Strategic L&d - by David James (Hardcover)

About the Book

Use this practical guide to build robust Learning & Development strategies that provide your employees with the skills and capabilities they need to outperform the competition.

Book Synopsis

Turn L&D into a strategic skills engine that drives organizational performance, influence and competitive advantage.

Strategic L&D by David James is an essential guide for senior L&D professionals who need to close skills gaps, prove business impact and position learning as a mission-critical function.

Moving beyond courses, platforms and content, this book shows how L&D leaders can shift from visible activity to measurable performance improvement. It explains how to build strategic influence, align learning with business priorities and demonstrate the value of L&D in revenue, productivity and organizational resilience.

You will learn how to:

- Build a robust L&D strategy
- Close workforce skills gaps at scale
- Increase influence with senior stakeholders
- Measure learning impact on business performance
- Use data to prove strategic value

With practical advice, real-world examples and a clear L&D maturity model, Strategic L&D gives senior learning leaders the tools to elevate their function, strengthen organizational capability and help the business outperform the competition.

Themes include: L&D strategy, skills gaps, learning impact, workforce capability, business performance, strategic influence

About the Author

David James is the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and host of The Learning & Development Podcast. His expertise lies in helping organizations modernize their approach to workplace learning, ensuring measurable results at scale. Prior to his current role, David was co-founder of pioneering learning technology company, Looop and previously Director of Learning, Talent & Organizational Development at The Walt Disney Company. Based in London, UK, he is a leading thinker in the L&D space and was included in Corporate Learning Network's Top 25 L&D Influencers of 2025.