No one likes a “know-it-all”.
In an increasingly ever-changing corporate world, how can you ‘know it all’?
Yesterday’s news is today’s fish and chips paper and yet some people continue to apply old practices to new corporate situations.
The question really is how do we stay ahead of the ever-growing curve of latest trends and data?
The answer is simple: Education.
Now, the initial connotations of “learning” or “education” would include a textbook, a chalkboard and, depending on your age, maybe the occasional strike with a cane from the teacher to ensure your undivided attention and compliance.
However, in the corporate world, learning can present itself in many forms and only a real leader can show the honesty, humility and hard work required to absorb the magnitude of information that will present itself on a daily basis.
We must make a conscious effort to consume and embrace new knowledge at every opportunity that may present itself.
John F. Kennedy famously said that “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other”. A real leader can find learning outcomes in successes and failures, which requires the humility to identify such moments, consume them, refine them and reapply these new learnings:
If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to have the time and money to invest in your professional & personal development, then I implore you to do so. However, God gave us two ears, two eyes and only one mouth for a reason; we are designed to consume more information than we create and to not do so is a disservice to your ambitions.
There are some mindset adjustments you can make to increase your learning capacity in your daily corporate life, such as:
Open your eyes, ears and minds to the learnings that surround you
The corporate world is changing faster than textbooks can be drafted and printed. The world in general is unrecognizable to itself with every passing year.
Those who rest on their laurels, stop learning and adapting will soon be left behind. We must make a conscious effort to consume and embrace new knowledge at every opportunity that may present itself.
Your potential to stay ahead of your competitors and succeed in your business will only be limited by your ability to consume, digest, re-apply, refine and re-teach all the effective skills and crafts that you encounter daily. That is the true definition of learning and a business superpower for those who can master it.
A final mention for our friend Albert Einstein who also once morbidly said, “Once you stop learning, you start dying”.
I say for those reading this, that life has just begun and my hope for you is that you open your eyes, ears and minds to the learnings that surround you.
