10l: Carl Hoddler

10L: A few simple questions about how leading professionals see their work.

About Carl:

Carl is the co-founder of StoryTagger, the guided video storytelling platform transforming how people discover and share their most valuable workplace experiences.

So, what do you do dear?  Describe your work to an elderly relative.

So you remember the helpful gentleman on the customer service desk who gave you a refund for that dodgy chicken? I help him share tips and advice to other employees to ensure every customer is as happy as you. 

What was your favourite learning experience (Could be work, personal, school…anything is v alid)? What were you trying to do? Why did it work so well for you?

At art college, my teacher Dougie Morris asked me to draw 8 perfect squares on a piece of A1 paper. Nothing less than perfect would do. Then, for two months, I’d repeat this process, adding a single dot to each box and contemplating its effect on the space. The following two months I’d use a line, and finally, I spent two months using dots and lines. 

I didn’t know, but I was learning Kandinsky’s point and line theory. It took me 15 years to recognise that Dougie taught me an intuitive awareness of balance in space. 

Easily the weirdest and best thing I’ve ever learned. 

Enough already…What one thing do you wish people in your industry or profession would stop doing? (What gets your goat?)

When I started out in L&D, having come up through the ranks as a lowly graphic designer, I was constantly worried about looking daft in front super-smart L&D people – right from the outset, everyone has been incredibly friendly, interesting and engaged. It’s the best industry I’ve worked in, so absolutely no complaints here. 😄

Same again please…What has changed for the better in your professional world as a result of COVID working practices? Should it be retained for the future (whenever that might be and whatever it might look like)?

I spend so much of the day on Zoom I end up working in the broom cupboard, so for me the creative destruction of 300 years of office work has been most welcome! The one thing I do miss is leaving the office at 4pm on a Friday to wrap up any admin in a lovely pub! 

From the good old days…What do you miss most about working life from the pre-COVID world? Do you think it will return?

I’m looking forward to Team pizzas, and the buzz of real-world events.

Theft is the sincerest form of flattery…Which part of which other industry or profession do you think we should learn from and adopt (or just steal)?

There’s a lot to learn from sales experiences (good and bad) Yes, I’m looking at you mandated learning folk who don’t provide context, value or personalisation! One of the things that got me interested in workplace storytelling was framing learning experiences in real-world outcomes to help people care (and not play whack-a-mole with the next button!). 

You know who would be great for this…Which famous person (live or historical) do you want to join your team and why?

Life moves pretty fast for us, so we need people with a passion for learning. Sometimes fame can temper that hunger, so if it’s ok to cheat on this one, I’ll stick with the awesome regular folk.

If only I had…What did you learn from your most recent mistake?

The mantra Fail Fast, Fail Often has a bad rep, but when you’re working iteratively and at speed, mistakes are part of the journey, and you need to learn to ride those bumps.

As for my last one? I honestly can’t remember. These days I’m pretty efficient at spot, fix and move on.

There can be only one…Which one tool or piece of kit would you keep if you could only use one from now on?

Can I say everything with an Apple logo on it?

The picture of success…Which image or picture is a good representation of how you would like to develop your practice over the next five years?

Where can we find you?

Leave a Reply