Learning From the Google Box

I once read a book on change management, and the author wrote: ‘There is so much education in this country, but very little learning.’ How do you educate your mind? How do you learn?

Leaders have a desire to learn, and they learn constantly. Experts seek other experts to expand their knowledge and skills base. Learning is not a passive process, as it can involve active participation and involvement. Mark Twain said: ‘My education began after I left school.’

There is so much talk about Knowledge Management (KM), however I am not convinced that the promoters and perpetrators of KM fully comprehend, let alone understand it completely. I hear many versions of what it can be, but am disappointed by their explanation of what it is. The purveyors of KM tend to focus on the digital aspect of containing knowledge, but not as much on the acquisition and development of knowledge, including epistemology.

Here are some ways to enhance your knowledge base:

1) Skip the regular newspapers and go for online and televised versions (study the patterns on which stories dominate the headlines).

2) Watch speeches and presentation styles of renowned people on TED.com and YouTube.com (graduation speeches).

3) Scan leadership blogs on mega-sites like Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop.com.

4) Have conversations with leaders on leadership and management in various industries and professions.

5) Read authorised biographies and note the celebrity’s strategies for decision making, motivation, creativity, problem solving, building relationships and lifestyle, and learning.

6) Watch biopics (biographical epics), sports legends, and films inspired by true events (e.g. Invictus).

7) Create a Top-10 List (like this) on each topic you know (a nod to David Letterman).

8) Tell a new joke everyday (to appreciate the structure of humour and language) and remember it.

9) Read excerpts of books (classics) and quotations (and use them).

10) Find out how something works (how they build another floor on a building; make a multi-tier wedding cake; how the brake work on a car/bike).

Point and click, flip, and flick…go for it!