Leading the Learning Revolution

“Knowledge Economy”

Change is the one reliable constant in today’s knowledge economy. The nature of work is in a perpetual state of rapid transformation. Working people must keep acquiring both new information and expertise continually to stay competitive and employable. This is as true for creative leaders whose work demands solid critical thinking as it is for all of their employees.

Contemporary industry will bypass those who fall out of date, but perpetual self-improvement requires a high degree of self-discipline and self-directedness. All workers must assume personal responsibility for enhancing their skills and developing their education. As everyone acknowledges and adjusts to the knowledge economy, it is mutating into a “learning economy.”

Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can connect with and instruct people across the globe. Advances in technology – such as “low-cost, reliable web conferencing technologies” – make it feasible and relatively inexpensive to provide for-profit adult learning outside of a classroom. Corporate training departments now commonly offer e-learning. More than 70% of professional and trade associations now also...