I never planned to launch Glass of Learning. In 2014, after a nearly three-decade-long consulting career, I decided that I could take my experience and create something that would help companies maximize their employee potential. Through customized learning and development programs, the goal was to help businesses shatter the glass ceiling of their limited perceptions. Soon, what started out as a small instructional design firm grew into a determined training and development organization.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we want to reflect on the past decade. From client partnerships, workshops, collaboration, and achievements, these are some of the moments that have shaped our journey.
2014: The Start of it All
Our story began in 2014 when I, having enjoyed a successful consulting career with a global training company, decided to pivot and start my own business. Glass of Learning was born. It focused on instructional design for various organizations. One of our first significant projects was designing teacher training for Montessori schools that helped teachers work more effectively with caregivers.
2015: Going Global
In 2015, we landed our first global client. We provided sales training in Europe, conducting multiple visits to understand the customer’s needs, designing the solution, piloting the experiential training with key stakeholders, and training the trainers. This marked our first significant step into the international arena.
2016: Expanding Experiential Design
By 2016, we had finalized a comprehensive 6-day leadership program, which we rolled out to a large quick-service restaurant chain. Additionally, we collaborated on an experiential design project focused on achieving goals, branding it as LevelUp! Our work included a custom sales conference for a financial institution and design strategy consultations for our peers in the training industry.
2017: National Engagement
I travelled across Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia, speaking at Association Chapter events and sharing our expertise. We also streamlined learning pathways for a large municipality, developed frontline leadership programs for a local manufacturing company, and began our journey in the AgriBusiness sector. Additionally, we achieved DiSC certification in multiple assessments, further enhancing our training capabilities.
2018: Leadership on the Move
2018 was a year of extensive travel and outreach. We hit the road and spoke at a North American Manufacturing Conference and launched a 27-week Leadership Program across Canada and the USA. Our team also spent much of the year designing, implementing and expanding, a virtual learning platform for all assessments, learning applications and resources, opportunities to generate discussion and share successes and accumulate online reports for management of those taking part in our learning initiatives.
2019: Here Come the Awards
2019 was a milestone year as we won 15 Stevie Awards, including three Silver awards for Leadership or Skills Development Solution Provider of the Year, Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada, and Woman of the Year – Business Services. I was also recognized as a 50 over 50 Entrepreneur.
We designed and taught a 7-week Learning Evaluation Course at the University of Toronto’s OISE Adult Learning Certificate Program and made 12 trips to Las Vegas.
2020: Adapting to Change
The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges as well as opportunities. We received the I4PL Award of Excellence for Designing Learning Experiences and launched VirtualGlass™, our virtual learning platform. This innovation allowed us to adapt to the changing needs of our clients, and deliver our engaging in-person activities virtually, ensuring continuity and quality in our training programs. We also focused on mentoring trainers during this time.
2021: More Awards and a New Program
In 2021, I was honoured to receive the International Stevie Award for Entrepreneur of the Year in Business & Professional Services.
Glass of Learning continued to innovate in the Agribusiness sector, designing OrgHealth, a custom program designed for intact teams. We also completed our first large-scale virtual leadership rollout for a client in the UK.
2022: Continuing the Winning Streak
Our virtual learning platform, VirtualGlass™, garnered significant recognition in 2022. We won two Stevie Awards, including a Gold for Achievement in Leadership Development and a Silver for Most Innovative Leadership Program. We also received the International Silver Stevie Award for Best Entrepreneur in Business & Professional Services for the second year in a row, and the DotComm Award for Best Learning Platform.
2023: Back on the Road
After the pandemic, we resumed our in-person engagements, designing a series of onboarding eLearning modules and delivering frontline leadership programs and an On-the-Job Training process for a local manufacturing company. We also continued our commitment to process improvement and mentoring trainers.
2024: Looking Ahead
As we celebrate a decade of success, we look forward to the future with excitement and optimism. Our focus remains on delivering innovative training solutions that close the skill gap and release human potential. Our goal is to help our clients, achieve their goals.
Here’s to another decade of learning, growth, and excellence!
Thank you to all of our clients, partners, and team members who have been part of this incredible journey. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Sincerely,
Nancy and the Glass of Learning team
