Do You Want to Learn Fast or Learn Slow?
When wanting to learn something new, we all have a choice to make — do we learn fast, or do we learn slow?
So how do we best go about gaining new knowledge or skills in this rapidly changing world? What is possible for learning in the digital age? Due to the availability of many Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms, Blended Learning is emerging as an excellent method for advanced management and leadership programs.
But what about the pace of learning — are we best to learn fast or learn slow?
Choices
You can choose to learn slowly, through experiences gathered personally over many years, or you can undertake a program that has accumulated decades of knowledge from others. So, if you want to learn fast, undertaking a program would seem the logical approach — wouldn’t you agree?
However, you can be delivered knowledge too quickly, beyond your absorption rate, and also without the appropriate ‘activities’. Without the activities in which you reinforce the learning through practical application of the learning, the retention will decay.
Retention
So, without strong retention of the knowledge, the learning, although gained quickly, can be inefficient — as the learning needs to be revisited again and again until it is deeply understood and retained.
Ah, so do we need to get a balance between speed and efficiency? Yes — this is the key to learning performance — learning as quickly as possible with a high level of efficiency.
Speed and Efficiency
Let’s examine these two dimensions, speed and efficiency, using the matrix below:
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” — Albert Einstein
SLOW / INEFFICIENT — Not ‘Getting’ It
This is the business owner or manager attempting to grow a business, or lead a team of people, without undertaking any courses on management or leadership. They were rockstars in their previous roles and considered that managing/leading a team merely required them to be the best worker on the team and/or just tell everyone what to do. So, due to ‘blind spots’ in their knowledge, they continue to have low performing team members and/or high staff turnover.
The slow aspect of the learning occurs due to the time taken to gather the learning, and the inefficiency occurs two-fold. Firstly, because it may take several iterations of the same issue before the deep learning occurs. And secondly, it is inefficient due to the lost opportunity that earlier learning could have provided. If the learning had occurred prior to the first incident, possible other learning then could have been added, and professional and/or profitable business growth accelerated.
So, waiting for the issues to arise several times, before we gain the learning, will take us to that better future, much later than a proactive form of learning can — thus making the journey slower and more inefficient.
FAST / INEFFICIENT — Cramming
This is the business owner or manager attempting to lead a team of people without investing in their own personal learning to get ‘ahead of the curve’. They have done some management/leadership course in the past and consider that they have learned enough to see them prosper into the future. If an issue/problem arises, they ‘cram’ and quickly ask colleagues or contract a consultant to resolve the ‘crises’.
The inefficiency comes from having to hyperfocus to resolve the issue — thus neglecting other priorities. The learning in resolving the crises will also not be as deep, due to the haste in which it is undertaken, plus it can be inefficient if the learning is outsourced to a consultant. As the expense is incurred and much of the learning leaves with the consultant.
If another similar issue arises in the future, the same form of resolution is needed — cramming — as the learning was never deeply absorbed during the previous ‘crises’.
“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” — Henry Ford
SLOW / EFFICIENT — Patient Mastery
This is the business owner or manager leading a team of people by investing in their learning progressively. They might be undertaking online courses or self-paced study. They have the drive and self-discipline to continually seek to expand their knowledge to make them a better leader.
FAST / EFFICIENT — Ultra Learning
This process is one of deep, aggressive learning. The Engine Room Business Innovation programs fit within this quadrant. The programs use blended learning to impart knowledge via in-person, online and virtual means, and have projects/plans for real-life application of the knowledge to consolidate and deepen the learning. The learning is densely packed, with the means to revisit the resources at any time, to reflect and deepen the learning via patient mastery. This is facilitated via a Learning Management System (LMS) that has recordings of the in-person and virtual workshops, supplementary articles, videos, tools etc. a veritable smorgasbord of learning resources.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” — Henry Ford
What are the Benefits of Fast/Efficient Learning?
The world is rapidly changing — some futurists claim that we are likely to see more change in the next 15 years than we have in the past 150 years. So, how then are we going to adapt and even thrive in such a rapidly changing world?
I suggest by choosing the appropriate method of learning. For some areas of our lives, a slow/inefficient form of learning might be appropriate — such as learning how to grow vegetables through trial and error. The learning is more about mindfulness and enjoying the experimental journey, then it is about obtaining quick results.
However, when growing a business or high-performing team, the benefits of gaining knowledge quickly, and having the support to efficiently apply the learning, can make a huge difference to the results achieved. The results manifesting on many levels:
- a deeper understanding of the knowledge acquired,
- tangible business outcomes via the application of the project/plan,
- a growth in personal competence and subsequent confidence, and
- an enhancement of the participant’s individual brand as an inspirational leader that embraces lifelong learning.
I’m tempted to add some second order, and third order affects/benefits to the list above … such as:
- leaders who learn fast/efficient, inspire others to do likewise (aka leadership by example), which
- generates a higher-performing team, which
- then over time evolves into a learning culture — a truly positive, constructive culture, which
- then attracts people who are curious and eager to learn (talented, ambitious achievers), which …
But alas — I will leave that cascading flow of affects/benefits for another article.
However, I will leave you with one final thought. My experience has been – “The faster you learn, the slower you age.”
Glenn Taylor
Engine Room Business Innovation