“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler
I trust you are well and keeping safe. Most countries are now beginning to relax the shutdowns that have been in place for the past four to six weeks. However, it is very unlikely we will return to how life and business was before the pandemic. For example, personal hygiene has been stepped up- temperatures will be checked at most offices you visit, social distancing and wearing of masks will likely continue until a vaccine is found.
The effects of our new normal life mean changes to how we live and work. Some new ways of living and working that are better and more convenient will be adopted. Several members of my mastermind group who are leading professional service providers, in our session last week, noted it was unlikely they (including their employees) will return to the times when they worked 100% from their offices. This is just one example of the impact of our new normal way of work.
It becomes increasingly important to master your unlearning and relearning skills. I believe it is those who are able to do so, that will be the winners at the end of this period. This calls for an increase in Learning Agility . Where the rules are changing fast, your ability to be agile in letting go of old rules and learning new ones becomes increasingly important. According to Margie Warrell, an International Business Transformation Coach, “Learning agility is the key to unlocking your change proficiency and succeeding in an uncertain, unpredictable and constantly evolving environment, both personally and professionally.” Some of the things you may have to quickly unlearn include:
- Unlearn the technology you use.
- Unlearn the way you approach your brand.
- Unlearn the way you communicate your value.
- Unlearn the way you deliver your value.
- Unlearn the skills and knowledge needed to get to the next level.
- Unlearn who your target market is, what they want and why
- Unlearn how to get the most from your employees.
Unlearning is about moving away from something—letting go of your old habits and actions.
One quick way to unlearn and relearn is the immersion technique. This is where you simply “flood” or overwhelm the old action with the newly desired action or habit. This approach works much like a full immersion approach to learning a foreign language – like French, for me. You can practice conjugating verbs and reading, writing and speaking in a language class, but you’ll only gain so much verbal skills. On the other hand, you could travel to a French speaking country and immerse yourself in the new language. Within a few months of full immersion, you will become conversant and comfortable speaking French.
In the example of ‘unlearn the way you deliver your value’, you will need to analyse, brainstorm on the new ways of delivering your value; immerse yourself in new ways this can be done. Once you have reached a decision for your new strategy, you begin immediately to implement your new strategy.
Question: What do you have to unlearn and relearn during this period?