instructor Hood's Key Ideas from Hyper-Learning
by Edward D. Hess

You must change and reinvent yourself at an unprecedented pace today, and do so many times in your lifetime. Dispense with the notion that you learn for the first one-third of your life and can forget about learning thereafter. Beware complacency. Continually question what you think you know, and connect with others to gain different perspectives, thoughts and ideas.

“All learning occurs in conversations with yourself (deep reflection) or with others.” (psychology professor Lyle Bourne, Jr.)

When listening, don’t think about how to reply or judge what you hear. Seek only to learn and understand. Pay deep attention. Hyper-learning needs a relaxed ego and a curious mind that remains open to new ideas. Set aside competition and self-promotion to engage in collaboration and experimentation.

“Collective flow reflects a team becoming one – an emotionally integrated group of people devoid of fear and self-centeredness, totally engrossed in the common task.”

Get your mind and body to a positive place that inspires meaningful conversations and learning. Inner peace comes from a quiet mind, body, ego and a positive emotional state; this peace forms the core of hyper-learning. Inner peace allows you to hear opposing ideas, build trust and see opportunity. With effort and practice, you can gain mastery over your mind and body. Prevent your mind from wandering by taking deep breaths and by monitoring your ego and emotions.

“Inner peace comprises four key elements: a quiet ego, a quiet mind, a quiet body and a positive emotional state.”

Listen to your body to recognize whether you feel tight or relaxed, anxious or open. Remain conscious of your body language as it sends positive or negative signals during conversations. Subconsciously and imperfectly, your brain works constantly by recognizing – or inventing – patterns and making predictions to keep you safe. You can change your brain throughout your life.

“Mindfulness meditation is actually inner peace superfood.”

No one can force you to learn. You need to want to adopt a hyper-learning mind-set, love it and pursue learning out of passion. Make learning personally meaningful by adopting a growth mind-set that opens you to learning and frees you from fear of mistakes, being wrong or feeling stupid

“We underestimate the magnitude of our ignorance, and we have been educated to avoid making mistakes, which means we tend not to take risks in exploring what is new or different.”

Put hyper-learning into practice through your behaviors. Think about how you learn. For example, do you learn by asking questions, remaining open, staying humble or keeping focused? Do you prefer quieting the ego, exploring, collaborating, testing assumptions or examining data and evidence?

In your journal, list seven behaviors you find critical to your own learning. Then ponder the sub-behaviors that drive each of your seven behaviors.

“Behavior change requires the utmost self-discipline and daily effort and vigilance.”

Even if you and the people on your team adopt the inner peace mind-set and behaviors necessary for hyper-learning, you all will not achieve optimal learning unless your work environment nurtures it. Unfortunately, most organizations still maintain outdated management practices based on fear and hierarchies. Leaders pretend to know it all, control and micromanage.

“Overbearing, all-knowing, elitist leaders will be severely challenged under the New Way of Working.”

In meetings, smile, say positive things and ask questions about people’s weekends, kids, travels and activities. Consider what makes you care about other people and what they do that makes you feel they care for you. Leverage diversity and ensure your team is at least 50% female, because women prove more proficient at collaboration and collegiality than men.

“High-performance teams have a specific purpose that every team member believes in and is committed to achieving.”

Conversations drive connections and connections bring meaning. Help people build the necessary skills for meaningful conversations. Respect each team member’s uniqueness and perspective. Discourage telling; encourage asking. Meaningful and productive conversations happen in teams whose members ask: What’s missing? What alternatives exist? What data do we need? Which experiments should we run? Who else should we consult? What do you think? How do you feel?