Life-long learning is a very general phrase that people quote to make sure everybody knows how important it is to keep an open mind to new ideas and unique experiences that may come your way.  And yes as a more “seasoned” professional in the world-of-work, there is never a day that I don’t recognize some form of special life-long learning moment.  However, for this week’s TRIPLE III TIME message… I want to specialize our thoughts about life-long learning…and discuss a single activity which I refer to as:  “Being a Student of the Times”.

For my entire career I tried Being a (devoted) Student of the Times.  By this I mean I cast both a wide and narrow view of current political, business, human need, economic, social trends and effective leadership with regard to what was happening around me.  I may have not been going to a regular “school”… but taking daily stock of life and progress impactors… helped me organize leadership priorities for myself and those that worked with me everyday… EVERYDAY!

Being a Student of the Times comes with several important guidelines that need to be front and center in your mind to be effective.  First, one must consider and respect the positions and situations of others.  You have heard the statement about the difficulty in “trying to walk in another person’s shoes”?  A high-quality Student of the Times requires one to switch places with others and see everyone’s point-of-view.  Second, don’t expect your friends, colleagues and co-workers to know what you know.  Assuming in this area means you can read their minds and Being a Student of the Times will let you know this position is not correct.

Finally Being a Student of the Times will force you to better acknowledge that the forever growing information-overload phenomenon exists everywhere and thereby makes most critical issues only truly a priority at one point in time.  Plus with the expanding social media presence… it is appropriate to recognize that not everything you hear/read/view online is accurate, truthful and/or deserves your professional attention.

Bottomline:  Being a Student of the Times will better position you… your business… your organization for tomorrow. Study well!!