“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
We’ve all heard the saying hundreds of times and most times it’s true. You can try. You will usually fail. Try too hard and you’re likely to wind up with a bloody hand and a grumpy dog!
Still…there must be some hope – especially as I become one of those old dogs. Accelerating change continues to shorten the cycle of obsolescence – the amount of time it takes for learning to become obsolete – and I want to believe that I can stay sharp and relevant. All this change creates a personal skills gap and all of us must fill that gap or become obsolete.
I’ve seen it in practice many times. Usually, someone around 50 years-old loses their job and ends up in my office discussing their situation. Inevitably, they want to find a job similar to the one they lost and be paid a bit more than they were making. Unfortunately, often those positions are disappearing and the remaining roles pay far less than they did at their peak. Then, I ask them about their updated skills and discover they have a personal skills gap.
“AGE DISCRIMINATION!” they will cry in outrage, despite the fact that the current unemployment rate is 3.2% in Wisconsin and we need every available body to fill open jobs. Even before the recent surge, employers preferred candidates with deep experience – regardless of their age. Prove your energy and skill levels and a bit of gray serves as an advantage.
It’s easy for any of us to fall into a personal rut. We are all so busy – life interferes with ongoing learning and development. Once we’re done with work and family time, there isn’t much opportunity to strengthen our personal skills. Soon, we’re in our routine and our personal learning falls off the agenda…and the timer towards obsolescence starts!
It happens to me all the time. I try to be a proactive lifelong learner, but life happens. We launched the WCMP. I engaged with a new national MEP initiative. Karen wants more quality time with me. Daily tasks were easier to complete than any type of serious improvement work and learning fell off the schedule.
That fact hit me between the eyes last week as we integrated social media into the WCMP marketing plans. I was an early adopter of social media – one of the first 1,000 people on LinkedIn – and I’m fairly active on a variety of platforms and I do OK. Still, one day of leading-edge training demonstrated how much my skills have slipped and my knowledge eroded. Change strikes an old dog again!
Can we really teach those old dogs new tricks? The world changes quickly and those changes impact all our lives. For old dogs like me, that change presents a stark choice: Hang on tight and hope for the best or embrace the change and discover new ways to thrive. I believe lifelong learning forms the core of future success by helping leaders understand changes and find new ways to leverage those changes.
Lifelong learning leaders set the stage for others’ success as well. These leaders make it easier for us to embrace new ideas, engage leading technology, and catalyze transformation that result in lasting success for their organizations. They embrace radical engagement – reaching far and wide to involve unusual people and fresh ideas. All of this creates a new virtuous circle where learning uncovers possibilities, resulting in engagement, which leads back to new learning. The ongoing cycles makes the people and organizations involved stronger and better equipped to face the future.
Can we teach old dogs new tricks? Geez…I hope so! It provides the opportunity to engage millions of people in new ways…
…and it means there’s still hope for me!