L&D can sometimes fail to make sense to even the most seasoned L&D leader but what about our colleagues in other departments? What do they make of our products and approaches? What do they make of our inability to equate our spend and effort to ROI? Well Ajay Pangarkar can tell us. His frustrations with L&D had him lean in from his Accounting background and tell us. But not just by heckling. But by giving us advice. In this episode, Ajay will tell us how we’re perceived and what we can do to better measure the impact of what we do. KEY TAKEAWAYS Using business terminology, you are not 100% familiar with undermines your credibility. Knowledge is now genuinely driving businesses, so L&D is seen as far more important. Focus on the end result. Use the Kaizen approach – keep asking why. Become a listener, get into people´s heads and skill them up in a non-intrusive way. Data analytics is essential to L&D. Work with your financial team to deliver your business case. BEST MOMENTS “With all respect and love for Learning and Development, they  are the nerds in the schoolyard trying to fit in with the cool kids.” “Nobody in the organization cares about learning. They care about the doing.” “We are in the golden age of L&D.” “I always say they cut their budget because you didn't deliver value.” Ajay Pangarkar Bio Ajay is the author of four books, with the most recent titled, “Learning Metrics: How to Measure the Impact of Organizational Learning" (Kogan Page). He’s an award-winning author receiving multiple prestigious TrainingIndustry Readership and Editors’ Award, eLearning Magazine’s Learning Champion, and the World Training Development Congress named Ajay their “Distinguished Trainer”. He is a broadcast media commentator addressing workplace performance issues and contributor to leading international publications. Ajay is also a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA, FCMA), Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP), and a world-renowned workplace performance authority on integrating employee performance strategies within operational environments.  On top of all this, he is a professor at the Sprott School of Business (Carleton University) and Smith School of Business (Queens University) as well as being actively involved with workplace learning working closely with LinkedIn Learning. You can follow and connect with Ajay via: Twitter: @bizlearningdude LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajaypangarkar/ Book: https://www.koganpage.com/hr-learning-development/learning-metrics-9781398615366 VALUABLE RESOURCES The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523 L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/ ABOUT THE HOST David James  David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.  As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.  CONTACT METHOD  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/  L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective/ Blog: https://360learning.com/blog/ L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/