Learning and Crises

Learning is as natural as breathing. It is a human survival trait. It is not possible that one does not learn in life. The little unit on top of our neck called the head, is on auto record mode and needless to say loves to playback very efficiently. Having said this, like any other human trait, one needs to acquire how to make it effective. We were not taught how to breathe but acquired how to do it right; deep breathing, shallow breathing, and so on. This is what learning does. 

I was recently invited to the opening of a 6 Days Digital Conference on ‘Learning in Crises’ as their opening Keynote speaker. Working as a consultant, it has become second nature to put things into quadrants and attempt to generate insights of things. So here is what I shared.

Quadrant 1: Low Learning + Low Crises

This is the very first and most common form of learning. These are experiences of life. Everything that has ever happened to us, maybe even before the process of birth, is recorded and it becomes part of our subconscious learning. 

This also includes casual learning we go through by observations. There is no effort as such but our mind does not stop recording, this is what is known as auto-mechanism. It specializes in playing and chronicling. Interestingly, even most of our subconscious biases are created here.

For example, if you have, and I am certain that you have, visited a doctor’s clinic. You must have seen some outdated, historic medical journals on the table to ‘entertain’ patients and the people who are there with them. My guess is almost all of us have reviewed them. There is no crises nor do those magazines provide a direct solution. However, the process of learning is taking place. If nothing else, you may enjoy a tagline to a medicine or discover the impact on the spinal cord if we do not sit and stand appropriately. Note there was no effort as such nor burden on the mind but learning just happened. 

Think of this quadrant as a farm where seeding is done; the seeding of knowledge where the future of fruits is unknown and subject to variables.

Quadrant 2: High Learning and Low Crises

What does 4a² – 5ab + 3 remind you of? Where did you just journey back to? Mathematics, which may possibly be a crises for most, but I am sure it took you back to your schools days. 

Formal education is probably a useful reference where learning was in the form of formal education and conscious but perhaps not so much of a crises; unless you dreaded studies and it was a day before your examinations.

Although we started off above with an example of a school, it does not end at the exit from your educational institute. It continues into your professional life in the form of training programs and workshops you attend. These are also examples of formal education, irrespective of certifications. This is where you would sit through a process, making a conscious effort to understand , simulate practice and acquire learning to eventually help at whatever task you do; both in and outside crises.

For simplicity and to widen the canvas, let us look at trainings on soft skills (Sorry Tom Peters; I agree these are hard skills) subjects like Communication, Resilience, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Time Management and the list goes on. Many people go through, I mean sit through, these experiences that are probably engaging, inspiring and encouraging. Yet when people return to work, there is hardly any crisis to put into practice. The general mindset after such a learning excursion is: “let’s get to work”.

Think of this quadrant as a museum where knowledge is collected; to be discovered somewhere down the line. It is valued but not actualized

Quadrant 3: Low Learning + High Crisis

Tragic! To get a sense of this feeling I would invite you to think of a time when you were stuck & felt lost; had this desire to be on top of things while constantly being pulled down into the figurative quicksand. A state, where there is a desire to live but in its truest sense awaiting 'death'. That state of inner calling where the voice is silenced by fear of attempting anything new or worth trying. Thus … TRAGIC!

At this point there is a conscious effort to sustain the status quo and not do anything but hoping for things to pass-by. You could either be in apathy, depression or simply in a state of fear; all forms of emotions that hamper progress. Learning seems meaningless while the crisis is too overpowering.

Think of this quadrant as a haunted house where the only thing one has to do is to survive through the night. A grave situation where things are dark, hopeless and learning no longer seems to be making any difference.

‘Wanting life but awaiting death...’

Quadrant 4: High Learning and High Crises

Crises comes from a Latinized Greek word, ‘krisis, that means a turning point from a disease. To be more specific this judgment point could be as severe as recovery from death. 

It is at this point when you can give learning to the crises. It is time to implement.

So basically this is where we put learning into practice to recover from the crises. It is perhaps the best form of learning where you learn quickly and apply it even more quickly. For example, many people have been hit by the dire need to learn various on-line meeting platforms to perform in the ‘COVID-19’ era. You learn not because it is a by-the-way thing or because it is good to learn and neither do you wait and shut shop till COVID-19 vaccines arrive. You learn to move forward, to ensure you come out of crises or minimise the crises.

Think of this as a playing field. A field where seeds from the farm are expected to give fruits, where treasures from the museum are auctioned for value and that crack with sun rays shining through the windows of a haunted house. 

This is where exists the decision point of life… to put into practice, generate value and keep learning to basically recover from external challenges. Welcome to the 'wedding of Learning & Crises

 by Farhad Karamally

Organizational Consultant specialising in developing human technology to enhance individual and organisational performance. Works through Funverks Global, a consulting, leadership development & strategy facilitation firm with offices in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and UAE.