In every environment, in every company, in every department, in every office, in every classroom, on every team, there are inequities.  Men and women come in all sizes, all levels of acumen, all degrees of competency and talent. In management, many times, not of your choosing, you get a diversity of high achievers, good performers, weak contributors, and those that do not contribute a dime to the performance of the team.  I call them the deadbeats!

College students are there to learn, to prepare for a life of success in a leadership role with an organization of their instigation or rather, maybe one of their choosing, and that may happen a few times.  In my undergraduate classes, especially when they are mostly seniors, and certainly in my graduate classes at Monmouth University, I congratulate them for the progress they have made so far in their collegiate work and no matter the future, each and every one of them has earned the right to be called highly competent individual…..…as long as they nourish the learning process. But I explain, that’s only the start of a successful career, do they have the talent and dedication to learning, all the time, to move on…

Learners possess certain attributes that distinguish them from the Learned. They anticipate rather than react to change.  Some call that vision. They become essential facilitators of change within their altered environment. They can skillfully communicate the new and technically esoteric with a clarity that leads to understanding and advocacy. Organizations that don’t value learning and the change that springs from learning will struggle to stay relevant in this fast-paced ever-changing marketplace.

The world is changing rapidly.   

For the timid, change is frightening; for the comfortable, change is threatening;                            

for the confident, change is opportunity…….and confidence comes from competency.       

Nido Qubein, President of High Point University

 There’s that word competency again. That’s why most individuals even go to college, to develop their competency. Learners are just highly competent individuals that influence change in an organization and, in turn, as leaders, allow others to adapt to that change.  As an Educator, my ambition here is to express my view that education, the learning process, is not a one-time event but rather, something you do right all the time.  Sounds a lot like Vince Lombardi when he talked about doing things right, not once in a while but all the time……remember that? I believe learning is something you do all the time!

 Launch of LearnersLive.com in 2025

I have a passion for teaching, for learning……been doing it most of my life and for the past 20+ years at Monmouth University. Want to continue doing it as long as God allows.

Here’s the plan:

• LearnersLive Objective: to learn something you do not know; to confirm / change what you already know!
• To post something for you to learn, every single day…a continuing learning experience.
• Focus will be on topics of learning…..I have a dozen courses we can add to the curriculum right away…..all virtual……from 5 minute to 30 minute sessions.
• Marketing & management sessions I teach at Monmouth University….
• Will invite other educators………already talked to Jim Benya, Deb Burnett, Mark Rea, Chris Brown, Bernie Erickson, others ………
• Interviews with industry leaders…
• Also access to industry training websites and videos
• DISC assessments

 Will keep some of EnergyWatch……..2025 will be a celebration for your humble correspondent: 60 years in the lighting business.  Whoooooah! Will continue to post on LearnersLive.com:

• The monthly blog on a variety of subjects
• The monthly newsletter recap
• Industry news and new product information but only if you learn something
• Published articles that focus on teaching something, not just about lighting…
• Industry research………including other training courses offered by the industry

 What do you think?  Need your help with any suggestions you may have to make this effort meaningful as an ongoing contributor to your personal learning activities.