The Business of Change: why lifelong learning has never been so vital

Keep learning or risk becoming irrelevant is a mantra many business leaders try to live by.

Now a new book ‘Never Stop Learning’ by the behavioural scientist and business school Professor, Bradley R. Staats has highlighted an increased urgency and impetus needed. His research concludes that the relentless dynamism of the forces shaping our lives means we all must strive to become more dynamic learners.

You cannot do that by reading books alone. Experiences and reflection shape us all – and give us the insights which we can then turn into action.

That’s why, when I addressed MBA graduates a few months ago at one of my alma maters, Nyenrode University, I told them that to become great business leaders they need to continue the learning process beyond their studies – and through life (changing) experiences.

I gave them a few examples from my own experience. Having lived and worked in cultures as diverse as China, the Middle East and Europe I have particularly gained an appreciation for different perspectives.  For example, satisfying a consumer in Saudi Arabia can require a surprisingly different solution to someone in China. Cooking rice might seem a universal process but in reality satisfying the local taste in Riyadh versus Beijing needs a completely different software setting in our ricecookers to deliver differing taste and cooking preferences.

What changed about change?

Whilst change is not new, it has become exponential over the last couple of decades, fuelled of course by the digital revolution where robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, quantum computing, Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) have helped create new possibilities, but also new challenges.

A major challenge is just how much it is in our human nature to be inherently resistant to change. Research published a few years back in New Scientist found that 90% of what we do in any day follows a routine. 

And herein lies the crux of the matter for me: as digital technology continuously gives us new potential for how we work and live, being resistant to change is simply not an option. Lifelong learning - a willingness, openness and even enthusiasm for constantly evolving, recalibrating and adapting – has become crucial for any of us being able to succeed in this world of dazzling change.

Un-learning is still learning

As I mentioned, a great deal of my own learning has come from travel and living in different parts of the world, as well as experiencing different industry sectors.

I believe it is important, though, not only to learn from the external environment but equally to embrace self reflection and inward learning as a critical part of the change and learning journey as well.

I also recently gained a great insight from an Executive Leadership training - that we often have to ‘un-learn’ in order to change, to recognise and break through routines.

Both of these factors – reflection and unpicking learned behaviors – are essential in order to grow as a person and as an organization.  In my case my personal routines tended to focus around moving to action as quickly as possible.  I have had to learn to make a conscious effort to adapt my behavior; to pause first, reflect and then more productively act!

Personal fulfilment as well as business success

Whatever the process or source of learning, I have come to the conclusion that it is a crucial capability that will allow us to thrive in our dynamic, ever changing world and to get the most out of it.

So no matter what the level in an organisation or status in life, let’s all keep our minds open to the new and the bold, outside and inside, to grow ourselves and to constantly evolve what we’re doing – for our own benefit but also for the world around us.