Joyful Jubilant Learning

Unlearning: The Road

Dean Boyer leads us down the road of unlearning this month.  Sometimes we must dismount our coach and remove a fallen tree or hack down the tall grass as it fights to take back the road.  Clearly, our road yearns for wear.

Picture a view of the world's roads from outer space.  Now picture a neon light moving one-hundred miles an hour down all of the roads, crisscrossing the planet.  Now picture your own life melding with the neon lights.  Your life blurs.  Confusion sets in.  You are moving so fast that you can't get off of the road.  So you take another one.  But this one dead ends.  Now, you have forgotten how you got there.  You need to get somewhere, but you don't know where that is.  You don't know how to get there.

There isn't one critical statement that I can make about any essay written this month on unlearning.  I get, understand and embrace each one's basic premise...except for the unlearning part.  For twelve days I've been saying to myself, "David, it's just a difference in semantics."  But when I nod back to myself in acknowledgment, the little guy inside keeps poking me in the ribs.  "You know that isn't true David."  And maybe I do.

In order to delineate, I must borrow a line from my personal manifesto, which was written for me by Robert Frost:

Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back

I can't go back.  There isn't one molecule in my body that even thinks about it.  I am wired to move forward.  For me, unlearning means to undo, undo learning that perhaps isn't conducive to personal growth.  But I can't undo me.  I am me because my way led me to where and who I am. 

What I can do however, is to turn down the brightness button on the neon lights.  I can exit the freeway.  I can focus on the things that are important.  I can travel the road that will allow me to appreciate my family, to devalue material things, to appreciate flowers and children and big oak trees and fried chicken and older people and a community of folks who are passionate about learning.

Much to the little guy's dismay, this really might be about semantics.  I think it's just the word.  It is so alien to me, so nails driving south on the blackboard to me. 

I do believe if we travel this road, no matter what each of us calls it, we'll look back one day and realize that it did make all the difference.

~ Dave Rothacker

Book Wisdom - From 1931

Audel's published a series of books in the early to mid twentieth century that were designed to educate tradesmen like electricians, air conditioning technicians and plumbers.  In a copy that I have titled, Audel's New Electric Library, dated 1931, this can be found just inside the cover:

How to Use This Book

Read For Profit

And then underneath some text the following:

"An hour with a book would have brought to your mind,

The secret that took the whole year to find;

The facts that you learned at enormous expense,

Were all on a library shelf to commence."

Just a little light wisdom to ponder...

Steelcase: A Culture of Learning

In my never ending quest for knowledge about design, I came across the Steelcase Web site last year.  It was there I learned of Mark Greiner's blog workit.  workit also was a stop on a Starship Cruiser mission, one of my all time favorite voyages.  That day we were in search of a sense of place.

A few minutes at Steelcase's site pegs the red line on my this-is-a-company-that-values-knowledge meter.  Heck, it breaks the glass.  The entire site radiates this thought and for me it was not anything specific.  From the main site I find Mark's blog and his post on people and culture.  Mark's observations reinforce my perceptions of Steelcase as a knowledge-based company.

James P. Hackett's article, Preparing for the Perfect Product Launch, in the April edition of Harvard Business Review, caused me once again to dwell on the learning culture of Steelcase.  (Unfortunately HBR requires a paid subscription to view this article online).  Jim, who is the company's CEO, describes a critical thinking process that his associates go through before launching a product.  This process which Jim teaches at their corporate university, combines deep thinking with execution. 

Why don't I hire a training company to teach managers critical thinking?  The answer is simple: The lesson sticks better when the CEO teaches it.

The critical thinking course not only is of value to new product development, it helps managers working within groups, reach decisions and come to informed agreements. 

The course is based on four phases:

• Think
• Set the Point of View
• Plan Implementation
• Implement

Think

• Ponder
• Query
• Read and research
• Network
• Document

Set the Point of View

• Conduct a collegial, open-minded discussion
• Determine the direction
• Assign an owner for the point of view
• Stay the course

Plan Implementation

• Clarify, refine
• Consider all stakeholders
• Practice, practice, practice

Implement

• Select a spokesperson
• Play to win
• Celebrate the victory

Each of these phase subsets is rigorous and involved.  But from this snapshot one can easily discern the seriousness that Steelcase places upon the learning process.  Combine intent with content, add discipline and surround it with interested associates and you have a culture of learning.

The Starfish and the Spider

I am taking the liberty to sneak in another book review here.  I just finished smoking and signing The Starfish and the Spider this morning and felt compelled to run to my computer and our site.

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"Who is in charge around here?"

"No one."

"Great, we got a chance!"

If I walk into a room and find a deck of cards scattered about on the table, my gut instinct is to organize them.  If I take over a new management position, my gut instinct is to line everyone up, organize them into their respective roles and manage away.

The Starfish...from Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom's wiki.

Cut off the arm of a starfish and it will grow a new one. Not only that, but the severed arm can grow an entirely new body. Starfish can achieve this feat because, unlike spiders, they are decentralized; every major organ is replicated across each arm.

The Spider...also from the lad's wiki.

Cut off the leg of a spider, and you have a seven-legged creature on your hands; cut off its head and you have a dead spider.

The Starfish and the Spider is about the structure of organizations.  The Starfish is a decentralized organization based upon an ideology with circles of participants initiated by catalysts who inspire the idea and get out of the way for a champion to take it to the next level.  Successful Starfish organizations organized around a preexisting network like, hmmmm, lemme see, uhhhh, ohhhh, oh yeah, the Ho'ohana Community. 

The Spider is a centralized, top-down management type of organization.  Yuck!  (ahhhh, satisfying use of editorial privilege:)

This is very well written book.  The authors do a remarkable job using parallel examples to help teach their point.  Although other folks have already made the comparison, I couldn't help but think of Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point as I read along.

Prior to, and most definitely since we collaborated on the Traveling MWA, I seemed to keep wanting us to be more organized.  After reading The Starfish and the Spider however, I have an entirely different point of view, although the roots of this viewpoint have been near and dear to my heart for a long time.

If you are a member of the JJL community here, I highly recommend reading this book!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

"Danny, would you like me to read a book to you?"

What thrills a child more than having a book read to them?  Nerves calm and a glow warms them inside as Mom begins to read - a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and a glass of cold milk close by.  Mom elevates the ecstasy and enriches the experience by pointing toward the book's illustrations.  Although the book has been read many times to them, they wait the turn of each page with sweet anticipation.

From an early age, storytelling unleashes a sense of wonder.

As we grow older, life, and all if its teachers, bosses, coaches, peers and friends, seem to cast aside this sense of wonder, casting aside our inner child.  Our sense of wonder and creativity get boxed up and stacked neatly away in the attic.

Theodor Seuss Geisel just didn't write and illustrate children's books.  He canonized this sense of wonder, etching it into all of his work.  Dr. Seuss refused to let the child in us grow up.  No where is this more apparent than in, Oh the Places You'll Go.

Sure this is a book for children.  Children graduating from eighth grade, twelfth grade, college and grad school.  Children programmers, children writers, children analysts, children consultants, children managers...  Try attending any high school graduation and not see Oh, the Places You'll Go! getting passed along and signed with wishes of success...BFF.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! is the perfect elixir for the poor, unfortunate cubicle dwellers amongst us who are led forth by those perched in ivory towers using stories of fish and cheese to spur on hollow notions of motivation.  Errrr, sorry, got side tracked here...

Dr. Seuss writes and illustrates a classic recipe for life.  You've got brains in your head and you know what you know.  Now hit the streets!  Yes, you'll run into those who will lead you astray.  You'll run into fear, indecision and out right bad luck.  You'll run into a slump and the path ahead will not always be well lit.  You'll run into loneliness and encounter those waiting for their ship to come in.  Dr. Seuss says to pick yourself up and move on.  Because you will run into bright lights, banners and fun!  You will eventually succeed.  KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Can't you just smell that plate of cookies?  Can't you see the condensation beading up on that glass of milk?  Can't you see both in the workplace?  Can't you see the magic effect of this book upon your associates?  Can't you feel their sense of wonder as you paint careful visions of the road ahead?  Can't you just feel their sweet sense of anticipation?  Can't you wait to be a kid again?

Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a magical and mystical book.  There are so many cool things that you can do with it.  For starters, I recommend writing in it and using it as a journal.  From there?  Unleash your own sense of wonder upon the world.  Oh, the Places You Can Go!

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Post Author:
David Rothacker is the author of Rothacker Reviews, where he presents “Most Excellent Books, Businesses and Folks.”

The Dormouse

Do you remember what the dormouse said?  If ever there was an anthem to inspire learning...

Not sure about you, but I have an insatiable desire to learn, to learn selective stuff.  For me it's stuff that pertains to the connected generation, Purple Cow marketing, business change, design as it applies to Dan Pink's Conceptual Age, innovation and, in general, what inspires people to be passionate about their work. 

One thing that seems to spur activity on author's posts is specific factual information.  Info that can help people right away.  43 Folders, Slacker Manager and Greg's Business Performance Coaching come to mind.  Posts based on author's opinions seem to generate less activity. 

In order to be in a position to generate such prolific stuff as these folks, one must listen to Grace, one must listen to the dormouse...

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

When men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said:
"Feed your head
Feed your head
Feed your head"

It Adds up to Life

The grueling trek started Christmas eve...

Rosemary and I would go to her parent's house late afternoon Christmas eve to celebrate her grandmother's birthday.  From there we would go to my parent's house a half hour away.  We would begin a four hour period of eating around seven, followed by a forty-five minute trip to church for Midnight Mass.  After that we went back to my parent's house to open gifts.  Rosemary and I would get home about four in the morning.  We were up early to open gifts in our house and then back to Rosemary's parent's house and off to nine o'clock Mass.  Back at their house, we'd open up gifts and then prepare for a Christmas dinner of around twenty-five people.  Following dinner Rosemary's younger brother and sisters would have friends over and the serious partying began.  We usually didn't get home until midnight.

The importance of family cannot be understated.  Neither can the importance of self-preservation.  We carried out the above ritual for four or five years until finally telling our parents that we just couldn't do it anymore.  Although we had to endure a few knocks upside the head, we learned the old adage:  You can't please everyone.

After putting together a more sensible schedule we noticed a greater enjoyment of the holidays.

In those first few years we also had a few side adventures.  Our car broke down on the way home from Midnight Mass in one of the most dangerous areas in Cleveland, Ohio.  And twice I had to shovel ten plus inches of snow out of the driveway before we could pull in.  It had to be at least five when we made it to bed.

We all trek the roadways of experience that combine to make us the persons we are today.  As we garner tidbits of learning along the way, it adds up to one thing.  It adds up to life.

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David Rothacker is the author of Rothacker Reviews, where he presents “Most Excellent Books, Businesses and Folks.”

i Tunes U

From Apple Computer, Inc:

Education beyond the classroom

"iTunes U* is a free, hosted service for colleges and universities that provides easy access to your educational content, including lectures and interviews 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It’s the most powerful way to manage a broad range of audio or video content and make it available quickly and easily to students, faculty, and staff. And it is the only application that supports the overwhelmingly popular iPod. iTunes U also offers you the simplicity and mobility you expect from Apple because it is based on the same easy-to-use technology of iTunes Music Store.

Through iTunes U, users can download content to their Macs or PCs regardless of their location. They can then listen to and view content on their Mac or PC or transfer that content to iPod for listening or viewing on the go..."

Go over to Apple Education and check it out.

I've just learned that the University of South Florida is in the process of signing up with Apple, joining the likes of Standford, UC Berkeley and MIT.

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David Rothacker is the author of Rothacker Reviews, where he presents “Most Excellent Books, Businesses and Folks.”

Guides of Learning

Eventuality cannot be denied.

Once upon a time a teacher, on a small piece of land surrounded by the world's largest ocean, created the most unbelievable classroom.  People from all around the world visited.  They'd sit in on a lesson and gather around afterwards for stimulating conversation.  Soon, an odd thing began to happen.  They noticed a common enjoyment of books, professions, leadership/management thoughts and business ideas beginning to form.  As time went by, a much more meaningful pattern began to develop.  The students evolved into a community, a community of people who sought knowledge and possessed an enormous desire to help others.

The passion fueling this desire whispered in the community's ears.  Unite and move forward.  Realization of what could be teased members in the form of a small, collective project last year.  Momentum reached a tipping point this past month in September's Joyful Jubiliant Learning forum.  The teacher, sensing the excitement, gathered the community's more vocal few and together they built a new classroom.  "Although you will always be students, she said, it is time for you to become guides of learning.  I will support your efforts, but it's you who must carry forward the torch of enlightenment."

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Brother George

Inspiration for my thoughts today come from Starbucker's reflection on his teacher, Brother George.  We've all had teachers like Brother George; tough and demanding individuals who would not settle for anything less than our best.  While I admire folks like Brother George, I am not fortunate enough to possess his teaching style.  And that's ok.  I suspect there are a great many of us who are not wired like Brother George.

Buried Treasure

Stephen King, in his book, On Writing , talks about stories being found things, like fossils in the ground.  The writer's job is to use his tools to remove the layers of dirt on top of the fossil and reveal the story.  I believe there are fossils of learning-potentiality in all of us.  As a guide of learning, it's my job to uncover the layers of dirt by means of clear articulation and discourse driven to provoke thought. 

Once learning-potentiality surfaces it blossoms into ability.  And I believe that everyone has the ability to do wonderful things.  We can all be guides of learning.  Think about someone who needs a few layers of dirt unearthed from their fossil.  What would it take to turn them onto a book, send them an article, send them a link or drop them an e-mail? 

Close your eyes and imagine a network of people tuned into digging up fossils.  Imagine the vibrancy of knowledge exchange.  Imagine the glowing vista of growth and development.  Imagine this network evolving.  Now, slowly open your eyes and look out towards the horizon.  Can you see the vast mounds of dirt?  Can you feel the pulsating beat of learning?  Sure you can.  And you know why?  Because there is here right now!

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Post Author:
David Rothacker is the author of Rothacker Reviews, where he presents “Most Excellent Books, Businesses and Folks.”