Notes on learning
Most of my career was spent in a learning culture. I don’t really understand how people live in the world any other way. Here are my notes on lifelong, all around learning habits and approaches.
Several conversations during the last week made me think about learning.
For most of my career, I was very lucky to work for a great firm that had a deeply embedded culture of personal learning and growth. Those habits have stuck with me since I moved into the tech startup world.
I don’t really understand how people live in the world any other way.
That’s a kind of general philosophical statement. Even if you don’t see the world that way, I think learning is still relevant. You should and will have your own reasons for learning. Here are three that I think about often.
Founding and building a great business is impossible without learning. The best leaders learn and grow with their business.
Ambition is about learning not dreaming.
Humility. If I want to improve, I need to change. There are many people in this world smarter than me. Learn from them.
Notes:
Its fun. I came across this article recently 1% reading habit. There are plenty of guides like this online. They are not wrong, but they are patronising and dull. Read because you enjoy it, not because its good for you.
Learning from people. Find people who are good by all means. Its just as important to work and engage with people who are different. You will often see advice to “surround yourself with the right people.” Be very careful with this. Its easy to be in a bubble where everyone thinks the same way you do. Being open to new ways and new cultures is much more important than the “right” people.
Learning from experience. That means challenging and extending yourself, not doing the same thing over and over. When someone says to you, “I have been round the block a few times.” Ask yourself why that person didn’t turn off and go see a different block.
Learn from physical and emotional experiences. Running, walking, looking at great works of art, being in a different country. Its all learning.
Learn for yourself. You will never run out of things to learn for work. Don’t miss out on the things you just want to know about. Curiosity is more valuable than compliance.
Stop when you are bored. You can’t learn everything, so don’t waste time on stuff you are no longer interested in.
Being taught, courses, qualifications are badges to show other people. They are a tiny part of learning, maybe 1-5% at most.
Know your own learning styles.
Its fun.
Reading:
The world isn’t a giant Chess Game by Timothy B Lee. I think this is a great way of thinking about AI. It is not an existential threat. Its just another huge leap in the scale of maths that is possible. How can we use this tool as an opportunity to create value and impact?
How mathematics built the modern world by Bo Malmberg in Works in Progress. There is no science or technology without maths. A great run though the history of human progress with maths at the core. AI is just an extension of this trend line.
Your non-linear problem of 90% utilization by Jason Cohen. Systems built on people need capacity to be truly productive. Optimise for output not just for maximising use of your capacity. So critical in service industries.
Win or lose it good for me to find out interview with Sifan Hassan in The Concourse. Sifan Hassan is one of the most engaging and remarkable talents in the whole world of sport. This interview is a great example of the learning mindset.
What future of work in a warmer world by Laetitia Vitaud. One of my frustrations with the whole climate debate is the narrow view of change it represents. This article is a thoughtful antidote from an excellent source. How will climate change affect the way we work?