I experienced an enjoyable and enlightening two days in May at the ATD International Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C., not far from where I live. As in some previous years when ATD was in D.C., I spent both days in the giant Expo hall of the Washington Convention Center, which I found to be a great source of networking, knowledge, and inspiration.
As soon as I entered the Expo hall on the first day, I was drawn to a presentation at Learning State 5, “Return on Impact: Measuring the True Success of Learning & Development,” by Matt Sandel, Director of Design at DX Learning Solutions, in Chicago. I was not aware of Matt or the company he represents before the conference, but I found his presentation to be upbeat and packed with information. The next day I introduced myself to him at the company’s booth and had an interesting conversation about his work related to learning, neuroscience, psychological safety, neurodiversity, and more.
I’m grateful to Matt for answering my questions about his educational background, career, and his work at DX Learning.
For the non-specialist reader, can you describe the nature of your day-to-day work at DX Learning, and how your educational and professional backgrounds support and enhance this work?
One of the most rewarding aspects of my role at DX Learning is the intellectual variety it offers; no two days are ever quite the same. As Director of Design, I function as both a strategist and, informally, our resident “chief nerd.” My primary responsibility is to collaborate with clients to adapt and optimize our core leadership development programs. Our goal is to meet learners where they are, leveraging the latest research in neuroscience and behavioral science to drive real, sustained behavior change.
Our methodology is deeply experiential and grounded in a six-step process designed to accelerate learning and embed new habits. The first three steps serve as cognitive primers:
- Growth Mindset – We begin with the belief that everyone has the capacity to grow and improve.
- Self-Awareness – Participants explore how they show up both internally and externally in the workplace.
- Acceptance – We normalize the human condition, acknowledging that bias and cognitive shortcuts are natural. To manage these effectively, we must first understand them.
These initial stages prepare learners to move from insight to application. The second half of our process focuses on:
- Best Practices – We ground content in cutting-edge research and real-world examples of effective leadership behavior.
- Application – Participants actively practice what they’ve learned in psychologically safe environments.
- Reinforcement – We provide follow-up tools, including daily micro-actions, to help embed learning and encourage ongoing development.
My academic background in neuroscience, paired with a master’s degree in leadership and organizational development, uniquely equips me for this work. It allows me to view learning design through both a scientific and humanistic lens and balance cognitive science with empathy for the learner’s experience. This interdisciplinary foundation is essential to creating programs that are not only evidence-based but also deeply resonant and practical in the real world.
In a LinkedIn post in May, ahead of the recent ATD conference, you described your forthcoming presentations there as being about two of your ‘passion projects.’ Why did you describe them in this way?
I referred to my two presentations at this year’s ATD conference as “passion projects” because they emerged from deeply personal convictions about two critical issues I see repeatedly both in organizational systems and in human behavior. These sessions were not crafted to promote or sell a product; rather, they were opportunities to provoke thought, share insights, and contribute meaningfully to the evolution of Learning and Development.
My first session, “Intention(re)ality: How Your Mindset Shapes Your World,” explored the growing need for intentionality in a world increasingly saturated by distractions and rapid technological change, particularly the rise of AI. We are living through a global inflection point, one that is characterized by high levels of burnout, disengagement, and decision fatigue. Given that many people spend the majority of their waking hours at work, often upwards of 8–10 hours a day including commuting, the remaining time for personal reflection and purposeful action is scarce. I believe this is where intentionality becomes critical. As the saying goes, “It’s not that you don’t have enough time—it’s that you don’t have enough focus.” While both may be true, fostering intentional focus can lead to greater engagement, fulfillment, and well-being. My goal was to equip participants with both the mindset and the tools to reclaim their time and realign their lives with what truly matters at work and beyond.
My second session, “Return on Impact: Measuring the True Success of Learning & Development,” tackled a persistent challenge in our field: the limitations of traditional ROI metrics. Too often, ROI becomes a weaponized term used to demand financial justification without adequate appreciation for the complexity and nuance of learning outcomes. My presentation attempted to offer a reframing: to shift the conversation from Return on Investment (ROI) to Return on Impact (ROIm) by combining quantitative metrics with qualitative data in a way that tells a meaningful story.
For example, I introduced a straightforward IF/THEN logic to help practitioners articulate impact using well-researched evidence. If a failed workplace conversation costs $7,500 in lost time and resources, and post-program data shows that 12 such failures were prevented within a cohort of 25 participants, then one could reasonably estimate a $90,000 ROIm. Data should be coupled with multiple semantic analyses of open-text participant responses to best capture how the learning was applied. This method provides a richer, more credible picture of program effectiveness.
Ultimately, these presentations are “passion projects” because they speak to what I care most about: helping individuals and organizations thrive. Whether it’s reshaping mindsets for greater intentionality or creating rigorous, human-centered ways to measure learning impact, my goal is always to bridge research with relevance, and data with purpose.
Is it fair to say that the combination of your different skills and activities, educational and professional experience, and your personal approach to these activities, is one of your distinguishing factors to stand out as unique in a crowded professional marketplace for the type of work you do?
Yes, I do believe the intersection of my educational background, professional experience, and personal philosophy offers a distinctive lens through which I approach Learning and Development. My academic training in neuroscience, combined with a master’s degree in leadership and organizational development, provides a dual foundation: one rooted in the science of how people learn and change, and the other in the human dynamics that shape organizations. This blend allows me to design experiences that are not only evidence-based but also highly attuned to the emotional and behavioral realities of today’s workplace.
What further differentiates my approach is the dynamic nature of my professional engagements. I am consistently facilitating leadership programs, consulting directly with clients, and speaking at conferences. I try to maintain a continuous feedback loop that keeps me grounded in the needs of learners and leaders alike. This ongoing engagement fuels a deep commitment to lifelong learning and the pursuit of practical strategies that catalyze real change.
At the heart of my work is a simple but ambitious goal: to create learning experiences that do more than check a box; they actually change behavior. Much of the corporate training landscape still falls into the trap of “tick-box” training or highly compliance-driven, generic, and easily forgotten programming. In contrast, my design philosophy is guided by what I call the 20-60-20 Rule:
- 20% of learners arrive eager and ready to grow
- 60% are open but unsure—curious, yet cautious
- 20% are already disengaged, often due to past experiences, systemic fatigue, or lack of focus due to other work factors
The true test of any learning initiative lies in its ability to activate that middle 60%. These participants represent the greatest potential for growth, and when effectively engaged, they often become the most powerful advocates for change within their teams.
This passion is personal. Like many professionals, I’ve experienced the damaging effects of poor leadership. Those experiences have shaped my drive to help others navigate and transform their workplace environments. Toxic cultures don’t just stunt organizational performance; they end up conditioning individuals with unproductive habits. But there’s a powerful distinction to be made: our first thoughts are often shaped by conditioning, while our second thoughts reflect our character. That space between the two is where intentional learning and identity-based habits can begin to take root.
Ultimately, effective learning is not about information delivery; it’s about behavior transformation. That’s why we follow a rigorous, six-step framework designed to accelerate habit formation and deepen leadership impact. When we meet learners where they are, and create the conditions for insight, practice, and reinforcement, we unlock the real potential of development both for individuals and for the organizations they lead.