Passion-led Learning

What’s top of mind:

Saddle up, friends! I’m going to get a little sentimental this time. I tend to get reflective this time of year because my birthday is next week. And, for me, this is the real new year, when I look back on all the moments I indulged in, felt proud of, was surprised by, or struggled with. I use these memories to help guide my hopes and set my goals for my next year. What do I want more of? What do I want to improve? I live for this! And it’s a fun exercise any time of year. So grab what you need—a comfy seat, a tissue, a coffee—and join me! 

Alright, so maybe this goes without saying, but the thing that always stands out most in my memories isn’t a thing at all—it’s people. Especially the ones who are passionate, or even slightly obsessed. Since I (obviously) like to learn, I count on the people in my life to teach me things I don’t yet know. And when I turned 40 (you’re in disbelief, I know), I sort of forced everyone around me to teach me a whole bunch of new things. 😈

For my birthday, I hosted an event I called “Learning Man.” (Don’t @ me, Burners, I hadn’t even been to Black Rock City at that point. I finally went last year, but that’s another story!) I thought the name was appropriate because I invited my friends to go camping (and partying) with me under one condition: anyone who attended was required to spend 10-15 minutes teaching something (anything!) to the rest of the group. 

The invitation was met with mixed reviews. But once people got over the fact that they would have to do some public speaking, the presentations were incredible! We had talks on all kinds of topics, like: how to tie knots for sailing; how to work out with a steel mace; how to understand  genetic sequencing; how to ask for what you want in emails (still wish everyone would learn this); how to do a cartwheel (I struggled here); how to give first aid to your pet; how to paint abstract art; and so much more. Listening to my friends share so much about what they know and love completely captivated me—and everyone else! It was such a hit that most attendees insisted I do it again. And I just might! 

So what?

Most of us are surrounded by incredibly talented and passionate people. If they’re not showing up this way in our lives, it’s probably because we haven’t gotten them talking about the right topic yet. 

Take my friend, Matty, for example. When I met him, he told me he was a sommelier, which, back then, I had to Google. Come to find out it means that he trained incredibly hard to pass a really difficult test so he could be certified as an expert in understanding wine. And while Matty isn’t quiet about much of anything, he really gets talking when the subject turns to wine. 

What’s fun for me about having a sommelier-friend has almost nothing to do with wine; it’s just not my drink of choice. But if I’m at dinner with Matty? I will go wherever he chooses and drink whatever he orders just to see his passion and enthusiasm take center stage. The last time I saw him, he took our table “on a journey through the Rhone Valley” of France. Now, I couldn’t tell you much about the meal or anything specific about the wine we drank. But I can tell you I vividly remember being wildly inspired by the depth of knowledge and appreciation Matty had for this particular thing. It made me want to learn more! It always makes me want to learn more. 

Want to learn more?

Here’s how: take a moment to think about all the people in your life. Family, friends, colleagues, teammates, partners. Think about the things they know. Think about the things they love, what they’re maybe even a little obsessed with. (In this context, obsession is a good thing! It’s an indication of passion.) Now consider what you might not know about them and get extra curious. Let’s figure out where the people in our lives shine. Then let’s get them talking about it.

And what about you, friendly reader? What topic gets you buzzing and eager to share? Remember, intrinsically motivated learning leads to deeper processing and greater creativity. Dive deep in your obsessions, and then share them with the curious people close to you. If they’re at all like me, your lessons will become some of their favorite memories.

What I'm learning:

Over the last two weeks I’ve re-committed to upgrading my social media game. (You heard it here first! And now you can hold me accountable. 😬) I’ve loved engaging with my learners so much, I really want to create more opportunities to do that. I know that means I need to make different types of content—videos, really—but I’ve always been concerned that short videos are too busy competing for a viewer’s attention to cover some of the nuance that applies to learning and development. So I’m learning how to do both, share valuable information in more concise language. Thankfully, I’ve got an extremely helpful (read: patient) mentor. 

So keep your eye out! Short videos about learning are coming to a LinkedIn feed near you!

What's new with SAP

SAP is using A.I. as a carrot to migrate customers over to the cloud faster. Unfortunately the Bloomberg article is behind a paywall, but here’s the gist: SAP created a new role called “chief A.I. officer.”  And then made some of its A.I. products “exclusive” to customers who are already using the cloud, even though making the move doesn’t seem to be necessary, technically speaking. 

Hot Take:

There’s been so much news about getting SAP ERP customers to move over to the cloud, and this feels like another strategy to make that shift happen more quickly. At what point will on-premise customers decide that they can no longer miss out on the A.I. benefits? Only when SAP shows how A.I. will make specific business processes, especially those that require a heavy lift from humans, obsolete. Until then, let’s hope that will free up the humans to do something fun—like become a sommelier! 

What I’m reading:

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

Hornby wrote one of my favorite books (and movies) High Fidelity, and I got to see him, along with Susan Orlean, in person at the Writer Symposium by the Sea last month. They say proximity kills your heroes, but the discussion did not disappoint! In fact, their talk about obsessions led me to this newsletter. Both Hornby and Orlean agreed that a person’s obsessions (with music records, per se) is what made interesting characters. At one point, Susan even said:

“Obsession is how one shapes the otherwise shapeless experience of being alive.”

It adds depth and meaning. And for Hornby, that medium is soccer.

Fever Pitch is an auto-biographical account of Hornby’s obsession with Arsenal Football Club and its impact on his entire life. I don’t know much about English Football (AKA soccer here in the U.S.), but I can absolutely relate to how formative an obsession with teams can be. (I still love you, Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Steelers. And I’ll probably never forgive you, Pittsburgh Pirates!) The book is entertaining, and Hornby’s dry sense of humor has kept me smiling, as only someone with passion can do. 

What else?

LinkedIn has evolved into a place where people only talk about career and keep everything else buttoned up. What are you (at least slightly) obsessed with outside of work? What can you not stop thinking about? What would you give a talk on at the next Learning Man?

Looking forward,

JV

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