I was recently posed the question “Why bother with further Management and Leadership training and development (especially if you have a wealth of knowledge and experience behind you)”?
I fully understand the reason for the question.
In the current climate, and in the situation that the whole world finds itself enduring, managing to find both the time and the inclination to continue with your own personal and professional development can be difficult. Surely, there are bigger ‘fish to fry’? So why bother….
With regard to the answer – these 3 people came to mind – some you may recognise, some you may not?
This is Wilfred Bungei – Men’s 800 Metres – Gold medal winner for Kenya at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Bungei’s winning time that year was 1:44.65….pretty impressive!
Let’s fast forward 4 years to the next Olympics: London 2012.
You may remember that the winner of the same event was David Rudisha, also of Kenya,
in a world record time of 1:40.91….just, wow!
However, this is only part of the story. Let’s check out the times of the rest of the field in that same Men’s 800 Metres final:
If you look closely at the times for each athlete, what do you notice in relation to the time Wilfred Bungei achieved to become champion?
What does this highlight? I’ll leave that with you…..
Next person is this fellow:
The son of a miner, he left school at 13 to work in a coal mine – and is widely regarded to be the father of the NHS….
Aneurin (Nye) Bevan
His achievements are well documented, but he came to mind purely on the basis of this quote “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over!”
The world is a constantly evolving and changing place, at a speed of change not seen since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
Also, we now have a variety of information sources.
Embracing and using a greater diversity and variation in your sources of learning, will result in you becoming exposed to different ideas and their benefits. Conversely, if you rely on single or well established sources, it is highly likely that you will only consider a one-dimensional approach.
To conclude – remember what this fellow highlighted:
― Henry Ford
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
Is that enough for you in today’s age of swift change and continued challenge and competition?
If not, I think you have answered the initial opening question.
Dave Tilley
Senior Facilitator at Fuel Learning
