Outstanding Thinker:

Continuous Learning

Learning Techniques

Learning by Doing, from Feedback, from Failures

Learning by Doing

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." ~ Confucius

"I'm always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it ."  
– Pablo Picasso

Education brings knowledge, applying it brings wisdom.

You learn from experience. "The richest seam for learning is the real opportunities, issues, difficulties and successes that people have. There is no need to separate learning and doing."³ The didactic approach - first you learn and then you do it - and didactic training which companies spend their money on makes little difference if it not combined with real time development, i.e. bringing about learning and change at the same time - not separating the two. "Most people learn far more from working with their own reality, the 'here and now' and how they want to change this, although it can be very challenging. In comparison, the didactic approach is comfortable and, because of the lack of challenge it is relatively boring and tends to be fundamentally disempowering."³

You learn from taking action, from your failures, from feedback, from getting going. As Alfred P. Sloan, the man who made General Motors the largest and most successful and profitable industrial enterprise in the world, puts it: "Life itself is a process of trial and error... And those people who make no mistakes are those who make nothing."

Interactive Learning

The mutual exchange of tacit and explicit knowledge describes the knowledge creation process. During the socialization mode of learning¹⁰, tacit knowledge is transferred through interactions between individuals, which may also be accomplished in the absence of language. You may learn and gain a sense of competence by observing behavior modeled by others. For example, coaching, mentoring and apprenticeships instruct tacitly through observation, imitation, and practice... More

The Power of Simplicity

Simplicity helps people work smarter and faster. Simplicity works because it is based on common sense and makes things easy to understand and do.  Our human nature welcomes simplicity and hates complexity.

In learning, we want things fast, but we don't have time to study. Simple ideas from people who have done simple things and achieved great results make this high-speed race more manageable. They enable you to get started in small, immediate ways that make a difference, confident that you will make progress if you take the initiative to act.⁴

Failure as a Learning Opportunity

Failure provides a great learning opportunity and should be viewed as a very lifeblood of success. "Although most people hate to be labeled a failure and love to be labeled a success, it is only through seeming failure that most of life's greatest successes are achieved. Usually, "failure" or "success" is almost entirely in the eye of the beholder... Failure is very often a misperception about the difference between what exists and goes unnoticed (such as growth and learning when we fall short of reaching a goal) and what is realized later (longer term success)," writes Charles C. Manz, the author of The Power of Failure.

► Noble Failure    

► Freedom To Fail

Learn from Feedback

To make good use of feedback, take notice of it in all its forms. Put all feedback in a curiosity frame: ask yourself how you can use it to avoid failures, or to repeat successes... More

Attending Seminars

Explicit knowledge may be exchanged during meetings or conferences in which a diversity of knowledge sources combine to shape a new and enhanced conception. Look for learning opportunities and attend as many seminars as you can. You can often save yourself hundreds of hours of reading and researching by attending a seminar given by an authority in his or her field. You can learn ideas, techniques and methods that can save you hours, days, even months of hard work and research on your own.⁷

Make Notes

When you learn something interesting, make notes. Even if an idea doesn't work today, you'll have record of it so you can refer back to it sometime in the future. "Genius" doesn't just happen – you need to look for opportunities to learn, and keep track of your ideas. Your best ideas will frequently be sparked by new information, new attitudes, or new approaches to old information.

Memorizing

Memorizing through Reviewing

Short reviews will help you retain the lecture information. With no reviews, you virtually have to re-learn the material after about a month... More