My Skillsoft Journey
Big news this week in the Learning Industry, Skillsoft goes Public! For those who’ve been around, this actually isn’t the first time this has happened. Just over 20 years ago Skillsoft had it’s original IPO in 2000 with the co-founders of the company Chuck Moran and Jerry Nine. Over the course of the decade that followed Skillsoft would be publicly traded before going Private again. Well, it would seem that history can repeat itself again this week. Monday marked the debut of “SKIL” on the New York Stock Exchange.
I’m proud to say that much of my professional career has been influenced and now even supported by Skillsoft. In 2007 I was honored to be recognized by Skillsoft as their “Learning Leader of the Year.” (Pictured above with friends and colleagues Cindy Warren and Candace Mann) Founded on August 8th, 1998 the company pioneered much of what has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Back then CD ROM training was all the rage. Skillsoft pushed the envelope with innovation while providing high quality content that could be accessed via the Internet.
My first contact with Skillsoft came as I was the project lead for a new Learning Management System my company had purchased. Ironically that LMS was Click2Learn’s Ingenium. In a way it was destiny. Here I was starting out in my professional career attempting to connect some of the first Skillsoft Business Professional Courses with the first Learning Management System sold from Click2Learn; now SumTotal. Little did I realize that later in my career after the merger of the two I would be on-board as an employee.
Over the course of 20 years Skillsoft grew from a small collection of Business “Soft Skills” titles, to a Titan in the eLearning industry. Often acquiring competitors and adjacent libraries to fuel the growth, the company maintained a unique humble personality attributed to that of it’s founders Chuck and Jerry. It was evident that their priorities were always focused on two main pillars; the customer and the product. That was the “secret sauce” back then to their success.
During my tenure as a client I came to know the Skillsoft almost as well as I did my own employer. It was the openness and collaborative spirit of the company that attracted a loyal following of customers. The annual Perspectives Conference was one that could not be missed and facilitated a once a year gathering of friends. Bouncing back and forth between Orlando and Las Vegas, the event was initially free to customers but rivaled the largest and most expensive industry conferences. We all knew it would start with a brief opening from Chuck and Jerry, followed by an energized keynote from John Ambrose showcasing the latest company innovations while sporting some neon wardrobe accessory.
Over time things did change. I will state for the record my timing is only of coincidence when I joined the company. Shortly after coming on board there was a turnover of the Management Team that had lead the company from its inception. Let’s call what happened next the teenage years for Skillsoft and all that it embodies. While the core of excellence remained, there were moments of awkwardness.
Thankfully, much like the teen that grows into a responsible adult, so to has the time come for Skillsoft. This week was it’s graduation, coming of age or recapturing of the Title. Emerging from the financial binds of the past, aligned with the leader in IT Training and going public with new leadership at the helm, Skillsoft is roaring back! I refer to the company as the best kept secret these past few years.
In a post-pandemic world that has a new view on learning and development, Skillsoft is now poised for great things. While acquisitions, mergers and new start-ups rush to the space, Skillsoft is emerging fully refreshed, recapitalized and with stellar leadership at the helm. But don’t take my word for it, even Josh Bersin weighed in today: I’ll be following SkillSoft closely in the months ahead: this is a company with ambition, a new brand, and a completely refreshed base of technology. If you’re a global company with lots of needs, I think you’ll find SkillSoft worth a good look. All I can add to this is “We’re Back Baby!”