From Know-it-All to Learn-it-All
Back to school rituals remind us of the enduring benefits of nurturing selfless curiosity and becoming a lifelong learner
In the second half of summer, soaring temperatures and family vacations begin to give way to back-to-school sales, and young people start to see the end of summer break on the horizon. For kids, it’s understandable to view the first day of school as a turning point: a bright line between summer freedom and the academic rigor of fall.
But the reality is that true learning never stops. A lifelong love of learning is something that continues outside the classroom and never goes away. One of my favorite quotes comes from Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, who transformed the culture at his company to embrace lifelong learning. After diving into the book Mindset by Carol Dweck, Nadalla was moved to shift his company from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. He conveys the need for a continued process of renewal and champions the idea if you take two people, one of them a learn-it-all and the other one a know-it-all, the learn-it-all will always trump the know-it-all in the long run, even if they start with less innate capability.
Back-to-school event fun.
We’ve all met plenty of both types of people. And it’s been my experience, learn-it-alls are not only more fun to be around, but they also enjoy greater personal fulfillment and professional success. A learn-it-all looks at everything they see around them and everything that happens in their life as an opportunity to learn. There is always a lesson you can take away from an experience, if you have the patience and perspective to see it.
It’s not hard to recognize why that approach is so valuable in the world of commercial real estate. This is and always has been a people-oriented business. And learning about people—what they want, what they need, and why they make the choices they do—will make you better at your job. Remember those days as a student when you learned something new in school and had that “aha” moment when you first understood how something works? That “aha” is what we should always be striving for and working towards. We need to embrace the idea that every person you meet has a story that matters—and if you understand it, you will be better able to fulfill their needs.
Life long learning partners, John Hickman and Sandy Sigal.
I’m reminded of the power of curiosity and fresh perspectives when I see how much my granddaughter enjoys looking at plants and wondering how and why they grow. The idea that life and resilience are all around us is something that fills her with wonder. The things that catch her eye and fire her imagination are so different from what I spend time worrying about—and that’s a good thing!
Sandy Sigal’s granddaughter, always wondrously curious and learning.
- Ask your children and grandchildren. Ask them what they see, ask them what they think—and be open to considering things from their perspective.
- Ask your parents the same questions.
- Talk to people who are different from you and be receptive to their thoughts, as well.
Exploring art at a Back-to-School event.