Learning Capability Is Your Core Competitive Advantage
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- How do you keep up with the exponentially growing pace of our time?
- How do you cope with tons of information in interconnected, interdependent flat world
?
- How to overcome the failure of hierarchical organization structures (search “Knowledge Worker Age” on the page)?
You continuously learn.
by lexdenn
These three questions are the core reasons that make learning a core capability according to Peter M. Senge and his book titled The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
Keep up with the exponentially growing pace
Set your own pace. Find Your Strengths, Know Your Life Purpose. Build an architecture of your own life. Develop yourself iteratively and in cycles.
Cope with information in interconnected world?
Paradoxically, I started to read more lately. I mean I started to read books. Yes, I am ashamed I never did it before. Here is the list of books I have read recently:
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
- Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service
- Married to the Brand: Why Consumers Bond with Some Brands for Life
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
- The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today
- The Handbook of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: Inspiring Others to Achieve Results
- The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal
- The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
- The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (Ok, this one I read few years ago)
- Overachievement: The New Model for Exceptional Performance
- 45 EFFECTIVE WAYS FOR HIRING SMART: How to Predict Winners and Losers in the Incredibly Expensive People-Reading Game
- The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
- The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking
Reading books is time consuming. The following resources and techniques are much more effective and efficient for me:
- “Read” audio books utilizing drive time.
- Regularly read JD’s The Book Share where he distills gold nuggets from the books he reads. And he reads a lots of books.
- Subscribe to www.getAbstract.com/.
- Practice ninja techniques for RSS consumption. Readers do not read the Web – they scan the Web. This might be a good tip for bloggers to publish more readable or should I say scannable blogs with eyes friendly and effective layout.
- Never read in depth emails with knowledge nuggets, store it in dedicated folder for further re-use.
I am also regular reader of Mike King’s Learn This blog were he passionately shares new stuff he learns.
Consider adapting software performance engineering practices to day-to-day life. Here is an example how caching can improve your response times – The Fast And The Peaceful.
Overcome the failure of hierarchical organization
Find organization that resonates with your values. Speak your manager’s language and then Manage Your Manager For Fun And For Profit. Check periodically asking yourself One, Two , Three – Is This Manager For Me? Offer your work echo-system best Experience you can offer. There is no reports and managers. There are team members that are responsible for each one’s part. Build A Tag Team. Become a superhero, it is easy.
Footnote
“There are no mistakes in life, there are only lessons to be learned: Advice to the Youth.” – Mark Twain
Have a look at one of the most viewed videos to learn more. It might make you decide to start learning differently – Did You Know; Shift Happens – Globalization; Information Age
12 May 2008
You certainly keep busy, Alik.
I used to love reading books, but lately it’s been difficult to find the time. But the books that I used to read… very different from the books you are reading. Fiction.
I agree that learning a core capability. Anyone who thinks they are done with learning after college/ university is very wrong.
Learning, doing and adapting is key.
You’d be surprised how many folks develop learned-helplessness. The good news is that it’s always possible to restore a growth-mindset.
Thanks for the mention Alik, and that is one impressive book list. I feel the same way you do, ashamed that I only learned to read so recently in my life. Its made an unbelievable difference in my life in every way. I’ve always loved to learn and didn’t realize how much there was to learn in books. I’m a non-fiction reader as well and devour a LOT of audio books as well.
Keep it up, great article. Love the quotes that you include all the time!
@Vered
. I feel I need to get even more busy LOL! Just love reading. Recommend me good fiction book, your favorite please.
Just got another three books from our library
@JD
learned-helplessness…. haha. I just must say thank you. You are actually the one who made me love reading so much. My Mom would thank you too. When I was a kid she tried hard to make me read… she gave up.
@Mike
Thanks for nice words. Audio books + voice recorder to take “notes” == killer combination and constantly growing blog posts pipeline
[...] I learned a LOT, I experienced a LOT, and I know I am far ahead of the game now, although I have only few tangible [...]
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