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Topics: Futures, HR Technology, HR Trends, HRExaminer, Jay Cross, by Jay Cross

Jay Cross | Founding Member, HRExaminer Editorial Advisory Board

Six years ago few people believed that informal learning made much of a difference. Today’s common wisdom is that most workplace learning is experiential, unplanned, social, and informal.

Informal learning tops many training department agendas. Companies are attracted by the low price tag. However, few of them are doing much systematically. They’ve converted a few programs but they’ve failed to improve their learning ecosystems.

I’ve shifted how I think about learning since the Informal Learning book came out. It’s a new ball game and we need to play by new rules. Consider what’s changed:

We used to think that communities of practice could only sprout up organically. Now we know we create them via artificial insemination.
The information explosion has hit. We create as much new information in a day as we once created in a millennium, and it’s growing exponentially. People trying to figure everything out all out by themselves are whizzing their way to overload and breakdown; collective wisdom and social filters are the only way to keep up.
Companies are connecting people with social network technology. Some have so embraced in-house social networking, microblogging, and discussion forums that they define themselves as “social businesses.” The merged workflow/learning that flow through these networks makes or breaks the enterprise’s sustainability.
Time continues to go faster. New businesses are created in a week and are acquired in less than a year. Competitors are faster on their feet.
Complexity theory used to be a riddle for scientists to tinker with. Today we all grapple with complexity’s outpouring of unpredictability, volatility, emergence, and uncertainty.
The tools for building and sustaining networks are at hand and are dirt cheap.
We used to think that knowledge resided in people heads. Today most of us believe the knowledge resides in networks.
Web 2.0 has become mainstream. People communicate with texts, Tweets, iPhones, email, and blogs in their personal lives, and expect to be able to do so at work.
People have become savvy web consumers. Young people who grew up with Facebook, MySpace, Wikipedia, and Google are entering the workforce. New hires ask “Where’s the network? Where do I post my profile?”
Internet Culture is proliferating. Openness and sharing are default behaviors.
The web gives unprecedented free access to college courses, how-to videos, advice columns, and experts.
Network access has gone mobile. Desktop PCs have given way to laptops and laptops are losing ground to smartphones and tablets.
Connectivity has undoubtedly shifted the 80%/20% ratio of informal to formal learning; it’s probably closer to 95%/5% these days.

I’m convinced that working smarter by boosting informal performance is a key to survival in today’s topsy-turvy business climate. I’ve resolved to show organizations how to increase the effectiveness and depth of informal learning — in the larger context of working smarter in the digital enterprise. Working Smarter is not education for intellectual enrichment; it is how people get better at doing their jobs over time.

About the author

Jay Cross

Jay Cross is a champion of informal learning, web 2.0, and systems thinking. His calling is to help business people improve their performance on the job and satisfaction in life. Jay chairs the Internet Time Alliance, a brain trust of six thought leaders who help companies boost their collective intelligence and profitability through networks. Jay is a change agent, speaker, and author whose insights and stories will expand your perspective and enliven your meetings. He distills lessons from cognitive science, social networking, business strategy, futures research, and psychology to boost sales, improve customer service, and spark innovation. Jay frequently leads workshops and webinars to help corporate teams work smarter. His speaking style is vibrant, energetic, and compelling. Mixing case studies, stories, and actionable recommendations with humor and easy-to-understand language, Jay inspires action. A Harvard MBA and Princeton undergrad, he has been improving business processes since developing the first business curriculum for the University of Phoenix three decades ago. He is the Johnny Appleseed of informal learning. Jay covers topics from 50,000 feet to ground level, depending on audience and need. He has spoken with executives, sales managers, entrepreneurs, chief learning officers, sales staff, instructional designers, HR directors, bankers, and academics. He has keynoted conferences the U.S., Canada, Austria, U.K., Germany, Australia, Portugal, Monaco, and Abu Dhabi. He travels the world, but increasingly delivers presentations and events in real time over the web. Jay is the author of Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways that Inspire Innovation and Performance, Work Smarter, and Implementing eLearning. Thousands of people read his articles and two blogs, Internet Time and Informal Learning. He has helped Cisco, Eaton, IBM, Service College Canada, Sun, National Australia Bank, Intel, Raytheon, Genentech, Novartis, HP, the CIA, Citibank, and Chase reduce time-to-performance. Jay and his wife Uta live with their miniature longhaired dachshund in the hills of Berkeley, California You can read Jay's posts on HRExaminer.com here.

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