development
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Finding time for reading, and thus learning,
is easier than you might think.
A Lifelong Learning Game
Plan Guarantees Success
BY J.N. “JIM” WHIDDON
“It’s what you learn after you know it
all that counts.” —Coach John Wooden
I
n the talent development profession—like most others—time for
reading and extra-occupational
learning time is in short supply. After our jam-packed workday is over,
schedules bleed into assumed 24/7
access. Combine this expectation with
demands from family and community,
and sitting down with a good book
or attending an optional workshop is
most often placed on the back burner.
But it is important to understand
that the formal education that qualified you for a successful career was
only the beginning. As we may remind
our learners but sometimes forget to
tell ourselves, the real value of education is meant to teach you how to
continuously learn on your own. When
you stop learning, you stop living to
your full potential. Author Charles
Handy said, “It is one of the paradoxes
of success that the things and the
ways which got you where you are, are
seldom those that keep you there.”
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PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
If the sentence “I never read books”
describes you, consider what Napoleon Hill, of Think and Grow Rich fame,
said: “The person who stops studying
merely because he has finished school
is forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity … the way of success is the way
of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
Additionally, reading—whether nonfiction or fiction—can help reduce stress,
enhance creativity, and boost your
memory. If you read, you succeed. It is
that simple.
Americans read, on average, less
than one book per year. Yet it takes
only 25 minutes, twice per day, to read
25 books per year. Based on an averagesize book with 250 pages, at a pace of
only 20 pages per hour—which is pretty
slow—you need to spend less than one
hour per day to be considered a monstrous reader by today’s standards.
Consider this question: In this “age
of distraction,” could those who employ
a disciplined and purposeful strategy
of reading become a powerful “reading
class,” thus owning an increasingly rare
form of social capital?
Continuing education
credits for life
The good news is that no matter how
long it’s been since you were a student, you always can get back on
track. Here is the key: Get a plan.
A lifelong learning game plan should
consist of a 360-degree view through
various books that provide a balanced
approach to new knowledge. Each of
the 90-degree quadrants deals with
a different aspect of life. For example: history/government; business/
finance; psychology/sociology; and
family/faith/fiction.
Step 1: Create a personalized
curriculum
If you are in the financial services
business or a business leader, for
example, the business/finance quadrant would naturally have a greater
weighting in your curriculum. As a
talent development professional, you
might choose the business/finance
quadrant to get a better grasp on organizational strategic approaches
and how to better talk with the
C-suite. Or you might want to understand more about the science of
how learners learn, and focus on the
psychology/sociology quadrant.
Either way, this emphasis could be
considered your continuing education major.
MATCH BOOKS TO YOUR
LIFE EVENTS, INTERESTS,
AND TALENTS TO MAKE
YOU A MORE WELL-ROUNDED
PERSON.
If you also loved history, it could
be considered your “minor.” You then
could weigh the other categories accordingly. If your goal is to read 25
books this year (about two per month),
your plan might look like this:
business/finance: 10
psychology/sociology: 6
family/faith/fiction: 5
history/government: 4
The bulk of your learning would
occur where your primary interests
lie; yet you also get ample exposure to
other areas that greatly broaden your
knowledge and perspective.
This curriculum methodology enables you to take advantage of the
crossover effect. For example, your
primary field of expertise in business/
finance is affected by government,
history, and psychology—at a minimum. This will give you a clearer
understanding of other subject areas,
and you will be amazed at how much
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better you’ll become in the areas
where you already feel proficient.
Even though the newly acquired
knowledge in alternate fields may not
seem immediately useful, it will reside
in your long-term memory for use at
some opportune time in the future—
enabling you to connect on a personal
level with almost anyone, anywhere,
with any vocation or interest.
Step 2: Identify other
topics of interest
Drill down to more specific topics
for your books that fall within your
broad parameters from step 1. Combing bestseller lists in various genres
is an obvious way to accomplish this.
Another way is to filter various aspects of your own life. For example,
suppose you grew up in West Texas,
you now live in Dallas, and you enjoy
vacations where a sweater is needed.
How can these aspects guide your
book selections?
Well, you might be interested in a
history book on the Dustbowl since
your place of birth was located at
ground zero. Maybe the assassination
of John F. Kennedy is especially interesting since you live in the city where
that fateful day in 1963 changed U.S.
history. Or you might want to study
Napoleon in preparation for an upcoming visit to France. The idea is to
match books to your life events, interests, and talents to make you a more
well-rounded person.
Again, imagine the enjoyment and
advantage you will have when engaging
with people in both business and social settings. The power of becoming a
member of the aforementioned reading
class will become a reality for you.
Organization-wide learning lab
Now imagine what might happen if
the lifelong learning game plan was
taken to an institutional level.
March 2017 | TD
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development
When a team of associates within
the same company come together each
quarter, for the purpose of pouring into
one another after reading the same
book, the power is exponential. The
richness of the discussion involving individuals from varied backgrounds—and
often from different generations—creates a phenomenal environment for
learning and camaraderie.
Surrounding yourself with wise
thinkers on all sides of your life creates a living think tank on a personal
level, and is an institutional IQ multiplier on the organizational level.
Promoting the creation of a “lifelong
learning laboratory” within your organization provides the proverbial tool
for digging out the gold that would
otherwise stay in the mine forever.
Regardless of your age, knowledge
and skills become obsolete at a rapid
rate. You must continually upgrade
your skills. And in a twist of positive
irony, the more you learn, the more
you can learn. That’s why management guru Brian Tracy said, “School is
never out for the professional.”
And so the best news is that you
can change right now—today. The
biographies of great people are full
of accounts of quiet hours developing their inner lives while ruminating
over good books. Even if only for a
few minutes each day, implementing
a disciplined lifelong learning game
plan might not necessarily allow you
to join their ranks—but it will definitely change your life.
J.N. “Jim” Whiddon has spent much of
his career in the financial services industry.
His most recent book is The Old School
Advantage: Timeless Tools for Every Generation;
www.TheOldSchoolAdvantage.com.
MODERN LEARNER
ATD LearnNow workshops are intensive, two-day events providing an
experiential focus on specific trending topics in talent development.
FLIPPED CLASSROOM
THE MODERN LEARNER
STORYTELLING
| April 6-7, Chicago, IL
| April 13-14, Tempe, AZ
Maximize face time with learners by
integrating the best of classroom
learning with self-directed, learnergenerated activities.
Turn your existing training programs
into modern learning programs that will
keep your company and your learning and
development function relevant to today’s
talent marketplace.
Make an emotional connection and enhance
knowledge retention with Doug Stevenson’s
Story Theater for training delivery success.
Learn more and register at www.td.org/LearnNowSpring2017.
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| March 21-22, Atlanta, GA
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