: Start with the business problem, not the platformBuild learning experiences that change behaviour, not just content that looks polishedGet your strategy and data right before asking AI to scale anythingEpisode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (01:34) From higher education to customer education strategy (04:14) Why Vicky started Echtus (06:56) Why outcomes should come before courses (09:07) How org design creates silos around education (13:42) Why enterprise education architecture matters (18:07) The gap between polished and effective programmes (20:39) What real learning needs to change behaviour (23:25) Why strategy should come before platforms (27:35) The mistakes teams make when selecting platforms (36:29) Vicky’s vision for agentic personalisation (39:43) What education strategy needs more of and less of Connect with the guest: Vicky Kennedy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickykennedy/  Explore Echtus: https://www.echtus.com/  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    45 min

  7. 2 APR

    How Customer Education Drives Growth: A Panel Discussion

    Customer education is a growth engine. If you can’t tie education to retention, revenue, and product adoption, you’re leaving real impact on the table. In this episode, I sit down with our Customer Educational Panel, Kristine Kukich, Dan Braithwaite, Melissa Kruminas, and Clea Mahoney, for a deep dive into what’s actually happening in customer education today. From reducing support tickets by up to 50% to driving expansion through certification programs, we explore how leading teams are proving the business value of education and where it fits inside modern organizations. We explore how customer education teams are tying learning to real business outcomes, using cohort analysis to better understand its impact on retention, revenue, and adoption, before turning to a practical conversation about AI, in-app education, and personalization and which of those trends are actually delivering value. If you’re building or scaling a customer education program, this conversation will push you to think beyond content creation and start driving measurable business outcomes. Some curious takeaways: Customer education should support real customer outcomes, not just training activityStrong metrics come from comparing educated and non-educated customer cohortsAI can improve learning experiences, but strategy still matters more than tools Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (01:30) Meet the panelists (04:10) Where does customer education live in organizations? (09:10) Measuring customer education success (11:13) Proving ROI with the Kirkpatrick model (13:21) Cohort analysis and the three buckets of value (18:47) Monetizing customer education programs (22:03) Tech trends and experiments for 2026 (23:05) Frictionless learning and AI learning assistants (31:58) Tips for someone starting in customer education (42:29) Stop selling sugar pills  Connect with the guest: Kristine Kukich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinekukich/ Dan Braithwaite on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjamesbraithwaite/ Melissa Kruminas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-kruminas/ Clea Mahoney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleamahoney/  Explore CEdMA: https://www.cedma.org/  Explore Mediaocean: https://www.mediaocean.com/ Explore Docebo: https://www.docebo.com/ Explore Rewst: https://rewst.io/  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    44 min

  8. 26 MAR

    How HubSpot Academy Revolutionized Customer Education

    Customer education is the key to long-term growth. If you can't connect education to customer success, you're missing out. In this episode, I sit down with Courtney Sembler, former Senior Director at HubSpot Academy, and now Managing Partner and COO at AlignedCX, to explore how customer education has become a core driver of business success. We dive into the evolution of HubSpot Academy, how they scaled educational programs, and the importance of being customer-centric in every educational initiative. We discuss how to build a passionate and effective customer education team, why aiming for something big can yield surprising results, and how education can impact retention and acquisition. If you’re working in customer education, this conversation will challenge you to think beyond just teaching and focus on true customer outcomes. Some curious takeaways: Connect customer education to business outcomes or risk missing the markShift from focusing on course completions to driving real customer successBuild a passionate, customer-centric team to scale educational impact Episode highlights: (00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner (01:19) How Courtney got into conservation work (03:23) Where Courtney grew up and found customer education (05:40) When you move from support into the academy (09:46) How education became a lead generation engine (12:52) The freemium model meets customer education (15:36) Pioneering the micro-credentialing category (17:53) Lessons for new customer education leaders (21:53) How to prove value with triangles up communication (27:16) Building internal relationships before you need them (30:22) AI content versus human trust in education (34:12) Stakeholder management and proving ROI (36:18) What Courtney is most proud of at HubSpot Academy (38:27) Lessons from moving to the consulting side Connect with the guest: Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/  Explore Hubspot Academy: https://academy.hubspot.com/  Explore AlignedCX: https://www.alignedcx.com/ Email The Forever Wild Fund: theforeverwildfund@gmail.com  Follow me on the following sites: Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/  Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

    45 min
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About

Harald’s Curious Corner is where curiosity meets connection. Harald chases that question with a guest, gathers perspectives from voices across the industry, and then steps back to reflect on what it all means. The show unfolds like a story arc, part exploration, part roundtable, part reflection, blending imagination with analysis. The result: trusted insights, meaningful conversations, and forward-looking takeaways that shine a light on where learning is headed next.

Information

  • Creator
    Harald Overaa
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Harald Overaa