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Saturday, February 11, 2012

The importance of continuous learning

One of my most favourite magazine articles is “You never stop learning”, by James Michener, which appeared in the December 1962 issue of Reader’s Digest. A truly inspiring article on the importance of continuing to learn and grow one’s mind.

Let me quote a part of this article:

“Specialization is not enough. For the big jobs – historically, culturally, morally – what the world needs is well-rounded human beings.

I remember a day in 1942 when the U.S Navy was hungry for talent. Four of us would-be officers were shivering in our shorts in a small room. A grim-faced selection committee asked “What can you do?” and the first man replied, “I am buyer for Macy’s and I have trained myself to judge very quickly between markets and prices and trends.” The board replied, “Can’t you do anything practical?”, and shunted him off to one side.

The next man was a lawyer. He had to confess;” I can weigh evidence and organize information.” He was rejected.

I was third and when I answered, “I know language and a good deal of history”, the board groaned and I went shivering away.

Then the fourth man said boldly, “I am a college trained engineer and I can overhaul diesel engines.” The committee practically embraced him and made him an officer on the spot.

But this is not the end of the story. When the war was over, the Macy’s buyer was assistant to the Secretary of the Navy, in charge of many complex responsibilities requiring instant good judgment. He had given himself courses in Naval management and government procedures and had become a top expert. The lawyer wound up as assistant to Admiral Halsey and in a crucial battle deduced logically from intelligence reports just where the Japanese fleet had to be. He came out covered with medals. I got the job of Naval Secretary to several Congressional committees who were determining the future of America in the South Pacific.

What was the engineer doing at the end of the war ? He was still overhauling diesel engines.”

Now let’s not get into debates on whether this article is biased against engineers. [I am an engineer myself] The point is that, in order to grow, it is vital to keep learning and applying the knowledge. This article really inspires me.

Handling difficult trainees – the inexperienced trainee who wants to know everything

In one of my training classes, I had a trainee who was a new grad straight out of college. She was very diligent and sincere, and anxious to learn everything on the manual- and more. While her sincerity of purpose was completely commendable, the depth to which she wanted to understand the material was out of place for that particular class. For example, if I made a passing mention of a standard optical component used in my company’s technical tools, she wanted to understand how the component worked, where and how the component was manufactured, why that component should be used, what was the basic physics of light involved, etc etc etc. In simple words, she wanted to know everything about everything. Being inexperienced, such trainees find it hard to recognize the level of understanding that is needed in different situations. They tend to over-learn or under-learn.

When one trainee wants to know things at a level of detail far beyond what a class is supposed to cover, it can really slow down the progress of the class and also frustrate the other learners who are not so inquisitive. It also puts the trainer in an awkward position. If the trainer tells the student not to focus at such a level of detail, it might sound as if the trainer is trying to avoid answering the questions or even worse, hide his/her ignorance.

So how to handle this ? My thoughts:

- Establish expectations clearly at the outset. Outline the objectives clearly. When a question deviates from the course objectives, gently but firmly remind your trainees. Explain that the course objectives may not be met within the course duration if the level of depth is too much. Set expectations about what the course will cover, and importantly, what it will not cover.

- If a trainee is very inquisitive and wants to learn at a level of detail beyond what is covered in the course, tell him/her that you will be happy to help them – after the course objectives are met. If possible, spend some extra time with them during breaks or after class hours. Direct him/her to resources (people/courses/books/websites etc.) that will help them learn more.