WHY I DO IT
If there is a race memory, it has passed by most of us. We spend much of our lives re-inventing the wheel. Our parents tried to save us but they didn't make much sense at the time. However, we know we need to fit in, so when we get to work, we head for the water-cooler...
... you would learn without effort or exposure. An oasis of sharing, just by listening you could take the temperature of your organisation. Learn the way 'we' do things. Ask vulnerable questions in a non-judgemental way and hear snippets of life, adding to your understanding.
This programme is designed to fill in a few of the universal gaps. To give you the insights to ask great questions in your peer group and keep your credibility; to learn some of the basics without risk. If you haven't got a water cooler - you have now.
I read a lot. I mean a lot, on diverse subjects, riding deep wells of curiosity and on too many occasions I have to work really hard to understand the point. The amount of knowledge you need to get stuff done is quite small but sifting the good from the bad takes experience.
When I wrote the first chapter of my fantasy series, I asked my daughter to read it. She liked it. I was thrilled. She then asked if I could make it easier for her to read. It is important to listen to your audience and learn to talk in their voice.
Not as patronising as it sounds. Understanding what an adult is escapes most people old enough to know better. I hear folk sounding like their grandparents, blaming Gen Z for not doing things the old way, because 'the old ways are better'. It's never been true.
We have to respect the future as deeply as we respect the past. By the time you get to forty you are, culturally, four generations away from those joining you and at least two steps by way of technology. Let go. 'Light hands on the reins' as my aunt used to say.