“Tomorrow’s illiterate will not be the man who can’t read; he will be the man who has not learned how to learn.” — Herbert Gerjuoy, quoted by Alvin Toffler in Future Shock
Gerjuoy said that in 1970, decades before any of us argued with a chatbot. He wasn’t talking about reading. He was talking about the shelf life of what you know. The tool you master this quarter is half-replaced by the next one. The skill that is most valuable isn’t knowing the tool, it’s knowing how to learn the next one without waiting for someone to hand you a manual.
The people who resist aren’t being stubborn. We get good at something. It earns us trust, a title, a seat at the table. Then the ground moves, and being good at the old thing counts for less than being quick at the new one. Learning how to learn is uncomfortable, because it starts with admitting you don’t know yet. It means trading the safety of being an expert for the vulnerability of being a beginner.
The teams pulling ahead right now aren’t the ones with the best tools. They’re the ones who treat “I haven’t figured this out yet” as a starting line instead of a confession.
Two things to consider.
- When things change under you, are you defending what you already know, or building the muscle that learns what comes next?
- How are you helping your team ask the question, “What do we need to let go of, so we can learn something new?”
What is stopping you?
We all win together!
Coach Dan