There's a conversation that doesn't happen enough in L&D — about what scenario-based learning actually demands of a designer, and whether the tools we use are built to meet that bar. Last week, we got to have it out loud.

We hosted Dr. Heidi Kirby — instructional designer, Useful Stuff newsletter author, and someone who has spent years pushing the field to hold itself to a higher standard — for a live webinar on one of the hardest things an ID can be asked to do: design learning that puts learners inside a moment that genuinely matters.

"Most design challenges ask you to make something pretty. This one asks you to make something real.”

That line from the brief said it better than we could. The craft of hard conversations — performance feedback, accountability, care without avoidance — is exactly the kind of learning our industry underproduces. Heidi has been naming that gap for years. Building something around it together felt like the right next step.

The Challenge

What came out of that partnership is the Mindsmith x Heidi Kirby Design Challenge: a scenario-based learning brief set inside a fictional specialty coffee company called Kindred Coffee Co. Participants design a 30-minute module for Marcus, a brand-new manager who has to have a genuinely difficult conversation with a teammate whose performance has slipped — and whose situation is more complicated than it first appears.

It's not a checklist exercise. The learner makes real choices, sees realistic reactions, and reaches an outcome that reflects Kindred's values: care, craft, and community. Sound familiar? Those aren't far from ours.

What the webinar made clear is what we already believed: the designers who do their best work aren't looking for a faster way to produce content. They're looking for a platform that meets them at the level of their craft — and gets out of the way so the story can do its job.

Why this Matters to Us

Mindsmith exists to make every designer on your team more capable, so your best people can do their best work. Partnering with Heidi wasn't a marketing move — it was a values move. She holds instructional design to the standard it deserves. We want to be the platform that makes meeting that standard feel possible, not punishing.

The challenge is still open. Submissions close May 8, 2026. The grand prize is a one-year Mindsmith subscription, the latest Apple AirPods, and a winner shoutout in Heidi's Useful Stuff Substack. Every participant walks away with a free month of Mindsmith Business — use code DRHEIDI.

Questions? Drop them in the Mindsmith community Slack. You can also bring them to Mindsmith Weekly Office Hours — a live session with co-founders Zack and Ethan every Thursday where you can ask questions and get deep dives into current and upcoming features. Reserve your spot here.