The power of unlearning
Mordy Golding
Helping humans leverage AI | Full Stack Product Leader | Ex-LinkedIn, Adobe | Founder | Advisor | Author
In his book, Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone, Satya Nadella talks about the importance of unlearning old habits:
I realized that in a successful company it is as important to unlearn some old habits as it is to learn new skills.
I agree.
People run to talk about skill gaps and the need to keep up with technology changes — all true — but often overlooked is how important it is to look at the skills and habits you have now and evaluate whether they hinder your ability to innovate, advance, or move forward.
I remember when Adobe released a new page layout program called InDesign. Most professionals at the time used a product called QuarkXPress, and as an industry consultant and software trainer, I helped design professionals migrate from Quark to InDesign. What made InDesign unique was that its feature set so radically changed the norm and established workflows, that the hardest part wasn't learning InDesign... it was unlearning QuarkXPress.
Today's business landscape changes at a pace that seems to mimic Moore's Law. Your competitors of yesterday aren't your competitors of tomorrow. Your customers and established norms change at a similar pace.
Take the time to think about your core values and beliefs. With those as your guide, you can evaluate whether workflow, systems, or approaches are still valid, or if you should invest time not only in gaining new skills, but in unlearning those that no longer apply.
From a personal perspective, be brave and ask others you trust to share with you the things they believe keep you from advancing or growing. Then give yourself permission to work on improving yourself by unlearning the things that get in your way.
#FromMyKindle
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Last year, I set a goal to read 50 books (I fell far short of that goal, only reading 25, so this year I'm shooting for 30). When I read, I like to highlight phrases on my Kindle that resonate with me. For 2018, I'm making an effort to elaborate on and share my thoughts on those highlights in a series I'm calling #FromMyKindle. I expect to post new ones each Friday... please help keep me honest, and if you enjoy these, comment below to keep the conversation going!
Marketing Communications at CMG & Associates | Photographer, Designer, Publisher, Adobe Community Expert
7 年Thanks Mordy for a relate-able example for unlearning... the one thing I remember about un-learning Quark to get up to speed quickly and effectively with InDesign was how motivated I was at that time to make the switch.
Fachspezialist Immobilien und Gründer
7 年I completely agree. What does it help to share best practices in your company when people are either not willing to make a change or are not supported in making the change happen. That's why it is at least as important to share with your employees the reasoning for a change as it is giving them the tools and the training to change.
Principal Content Manager @LinkedIn Learning | ex-Jossey-Bass/Wiley Executive Editor
7 年Reminded me of this article https://hbr.org/2017/08/help-employees-create-knowledge-not-just-share-it
Director @ LinkedIn | Content Publishing, Product Development, Cross-functional Lead
7 年I need to unlearn a lot so I can cram for 2018! I don't take advantage of my kindle as much as I should either.
Instructor, LinkedIn Learning; Professor Emeritus, CCNY; Author: Typography Essentials; Body Type I & II
7 年So true Mordy! Unlearning is often more difficult than learning something new! I remember the (painful but oh so necessary) transition from Quark to InDesign very well. On another note, when I teach calligraphy, in the first class, I ask students to forget what they think they know about the shapes of letterforms and to try to see the calligraphic forms as if they were a child, encountering letters for the very first time. Not an easy thing to do, for sure. Thanks for writing this!