Comments on: Lifelong Learning

By: Katharine Giacalone

Katharine Giacalone — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:00:53 +0000

Kudos to you about keeping up with professional development opportunities – as an independent consultant – it’s the hardest thing to come to terms with “spending” money to keep up with the times v. making money to live the life you want – but it’s so important to do both! Have fun in New Orleans!

By: Joe Lavelle

Joe Lavelle — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:07:02 +0000

Great post and I could not agree more that Lifelong Learning is vitally important. In fact, I blogged about it last week: http://actasifblog.com/?p=242

I hope that you learn a ton and enjoy NOLA. If you have time, take a trek off the tourist path to The Galley on Metairie Road for dinner one night. It is a kind of a dive, but with great seafood of all kinds and you can’t beat the price.

Best wishes and always Act As If It Were Impossible to Fail!

By: Bonita Martin

Bonita Martin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:26:17 +0000

Great post and reminder that ALL employees are in charge of their own development, which comes in many forms and at varying costs, including no cost! If you can’t find a low or no cost development opportunity in your area, organize it. There is no excuse for ignoring your own development.

We Are All Self Employed is a great book on this topic.

By: Ann Bares

Ann Bares — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:31:39 +0000

Very topical and timely post. I think it is interesting, for those of us who are “self-employed” and/or running our own businesses, to look at how we invest in our professional development versus what happened when we were someone else’s employees. I put a high priority on keeping my skills sharp and staying abreast of what’s happening in my field – and in business overall. Certainly I have to watch my dollars and my time (for consultants, an hour invested in development is one less hour billed…), but there are so many creative and inexpensive options out there – from blogs and webinars to following select experts on Twitter.

I agree with everyone else here that – regardless of our employment situation – we all must take charge of and be responsible for our own professional development!

By: tlcolson

tlcolson — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:33:37 +0000

I started in HR with executives handing me problems and saying “fix it” – I didn’t know, I had to learn, nothing less was expected. That philosophy has continued throughout my career, as my HR world has expanded to safety and environmental expertise.
If I don’t know it, I find a way to get the answers. Classes, mentors, other experts… sometimes asking a lot of seemingly irrelevant questions.

One must always take their life and career as a personal responsibility. No one will do it for me.

I can send you to class, but I can’t make you learn.

By: adowling

adowling — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:57:47 +0000

Starting my HR career in a small pseudo non-profit (credit union) company I quickly learned if I wanted to grow I had to be the captain of that ship. I’ve seen many people that feel it’s their employers’ responsibility to pay for their development and if the company won’t, they don’t learn; their careers are stagnant.
I use blogs, my local chapter, networking on Twitter, HR Magazine (when I get one), podcasts……the list goes on and on. What ever I do, I’m in the captain of my own career. If you are going to succeed you have to take responsibility for your development and not rely on someone else to do it for you.

By: Wally Bock

Wally Bock — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:53:27 +0000

Good points, all. No matter what your employer, your mother, or your Alma Mater do, your personal development is up to you. After all, it’s your life and your career. Who else would you want in charge?