Map Layouts - Horizontal vs. Circular

I posted two maps in the Insight Maps section of the website (see also below).  They are identical in content but the layout/presentation of the information is very different: one has a more traditional horizontal layout and one has a circular layout.

I don't have a strong preference and the layout I pick often depends on the content.  Some content lands itself to a circular layout and others don't.  The maps I posted depict what could be considered an iterative, circular process, and therefore the circular layout made sense.  However, for the sake of presenting new information to people, I would opt for a more traditional layout unless the target audience is already very familiar with my mapping approach. 

When facing such a map for the first time, people will often ask, "How do I read this?" or "Where do I start?" because they are so used to reading from top to bottom and left to right.  A traditional horizontal layout allows them to do that to some extent even if the content doesn't look like a traditional piece of paper with lines of text.  Therefore, the traditional layout is more approachable, I believe and quite useful for audiences not accustomed to these maps.    People get most confused when I have what looks like a horizontal layout, yet one or more arrows point up instead of down.  They immediately assume it's a mistake. 

Click on the image to view the full map.

Learning Plan for September 2017

September is just around the corner.  From a biking perspective, I can anticipate a few long bike rides in the cooler mornings.  From a learning perspective, it will be all about systems thinking, complex systems and visualization, combined with my ongoing interest in building bridges between individual learning, team learning and organizational learning.  This interest is based on the observation that individual learning is typically the purview of the Learning and Development (L&D) department within HR, while organizational learning may be in a completely different part of the organization, including under IT if it is perceived as part of a IT-based approach to knowledge management.  My gut tells me that part of the reason for the gap is that L&D tends to focus on formal learning approaches (aka training) while organizational learning is typically more experience-based.

Here's an initial half-baked insight/hypothesis:  The bridges to be built involve 1) reinforcing the informal, experience-based aspect of individual learning; and 2) strengthening corporate training based on experience-based organizational learning.

The question I will try to address is:  How can I apply systems thinking and related methodologies or tools to address complex systems to come up with a more integrated (systemic) approach to learning within organizations. 

A couple of secondary questions (which might confuse everything and send me down big rabbit holes):

• How can learning itself benefit from systems thinking?
• Can insight mapping support a systems thinking approach?

Here are my starting points:

• Visible Thinking: Unlocking Causal Mapping for Practical Business Results (a book I recently discussed in a blog post)
• SPACES MERL: Systems and Complexity White Paper (USAID 2016) ... which is where I learned about...
• Systemigrams (visual representation of complex systems) and another book.....
• Systems Thinking: Coping with 21st Century Problems (2008)
• My own insight mapping practice as well as....
• Previously posted insights about systems thinking and....
• A need to clarify the difference between design thinking and systems thinking (I think I confuse them)
• I also signed up for Degreed and I'd like to test how much I can get out of that learning platform for a rather narrow learning exercise as this one. 

Anticipated Outputs:

• Extensive notes added to my Organizational Learning wiki (internal)
• At least three blog posts and at least one integrative map (public website)
• Draft presentation package for future use/adaptation, etc...
• and if this all adds up to something of sufficient value, a post on LinkedIn.

How is this as a "learning plan" for September?

• It's bounded in time and scope, though the scope could escape me as I dig deeper and a month might not be enough.
• It has some intrinsic value for me in terms of learning.  Motivation to learn about this will NOT be a problem at all. I will need to schedule it as a core task to make sure sufficient time is allocated.
• It spells out possible outputs which will force me to wrap up my own thinking and write things down in useful formats, contributing to other objectives, such as populating the blog with fresh insights and developing materials for presentations, possible lecturing/teaching or other forms of training/capacity building.

I shall see at the end of September if I achieved all that and where my expectations were off track.

This is my YOL (Year of Learning) after all.  I might as well make the most of it and plan for it.  I think it's called Walking the Talk. :)

iLearning: How to Create an Innovative Learning Strategy (Book 28 of 30)

Title: iLearning: How to Create an Innovative Learning Strategy
Author: Mark Salisbury

iLearning stands for innovative learning, not to be confused with eLearning.  Perhaps the "i" dates the book.  It was published in 2009.  If my memory serves me right, there was a time (after the iPod I suspect) when everything cool had to start with an "i".

This is perhaps the most thorough attempt at merging the HR and L&D tradition with Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, a clear attempt to innovate.  At the same time, it heavily relies on or is built around a very process oriented approach that leaves little freedom to the learner.  It is directed at HR and training professionals.

What I would want to see is HR/Training departments that allow and promote more independent and flexible learning approaches for individual employees, helping employees to develop Individual Learning Plans that fit within a broader Personal Knowledge Management strategy.    The capacity of individuals to think in terms of their own personal knowledge base and how to develop and nurture that knowledge base would serve as the springboard for improved knowledge flows within teams and at the organizational level.  I'm convinced it's that gap, that missing element of KM and Organizational Learning strategies, that would make the most difference if it were to be tackled more effectively.

TO DO:

• Articulate the differences (if any) and connections between Personal Learning Environments, Individual Learning Plans and Personal Knowledge Management.
• Develop an approach for integrating a knowledge dimension (seeking, articulating and sharing) in individual performance evaluations. 

Mapping Your Speech

I've been a member of Toastmasters for a couple of years.  During that time, I've used a number of methods for preparing speeches, including notecards, fully developed and highly polished text, slide decks, and maps.  I find the map to be the most effective method for quickly developing an organized speech and a set of notes that will fit on one piece of paper.

Here is an example of a map I developed for my latest speech.

Click on the map to open as a larger image in a separate window.

Depending on the intent of the speech, the map can also become a handout for audience members.  A much simpler map around the same theme could also serve as outline for an hour long workshop, allowing audience participants to start thinking about developing their own learning plans.

Lifelong Learning: Opportunities and Challenges for Learning Junkies

What's a "learning junkie"?  Someone who compulsively registers for classes, listens to podcasts, reads broadly, signs up for countless Facebook/LinkedIn groups, thinks MOOCs are the best thing since sliced bread...  Some people get addicted to one particular kind of learning opportunity, others just pick up everything they can.

The typical learning junkie is someone who 1) didn't attend college or dropped out because they found it more stimulating to learn on their own, to learn exactly what they wanted and how they wanted; or 2) attended college, liked the student life, went on directly to graduate school and perhaps even kept on going with a Ph.D., more for the fun of learning than anything else; or 3) feels withdrawal symptoms when not able to visit the local library to pick up a new pile of books.

The term "junkie" suggests an obsession with learning and has a negative connotation.  So what could possibly be wrong with learning?  Is there such a thing as learning too much?  I wouldn't go that far but I would admit that it is possible to go too far and focus so much on the learning and not enough on the doing and living a full life. Of course, who am I to say what constitutes a "full life"?

The key is to channel all that energy into productive learning activities and in particular, into actions and an action-learning activities.  Learning for the sake of learning may be fine but if you want it to have an impact on your life, take control of your learning.  Don't let it consume you!

Let's try to be strategic.  How much do you really want to / need to know about a particular topic? Will the Wikipedia page be enough?  Would a couple of well-written articles suffice or do you want to dive in with some assistance through a formal course or training program?

The challenge is not so much to find learning opportunities. Those abound.  Here are a couple of examples I just came across:

• The 37 Best Websites to Learn Something New 
• Over 100 online courses/MOOCs

Hard to resist, I know!

Focus your efforts by developing a learning strategy and learning plan.  Develop a long-term vision, annual learning goals, and a more detailed monthly learning plan with specific activities.  (Yes, I can help you with that!)

Time is precious.  Decide what you want to learn, how you want to learn it, what level of mastery you will be satisfied with.   Make sure you're using effective approaches, not just your preferred learning mode.  Don't just read about something go figure out a way to "do" it, practice it in a real life setting.

That's why I like Toastmasters.   You can read a hundred books about how to make great speeches, how to communicate better, how to deliver great presentations, how to be an effective leader and nothing much will really sink in to change how you perform in the real world.  Until you start practicing the skills involved, little is really being "learned."

Toastmasters forces me to practice a whole range of skills for which there is always room for improvement AND it allows me to explore new areas of interest all the time since every speech opportunity is an opportunity to learn and share something new.  Tomorrow, I'm doing a short technical presentation on Search Engine Optimization.

Toastmasters: Better than Psychotherapy and Cheaper than a Ferrari


Resources:
- Are you a learning Junkie?
- Learning Junkie: Are you taking the right course? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself
- Are You A Learning Junkie? You're Killing Your Business (Video)
- Learning Junkie (Pinterest board)
- Addicted to Insight


This is my 300th post.  Hard to believe.