Inhabit a Learning Ecosystem

To stay ahead of the curve in today’s fast-paced and constantly changing business world, you have to invest yourself and your future in an immersive learning experience. Investing in a learning ecosystem is one method of gaining the knowledge you need to succeed in this dynamic, evolving business world.

No one can sit down and study all the business practices and trends of today. These practices and trends are simply changing too fast for anyone to publish a book on them. This is why investing in an immersive learning ecosystem is quickly becoming a popular way to absorb business education as a holistic experience.

Elements of a Learning Ecosystem

In the mid-1990s, three researchers developed the 70:20:10 model of learning. This model has been successfully adapted by business educators to create the learning ecosystem that’s widely accepted to be one of the most thorough educational systems to use in the business world. 

The 70:20:10 model of learning relies on learning in the workplace, as this is where 70 per cent of a business education occurs. People engage in informal educational processes such as observing others in the workplace to see what works and what doesn’t. Discussions between employees also lead to finding the best way forward in solving a problem that arises. Constant communication between co-workers is the most impactful way of receiving a business education as it’s the most immersive and can happen at all hours of the workday. 

On the job training also occurs as managers point out the mistakes that junior employees are making in their daily jobs. This coaching and mentoring by senior employees and managers constitute 20 per cent. Managers have their own jobs to do so they can’t spend as much time with the employees as the employees spend with each other. This accounts for the difference in percentages.

The final 10 per cent of a learning ecosystem consists of formal education in the form of courses, seminars and reading.   

There are practices within this method learning which have proven to be pathways to a greater understanding of the business world of today. 

Self-assessment is a valuable tool with self-aware individuals in which they recognize the knowledge and skills that are still lacking in their job performance. Through this self-assessment, motivated individuals find the resources to furnish them with the necessary knowledge and skills. 

Practicing these new skills in a workplace environment allows them to hone these skills and the knowledge they’ve learned to adapt it to their particular job. Feedback from colleagues and managers also is valuable in helping them mold these new skills towards the desired goal. 

Once they’ve mastered the new skills and knowledge, evaluating and measuring the effectiveness of what they’ve learned helps refine and perfect the educational system so that it becomes more efficient in delivering needed information. 

To truly succeed in the business world, one has to invest in a constant system of business education. The learning ecosystem is one of the most effective and immersive ways of gaining the business knowledge you need to succeed.