2020 Predictions — LEARNING

Learning is becoming a root of job satisfaction.

Learning opportunities and the ability to act on the job are impactful. The chance to make a difference and advance your career and mindset is one to seek.

As I write this, I feel very millennial (when you are a xennial, that’s a sensitive predicament). But the days of a career at one organization are gone, and that’s out of our control. And frankly, the days of one profession are quickly slipping away too.

And as a result, we need to learn.

I heard of a study where education is thought to “expire.” The idea is it would be mostly irrelevant or out of date in less than 2.5 years.

But does this mean we don’t bother with it?
It means we need to learn continually.
It means we need to have a foundation of critical thinking.
It means we need to have experimental learning to develop a growth mindset and put what we learn into action.
Many things drive employees, but most of us want to work with people driven by growth. This growth extends to personal and career development.

With an overload of information that is now available because of the internet, this learning becomes more comfortable. Or does it become harder?

A client and I discussed this the other day and how it was not that many years ago where the percentage of people who could read, and the number of those who had read every book published, was a close-ratio. If you could read, you would be smart. That was a true statement not long ago.

While your opportunity to learn to read could be complicated, once you had that opportunity, you would have access to information, and by default, you’d be one of the smartest people. It wouldn’t matter what your IQ was, what your EQ was, or any of the other factors that would now define intelligence.

Further to that point, it was only a few years ago that if someone brought up a fact or idea or methodology, you’d struggle to learn more no matter how intrigued you were. Learning more meant you had to go to a library. You had to find a documentary at the exact time it was in the theatre or on television or radio. Or you’d have to find a book or video store that would sell you the knowledge.

Even since I’ve gone to pubs (because we all know that the pub is where all the intellectual discussions happen), or conferences or wherever interesting topics arise, debated learnings have changed. It wasn’t long ago you’d have at least to boot up a computer and dial into the internet and wait and wait and wait.

Now though, you hear something exciting, and instantly you can look it up on your phone and read reliable articles, order a book, watch a video or podcast, or find other ways to explore and become a mini “expert.”

But so much information can bring our learning to its knees.

How do we make sense of it all?

How do we take action?

How do we manage our time and our data with the action front and center?

How do we fail fast and make rapid decisions?

How do we develop healthy decision making and critical thinking skills? 

I do not have the answers.

It is my interest in all of these questions and my “millennial” desire to make an impact and to learn that has me thinking that learning is going to be huge in 2020.