People tend to fall into two groups when it comes to predictions.
Those in the first group “catch the train” and leave the station. They commit to seeing whether the predictions are true and where things will go.
Those in the second group remain at the station, waiting for the train to return. Maybe the train will bring them something, maybe it won’t. But whatever it brings won’t be as good – or bad – as whatever those who caught the train got.
Most of us, in my experience, fall into the second group most of the time. I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing, but there are times when you need to board the train if you actually want to move forward. If you are hoping to move forward in 2010, I think there is a train you should catch – and here’s what it’s hauling:
Social Learning
I put this one first so that I can make a point: this is not a post about professional development, training, or education, though the points here certain apply in those areas. No, it is a post about strategy. There is a large body of research and practice supporting the idea that learning is “socially constructed,” which is a fancy way of saying that we learn through our interactions with each other. And guess what? We’re interacting more often and in more ways than ever before thanks to the social Web. Do you understand the fundamentals of social learning? Are you helping to facilitate social learning among your members and customers as they make decisions relevant to you? If not, you are standing at the station.
Informal Learning
Related to the above, we also know that the vast majority of learning that occurs in our lives does not happen in formal education and training situations. It happens through hallway conversations, through a friend showing a friend how to do something, through simply observing life around us. Informal learning cannot be controlled in the way that traditional training and education can be controlled, but it can be influenced and facilitated to a meaningful degree. How are your members and customers learning about the issues and problems that your organization addresses? If you don’t have an answer, or aren‘t seeking one, you are standing at the station.
Open Education
In case you haven’t noticed, there is an awful lot of free educational content out there these days. But “free” is only part of the picture. Within the academic world, the movement towards open education has gained tremendous ground over the past few years. Under this model – which has been embraced by many major universities worldwide – content is not just free: it can also be reused, remixed, and redistributed under relatively straightforward conditions. I think there are applications of this model that extend well beyond academia – certainly into the broader nonprofit and association sector, and even into the commercial sector. It is an area that is ripe for innovation. If you aren’t familiar with open education and thinking about whether and how open education could apply in your field, you are standing at station.
Curation
One of the key consequences of the three points above is that “making sense” is becoming harder and harder. Even within relatively narrow niches. Even with the help of incredibly powerful tools like Google. I first wrote about the Digital Curator nearly two years ago and it was hardly a new idea at the time. Its urgency as an issue has continued to grow. If you want to stand out from the crowd and serve your members and customers well, one of the most straightforward paths is to help curate the content, connections, and experiences that you feel create the most value for your audience. Do that, and you secure your position not simply as something that shows up on a credit card statement, but as a true source of value. If you aren’t thinking about how you can play this role, you are standing at the station.
Personal Learning Management
Finally, another effect (and, increasingly, a cause) of the points above is that people now have a tremendous range of options and more power than ever before with respect to when, where, and how they learn. Again, I am not just talking about formal education here – that is only part of the picture. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we continually form and expand our knowledge and learning networks throughout life, and Web 2.0 tools like RSS, social networks, highly advanced search – among many others – have taken that process into new dimensions. How are you helping your members and customers with that process? If you haven’t thought about that question, you are standing at the station.
Now, you can look at all of the above and say, “Well, these matter to how we are doing professional development and training.” You would be ahead of most organizations, in my estimation, if you were to adopt only that perspective and act on it. But I hope you are sensing by now that these trends represent is a fundamental shift in the way that organizations need to engage with their stakeholders. They connect to all parts of your strategy.
In any case, that’s my perspective, and I’ve already bought my ticket. Won’t you join me?
Jeff
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