Charles Handy Learning by writing 160515

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of writing one's life story for personal growth and sharing wisdom with future generations. They highlight the limited retention of information from lectures, advocating for an interactive learning approach where students teach each other, as practiced in their teaching career at the London Business School. The speaker also underscores the value of listening and asking questions, as illustrated by their experience with a top oil company executive and a theatrical director, to foster learning and leadership. The talk concludes with the speaker's personal quest to understand Peter Drucker's impact on them through dialogue.

Takeaways

• 📝 Writing your life story is beneficial for self-reflection and learning, as it can be a gift to future generations.
• 🧠 The human brain retains a limited amount of information from lectures, with significant forgetting occurring shortly after the event.
• 🗣️ Active participation in teaching and discussion enhances learning more than passive listening.
• 🏫 The speaker's teaching method at the London Business School involved students in active research and teaching their peers, rather than traditional lecturing.
• 📚 Students were tasked with investigating real-world topics and reporting their findings, which contributed to a deeper learning experience.
• 🤔 Asking questions is a powerful tool for learning and understanding, as it encourages critical thinking and exploration.
• 🏢 In leadership roles, listening and asking questions are more valuable than simply dictating or pontificating.
• 👂 Active listening is crucial in all aspects of life, including business, education, and personal relationships.
• 🎭 The essence of acting, according to a distinguished director, is paying attention to all elements of the performance.
• 👨‍👧 Encouraging children to express their ideas and listen to them can foster their learning and independence.
• 🗣️ Speaking publicly, such as in this lecture, is a way for the speaker to learn about the impact of their work and ideas on others.

Q & A

Why is writing the story of one's life recommended?

Writing the story of one's life is recommended because it allows individuals to learn an enormous amount from the process, both by writing and talking about their experiences.

What percentage of the content will the audience remember after leaving the room?

According to the script, the audience will only remember 18 percent of what has been said after leaving the room at twelve thirty.

How much of the content will the audience recall by the time they go back to bed that night?

By the time they go back to bed that night, the audience will likely only recall 5 percent of the content, possibly just one or two of the new pictures shown.

What teaching method did the speaker adopt in their last two years at the London Business School?

In the speaker's last two years at the London Business School, they gave no lectures and spoke minimally in class, instead assigning students to conduct active research and teach the rest of the class what they learned.

What was the assignment given to the students by the speaker at the London Business School?

The students were assigned to investigate different organizations and explore topics such as motivation and creativity, and then teach the rest of the class what they discovered.

What was the final requirement for the students after their class presentations?

After their class presentations, each student had to write an individual 3000-word essay on what they learned and how it would change their life.

What did the speaker learn about leadership from a chairman of a large oil company?

The speaker learned that a key part of leadership is asking questions and listening to the answers, as it encourages others to think and act on the questions posed.

What advice does the speaker give to parents regarding their children's future?

The speaker advises parents to ask their children what they want to do and to listen to their ideas, rather than telling them what to do.

What is the secret of acting according to a distinguished theatrical director in London?

The secret of acting, as told by a distinguished theatrical director in London, is paying attention to the other actors on stage and to the words they have learned.

What did the speaker do to understand the impact Peter Drucker had on them?

The speaker persuaded the Drucker Institute to invite them to talk to the audience in order to learn about the impact Peter Drucker had on them through the process of talking.

Why did the speaker choose to stand up and talk to the audience despite the benefits of listening?

The speaker chose to stand up and talk to the audience to learn about the impact of Peter Drucker, as they believed that persuading others to listen to them was a way to gain insights through the act of speaking.

Outlines

00:00

📝 The Power of Writing Your Life Story

The speaker encourages the audience to write their life story, emphasizing the personal growth that comes from the process. They mention that by writing and discussing one's experiences, one can learn a significant amount, as supported by statistics showing the percentage of information retained over time. The speaker shares their teaching experience at the London Business School, where they facilitated learning by having students conduct research and teach their findings to the class, which was more effective than traditional lecturing. This approach led to deep learning experiences, even if it was unconventional and initially met with skepticism.

05:01

👂 The Art of Listening and Paying Attention

This paragraph focuses on the importance of listening and paying attention, both to oneself and to others, as a key to learning and leadership. The speaker shares anecdotes from a theatrical director in London and a conversation with a chairman of a major oil company, both highlighting the value of attentive questioning over dictating. The speaker also reflects on their own experience, using the platform to understand the impact of Peter Drucker's teachings on them, and concludes by thanking the audience for allowing them the opportunity to learn from the interaction.

Keywords

💡Commend

In the context of the video, 'commend' is used to suggest or recommend something as being valuable or worthy of consideration. The speaker commends the idea of writing one's life story for the purpose of personal growth and sharing with future generations. This concept is central to the theme of learning through self-reflection and communication.

💡Statistics

Statistics in this transcript refer to numerical data used to illustrate the point about human memory retention. The speaker uses statistics to emphasize how quickly information is forgotten unless it is internalized through teaching or writing, which ties into the broader message of the importance of active engagement in the learning process.

💡Memory Retention

Memory retention is the ability to remember and recall information over time. The script discusses how much of a lecture's content is forgotten shortly after it is heard, highlighting the inefficiency of passive listening and the need for more effective learning methods, such as teaching or writing, to improve retention.

💡Teaching

Teaching, as mentioned in the video, is a method of learning where one imparts knowledge to others. The speaker suggests that those who teach learn more than those who only listen, as teaching requires a deeper understanding and internalization of the material, which is a key point in advocating for interactive learning experiences.

💡Active Research

Active research involves actively seeking out and investigating information or topics. The speaker describes assigning students to conduct active research on various topics, which is a form of experiential learning that emphasizes hands-on involvement and critical thinking, aligning with the video's theme of learning through action.

💡Motivation

Motivation is the internal drive that influences a person's behavior and decision-making. The script mentions investigating what motivates people in different organizational settings, which is an example of how understanding motivation can lead to insights about human behavior and organizational effectiveness.

💡Creativity

Creativity in the context of the video refers to the ability to produce new, original ideas or solutions. The speaker asks students to explore which organizational structures foster the most creativity, indicating the importance of understanding the conditions that can enhance innovative thinking.

💡Leadership

Leadership is the act of guiding and influencing others towards achieving goals. The script discusses the importance of listening and paying attention as key components of effective leadership, suggesting that great leaders learn from those they lead by engaging with them and valuing their input.

💡Listening

Listening, as emphasized in the video, is the act of paying attention to and understanding what others are saying. The speaker argues that listening is essential for learning and leadership, as it allows for the absorption of new ideas and perspectives, which is crucial for personal and professional growth.

💡Paying Attention

Paying attention is the act of focusing and being fully engaged with what is happening around you. The video uses the example of a theatrical director to illustrate the importance of paying attention to others, whether in acting or in leadership, as a way to learn and improve one's performance.

💡Pontificate

To pontificate means to speak in a dogmatic or authoritative manner, often without considering the input of others. The speaker uses the term to describe a traditional teaching style that they argue against, advocating instead for a more interactive and questioning approach to learning and leadership.

Highlights

Writing the story of your life can provide enormous learning opportunities for both the writer and their audience.

People tend to forget most of what they hear, remembering only 18% immediately after and just 5% by the next day.

The speaker has internalized every word they say, learning more from the interaction than the audience.

Active learning through teaching others is more effective than passive listening.

At the London Business School, the speaker assigned students to conduct inquiries and teach their findings to the class.

Students were encouraged to explore real-world applications rather than just listening to lectures.

The speaker's unorthodox teaching method was not widely adopted by other faculty members.

Despite initial resistance, the speaker's approach led to significant learning outcomes for many students.

A former student who became chairman of a major oil company credits the speaker's teaching method for his success.

Asking questions is a powerful tool for learning and leadership, as demonstrated by the oil company chairman.

Active listening and paying attention to others is essential for effective leadership.

The speaker consulted a theatrical director who emphasized the importance of paying attention in acting.

Great leaders learn to listen and encourage others to share their thoughts and ideas.

The speaker's presentation style is a way to learn about the impact of Peter Drucker's teachings on himself.

The speaker values the opportunity to learn from the audience by sharing his experiences and insights.

The importance of engaging in dialogue and learning from each other rather than just lecturing.

Transcripts

did you commend to you that at some

stage in your life you write the story

of your life even if you only do it for

your children or your grandchildren

because you will learn an enormous

amount from it you learn by writing and

you learn by talking all the statistics

show that you leave this room at twelve

thirty this morning you will only

remember eighteen percent of what I have

said to you and by the time you get to

back bed tonight you will only recall

five percent probably one of the new

pictures are going to show you and one

or two of the story so you will forget

the point of the story and by the end of

the week you will just remember one idea

if if I'm lucky I on the other hand

remember every single word that I have

said because I have learned it by heart

before I came to meet you so I will

learn much more than you from this

morning interesting because if that

applies to me it applies to you and

their first also applies for instance to

my students in other words if they do

the talking and the teaching they will

learn more than myself who will listen

to them so by the time I had resolved

this in my teaching career at the London

Business School in my last two years I

gave no lectures I spoke not at all in

the class except at the very beginning

when I would assign to various groups

the students certain inquiries pieces of

active research out there in the world

saying to them for instance go in

investigate in different organizations

than I will list you five potential ones

what actually motivates people why is it

different in a hospital or in the bank

or what organizational structure

produces most creativity go look and

come back towards the end of the

semester and to teach the rest of the

class what you have learnt oh and right

at the end each of you write me an

individual 3000 word essay saying what

you have learnt and how it is going to

change your life and all that I did was

sit in the back of the class and asked

to rude questions from time to time the

rest of the faculty did not appreciate

what i was doing and indeed the japanese

students asked for the money back but i

have to tell you most people learnt a

lot i mean the rest of the faculty said

what what on earth is my job if I'm not

here to pontificate and tell them what

I'm doing and and the students were not

in the class they were outside in the

real world unheard of we want them there

sitting listening at my feet so it was

never imitated but it's through work I

said to an extent of mine who ended up

as chairman or one of the biggest oil

companies in the world and I said to him

John them what you do all day sitting up

there at the top of this enormous tower

and he said much as it doesn't sound

very exciting but actually what I do is

I sit in a chair up there or around the

world where we operate sometimes one or

two of my colleagues sometimes by myself

and I listen to endless people

presenting me with proposals ideas

presentations analyses and so on and all

I do is to ask questions and he said

it doesn't sound exciting but I think

it's the right thing to do my job is to

ask the questions there's is to answer

them because that's the only way they're

actually going to do anything about my

questions if they compose the answers

not mean listening listening not only to

yourself but to others is absolutely

essential don't tell your children what

to do ask them what they want to do and

get them to lecture you then they will

learn but you've got to pay attention

pay attention I asked a distinguished

theatrical directory in London what the

secret of acting was and he thought for

a moment and he said paying attention

paying attention to the other actors on

stage paying attention to the words that

were written that he had learnt or she

had been paying attention and I think

that all great leaders apart from

respect which is part of it learn to

listen to pay attention and get other

people to do the talking to them and

it's so tempting isn't it to do what I'm

doing now to stand up on a platform in

front of all the troops and pontificate

so why am I doing this because I wanted

to learn what impact peter drucker had

had on me and the only way to do that

was to persuade persuade the drukker

institute to invite me to come and talk

to you so that I could learn so thank

you very much for you doing the

listening so that I can actually learn

by talking to you