Learning by Conversation and Doing

I had some on-the-job learning last weekend.

I had to install shades in our kitchen. So, a couple of weeks back, I went to our local hardware store to find out what I can buy and how I can install. I had little idea about shades and had postponed this task for years. Couple of visits to HomeDepot earlier had not helped in any way to get the job done.

When I spoke to the designer at the local hardware store, sensing that I was clueless, she taught me how to measure a window. I learned that it not enough to get one measurement. It is necessary to measure the top, the middle, and the bottom of the window because no window is perfect and your measurements need to be accurate to the 1/8th of an inch. This lesson was learnt through a simple conversation.

She also told me how manufacturers cut the window shades and how much clearance they provide based on your dimensions. I learned the fact that you need to provide actual dimensions of your window and manufacturers will make the necessary reduction in width to fit the window. HunterDouglas, from whom I bought the shades, provides 1/8th of an inch clearance based on the dimensions you provide.

Since I had to do the job myself, I paid attention and listened carefully to what she said. Since she was an expert with years of experience, she spoke in simple sentences with no jargon. Our conversations lasted only a few minutes.

The shades arrived last week and I installed them. My knowledge of shades and confidence in installing them went up tremendously. It got me thinking. Why don't we do more learning by conversation with experts at work. Why don't we have more learning by doing something. Is that not the most efficient way to learn? Why do we place so much emphasis on hour long online learning programs where someone, who has no clue about the subject matter, bores you to death with hundreds of slides.

Image above is from the HunterDouglas web site. The product I bought  is Brilliance Pleated Shades.

Conversations Can Simplify, Even Eliminate Processes

When a loan officer in a big city bank wants to give you a loan, the officer follows an elaborate process to collect a lot of background information, does a significant amount of background check and uses sophisticated technology to evaluate your credit-worthiness. The decision making process lasts for days or weeks.


On the other hand, the loan officer in a small town bank will simply call someone in his or her network and verify your credentials in a matter of minutes and give you a decision within hours, not days or weeks.

The loan officer in a small town bank is able to avoid a long drawn process because he or she has a reliable network in place that can verify the reputation of a person, in a matter of minutes. In such communities, a person's reputation is transparent. So, when a good people network is in place, a simple conversation may be more reliable that a long drawn process.

This is the core belief of the product designers of Career OnDemand. Today we have technology in place that can surface a people network based on existing relationships within a company. Such transparency in relationships can help people have quick conversations with the right person to verify the reputation of a manager, verify the expertise of a professional or verify the reliability of an employee.

This technology is going to change the way organizations conduct their business. We plan to cater to this change, and hope to nudge organizations towards such simplicity and transparency, by putting conversation at the core of every business process.

Image Credit : Ann Althouse