Chief Learning Officer - August 2007 - (Page 13)

effectiveness Sample a Smidgen of Informal Learning Jay Cross Modern business is complex, interconnected and unpredictable — you don’t know what to expect. Planning is folly. It’s wiser to prepare to be responsive when the future arrives. Gone are the days of tweaking systems to get the last ounce of performance out of them. Prescient corporate leaders now create organizations flexible enough to roll with the punches. When you cannot predict the future, and emergence is unpredictable, building learning programs in advance is wasted effort because you don’t know what you are going to need. Managers charged with developing an organization’s talent must rise above the level of learning programs — static programs do not fare well in a dynamic world. Instead, managers need to focus on setting the right conditions for learning. At least that’s what I wrote in my book, failing to heed William Gibson’s words: “The future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed.” Most companies are rife with the rigid, unresponsive silos of the 1950s. People work for others, not with others. The bosses say, “Don’t question authority. Rules are rules.” These organizations aren’t going to suddenly adopt self-service learning, social networking and bottom-up knowledge management. Happily, informal learning is not an either-or proposition. Companies can ease into informal and Web 2.0 learning incrementally, and experimentation is cheap and requires neither programming skills nor assistance from the IT department. Here are some of the ways to start small: • Prototype informal learning environments using free Internet software. Start simple and build on what works. • Conduct brown-bag sessions to discuss meta-learning and how one can improve the learning process. Introduce the importance of reflection, conversation and reference. • Provide a default “learning dashboard,” a learning-focused gateway to the Internet that workers can tailor to their individual needs. • Reinforce formal learning with informal sessions beforehand to forge relationships and discuss what employees want to get out of the event. • After the formal session, encourage participants to network when they encounter rough spots. Host online alumni sessions after a formal class. • Help workers achieve digital literacy by blogging, tagging and sharing items of interest. Suggest they try out informal online communities. • Implement instant messaging. It will speed the flow of information throughout the organization, while eliminating a great deal of phone tag. • Eliminate one-third of all in-house e-mail with a wiki. Then, use it to replace documentation and notices that once spiraled out of control. • Improve “findability” — set up a system that makes it easy to find people in the know. This can be as simple as a spreadsheet that lists name, contact information and areas of expertise. • Set up Web site treasure hunts that expose people to the diversity of the Web. • Provide a direct Internet connection to all workers. Eliminate micromanagement such as “no personal e-mails.” • Make it as easy as possible for workers to network and collaborate. Many companies are so consumed with day-today business that they repeatedly defer working on tomorrow’s. I asked 100 companies whether they considered their learning and development adequate to prepare workers for the future. Seventy-five percent said no. The solution lies in learning with one another: peer learning. It’s a major shift in worldview. Informal learning is not an eitheror proposition. Companies can ease into informal and Web 2.0 learning incrementally. 13 August 2007 Jay Cross is CEO of Internet Time Group and a thought leader in informal learning and organizational performance. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com. I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer http://www.clomedia.com

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Chief Learning Officer - August 2007

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