Skip to main content

How To Never Stop Learning

“I’ve spent the last 18 years researching why we are so bad at learning and what we can do about it,” states Bradley R. Staats. And that’s primarily what prompted him to write his book, Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive.

Further explaining, Staats says that when it comes to learning, we are our own worst enemy and we often work against ourselves:
  • Instead of doing the things that will help us learn, we often do just the opposite.
  • We are unwilling to take risks that might lead to failure.
  • We obsess about outcomes while neglecting to examine carefully the process through which we achieve them.
  • We rush to answers instead of asking questions.
  • We look to fix irrelevant weaknesses instead of playing to our strengths.
  • We treat learning as an individual exercise and neglect the important role played by others.
  • We end up solving yesterday’s problems too late instead of tackling tomorrow’s problems before someone else does. 
“If we can understand why we go down the wrong path, then we can change our behavior, allowing ourselves to learn,” explains Staats.

To help you become a true dynamic learner, the book presents eight essential elements. Among them are:
  • Valuing failure.
  • Reflection and relaxation.
  • Being yourself and willing to stand out.
  • Building a T-shaped portfolio of experiences—deep in one area (or more) and broad in others.
  • Recognizing that “I don’t know” is a fair place to start—if you quickly follow with a question. 
Learning is so vital today that we can think of ourselves as living in a learning economy,” says Staats. “We can’t just be knowledge workers; we must also be learning workers.”

Bradley R. Staats

Staats shares these additional insights:

QuestionOrganizations and leaders often obsess over results, but you argue that process is far more important. Why?

Staats: Understanding the process is vital for learning. How did we get from point A to point B. Only when we understand the steps can we not only repeat them, but also improve and evolve them. The problem is that we assume that good results mean that we followed a good process and that bad results mean we followed a bad process. That just isn’t the case though. There are lots of factors that affect whether we get a good or bad outcome. Dynamic leaders recognize that they must focus on the process, not just the outcome.

QuestionIf readers took away one thing from reading your book, what do you hope it would be?

Staats: I think that the book has an optimistic story to tell. Although it is true that the bad news is we are our own worst enemy when it comes to learning, that is also the good news. If we are the problem, then we are also the solution. The person we have the most control over is ourself. And so, if we can understand why we take the actions we take, then we can start to design processes to help us learn successfully.

Thanks to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Great Business Quote

Here's a great quote from author and speaker Harvey Mackay : "When a person with money meets a person with experience, the person with the experience ends up with the money, and the person with the money ends up with the experience."

5 Tips For Generating Ideas From Employees

Your employees have lots of ideas.  So, be sure you provide the forums and mechanisms for your employees to share their ideas with you.  Hold at least a few brainstorming sessions each year, as well. And, when you are brainstorming with your employees, try these five tips: Encourage ALL ideas.  Don't evaluate or criticize ideas when they are first suggested. Ask for wild ideas.  Often, the craziest ideas end up being the most useful. Shoot for quantity not quality during brainstorming. Encourage everyone to offer new combinations and improvements of old ideas.

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability .  They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

How To Lead A Family Business

Julie Charlestein  is the author of the book,  How To Lead Your Family Business: Excelling Through Unexpected Crises, Choices, and Challenges . Charlestein is also the fourth-generation leader of an incredibly successful family-owned enterprise, and she’s seen it all firsthand, including family drama in the workplace and the office politics that come with any corporation. Her book features her  unique set of strategies for navigating the distinctive challenges and choices facing family businesses. In her highly personal storytelling style, Charlestein shares her experience as an emerging leader and ultimately CEO, who has worked to earn her colleagues’ respect. She details her leadership adventure, offering actionable strategies for those leading and working within their own family businesses. The book is ideal for anyone leading a family business or starting a family business.  It’s also good for anyone taking over an existing (or new) business. More about Charleste...

How To Coach Rather Than Supervise Employees

Bill Berman  and  George Bradt , authors of the book,  Influence and Impact , explain the importance of helping your employees to understand what their jobs entails, and what the culture expects, so they can do the work you need from them the most.  More importantly, they say that it is better for you as a leader to  coach employees rather than supervise  them. And, as you coach, they recommend you:  Ensure the employee fully understands their job responsibilities. Pave the way for the employee to be successful. Given them the time, resources and encouragement they will need. Help them know themselves better. Consider a personality assessment by a trained evaluator so they understand their styles and preferences. Help them know the business. Ensure they know the organization’s mission, vision and purpose, business strategies and cultural norms. Help them know you. Help them to really understand what you really need from them to make you and the organiz...

When Women Lead

Prepare to be inspired by and to learn from the stories of more than 60 highly-successful female CEOs and leaders who are featured in   Julia Boorstin ’s book,   When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, How We Can Learn From Them .  Boorstin shares that whether you’re a woman looking to rise in your organization or taking on a new leadership position, or a male leader looking to empower women in your organization this book is for you.   The book is divided into  three sections:   The  first section  includes: A focus on how and why women tend to build strong companies, staring with the structural challenges they must overcome to raise venture capital and scale their businesses. An Impetus for women to structure their businesses in a more purpose-drive way. How women build smart teams by embracing a growth mindset and welcoming varied perspectives.   The  second section  primarily includes: How women tackle complex probl...

How To Build Lasting Customer Relationships Using The Triple Fit Strategy

“It’s time for companies to rethink their growth logic and strategy,” according to Christoph Senn and Mehak Gandhi , authors of the new book, Triple Fit Strategy: How To Build Lasting Customer Relationships And Boost Growth .   The authors affirm that there would be much more value if companies no longer operated in a transactional buyer-seller relationship, but instead as a singular team. A team where buyer and seller can collaborate on decisions around planning, execution, and resources like they were one company.   “Today’s business customers don’t just buy products and services; they buy expectations,” explain Senn and Gandhi. “What the customers want is the commitment of and access to the supplier’s total operation. They want problem-solving and creative thinking to keep their business ahead of competition. They want partners.”   In the book, Senn and Gandhi forge an entirely new path for business that embraces a 360-degree customer-centric approach, and they ...

How To Harness Your Experiential Intelligence

“Experiential Intelligence provides a new lens from which to view what makes you, you—and what makes your team and organization unique,” says  Soren Kaplan , author of the book,  Experiential Intelligence . Kaplan explains that over 100 years ago, we established IQ (Intelligence Quotient) to predict success. Then we explored Emotional Intelligence (EQ), the theory of multiple intelligences, and mindsets that broaden the definition of smarts.   “Today,  Experiential Intelligence  ( XQ ) expands our understanding of what's needed to thrive in a disruptive world. While you can't change the past, your unique experiences and stories contain hidden strengths and untapped potential for the future,” explains Kaplan.   Experiential Intelligence is the combination of mindsets, abilities, and know-how  gained from your unique life experiences that empowers you to achieve your goals. It allows you to get in touch with the accumulated wisdom and talents you have ga...

How To Be A Learn-It-All Leader

“Great leaders are great students, and the world is their classroom,” says   Damon Lembi , author of the new book   The Learn-It-all Leader .  “Learn-It-All leaders are constantly creating and re-creating themselves, their companies, and their leadership. They are information extractors. They pull what they learn about everything—be it product innovation or how to inspire a team—from their lived experience,” adds Lembi.  These types of leaders also model and directly encourage a culture of learning inside their organizations. This attracts higher-quality workers, improves their performance over time and holds onto them longer.  The book is divided into two parts: Part 1:  Being  –  explores how Learn-It-All leaders think . Part 2:  Doing  –  examines what Learn-It-All leaders do differently .  Damon Lembi Some of my favorite takeaways (including some quotes) from the book include:  Quote : “Live as if you were to die tomor...

How Achieving Balance Makes You A More Successful Leader

In his highly authentic, sincere and personal book,  Balancing Act , author  Dr. Andrew Temte, CFA , shares candid insights and timely lessons about the balance needed to succeed as a leader. “I wrote this book in the hope that others will learn from my triumphs and failures. Those who can recover more rapidly from periods of imbalance will have an advantage over those cannot,” says Temte. He firmly believes that  leaders who strive toward balance can more readily identify and curtail organizational entropy, facilitate a culture of trust, and foster diverse organizations and cultures that inspire everyone to bring their “whole sell” to work . “Success without balance is often more disastrous than failure with balance,” explains Temte. “When the unbalanced achieve victory, it often serves to further destructive habits. When the balanced suffer defeat, resilience and perseverance grow.” Tempte further explains that  leaders today often struggle for balance between : St...