Memorize the system or just let the learnings wash over you?
Mickey Mellen
Partner at GreenMellen | Website Developer | Speaker | Technology Enthusiast
As I read more and more, I come across a lot of great systems for business structures, meeting cadences, and many other little tools that can be useful to know.
For example, the “SMART” framework is a great way to set goals: Make sure that your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. That’s one I’ve worked to memorize.
Another would be Kim Scott’s concept of “Radical Candor” and the various angles around it, which Kim unpacks in this short video here:
For items like that, I put them in my Anki flashcards and slowly learn to memorize them. However, I come across so many frameworks that it’s not really helpful (or even possible) for me to memorize all of them. Still, it can be helpful to understand most of them to gain overall understanding and contribute to making me who I am.
A recent example came from a friend of mine on LinkedIn who shared the “5 Levels of Development” (Survive, Sustain, Scale, Succeed, Steward). It’s a great framework, and got me to think about our business a bit more, but I don’t think it’s worth memorizing as I don’t see a case for needing to be able to recall it in a moment’s notice.
There’s still a lot of gray in there, though. Is any given system worth taking the time to memorize? I don’t have a clear line for what is and what isn’t, so I take them individually.
Do you have a benchmark for determining what’s worth memorizing versus what’s worth just getting a basic understanding of?
AV Rated | Partner @ Stanton Law | CEO @ Institute for Better Capitalism
2 个月Mickey, I think most of our current “thought leader” offerings, such as the catchy business systems regularly popping up, are repackaged ancient wisdom. That’s fine as we culturally find ways to pass on ancient wisdom, and a lot of our culture regards business and has a business mentality, even in our social relationships. We just need to recognize the offering for what they are when we meet them (and I give the creators credit for creativity because that can be hard work). My benchmark for memorizing is whether it’s wisdom I need to operationalize now in order to accomplish a goal of some kind. In this way, it becomes discipline or practice until the goal is met, then I can let it go (until the next time I may need it). The rest is beneficial relearning or reminders as they wash over me.