Almost thirty years ago a friend involved in the education profession
told me that in his estimation much more was "caught" by students
outside of classrooms than was "taught" within those hallowed walls.
This statement has stuck with me through years of personal schooling,
working as a high school teacher, working in management, serving as a
management consultant and trainer, and facilitating learning on
university campuses across the US, eastern Europe, and Asia. Learning by
doing is certainly something most people have experienced. But the fact
that there is more opportunity to learn more things today as never
before (with knowledge doubling every 20 months) makes learning by doing
more complicated. As organizations move to respond to the rapid changes
in their environments, people within those organizations must face the
uncertainty and ambiguity that comes with such conditions. The one thing
most futurists agree on is that the future will be very different than
the present. Exponential change has become commonplace. Companies used
to worry about redefining their goals and specific describing their
place in an industry. Today, in order to survive, they must be
constantly addressing the issues inherent in redefining their
industries.