“Language, which not only houses our thoughts but even the potential of our thoughts, in essence consists of dead and living metaphors. Metaphorical perception allows us to understand the nature of one reality by using the perception of a dissimilar reality to provide the necessary light…Our interpretations guide our perceptions more than vice-versa. Debates rarely change the images that guide our behavior. Reflections and conversations are better at changing the guiding metaphors determining our methods and materials…Without conversation and/or reflection, the guiding metaphors are hidden and thus unchangeable.”

As a part of my work on Riding the Current, I defined seven principles of what I call radical learning – learning that is social, sticky, fuel-efficient, and guilt free. (Okay, it’s time for me to blog more on this. Later.) In Rader’s writing, I could see another way to see two of the principles from radical learning – conversation and observation – working together.

First, the conversation principle says that a face to face conversation opens the possibilities for unexpected learning because multiple voices bring more perspectives. I tended to see this as an external activity – creating a space where ideas could mingle, coalesce, and even merge and emerge. Rader describes the interior aspect of conversation that reveals the hidden metaphors that are guiding our individual interpretations.

Second, the observation principle is about becoming aware of what we experience in the world and using that awareness to discover new insights. Thinking in terms of Rader’s guiding metaphors, the observation principle has a new dimension – one of filter. Observation comes in through a ‘lens’ that can change the original sensing. Combining it with conversation where those filters (frameworks, metaphors) can be revealed, enhances the effectiveness of both principles.

I discovered that the seven principles of radical learning must all work together. Rader’s exploration of the guiding metaphor is completely consistent with this, and it helps me explain better why using all the principles creates a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts.

I admit it, I am only a bit more than half way through Rader’s book, but I couldn’t resist sharing this initial insight about guiding metaphors. I’m about to begin the chapter Neurogenic Learning. I can’t wait to see what new insights I gain.

I work with lots of PhD candidates, and I enjoy it very much. It’s fun working with people who are pushing the edges of knowledge through their research. But there is always one question that comes up, “How do I get this thing done when there are so many questions that need to be answered?” This kind of statement reflects the widening of their circle of understanding. As we widen the circle of understanding, the edge of new knowledge just gets bigger. And it is natural to begin to see all manner of new questions.

The candidate’s mind moves out and out, and the dissertation gets bigger and bigger. Suddenly the candidate, in an attempt to cover an impressive amount of territory, is overwhelmed with the breadth of the topic. Lacking the experience or training to create her own limits, she needs someone to impose discipline and focus the topic to a targeted goal. This is when I tell the candidates a great secret to writing a dissertation. I tell them, “When a new question comes to mind, ask yourself if is part of your original question. (Every dissertation is in search of answers to “the question” defined as the purpose of the dissertation.) If it is, then you must deal with it. BUT, there are many more questions that are not part of the original ‘question.’ At this point, make note of the question where you won’t forget it. Then as you are writing the last chapter of your dissertation, list all of the questions that you didn’t answer there.” By listing the questions that come to mind but are not dealt with, the candidate shows some interesting questions that can be researched in the future, and it shows that they thought of them even if they chose not to deal with them in the dissertation. Neat. Everyone is happy, and the dissertation gets done.

With this approach, the dissertation is more likely to be successful and depth within the chosen topic becomes possible. The candidate has moved from feeling imprisoned by her boundless surroundings to feeling free to begin an efficient and effective writing process, working within a well-chosen container.

No one I know argues against setting goals, but many clamor when I suggest that with goals come limits. They get over it when I explain that limits change – they grow or shrink, are permeable, and disappear altogether when the goal is achieved. Limits are meant to serve goals, not frustrate achievement. Limits are the container, the vessel in which your learning occurs – the vessel that will take you to your destination.

Practicing

It was a surprise then to read Michael Jones recent blog, Finding a Musical Intelligence; Chopin and The Art of Touch, Michael says “I discovered that to master Chopin’s language of touch involved less focus on performing from the wrists and the forearms and instead allowing the sound to begin in the center of my back. … This shift in orientation from playing from the wrists to playing from the whole body [was] not just piano technique but a way of living. It was an orientation to the piano that allowed me to more naturally move with the full weight of fingers along the keys creating both a depth of expression and a lightness of touch at the same time.” Once again, I saw the link of physical intelligence with seemingly different, musical intelligence.

When we talk about learning, it is so often focused on reading or talking or observation or reflection – so much of it focused on our minds and the words that dominate our thinking. Yet, this reminded me that so many of our lessons are learned through and in our bodies. Learning to play Chopin as Chopin wanted means being in touch with our whole body. Learning to do an exercise is not about the description but about knowing the right muscle to engage and which to not. Learning how to facilitate a meeting is about knowing what facial expressions and body postures mean – none of them ever articulated in words at the moment in time.

It set me to thinking about learning intelligence and the potential link to the physical. We all know that practice is essential for the athlete, the musician, the dancer, the painter, the carpenter, or the cook to become masters at what they do. So, what is it that we must practice to be master learners? Which muscles do we engage or disengage? How much of our muscular body is part of the learning we do even when the lesson is purely conceptual? How many of our physical senses are engaged when we are learning? When I talk about riding the current, I am usually talking about how to handle the overload of information that bombards us all the time. While this is essential in today’s world, we must never forget that our bodies are learning all the time. And with practice, we become elegant performers in our normal lives.

I rarely talk about the Practice Principle that underlies what I call Radical Learning. Here was a perfect example of how subtle this principle works in our lives. So, what muscles do you use when you are learning? What practices are essential for you to obtain mastery? I’d love to hear your thoughts here on these apparently silly questions.

Let me first introduce you to Susan Engel. Susan Engel is in the Department of Psychology at Williams College. Her specific area is developmental psychology, and she is also the Director of the Program in Teaching. She is the author of the newly published Red Flags or Red Herrings : Predicting Who Your Child Will Become (Simon and Schuster). During her recent sabbatical in a public school district in Western Massachusetts, she studied the “Independent Project” where eight high school students designed and executed their learning program for themselves. (For more about this program, view the students’ own video here.)

“If you spend a lot of time in a high school, you see a lot of faces that are like stone. The students don’t seem to want to be there. You see a lot of kids who look like they are being dragged through the system. They get this kind of flat, bored look on their face. You know that teenagers are filled with life and enthusiasm, yet they are leaving it at the door when they get to school. How can we do anything with teenagers if they don’t even want to be here? How can they succeed if they want to be somewhere else? And what struck me about this program is that these kids really wanted to be there,” said Engel.

She went on to say, “One mother said, that for the first time, her kid (at 16) said, ‘Hurry up, I need to get there early, we have to talk about such and such.’ There were all these little, but concrete signs that kids suddenly wanted to be at school and that a big piece of it was that they were making their own decisions.”

I had my answer. Teenagers are in that wonderful transition from being children to being adults, and here was a clue that showed it. Like adults, when they made their own decisions, there were energized to execute them – even if it meant learning about mathematics or history or … The first step in Riding the Current is to decide that you have the intention to do so. You make a decision, and the result of the decision is that the energy to follow that intention is guaranteed. There are other steps to follow, but what a treat knowing that once you decide, the remaining work is fully charged and remains so. I call it being fuel-efficient! Just imagine if staff could have a say in choosing what they will learn. I’ll have more to say about this in a later blog.

And speaking of later blogs, there was more from Engel. You’ll find it in a future blog on how she knows when she is really bringing fresh knowledge into her work.

When asked where people learned best, I was often given the answer “when I am in conversation with others”. People learn when they talk with one another. It doesn’t matter if their intention is to learn or if their intention is to have fun or do business or whatever, the conversation itself opens up avenues of ideas, facts, events, stories. Let’s look at why conversation is so powerful as a learning tool.

You can ask for more in conversation.

In conversation, when something is clear, you listen, absorb, and maybe comment. But when it isn’t clear, you have the opportunity to ask for more information. Conversation allows for interaction, more detail, immediate expansion.

You can get the story.

We don’t learn something until we can understand the context of the information. We just don’t! When in conversation, you can tell as much of the story that will allow the listener to understand its context and so be able to relate it to his or her own life. As listener, I can see how what you are talking about relates to my life and situation. How many young students can’t make the connection between being able to understand fractions until they have to find the right sized wrench or halve a recipe. Seeing the context is essential, and the story includes the context .

You discover more open doors.

There are times, of course, when the person you are listening to can’t answer your question. Perhaps they are reporting an event to you, and that is all they know about it. Or, perhaps, they are learning the topic along with you and haven’t yet learned how to express the concepts well enough. Learning doesn’t stop because they can’t answer the question. Just knowing that there is more needed becomes a lesson. Sometimes, I have noticed that when this occurs, the person who has asked the question begins to explain why the question is important. Suddenly, there is new understanding not just about the question but about the topic, too. The question has opened up more possibilities for learning, and those in conversation can decide to explore the possibilities together.

A conversation by definition is a welcoming environment.

Now, there are times when a question can stop learning. It happens when the question is not asked, remaining locked in your mind. Why you are reluctant to ask a question may be unclear, but by not expressing it, the opportunity for learning passes. I talk about the 5:1 Principle of Radical Learning. This principle is all about creating an environment that offers five times the amount of positive feedback than negative. It creates an environment that is welcoming to questions. Without this sense of comfort that a question is part of the learning conversation, a lot of knowledge is lost. Creating a welcoming environment is actually an essential for a real conversation to occur – and thus, for learning to occur, too.

Every person in the conversation is an ‘open book.’

When you are in conversation, you have access to more than one mind. It’s like being able to read more than one book simultaneously. Each person brings his or her own perspective, understanding, knowledge. In a welcoming environment, this all becomes available to the conversation – available to the learning.

My advice

Look for those who create such a learning conversation and join in with an open mind to learning well beyond your expectations. You won’t be disappointed.

I have always felt that the arts should play a major role in people’s lives. Perhaps this idea came from the fact that I studied painting when I was younger and so learned the difference between just looking and really seeing. You can’t paint an object until you have actually seen it. As you truly see it, you are able to not just name the color, you can actually create the color using various pigments on your palette. As you truly see it, you are able to form the shape, the shadow, the highlights as you paint. I see and learn about them in a deeper, more enjoyable way. I know that my early training gave me skills which serve me even today. When I visit a new place today, I often will bring a sketch pad with me and draw things rather than photograph them. Sometimes, I will pretend that I am going to paint the scene and find myself thinking of the pigments that I will use to create the colors I am seeing. As I observe a business situation, I no longer ask how do I create a color that will reflect the situation. Rather, I ask what are the forces going on, what are the underlying structures that hold things together, and many more such questions. To answer these questions, I have to truly see the situation.

So, when my friend sent me Adler’s paper, I was excited. Adler lays out a framework of why the qualities of the arts are not only important in business but also are essential to success in today’s environment. Among the trends she cites, it is the increasing turbulence and complexity of the environment that leads to “Simultaneity and the Collapse of Time.” She goes on to say, “As the business environment more frequently calls upon managers to respond to unpredicted and unpredictable threats and opportunities, the ability to improvise increasingly determines organizations’ effectiveness… In moving from traditional managerial approaches to improvisation, core skills shift from sequential planning-then-doing to simultaneous listening-and-observing-while-doing.”

Listening and observing – this was music to my ears. I realized that this ‘new way’ of planning was one of the principles of Riding the Current, namely that observation (which includes listening) provides essential, fresh knowledge. My use of the analogy of Viola Spolin’s teaching about improvisation was spot on. Not only does this approach bring in fresh knowledge, it also models the kind of approach to fresh management of business challenges. It both informs and transforms actions.

I hope that you have become curious about Nancy Adler and Viola Spolin, but even more so, I hope you will explore how enhancing your own observation practice can help you in more ways than one. If you are interested in a copy of Adler’s paper, check my web site (www.pelerei.com). I’m on vacation, but I will post it as soon as I return!

The article in question is called Tracing the Spark of Creative Problem-Solving. It appeared in the December 6th issue and was written by Benedict Carey. It’s a great read. It begins with our fascination with solving puzzles. “Puzzle-solving is such an ancient, universal practice, scholars say, precisely because it depends on creative insight, on the primitive spark that ignited the first campfires.” As humans, we’ve been solving puzzles for eons in order to stay alive and/or just because we get a kick out of doing so.

As a person who has loved assembling jigsaw puzzles since I was a small child, I recognize that wonderful feeling of delight as the final pieces are put into place. What started as a mess, a chaotic pile of pieces, now is a complete picture. It feels good. Now, some of you may not like that kind of puzzle. Your delight comes from finishing a cross-word puzzle or a Sudoku or a math brain-twister. Whatever your interest, there is that moment of satisfaction when a bit of chaos has been put to order.

The article goes on to say that now, modern neuroscientists are exploring more deeply what is happening in our brains when we do this. Read it if you are interested. My focus here is on the part of the article that talks about how we can prepare ourselves better to think of the unexpected – exactly what is needed to solve puzzles.

It turns out that we are more prepared to solve a puzzle when our brains “show a particular signature of preparatory activity, one that is strongly correlated with positive moods, turn out to be more likely to solve the puzzles with sudden insight than with trial and error.” The article links you to a test which you can take to see that this positive mood actually works. The test is quick and fun. I took it, and it showed exactly that a positive mood prepares you better to solve puzzles.

One of the Principles of Radical Learning is what I call the 5:1 Principle. It says that emphasis on the positive encourages learning. It releases the flow of energy to do what is needed to learn. Now, if you are saying that learning is not the same thing as solving puzzles, I suggest you think again. When we are learning, we are allowing ourselves to be open to new ideas, new facts, new concepts – and to be able to relate these to our own context. This is a form of puzzle, and when achieved, usually leaves the learner with that wonderful feeling of satisfaction. So, if you begin your learning in a positive environment, you’re already ahead of the game just as the 5:1 principle says.

For those reading my blog for the first time, check the October 1 posting for what I mean by Radical Learning. I plan on writing more about this and the other principles that underpin Riding the Currentradical learning, as well as, my book Riding the Current.

As I collected these stories and wrote my book, something happened to me. Just as I promise in the book – that writing is a great way to learn – I began to learn something about learning! I discovered what makes learning totally powerful and effective. I call it Radical Learning.

Radical Leaning is what happens when you have created the right environment for bringing fresh knowledge into your work. Here is the first, brief description of what Radical Learning is all about. In future blogs, I will add to this by including ways in which you can bring this approach into your life. Moreover, I’ll be talking about how leaders can bring this into their organizations! But let’s start with definition.

Radical Learning is four things. It is social, sticky, fuel efficient, and guilt free.

Social is when one person learns, the entire group can learn. It’s about conversation being the great incubator of new ideas, calling forth knowledge we had forgotten because someone asked a question, and allowing clarification of something right on the spot.

Sticky means that when you learn it, it stays with you. Yes, there are secrets to how you learn that helps the lessons stay put!

Fuel efficient is all about finding ways to learn through unexpected means that accomplish more than one thing at a time. It means learning through means that actually add energy to the task rather than taking it away. Wow, how about that for fuel efficiency?

Guilt free learning permits you to stop worrying about what you don’t know, what you don’t understand and encourages you to keep plunging on. Environments and techniques that put you at ease so that learning becomes easier than you thought possible even when you feel confused.

I will be taking time every now and then to expand on each of these characteristics that make up Radical Learning. And I hope you will join in the conversation with questions, comments, agreements, or disagreements. Let’s have a conversation.