Do you want to improve your organisation’s performance? It’s time to learn to behave in a new way
Digital technology has encouraged us to learnso much, making our world seem smaller and introducing us to different culturesin the process.
Yet, even 2,000 years ago, two philosophersfrom very different traditions had come to similar conclusions about theimportance of learning in achieving our goals.
Confucius introduced the concept of the ‘superiorman’. He defined him as “cautious in speaking and ready for action”, as someonewho achieves the goals of peace and prosperity through knowledge, thought,purpose, regulation and “government”.
Aristotle developed the theory of the“seven causes of action”, identifying them as chance, nature, compulsion,habit, reasoning, passion, and desire.
Today, educational neuroscience has scientificallyproven that learning, the basis of new behaviour, dependson neuro-plasticity, emotions, the environment, socialconditioning, and experience.
Without all those ingredients and that newbehaviour, how will your organisation face the challenges of the 21stCentury?
How can Iimprove or innovate in a world where social and economic change is rampant?
This is a recurring question for entrepreneurs,managers, or anyone living in a competitive context.
The answer is that you need to train yourselfand your people to deal with change and make learning a continuous process.
The main driver for successful innovationis having the necessary skills within an organisation, something confirmedby 34% of the 1,400 CEOs surveyed worldwide by PWC in the 22nd AnnualGlobal CEO Survey.
When asked what impact a lack ofskills has, the answer was: “It limits innovation, increases personnel costs,compromises quality standards, and jeopardises the ability to seizeopportunities, and therefore growth potential.”
They all agree that continuoustraining designed according to the most recent methods, includingdigital ones, is both the best solution to guarantee the achievement ofresults and fill skills gaps which are holding businesses back.
In this solution, Confucius and Aristotle,science and philosophy, Asia and Europe converge.
What is thefuture of learning?
Digital learning combines the methodsof the classic classroom and those of digital tuition.
It maximises learning potential becauseit provides training experiences which are ATAWAD – Any Time, AnyWhere,and Any Device.
This has several benefits including:
- It increases the duration oftraining and helps to reinforce and apply new behaviour.
- It allows for customisation,and it’s even adaptive in some cases.
- It’s second nature togenerations of people, such as Millennials and Generation Z, who have adopted newtools and have studied digitally since primary school.
- Things which reinforce learningsuch as bite-size videos, virtual classes, and gamification can’t be skipped orleft out.
From an era of permanent stability,interspersed with moments of disruption, we have moved to a time of constantinstability.
While that may seem hugely challenging, italso has its benefits.
If “you don’t have time to consolidatesomething that you already need to change”, why make it a habit in the firstplace?
Are you a learningtrail-blazer?
Some of you will be thinking “I alreadysaid that” or at least “I already started thinking that…”
You will probably have alreadystarted re-training and up-skilling within your organisation.
I’m happy for you because, whether you’re aware ofit or not, you are forging ahead of those who will inevitably have to chaseafter you.
You are the learning trail-blazers and thatcompetitive edge will stand you in good stead as you face the future.