Turning 16 is fun! You can officially test the uncharted waters, take on new responsibilities and get your first taste of freedom! Even better, you get to celebrate your past accomplishments while easing into a new chapter of your life.
As we blow out our birthday candles,
we reminisce about our 16 glorious years in eLearning and distil top16 lessons
we have learnt along the way that apply not just to businesses, but are critical
life skills too.
1.It’s
all about people
Regardless of what
you are dealing in – a software or a hardware, it’s critical to understand
that, at the end of the day, technology is just an enabler. Your efforts
(product/ service) are FOR the people (in context of the LMS – L&D
practitioners and end users/learners), built BY the people and OF the people
(learn-tech providers).
2.Innovation
is not an activity. It’s a mindset
To be an innovator,
you need to cultivate a mindset of challenging
the status quo and developing new
solutions to old challenges. Innovation cannot be put into bullet points or
worse still on your vision board if you don’t empower your people to think
outside-the-box at all times.
3.IQ
matters, EQ matters even more
Cracking the
code (pun intended) to learning technology has a lot to do with the collective
programming knowledge and expertise in your team, but the intellectual ability
to manage ideas, knowledge, thoughts and relationships with other people is
what sets you apart from the rest.
4.Trends
are elusive, human behavior is not
Buzzwords are
often just that; fads with a short timeline. While fads and trends stem from
the ever-evolving user behavior and technology, sifting through to identity the
ones that are linked to human behavior have a higher sustenance and faster
uptake than the ones that are just sexy sounding.
5.Leadership
begets leadership
True leaders don’t create followers,
they create more leaders, goes the adage. To ensure you have a nurturing ground
for leaders at all levels, it’s important to create a culture of trust and
empowerment so leadership breeds.
6.Loyalty
cannot be bought, it needs to be earned
No amount of money
or R&R programs will get your people to stick if the company culture is not
conducive to growth and development. This is as true for employees as it is for
learners (linked to the LMS narrative).
7.The future
is NOW!
The unprecedented times we are living in currently, propelled by technology and mass adoption thereof, has shrunk the timelines of maturity and necessity. We need to think on our feet at all times so that we can learn from yesterday, build for today and plan for tomorrow.
8.Change
is truly the only constant
In a world
wherever everything changes in a matter of moments, change management is a tool
we all need in our arsenal to not just cope with the transformation, but to
ride it with pride.
9.There
are no mistakes, only learnings
“I have not
failed. I have only found 10,000 things that do not work”.
Edison gave us
more than just a light bulb. His words need to be etched in our personal and
professional workings to help us not just rise after a fall but to dissect it
to its last grain and derive the learning from it to propel us further.
10.Learn-tech
is only the means to an end
Investing in an LMS or a learning platform does not
assure you success if you are not willing to do the work on other parts of the
puzzle. Think about the modalities, the content, the strategy.
11.Skilling
is breathing
With the lifespan
of a skill whittled down to 3-5 years (from the previous 10-12), skilling needs
to be at the center of everything we do. Akin to breathing, which is an
essential life force, skilling needs to be prioritized and actioned upon.
12.It’s
the survival of the smartest
Darwin’s theory of
the survival of the fittest may need to undergo some contextual change in
today’s day and age. It’s no longer about the fitness alone, but the ability to
understand, evolve and act in accordance to the situation which is the key to
surviving and thriving.
13.LMS
is not an option
While learning and
training can happen offline, the management of it is best left to the tools
(read Learning
Management System). The failure of this leads to inefficiency and drain on
time, effort and cost resources, all of which can hijack the focus from
employee L&D to the ancillary activities.
14.Content
is truly the king
An LMS, or any
learning platform for that matter, is only as good as the content on it.After
all, it’s the content that will help you achieve your employee skilling and
training goals. Further, the content needs to be relevant, engaging and
contextual for best results.
15.Good
UI is more than aesthetics
How often have we
overplayed UI with a complete disregard to the usability? Far too many times
IMO! While ensuring the interface of the LMS (or any software) is intuitive and
pleasing to look at, a myopic focus on that alone can jeopardize the actual use
of it. So it’s important to broaden the definition to include
the user experience (UX) too.
16.Disruption
is the new black
Let’s just say, if
you haven’t disrupted, you haven’t done anything yet.To be able to disrupt, you
need to be able to take risks (which means failure too – refer to point #9).
Needless to say, the more you play in discomfort the stronger you grow from it.
There you have it –16 enlightening
lessons straight from our years of experience! Whether you are turning 16 or
60, these pearls of wisdom will hold you in good stead – always!
Psst!
Head over to UpsideLMS
Linkedin, UpsideLMS
Instagram and UpsideLMS
Facebook to join in our sweet sixteen celebrations all day long today!
Happy 16 to us!
