London · 29 September 2026
What if we're wrong about performance?
What if skills aren't the issue, and a learning programme is no longer the answer?
You might hear how another organisation approached the same problem differently. Or you might leave more confident that what you're already doing is right.
Charles Jennings · Alex Boulting
Chiswell Street Dining Rooms · 15:00 – 17:30
Moorgate, EC1
No sales pitches. No supplier agenda. Just people who do the job.
The afternoon
Workplace strategies are often celebrated when they’re announced, on social media and in our trade press. The valuable insights often come later, once organisations have had time to evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and reflect on why.
This afternoon brings together senior People, Learning, Talent and OD leaders working in similar-sized organisations local to EC1 to share those experiences, challenge ideas and learn from one another.
Two short talks start the conversation. The room explores the ideas together. And where a conversation is worth continuing, the people in the room can create a peer-led Corner to continue it.
- Charles Jennings asks why learning programmes aren't always the answer.
- Alex Boulting asks whether we are misdiagnosing performance problems as skills problems.
What will happen
Two short talks. Then the tables.
01
Two short talks
Twenty minutes each. Charles Jennings and Alex Boulting open the question. Then the room talks.
02
Peer / table discussion
The room explores the ideas together, sharing experience and challenging assumptions.
03
Drinks and food
Canapés and drinks are included. Time to get to know the people in the room.
Guest contributors
They aren't there to fill the afternoon with presentations. Each will put a question to the room based on their experience, then the conversation moves to the tables.
Charles Jennings
Charles Jennings is a workplace learning and organisational performance expert with over 40 years’ experience, including a partner of the 70:20:10 Institute and serving as Chief Learning Officer at Reuters and Thomson Reuters.
Alex Boulting
Alex Boulting is an Organisational Development leader with over 20 years’ experience across GSK, IBM, Amnesty International and Transport for London.
Who it is for
- Senior People, Learning, Talent and OD leaders working in similar-sized organisations.
- People local to EC1 who want to learn with peers facing similar challenges.
- No suppliers, no sales pitches. Just people who do the job.
Places
- £150 for one place.
- £225 for two colleagues from the same organisation.
No supplier agenda.
Chiswell Street Dining Rooms
56 Chiswell St, London EC1Y 4SA. A short walk from Moorgate, Barbican or Liverpool Street. Built in 1750; the Clubhouse for Four Corners London events.
The restaurant setting is deliberate. Conversation happens at tables, not in rows facing a stage.
Before we get around the table
Explore the conversation
You don't need to read or listen to any of these before 29 September. They're simply a few things we've found useful, including perspectives that don't necessarily agree.
Charles' perspective
Read
Start with the 70. Plan for the 100.
Charles Jennings
Charles argues that when faced with a performance problem, organisations should start by considering solutions embedded in work rather than automatically beginning with formal learning.
The counterpoint
Read
The Science of Workplace Instruction
Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior
A research-based examination of the principles that can make workplace instruction effective and improve transfer to job performance.
Why we picked itWe don't agree with all of this. That's partly why we picked it.
Another perspective
Listen
How to make learning stick and drive performance
CIPD
A discussion about why well-designed learning can still fail to translate into workplace performance, and the role the environment around learning plays in whether people actually apply it.
So when is learning the answer, when isn't it, and how do we know the difference?
That's one of the questions we'll put to the room on 29 September.
We'll use your details to manage your request and contact you about this event.
Questions
- Is there a cost to this event?
- Yes, £150 for one person. £225 for two colleagues from the same organisation.
- Can I bring a colleague?
- You’re welcome to request an additional place for a colleague in a similar senior HR, People, Learning or Organisational Development role. If we have availability we can offer this.
- Will there be suppliers?
- No. Speakers are invited because they have something worth sharing, not something to sell. No stands, no pitches, no 1-to-1s in the diary. We do not hand out the attendee list.
- Will I be put on the spot or asked to speak?
- No. Most discussion is in tables. Contribute as much or as little as you like.
- Where is the event?
- Chiswell Street Dining Rooms, 56 Chiswell St, London EC1Y 4SA. A short walk from Moorgate, Barbican or Liverpool Street.
- Why have I been invited?
- Every invitation is extended individually to senior People, Learning, Talent and OD leaders working in similar-sized organisations, near Chiswell Street, EC1.
Call 020 8674 2685 or write to questions@fourcornersclub.co.uk.
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