My father is a wise man and there are many things he has told me that have stuck with me.  One of my all-time favorite "words of wisdom" he shared with me is to "get paid for what you know, not what you do."  The first time I remember him saying this is back when I was finishing up high school and considering whether or not to go to college.  I had started a fence building company (my first venture) and I was making a lot of money for an 18-year old.  It's hard to have a long-term view when you are young.  Now fence building is REALLY hard work.  Digging holes in the dirt through rocks and tree roots can be fun but I imagine it would get pretty old by the end of a 40 year career.  Fortunately, my parents convinced me to go to college (Go Terps!).  After I graduated from college, I got a job as an engineer at a construction company making $28k a year which was about $20k less than I could have made digging holes.  But the opportunities started coming my way and within 5 years I was making twice as much as I could have ever made in the fence building business.  I ended up getting into the computer field at the right time and I've been fortunate throughout my career to have great opportunities come my way.  None of that would have happened if I hadn't gotten my degree.  A lot of times I think I'm still getting paid for what I do (and it's a paltry sum) but every now and then, what I know really comes in big.  In general though, most computer software professionals do a lot better than fence builders.

I'm telling this story because it reminds me how important it is to be a lifelong learner.  Learning doesn't end when you graduate from college.  It is just the beginning.  A lot of what we learned 10 years ago is useless to us today.  If we don't keep learning we'll be left behind because Knowledge is accelerating at an exponential rate.  We're constantly learning even when we don't think we are.  We take in all kinds of information every day.

The ways in which we learn are also changing.  I've been doing some research on learning and social networking and I've come across some really good information using tools like digg, del.icio.us, and Google.  I read a post by George Siemens who writes a blog called eLearnSpace.  His article is titled "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age".  In it, he talks about how

"Including technology and connection making as learning activities begins to move learning theories into a digital age. We can no longer personally experience and acquire learning that we need to act. We derive our competence from forming connections."

  Since we can't memorize all we need to know, we have to develop ways to find the information we need, when we need it.  The "connection" you need on any given day might be a person you know, a "friend" in one of your social networking tools, a web application you have bookmarked, or a fundamental principle you know that you can apply to many different situations.

So, does this mean we can make lots of friends and figure out how to use Google really well and stop worrying about learning anything?  I don't think so.  Successful people are still deep in certain areas.  It's when they need to know something outside our area of expertise that we rely on these connections.  If you aren't really knowledgeable about something then you don't bring value to others.

The great thing is that we have all kinds of learning resources at our fingertips.  Some of it, like the vast amount of information published on the Internet, is free.  Some of it we have to pay for.  There is traditional classroom learning, synchronous eLearning, asynchronous eLearning, on-demand learning, blended learning, books, and the list goes on and on.  Take your pick.  The most important thing we can do may be to be smart about how we get smart.  What is the right mix of learning.  How can I get the best value for both my time and my money.

If you are in the learning business, you are probably thinking about changing how and what you offer your customers.  If you haven't, you're probably finding that you are falling behind your more forward-thinking competitors.  It's easy to get caught up in doing the same thing day to day.  Do yourself a favor and step back and ask yourself "Does what we do still make sense?"  Be honest with yourself and have the courage and conviction to change.

Let's all keep learning, making connections, and get paid for what we know!

- Dan Blake