Learning in the old reality was all about time… time to read, time to think, time to practice.
But that’s no longer the case. Learning today is all about speed. Response time, cycle time, and manufacturing time continue to decrease. The same has happened to learning time. Learning today happens in real time. Practice is live. Case studies involve real customers with real problems, challenges, and expectations. Today’s norm is: “See one, do one, teach one.”
It’s actually misleading to say that the learning curve is shorter. The learning “curve” now goes straight up — it’s instantaneous!
If you don’t like all this rush and feel as though you need more time to process — sorry, it is what it is. Learning is not optional. If you don’t learn it now, somebody else will. It’s not something you can decide whether to participate in. The minute you stop or pass up the next learning opportunity, you are behind.
You also need to understand that what you learn now has a shorter shelf life. It goes out of date a lot faster today. In the time it takes you to say, “I’ve got it,” it has changed. There’s a new challenge, a new angle, or a new requirement. An important part of accelerating your learning curve, then, is to know when and what to let go — including old knowledge, old approaches, old beliefs.
It’s no longer only about what you learn but how you learn as well as how quickly you learn it. Today, you have to learn more, learn faster, and learn continuously.
What can you do to speed up your learning curve?