Chief Learning Officer - November 2007 - (Page 23)

learning solutions to notice and question everything. They occur when we find new stuff (ideas, insights and things that are remarkable) to stir in the pot, and when we test the bounds of other peoples’ best thinking against the needs of our customers and our industry. They occur when smart and engaged people are challenged to rediscover the wonder and curiosity of their childhood in a focused and passionate way, by wandering beyond the boundaries of what we already know. Barring this, our best intentions are doomed to fail. And they typically occur when we build on something that already exists, although not always something that exists in our own industry, marketplace or discipline. The most brilliant ideas always have been inspired by something someone else has done, thought or dreamed — in another organization, another country or culture, another walk of life or on a walk in the woods, across the jungle, along the shore, through a museum or down a bustling city street. The stickiness of burrs inspired Velcro. The flight of birds inspired planes. A boot maker with small-town values named Leon Leonwood (L.L.) Bean inspired important thinking about the value of guaranteeing customer satisfaction. The idea of eliminating the middleman inspired one of the world’s largest personal computer makers. It is this kind of inspiration that rarely can be reproduced by simply convening and learning. Like Benjamin Franklin, we have to stand in a storm to truly be inspired (or electrified) by it. But when we do, as individuals and organizations, real learning starts to happen. class laboratories, information technology and learning that enable them to slice through data and possible compounds faster and more efficiently than ever. But this model is producing fewer and fewer breakthroughs at the same time that the lives of more and more people depend on their genius. So, a few enlightened pharmaceutical professionals are actually journeying to places filled with very different learning, inspiration and insight — everyday geniuses in companies are traveling around the world and back in time to explore the possibilities of ancient remedies in countries such as China. Because maybe there are lessons to be learned from herbs and treatments that we will never discover in the finest labs, and maybe there are equally important lessons about diet, meditation and exercise that hold some of the keys to success. Perhaps the adage “better life through chemistry” has kept us from seeing the real answer — the right combination of ancient wisdom and modern technology might just be the right approach. Perhaps we should be focusing our research and learning on a much broader form of curiosity. And maybe you should too. Leonardo da Vinci didn’t sign up for a webinar to learn about the possibilities of flight. Rather, he wandered around and studied birds. It would take several more centuries for it to happen, but it wasn’t for a lack of thinking differently about the world and the magic of flight. Thus, if the learning profession is to be relevant, it must commit to teaching people how to cast a wider net, to hang out in places filled with inspiration, to read things they would not normally read, to ask questions they would not routinely ask, to talk to strangers who know nothing about their world but a lot about their own, to walk in someone else’s shoes, to pursue a new hobby or look at the world with different eyes. Learning professionals should be curious enough to enter the classroom of the world, which surrounds us with a sense of possibilities. This is where real learning occurs. And it is this real learning we must nurture if we are to remain relevant in a world that demands genius. It is our only real competitive advantage as companies and organizations. Learning matters more than ever before — but it’s a different kind of learning. Are you and your organization up for the challenge? Dr. Alan Gregerman is the author of “Surrounded by Geniuses: Unlocking the Brilliance in Yourself, Your Colleagues, and Your Organization” and the president and chief innovation officer of VENTURE WORKS Inc., a consulting firm based in Silver Spring, Md. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com. Business and organizational success are all about being different in ways that deliver greater value to our customers. We can do things differently, however, only if we see things differently. They Also Require Us to Be Different Business and organizational success are all about being different in ways that deliver greater value to our customers. We can do things differently, however, only if we see things differently. Our real task is to find the right ideas and make them “ours” in ways that truly matter to those we serve, and the essential skills we need are an understanding of what is important to our customers, an open mind and a sense of curiosity. As leading pharmaceutical companies struggle to discover the next generation of blockbuster drugs, most of their people are reading the same scientific journals, attending the same classes, going to the same conferences and talking about the latest insights from the same science. After all, they have made multibillion-dollar investments in brilliant researchers, world- 23 November 2007 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - November 2007

Chief Learning Officer - November 2007 Editor's Letter Table of Contents Imperatives Selling Up, Selling Down Strategies Take Five Rediscovering the Essence of Learning Cornell University Maintains Productivity While Pursuing Higher Education CLO Profile How Loyalty and Employee Engagement Add Up to Corporate Profits A Strategic Foundation The Evolution of the LMS Ariba: Growing Sales Skills in Conjunction with LMS Technology Leveraging Change to Build Productivity Equinox Fitness: Leveraging Change to Build Productivity Tangibles or Intangibles: Where’s Your Value? Raising the Stakes: The Strategic Role of the CLO Case Study Business Intelligence Case Study Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - November 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.