December Fast Company Article: "Whos Fast, 99"

As a newcomer to Fast Company I was interested to investigate the definition of "fast". Simply put, this article defines "fast" as a measure of ones impact on the world." This article introduced us to sixteen "fast " people who are showcased because of "how they dream, how they think, how they lead, how they contribute." Through their stories, I extracted the following qualities and characteristics of "fast":

7 "fast" describes an understanding and the practicing of the changing nature of leadership from coaching and teaching rather than supervising; 7 "fast" describes an appreciation of the critical importance of innovation; 7 "fast" describes a new way of looking at career tracks from a seniority strategy to a skill enhancement process; 7 "fast" describes an embracing of potential of change; 7 "fast describes an acceptance of social responsibility and justice; 7 "fast" describes the ongoing respect for the learning process; 7 "fast" describes the coping skills necessary to blend personal and professional careers.

These sixteen snapshots were very motivating introductions to non traditional leaders and, in many cases, reflected my personal beliefs about our future leadership needs.

However, I did experience some gut-wrenching reactions to the philosophies of John Cone. This Vice President of Dell University is redefining learning and teaching methods. John claims our challenge in education today is "to reduce learning to its smallest, most -useful increments and to put the learner in charge of the entire process." Johns goal is "just-in-time, just-enough" training that takes place quickly on the workplace floor, only when the questions arise.

My immediate response was that this may be satisfactory for training in technical arenas. However, I worry that this kind of instruction will prevent the workers/learners from grasping the bigger pictures and the underlying theories.

John Cone addresses some of my fears by defining and elaborating three types of learning in the workplace:

7 learning to knowgeneral knowledge, processes and systems 7 learning to doimmediate application of specific skills 7 learning to know and dothe acquisition of both the big picture and the skills needed to accomplish something

John also predicts that there will be a shift from the importance of knowing something to the importance of knowing how to find something out. Since much of what we will need to know in the future does not exist yet, educators must stress how to find out what we will need to know.

All-in-all, I feel more comfortable with Johns elaboration of three types of learning and even agree that traditional training spends too much time stressing "learning to know" in passive classroom lectures.

Yet, I still worry that he places so much emphasis on hands-on "learning to do" in short ten-minute training sessions on the workplace floor, that workers will stop asking the bigger questions and stop seeing the bigger pictures.

In discussing this article with other educators, they were even more alarmed at the implications. (Probably, my perspectives hightened their reactions.) These Ph.Drs felt that John Cones training methods were extremely short-sighted and dangerous. They felt that teaching students specific skills would limit their growth and progress.

I believe that there should be a continuum of learning from the "learning to know" to the "learning to do" spectrums. I agree that modern times demand a shift toward the "learning to do" end of the continuum. But teamwork and growth will not take place without a solid understanding of the big picture. mrb

-- Anonymous, December 28, 1998

Answers

You had some insightful observations about certain aspects of this article. It was a rather lengthy article, and and information about John Cone would certainly raise some concerns for all educators. I think one of the points that is made here, is that Dell University is not a traditional university. What impact will these types of institutions have on education as we know it?

In agreement with a point you brought up--the jobs that we are educating students for in the future, do not exist now. It is imperative that we provide students with opportunities for critical thinking, and help them to develop the skills they will need to find the information necessary for the future.

There will continue to be institutions like Dell that can educate the workforce much more efficiently than we can in our traditional institutions. What can we do to remain competitive, and to provide people who will make quality employees in this ever changing workforce.

There is a great deal of literature that examines this trend. It certainly is a facsinating and relevant topic of concern for educators.

-- Anonymous, January 31, 1999