“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage” – Arie de Geus
World’s highest achievers have one thing in common: it isn’t a high IQ, nor is it an incredible lucky streak, but their appreciation for constant learning through reading and practising. Education is the single best investment of our time that we can make. As Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” This insight is fundamental to succeeding in our knowledge economy, yet few people realise it. Luckily, once you understand the value of knowledge, it’s simple to get more of it. Just dedicate yourself to constant learning.
The world is bursting with learning. There are several million business books, 3000 TED talks, 10 000 MOOCs, hundreds of thousands of e-learning courses, and millions of self-published articles on platforms, such as LinkedIn and Medium. The modern learner has very little time for learning, less than 1% of their time, according to Bersin, a division of Deloitte. Plus, it is more important than ever to learn continuously as the shelf life of skills shortens and career paths meander and lengthen.
We all want to be better at something. After all, self-improvement is necessary to getting ahead at work. But once you know what you want to be better at, how do you start? Of course, learning techniques will vary depending on the skill and the person, but you can follow some general rules.
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk reportedly learned how to build rockets by reading books. Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors in the USA, state that he spends 80% of his day reading. Bill Gates, the richest man in the world and a lifelong bookworm, reads about 50 books a year, but strictly nonfiction ones.
Although reading is valuable, most people see it as a chore. Why read when you can end the day with your favourite TV show? Or a friendly gathering with friends? Make a decision about what your future will be: in front of the TV or in a chairman seat of a highly successful business.
Roosevelt was what we might call a “lifetime learner”. Learning became for him a mode of personal enjoyment and a path to professional success. The Economist recently argued that with all the disruptions in the modern economy, particularly technology, ongoing skill acquisition is critical to persistent professional relevance. Formal education levels are regularly linked to higher earnings and a lower unemployment rate, and apart from its utility, learning is fun. It’s a joy to engage in a new topic. Having an array of exciting items at your disposal when speaking to colleagues or friends can boost your confidence. It’s also fulfilling to understand a problematic new subject finally.
This type of continuous and persistent learning isn’t merely a decision. It must become a habit, and as such it requires careful cultivation. To develop a learning habit, first you have to articulate the outcomes you’d like to achieve, and according to your choices, you have to set realistic goals. To be able to focus on your objectives, you have to ditch the distractions as multitasking and technology can make the deep concentration needed for real learning difficult or impossible. Although technology can be a distraction, it can also be used to aid a learning regimen dramatically. Massive open online courses, podcasts, audiobooks, e-readers, and other tools make it possible to have a book on hand almost any time. Combine these tools with apps that track your habits, and technology can be an essential component of a learning routine.
Additionally, it is imperative for you to unlearn what you have learned to give the opportunity to yourself to explore alternatives. Unlearning is not about forgetting; it is about choosing an alternative mental model or paradigm. When we learn, we add new skills or knowledge to what we already know. When we unlearn, we step outside the mental model to choose a different one.
Supporting evidence and practices
We are all born with a natural curiosity. We want to learn. But the demands of work and personal life often diminish our time and will to engage that natural curiosity. Developing specific learning habits – consciously established and conscientiously cultivated- can be a route to both continued professional relevance and deep personal happiness. Maybe Roosevelt had it right: “A lifetime of learning can be a success in itself”.
Mastering new skills are not optional in today’s business environment. “It is not enough to be smart – you always need to be getting smarter”, says Heidi Grant, a motivational psychologist and the author of ‘Nine Things Successful People Do Differently’ (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012). Thus, we need to continually look for opportunities to stretch ourselves in ways that may not always feel comfortable at first as continual improvement is necessary to get ahead.
Some principles which you can follow for self-improvement are:
- Check your readiness – You have to ask yourself if your goal is attainable and also you need to clarify how much time and energy can you devote to the project.
- Make sure it is required – Select a skill that is relevant to your career, your organisation, or both. Gaining a new skill is an investment, and you need to know beforehand what the return will be.
- Understand how you learn best – Some people learn faster and easier by looking at graphics and pictures or by reading. Other prefer to watch demonstrations or listen to things being explained. Still, others need hands-on experience. Each one of us can figure out the ideal learning style by looking back.
- Get the right help – Eliciting support from others can significantly increase learning. Find someone you trust, who has mastered the skill you are trying to attain. If you can’t find a mentor inside your company, look for people in your industry or from your network.
- Start small – You have to choose one or two skills to focus on at a time and break that skill down into manageable goals. For example, if you want to become more assertive, you might concentrate on speaking up more often in meetings by pushing yourself to talk within the first five minutes.
- Reflect along the way – to move from experimentation to mastery. Reflect on what you are learning. Otherwise, the new skill won’t stick.
- Challenge yourself to teach it to others – One of the quickest ways to learn something new, and to practice it, is to show others how to do it.
- Be patient – We need to be patient during the process of acquiring a new skill as it usually takes 6 months or more to develop a new skill.
Books
Coleman, John, D. Gulati, W. O. Segovia (2011). Passion and Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders. Harvard Business Review Press
Additional resources and links
https://medium.com/the-mission/the-5-hour-rule-if-youre-not-spending-5-hours-per-week-learning-you-re-being-irresponsible-791c3f18f5e6
https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/reading-habits-of-highly-successful-people
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/communication-success/201410/how-increase-your-emotional-intelligence-6-essentials
https://hbr.org/2015/06/improve-your-ability-to-learn