It is a pleasure to introduce myself and share with those of you interested my thoughts on the importance of learning regardless of age, gender or prior education. To me, continuous learning has not only been a source of opportunities and growth but of personal satisfaction.

Today’s globalized world requires professionals to continuously adapt their skills to meet the demands of an ever-changing working world. It no longer matters the rung you find yourself on in the corporate ladder; C-suite, managers, and young professionals all find themselves constantly needing to keep their skills fresh and up-to-date, or in some cases, needing to pivot into new sectors for growth.

As I recently wrote for the IE Corporate Relations Insights blog: “…organizations are shifting away from business models dominated by the control of assets and towards new models based on the ability to monitor and influence ecosystems. As new roles and situations sprout up, people must understand the context so they can adapt through lifelong learning.”

That is why the IE Exponential Learning blog is a blog of continuous learning, where will we explore topics related to approaches to use learning as your tool for both personal and professional growth.  

What does lifelong learning mean?

Lifelong learning is first and foremost an attitude of curiosity and desire to understand or do new things.  It is about overcoming the fear and discomfort of not knowing and approaching it one step at a time.  It is about the belief that with the right guidance and methodologies and with enough effort we can all learn.

Professionally, it is about taking what you already use in the workplace and taking the opportunity to improve on it. For example, if you’re a marketing professional, you would want to take the chance to get certified in Salesforce or Google AdWords to be able to understand your company’s CRM or run effective paid media campaigns without going over budget.

In the case of IE Exponential Learning, we believe that it starts with the learning mindset. It may seem elementary, but this mentality is critical for adult learners.  At the end of the day, “[t]he only substantial competitive and effective advantage over one’s competitors is the ability to learn faster than they do.” Our capacity to adapt is fundamental for our ability to learn, and today, it is our modus operandi. The abundance of information available all around us puts this into perspective-even if you want to find out when someone was born on Wikipedia or the cast of a movie on IMDB, this is a manifestation of lifelong learning.

How does one foster lifelong learning?

Adaptability and self-motivation are essential to developing a learning mindset. Start by picking what you would like to learn, get curious, explore what sources can help you get started, pick one and develop a plan.  Share it with folks and celebrate progress.  Use this blog to look for inspiration and resources.  At IE Exponential Learning we look to create experiences and content to enable your growth but we also understand that learning happens everywhere; we will do our best to provide the stepping stones in your journey.

I invite you to subscribe and receive updates, share with your coworkers and friends, and of course, to continue fostering your acquisition of knowledge and adaptability.

Teresa Martín-Retortillo

Executive President of IE Exponential Learning