# Stop Guessing: How J&J Gets Precise About Skills w/ Bas Debbink

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/workplace-stories-by-redthread-research-3600959/stop-guessing-how-j-j-gets-precise-about-skills-w-bas-debbink
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/workplace-stories-by-redthread-research-3600959/stop-guessing-how-j-j-gets-precise-about-skills-w-bas-debbink.md
Podcast: [Workplace Stories by RedThread Research](https://stenobird.com/podcast/workplace-stories-by-redthread-research-3600959)
Published: 2025-06-11T10:35:02+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/stop-guessing-how-j-j-gets-precise-about-skills-w-bas-debbink--66505505
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/66505505/ws_107_updated.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/workplace-stories-by-redthread-research-3600959/episodes/stop-guessing-how-j-j-gets-precise-about-skills-w-bas-debbink
Duration seconds: 2211

## Resource

Most organizations claim to care about employee development, but upon closer examination, their approach to skills is often vague, subjective, or downright confusing. They might assume people will simply "figure it out" on the job or resort to one-size-fits-all training. If you've ever wondered why your learning investments don’t seem to translate into impact, it might be because you’re still guessing when it comes to skills. Today, you’ll hear how Johnson & Johnson’s tech organization stopped playing the guessing game. With clear processes to identify, assess, and verify skills, both digital and power skills, they’re not just hoping development happens; they’re engineering it. You'll learn how they use both talent leader insight and AI-driven inference to build a skills-based ecosystem that actually works, without overwhelming employees or managers. By the end of the conversation, it’s clear this isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about building a practical, scalable system that aligns employee growth with business needs and helps people know, with confidence, exactly what’s next in their development journey. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... (00:00) Intro. (02:32) Bas’s career path and transition into L&D. (05:08) Structure and priorities of J&J’s tech learning organization. (09:00) How J&J defines, identifies, and verifies critical skills. (17:34) Messaging, buy-in, and the cultural side of skill building. (23:47) How AI and tech are reshaping development and learning systems. Resources & People Mentioned https://fortune.com https://degreed.com Connect with Bas Debbink Connect with Bas Debbink on LinkedIn Connect With Red Thread Research Website: Red Thread Research On LinkedIn On Facebook On Twitter Subscribe to WORKPL…

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