'Best Before' dates for Learning?

Most consumable items come with a ‘Best Before Date’ but have you ever wondered where the concept came from? Now, I like modern myths and trivia so stay with me! One explanation suggests that best before dates were the brainchild of the American businessman and gangster Alfonse Gabriel Capone (aka ‘Scarface’). The story goes that as a child Al Capone often drank soured milk at school where it was provided for free, so freshness was not a primary concern. Years later, after he became a wealthy man, he gifted over a million dollars to the Chicago Education Board to ensure milk served to children was fresh and came stamped with a best before date to prove it. There you have it, the invention of best before dates! While it sounds like a charming ‘Gangster with a heart’ story, it is not true. 

Closer to the truth is that best before dates were first used by the iconic British retailer Marks and Spencer who starting using dates for goods in their stockrooms, around the early 1950’s, to separate newly arrived food and dairy from older stock.  They didn’t even appear on store shelves, for customers to see, until the early 1970’s. Sorry Al!

What if ‘Best Before’ dates were also applied to education? While there are some areas of learning and knowledge that remain timeless (e.g., the theory of relativity is unlikely to be updated as fast as the next version of Python coding) there are many areas which get dated very quickly. Of course, there would be exceptions as some knowledge is timeless and there is already an ongoing compliance approach learning that dictates the ability to practice certain professions.

However, there is plenty that requires constant updating, unlearning, and relearning. For instance, I completed an MBA in 1995 and the experience felt like being on a knowledge gathering conveyor belt until you dropped off at the end and were left to fend for yourself.  While we covered the classic MBA topics of Leadership, Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources and more there was no suggestion that these were evolving topics and there would be a need to unlearn and relearn in the future. Of course, we all know that many areas of learning have evolved dramatically, and this provides every academic institution with an opportunity to truly be at the heart of lifelong learning. I would have been a happy and loyal learner if my alma mater suggested a learning pathway for me as I progressed in my career with selected topics for renewal of my knowledge and others for completely new areas. 

So, if you are an academic institution and provide learning credentials, for any topic, there is an opportunity to re-engage with your students for ongoing lifelong learning. The learning can be in the form of alumni learning weekends, executive education, online programs and extended to include the learner’s family and professional colleagues.  Ideally curated and in recognition of learner needs and career pathway. By the way this applies to all organizations, public, private or not-for-profit, where skills and knowledge need to be updated on a regular basis (Digital Transformation anyone?!)

Without doubt there are many self-identifying lifelong learners who are motivated to update their skills and knowledge, irrespective of a nudge from anyone. However, there are also many who would benefit from a reminder that, in marketing for instance, while the 4P’s of marketing are still relevant they are no longer enough or that design thinking can create new perspectives and the list goes on!