Growing at the rate of Learning

An emperor was once gifted two baby peregrine falcons. These species are known for their speed and predatory skills. He summoned the best trainer in his kingdom and handed them over to see them achieve their potential. After two months, the trainer demonstrated one of the falcons to have achieved its zenith in skills but the second one refused to leave the tree. The trainer lamented that despite his best efforts he could not get this bird to leave the branch on which it was perched. The king sought solutions from his ministers and even announced a reward for his subjects; should anyone be able to solve this problem. An ordinary farmer responded to the call and took up the challenge. Within a few minutes of his arrival, he announced to the king that the problem had been solved. The king could not believe and wanted to witness what he just heard. Sure enough, the second bird was also soaring in the sky. The farmer set the king's amazement to rest explaining there was no secret technique, only common sense. He just cut the branch the bird was perched on and that set the eagle flying and soaring; which is its natural being.

We are at a point in history as a human kind when the very branch (Zone of Comfort / Convenience) we are perched upon is being cut. We have no option but to soar and be the best version of ourselves in this emerging new world order.

Most of us lead lives in "Inattention" more than in "Attention". Competitiveness drills in us the security to just better the best. That is okay when everything established isn't threatened by any change. Not when every thing we have known and done is being challenged by the advancement of the "new".

Greed is not Growth.We need to start making a distinction between Consumption lead Growth to Contribution led Growth. We use 1.7 times more resources than what the earth can currently support.

In order to grow we need to create new resources in every aspect and industry of life. There is Science and Technology that is offering hope with its maturity. And this needs to be used wisely. We need to learn not about how others are playing the game. But rather how we can play the game and Change / Adapt to the new. The focus cannot be on tools but rather the Capacity to Adapt first before thinking about the Ability required to adapt.

The common problem we see around is Organizations trying to Learn ML/AI/NLP; when they should be learning how they will employ ML/AI/NLP. These cannot thrive in an environment of depleting resources because they by their very nature demand huge amount of alternate resources.

Here are the four steps that will automatically enable learning the seven critical technology life changers including Robotics, Machine Learning, 3D/4D Printing, Nano Tech, Wireless Mesh Tech, Biotech and Pervasive Computing.

1.) Learning to Prioritize: Prioritization must happen by Design. This will provide for choices to make responsive decisions that brings progress to life and customers. Prioritization by leaders would be a delicate balance between a brave solution that depends on the Capacity for Transformation and the brevity to develop the requisite Ability (Skills) to implement.

2.) Learning to Embrace Failure: When you make difficult choices, it is obvious courage and conviction forms the core of that decision. Therefore it should be easy to deal with failure without abandoning strategic initiatives but rather finding different ways to deliver a solution. Failure helps establish the critical distinction between Solution and Product. They are not one and the same. Leaders harness this distinction with strategy.

3.) Learning to Practice: We all know the best individual maestros and / or teams in the world in any field of human activity use Practice as a critical step in their journey of excellence. But that Practice needs to be based on the right methods, tools and techniques. A practice wrongly undertaken cannot produce the right outcomes. Enterprises are not different but we often see there is no practice ground; only a performing stage in enterprises / businesses. An enterprise practice environment is where the new ways in which game changers can be implemented can be tried without fear of failure. And this must be done with Alpha and / or Beta Customers.

4.) Learning to accept Ambiguity: The above three points should actually help the Leadership / Stakeholders / Shareholders and the entire Customer Universe to bear with ambiguity; trusting the core of Innovation that is based on Contextual Clarity. Ambiguity is not the opposite of Clarity. Rather, it is the one that allows questioning that can produce outcomes that defines clarity.

Industry 4.0 demands a different type of Leader from the previous iterations. One who understands the distinction between Training and Learning. The former was more apt to Command and Control Structures and Systems. The latter is more appropriate for the Democratic Structures and Systems.

In its essence, Learning is about grasping the consequence of failure first before emboldening success.

Nobody can guarantee that every single person who has all the body parts will turn into an Olympic Champion. It takes a recursion of the above four steps of Prioritizing, Failing, Practicing and Accepting Ambiguity to produce a sustainable Winner who is also a Champion. Learning at the rate of Growth implies Sustainability and those leaders who create the 4C's of an enterprise - Concepts, Culture, Capabilities and Configuration will thrive in the times of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.