Local hub Lisbon: The Blank Page Test: A Thought Experiment for Modern L&D
L&D rarely stands still. Over time, learning initiatives multiply, requests pile up, and the learning calendar fills itself. New courses are added, old ones quietly remain, and before long the L&D function feels… established.
But how much of it is still serving us - really? What if you could start over? With no catalogue, no inherited “this is how we have always done it”. What would you build?
Join the L&D Local Hub Lisbon for a thought experiment designed to help you step back and see your learning function with fresh eyes.
In this 60-minute practical session, we’ll use a simple metaphor - a journey by boat - to map the reality of your L&D landscape. We will not design solutions. We will not fix anything. But you will look at your function as if you had a blank page.
During the session, you will:
Clarify your “guiding star” and what L&D is truly there to enable
Identify the anchors that may be holding your function in place
Map the forces helping (and hindering) your progress
Identify blind spots between activity and strategic impact
Walk away with a simple reflection tool you can reuse with your own stakeholders
This session includes a moment of analogue creativity (and potentially nostalgia). Don’t worry - no artistic talent required.
About Vanessa:
Vanessa Brandtner is a Learning & Development professional who has built learning functions from the ground up – four times, in four very different organisational contexts. Each time, she started with a blank page: no established L&D team, no structure, no predefined roadmap. A blessing and a challenge.