If You Do Not Continue to Learn, You May be Guilty of Professional Negligence

Let’s talk about ongoing professional development.  Or, if you prefer, lifelong learning.  Or, if you prefer, staying current.

There were no blogs, and probably no best selling books, to help him improve… But, what about you.

If your job had been that of a blacksmith, c 1800s, you might just tinker with your tools until you get better at it.  There would have been very, very few books to read to help you get better.  There were no blogs updated regularly by the best blacksmiths.

BUT…  newsflash… this is not the 1800s!

So, in this world, I know this to be a fact — there is someone who has written something that, if you read it, and then actually implemented what you learned, it could make a big difference in your effectiveness, and the effectiveness of your company.

It is almost professional negligence to fail to keep learning.

So…  how do you nurture the people around you to keep learning in this information overload era?

Here’s a valuable insight from a column by Catapult Systems CEO Sam Goodner for the Austin Business Journal: Make ongoing professional learning a habit.  An excerpt:

I tailor my questions to each role and situation, of course, but always conclude the interview by asking the candidate to share the most recent nonfiction book they’ve read in their field — and then something they learned from it.
There is one class of employee candidate at Catapult Systems Inc. that never has any difficulty answering this question: software developers. In fact, they will often reach down into their bag and pull out the latest technical book they’re reading right now and proceed to tell me exactly what they’ve learned from it — which usually goes completely over my head. Software developers understand that they need to stay current in their field and that ongoing professional learning is essential to their success. Other professions like doctors, certified public accountants, and engineers are also expected to continue a heavy dose of professional education until the day they retire.
On the other hand, businesspeople — I’m using the term loosely — often think this regimen of professional education doesn’t apply to them. They mistakenly believe they already know everything there is to know about their profession or that they can learn what they need to know on the job. This misconception gets exacerbated by early professional success and further ingrained with each year of hands-on experience that goes by.

Now, it takes a special kind of initiative and smarts to read something, and then actually implement what you learn.  But this much is clear – if you don’t read/listen/seek additional input, you will have nothing to implement.  You will stagnate, and slip behind, if you do not keep learning.

So… are you reading, and learning?  Would you pass Mr. Goodner’s interview question with flying colors?

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Here’s a suggestion:

Mr. Goodner writes in his column about books clubs, and his current practice of watching videos as a team, and then discussing the lesson to learn.  (The videos are provided by Gazelle’s Inc.). But if you do not work in an organization that provides such a practice, start you own.  You might want to try our synopses from 15minutebusinessbooks.com.   You can learn the essence from the best business books as you follow along with our comprehensive handouts and the audio of our synopsis presentations, as a jumpstart learning tool for your group.  Check it out.