What is Real Learning?
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 24, 2015
How to learn socially, experientially, and informally. Learn how to learn. Real Learning in Pictures (illustrations from the book).
Jay Cross
Market Day at Sineu, Mallorca
Jay Cross
SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
“Markets are relationships.” Doc Searles.
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Airline madness
Jay Cross
SEPTEMBER 13, 2015
I’m writing this from the first class cabin on a United flight from Houston to Munich. We have been plied with champagne, prosciutto, steak, cheese, (had to pass on the salad and ice cream sundae courses), free-flowing wine, and cognac. I’m sitting in a comfortable wide seat that converts into a bed. You’d think I’d be a happy camper. I’m not. I don’t like to deal with companies that employ bait-and-switch tactics to fool their customers.
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The Cluetrain Manifesto in action
Jay Cross
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
Sixteen years ago, The Cluetrain Manifesto foretold the impact the Internet would have on companies’ relationships with their clients. Some companies have yet to get the clue. Excepts from the 95 Theses: Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors. Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.
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Jane Hart’s Top 100 Learning Tools
Jay Cross
AUGUST 27, 2015
It’s time once again to contribute to Jane Hart’s annual survey of tools for learning. I was the first person to take part in this project some nine years ago and now it’s an annual ritual. It’s enlightening to review what’s best in the toolbox. My top tools for learning are: Experience. Extracting the lessons of simply living my life.
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Benchmarking Online Learning
Jay Cross
AUGUST 25, 2015
Fascinating data. WHAT KEEPS WORKERS FROM LEARNING ONLINE? 63% lack of time for self-study. 40% can’t find what they need. 41% find current online learning not relevant to their need. 28% lack of somewhere appropriate to study. 26% find learning content uninspiring. 25% technology issues such as low bandwidth. 22% learning objectives are not clear.
Photographic memories
Jay Cross
AUGUST 23, 2015
A delightful nostalgic post by Paul Simbeck-Hampson this morning led me on a search of my Flickr photos. When was it that Paul, Harold, and I spent a zany day shooting video in Berlin? I couldn’t find it. (I have 32,000 photos, most of them not tagged, on Flickr; finding anything is a b h.) So I queried Google with “berlin jay cross” and came up with this fascinating page.
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36 Gazing at Nature Improves Performance
Jay Cross
AUGUST 21, 2015
HBR, September 2015. Gazing at Nature Makes You More Productive. The research: University of Melbourne researchers Kate Lee, Kathryn Williams, Leisa Sargent, Nicholas Williams, and Katherine Johnson gave 150 subjects a menial task that involved hitting specific keystrokes when certain numbers flashed on a computer screen. After five minutes the subjects were given a 40-second break, and an image of a rooftop surrounded by tall buildings appeared on their screens.
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15 essentials for successful learning
Jay Cross
AUGUST 22, 2015
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance. While cleaning up my office this afternoon, I came up this list of essentials for effective informal learning I wrote a couple of years ago for the ASTD Handbook. I don’t know if I’m in a rut or simply unwavering in my beliefs, but I was surprised to find that every one of these appears in nearly the same language in my new book.
Meta-Learning, 2001
Jay Cross
AUGUST 23, 2015
2001. Everyone has the capacity to learn but most people can do a much better job of it. Learning is a skill one can improve. Learning how to learn is a key to its mastery. Learning is the primary determinant of personal and professional success in our ever-changing knowledge age. People and organizations that strive to succeed had better get good at it.
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36 Meta-Learning
Jay Cross
AUGUST 20, 2015
Clark Quinn mentioned The Meta-Learning Lab during #lrnchat today and it brought back a rush of memories. 14 years ago, Clark and I, along with Claudia Welss and Claudia L’Amoreaux, founded the Meta-Learning Lab. We were ahead of our time. Our foundation beliefs were that… Everyone has the capacity to learn but most people can do a much better job of it.
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New Book from Jay. Almost.
Jay Cross
MAY 5, 2015
The draft of my new book, Aha!, 21 Ways to Work Smarter and Become Who You Are , is on sale for $12. I don’t write books the way I used to. I have Lean Fever. Now I write the best I can rapidly and make it available for pioneering readers who provide feedback. Given enough iterations, this will be one fantastic book. I slipstream new content into the book continuously.
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36 Jay Changes Direction
Jay Cross
MAY 2, 2015
My book Aha! Learn for Yourself challenges readers to consider where they’ve been in their careers and where they’re headed. I feel obligated to practice what I preach. My career in the learning business is at a turning point. My history by type of learning is below. I have one foot in retirement now; I’ve been at this for nearly fifty years!
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36 FamilarLand
Jay Cross
APRIL 30, 2015
My professional interest is shifting to helping knowledge workers learn and flourish without training. There are millions of harried people out there who don’t appreciate that learning is a skill that you can get better at. It’s the underground passageway to success. I’d rather work with them directly. Thinking about learning from the learner’s point of view is different from looking on it as a learning executive or instructional designer.
Why Content Curation Should be in Your Skillset
Jay Cross
APRIL 29, 2015
Curation can boost your profit and help your people grow. It can save millions, reduce frustration, and boost the velocity of information in your organization. It starts in a gallery. You expect the curator of an art gallery to know the collection and to: search out the best items. select for the collection. authenticate and preserve items. add interpretation, descriptions, and meaning. publicize viewings.
Cheap books on learning worth the price
Jay Cross
APRIL 20, 2015
'Today I paid my $9.99 and started devouring free books on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. I spend on average of $40 a month on hardcopy books, so this seems like a steal. Since I’m in the midst of writing a book on solo/DIY learning, I thought I might learn something from these freebies: 45 Elearning Tips and Tricks , by John Araiza. This is an instructional designer’s record of twelve years’ experience.
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Informal Learning in Belarus
Jay Cross
APRIL 7, 2015
'Belarus has gotten the word about informal learning. If they can do it, you can do it! ?? ?????? ???? ??????, ?????? 10–15 % ????????????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????????? ??????????, ? ????????? 85 % — ?? ????????????. ?????? ?? ??? ??? ????????????? ???????? ? ????????? ????????? ????? ???? ????????. ? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ????????????, ??? ?????????
Ukelele break
Jay Cross
APRIL 4, 2015
'Sorry, off the point, but I just love this. Ukulele Anthem by Amanda Palmer.
36 Where I’m coming from
Jay Cross
APRIL 4, 2015
'These are my core beliefs about how to get along in the world. I wrote this post fourteen years ago and rediscovered it this morning. I’m amazed at the consistency of what I believe. I still hold to these, although now they’d be supplemented with newfound knowledge about complexity, mindfulness, informal learning, community, social media, and other topics.
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Informal Learning on Google Books FREE
Jay Cross
MARCH 27, 2015
'Informal Learning is available via Google Books. Read a couple of chapters for free.
Flip your meetings
Jay Cross
MARCH 21, 2015
'American business people attend 11,000,000 business meetings every day and half of it’s a waste of time. Knowledge workers spend three hours a day in meetings. Senior executives spend more. Four out of five of us have brought other work to do during a meeting. One in ten of us admits to daydreaming. Four in ten have fallen asleep. What a waste. Bringing people together face-to-face is a catalyst for innovation, collegiality, and rewarding conversations.
Wisdom 2.0: Mindfulness and business
Jay Cross
MARCH 1, 2015
'Wisdom 2.0 Conference , San Francisco, February 27 – March 1. Billed as “the intersection of wisdom and technology,” the Wisdom 2.0 conference drew 2,500 people who spent $625 for two and a half days of secular Buddhism. I am interested in the interaction of mindfulness and business. Mindfulness – the opposite of mindlessness – is a natural component of Working Smarter. .
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36 Find out what’s going on beyond your borders
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 17, 2014
'If you want to learn what’s going on in learning and development worldwide, join me in Berlin this December for Online Educa. You’ll connect with colleagues from a hundred countries! This is the 20th anniversary of this forum of thought leaders in business, education, and government. Is it worth it? I certainly think so. This will be my tenth Educa.
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41 Goldy Oldy, the Ladder of Inference.
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 17, 2014
'#ITASHARE #JAYCROSS.
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Tyramine Diet
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 17, 2014
'Ah, the joys of modern medicine. I’ve begun taking a drug that requires me to restrict my diet severely. I’m not allowed to eat aged cheese, sausage, draft beer, sourdough bread, or anything else that contains significant amounts of tyramine , an amino acid that helps regulate blood pressure. Eating the forbidden fruit can cause severe headache, nausea, stiff neck, vomiting, a fast or slow heartbeat, tight chest pain, a lot of sweating, confusion, dilated pupils, and sensitivity to
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February 2014: Creation Spaces
Jay Cross
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
'John Hagel tells us that “ Answers can be helpful but they only have a fixed value. And answers, no matter how good they are, tend to become obsolete at an accelerating rate. As conditions evolve, those answers that only a little while ago seemed so compelling and helpful now begin to seem stale and worn.” Instead of answers, “ … questions do something else that’s absolutely vital for influence – they rapidly build trust with the person posing the questions.
Want Results? Champion the Informal
Jay Cross
JANUARY 26, 2014
'First published in Chief Learning Officer magazine, February 2013. Formal gets all the money, but today more learning happens outside the classroom. Learning is more important than ever. We have an information explosion. The world is becoming more complex. We have to learn more just to keep living our lives. That doesn’t mean we need training departments — and that’s where the budgets are cut.
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A New Center Of Gravity For Management?
Jay Cross
NOVEMBER 22, 2013
'See on Scoop.it – Humanist Business. The Global Peter Drucker Forum 2013 suggested a new a center of gravity for management in the world, as thought leaders explored the implications of complexity. Jay Cross ‘s insight: Steve writes that "The most important thing that would have struck Peter Drucker is the shared passion for the importance of management.
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Online Educa Berlin
Jay Cross
NOVEMBER 20, 2013
'In two weeks I’ll be attending my favorite learning event, ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2013 , the 19th International Conference on Technology-Supported Learning and Training. This will be my tenth or eleventh year attending OEB. Joining colleagues from over a hundred countries and hanging out at Christmas markets has become a habit. Big data and analytics top this year’s agenda.
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51 Hard numbers on soft skills
Jay Cross
NOVEMBER 20, 2013
'Google is all about the numbers. Questioning the value of management, the Googlers founded Project Oxygen to investigate the characteristics of successful and less successful managers. Employee surveys and performance reviews pinpointed eight key behaviors of the company’s most effective managers. A good manager: 1. Is a good coach. 2. Empowers the team and does not micromanage (See the sidebar “How Google Defines One Key Behavior”). 3.
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43 Here’s A Google Perk Any Company Can Imitate: Employee-To-Employee Learning
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 28, 2013
'See on Scoop.it – Informal & Experiential Learning. Google taps its own ranks to teach valuable career-building classes as well as extracurriculars like kickboxing and social skills for engineers. Fast… Jay Cross ‘s insight: "In 2013, about 2,000 Googlers have so far volunteered to teach classes through the program, and together they will teach about 55% of the company’s official classes." See on www.fastcompany.com.
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Internet Time Lines
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 22, 2013
'If you’re not into model trains, you might want to skip this.
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38 Important Stuff
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 18, 2013
'See on Scoop.it – Jay Cross. Consider these pages a museum of things that have inspired my thinking since the ‘net lit up. My interests embrace business strategy, networks, innovation, and learning. Here you will find inspira… Jay Cross ‘s insight: Important Stuff Consider these pages a museum of things that have inspired my thinking since the ‘net lit up.
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Time Reborn
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 14, 2013
'Time Reborn by Lee Smolin. After reading The Quotable Einstein , I would blithely say that “Time is an illusion although it’s an annoyingly persistent one.” Lee Smolin has convinced me otherwise. Time is very real. Everything exists in time. Things that are timeless do not exist. Everything happens in its moment(s). Virtues, values, and other things exist only in the context of time.
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Lee Smolin
Jay Cross
OCTOBER 8, 2013
'See on Scoop.it – Jay Cross. Jay Cross ‘s insight: Time is the universal constant. I’m reading Smolin’s Time Reborn. It’s wonderful. Click around this site and change your thinking. See on leesmolin.com.
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38 Old schooled: You never stop learning like a child
Jay Cross
AUGUST 7, 2013
'See on Scoop.it – Informal & Experiential Learning. The adult brain is far more malleable that we thought, and so learning can be child’s play if you know how. Some 36-year-olds choose to collect vintage wine, vinyl records or sports memorabilia. For… Jay Cross ‘s insight: This just in: Old dogs can learn new tricks. See on neurosciencestuff.tumblr.com.
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The Masterclass on Informal Learning
Jay Cross
AUGUST 2, 2013
'Your organization has decided to tilt in the direction of informal learning. Colleagues tell you that it can be faster, better, and cheaper than traditional approaches. You need to satisfy increasing demands with reduced staff and budget. You’re concerned that your current offerings will not satisfy the new generation of workers. So now what do you do?
Drunk Tank Pink
Jay Cross
AUGUST 2, 2013
'CLO magazine. In the late 1970s, scientists discovered that certain shades of pink calmed people who were agitated or angry. Walking into a pink room sapped the energy of difficult prisoners. Police painted holding cells pink. Some football coaches repainted visiting team dressing rooms pink. CLOs, whatever you do, don’t paint your classrooms pink!
I wouldn’t call it informal learning
Jay Cross
JULY 8, 2013
'If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t call it Informal Learning. Synonyms for informal include breezy, colloquial, down home, folksy, improv, intimate, laidback, loose, low-pressure, natural, off-the-cuff, relaxed, spontaneous, sporty, throwaway, unceremonious, unconventional, unfussy, unofficial, unrestrained, urbane, without ceremony. With the exception of unofficial , these aren’t what I meant.
Card tricks
Jay Cross
JULY 1, 2013
'I’m jettisoning six years of business cards. So many people I met once and never saw again. Back in the push era, I scanned cards and maintained a mailing list. Now that I’m into pull, I figure people will find me if they need me. No reason to bug them with spam. Thumbing through the cards reminded me of the many cool people I’ve been privileged to learn from.
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38 Enterprise Learners v Entrepreneurial Learners
Jay Cross
JUNE 17, 2013
'See on Scoop.it – Informal & Experiential Learning. A few days ago I made a posting in which I shared an animated video of a keynote presentation by John Seely Brown in which he talked about the concept of the entrepreneurial learner… Jay Cross ‘s insight: Today I’m pondering the future of learning from the learner’s perspective.
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Amanda Palmer: The art of asking | Video on TED.com
Jay Cross
JUNE 14, 2013
'See on Scoop.it – Humanist Business. Don’t make people pay for music, says Amanda Palmer: Let them. In a passionate talk that begins in her days as a street performer (drop a dollar in the hat for the Eight-Foot Bride!), she examines the new relationship between artist and fan. Jay Cross ‘s insight: Relationship with customers. Just ask.
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Informal learning masterclass video
Jay Cross
JUNE 12, 2013
'Two weeks ago, I led a half-day masterclass on informal learning and 70:20:10 for staff and customers of the Dutch high-tech consultancy Ordina. This video highlights some of the main points. The masterclass was half a day; the video’s three minutes (plus another minute in Dutch). . “I do things I don’t know how to do in order to learn how to do them.
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