The Slow Fade: How L&D Functions Lose Relevance Without Realizing It
Registration Deadline: July 9
You know the origin story about Reed Hastings launching Netflix and disrupting Blockbuster? It’s a classic business tale of David vs. Goliath.
It’s also wrong.
Blockbuster wasn't killed by Netflix. It slowly eroded, in part because its leaders were focused on continuing to deliver something that its customers quietly began to value less. That distinction isn't just interesting. It's the most important thing L&D professionals need to understand about their own function right now.
Internal talent and training teams face a version of this risk that rarely shows up in budget conversations until it's too late: Value Proposition Erosion (VPE). It's the gap between the value you're delivering and the value your internal clients believe they're receiving. And it widens gradually, without drama, often while engagement scores remain strong.
In this session, participants will examine VPE through the lens of L&D. They will explore how assumptions about what the business needs, who the "customer" is, and what "good" looks like can quietly calcify. Using case studies from industries that didn't see it coming, facilitated discussion, and diagnostic prompts adapted from the Strategic Clarity Framework™, participants will leave with a clearer picture of where their own function may be drifting and how they can influence its trajectory.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Distinguish between disruption and erosion as risk patterns, and identify which poses the greater threat to internal L&D functions.
- Apply the Value Proposition Erosion framework to their own team — examining expectation drift, segment-specific erosion, and silent substitution within their organization.
- Use the Assumption Blindness diagnostic to surface and pressure-test beliefs about stakeholder needs, organizational value, and competitive positioning — with particular attention to identity-level assumptions that trigger resistance before evidence can even be considered.
- Identify at least two concrete signals of early-stage VPE within their function and develop an initial approach for closing the detection gap before erosion becomes visible to leadership.
Register Now!
Presented by:
David Phillips
Equal parts educator, facilitator, and instigator, David has devoted his professional life to helping people make things better. Prior to founding Faster Glass in 2010, he built his career across the financial services, public accounting, public education, and the U.S. Air Force — worlds that don't usually talk to each other. It's an atypical path, and exactly what makes him effective at helping others connect dots.
Register Now!
Join ATD Charlotte for our monthly chapter meeting. Meet other talent development professionals in the Charlotte area, discover job opportunities and - if you're recruiting - connect with job seekers, hear about the latest chapter news, and participate in a fantastic program.
We are looking forward to seeing you! Remember that in order to allow the caterer to order the correct amount of food and protect your membership dollars, ATD charges a $25 no-show fee. So if something comes up please cancel by Thursday (7 days prior to the event) 12 midnight. Thanks!!!
All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Location: NOTE: New Location!!
CPI Security Systems Corporate Office
4300 Sandy Porter Rd, Charlotte, NC 28273
Parking: please park anywhere in the parking lot (EV is for employees only, though).
Enter through the main entrance in the front of the building that faces Sandy Porter Road, please enter 4300 building (not 4200 building).
Check in: 5-6pm
Meeting start time: 5:45pm
Note: For any guests attending (without a guest pass), please select 'Guest-In Person' for your registration; the cost is $25 to cover the meeting and food.
Meeting Schedule:
All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)
- 5:45pm - Meeting starts
- Dinner!
- Networking & Job Forum
- Chapter Announcements
- Presentation
- 8:00pm - Meeting Concludes
