I walk into companies where no one has read a business book in years. Not because they lack time, but because the people at the top don’t value learning. They don’t talk about it. They don’t model it. The culture doesn’t reward it.
Over time, curiosity dies.
When that happens, people stop asking questions. They stop exploring new ideas. Your company keeps doing things the way it has always done them, even while technology and the market move faster than ever. In this environment, your willingness to create a culture of learning will determine how long you stay relevant.
The most common excuse I hear is cost. “We can’t afford training right now.”
Twenty years ago, that might have been a valid point. Today, it isn’t. There is more high-quality information available for free today than at any point in human history. YouTube has world-class tutorials. Harvard, MIT, and Stanford offer open courses. Podcasts, webinars, and articles from leading thinkers are available to anyone. None of it requires a budget line, but it does require an investment of time. That only happens when you value learning enough to protect that time and make it part of how your organization operates.
For example, one CEO I coach makes “Monday Morning Learning” part of her company’s operating rhythm.
Every Monday, without fail, she shares something new she has learned. A book she has finished. A customer insight or a short video that challenges her thinking. She then invites two or three people to share what they are learning and how they will apply it this week, rotating so everyone participates over time. She models clearly that learning is part of the job and that she is a leader people admire and respect. When they see that she is dedicated to lifelong learning and that it is an important part of her career and the success of the business, it motivates them to become more eager in their own quest to learn.
Why Learning Gets Left Behind
I also see what kills it. Leaders say they value learning, but they don’t give people time they can dedicate to it. They fill calendars with back-to-back meetings and overload them with urgent tasks. No time left to think, let alone grow. Your job is to buy time and remove friction so learning can happen. The average business professional reads only half a book a year to improve their skills. If you read, watch, or listen to the equivalent of six books a year, you move into the top five percent of self-learners worldwide. Twelve a year puts you in the top one to three percent. Fifteen minutes a day, five days a week, adds up to roughly seven books a year, which places you in that top five percent.
One client of mine makes this a clear part of their culture.
They keep a lending library of business books that anyone can check out. Each time someone finishes a book, they write a short summary of what they learned, and they earn credit toward awards and bonuses at the end of the year. When the senior team finds a book they believe is especially relevant, they buy a copy for everyone, and the whole staff reads it together. They also run a book club that meets monthly to share the best ideas from a book they are reading as a group. Managers review summaries quarterly and ask one question: what did you apply and what changed? This is a company that leaves no doubt: learning and professional development are priorities here.
If your people are not learning, they are falling behind.
If your company is not learning, it is dying. Maybe not this quarter, maybe not next, but it is coming. The market does not care how busy you are. It rewards the organizations that are better tomorrow than they were yesterday. That only happens if you make learning part of your culture, starting now.
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