IEEE EMC-S Education Committee

Kimball Williams, Associate Editor

A Learning Organization

There has been much said about the advantages of learning, and the advantages that accrue to an organization when its members learn. There are a few assumptions that are often made, and occasionally stated, about what this learning is all about, and specifically what topics make ‘appropriate’ learning for the benefit of the organization. One source suggested that the only valid learning, from the organization’s point of view, was learning that related directly to the worker’s assigned tasks. Fiddle sticks!

Learning for Learning’s Sake

From a practical standpoint, it makes little sense to attempt to dictate what is an ‘appropriate’ subject for learning, even within the apparent narrow confines of a technical discipline. Those subjects that we tout as ‘hot’ within a technology today become old news when the winds of change shift slightly one way or another. How could we predict what subject will be the pivotal element in a new approach to tomorrow’s questions? Simple; we can’t.

So, how are we to direct our learning for maximum benefit for ourselves and for our organization? Some subjects are clearly important to technological success. The basics and a few targeted specialty courses are obvious but, after that,…what next? I submit that beyond those already mentioned, anything we study is a good subject. Literally, ANYTHING!

So…Study what Interests You

“Yeah? How will basket weaving help my electronics?”

First of all, you were probably lead to the subject by some innate talent or curiosity, otherwise why were you interested in the first place? Second, there might be some skill or ability that is demonstrated by those practicing the craft that you can gain and profit by making your own. Third, you might perceive some aspect of the skill that is just beyond your current understanding, and with a little work you could master. Fourth, at some level, you might recognize that the subject contains the germ of another way of approaching a problem in a completely different discipline that may give you an ‘edge’ to cutting through to the heart of some problem. Since we started with ‘basket weaving’, lets just explore that for a minute. Some elements of complex thinking and manipulating the environment are evident in that ‘simple’ skill. Lets look at a few:

Increased awareness of patterns, how they repeat, how they evolve, how they can be altered to effect differences in form and appearance.

Heightened perception of depth, volume, texture and color.

Awareness of the limits and strengths of materials, flexibility, stiffness, twisting and bending and breaking levels.

And if all that were not enough, if you do it right, when you are done, you have a basket as well.

A Work Out in the Mental Gym

Think a moment about what we are accomplishing with our learning process. In a way it is mental exercise. If we use the analog of bodily exercise, perhaps we can shed some light here. If we go to a gym to ‘work out’, we probably engage in a variety of exercise types. The objective is to maintain strength, improve flexibility, range of motion and stamina. With that in mind, we wouldn’t want to only work on one exercise, every time, all the time. In fact, it is the variety that does the most good.

The same can be said of our mental exercise (learning) experiences. First of all, lets maintain our strengths. In other words, review the basics. Then let us improve our flexibility, say, with a subject that we only know slightly, but want to know better. Now, let’s expand our range of motion with something completely new and outside our previous experience. Finally, attack one of those topics which we find difficult and frustrating to help us build up our ability to stay at a job and get it done, no matter what.

Notice that with the exception of the first subject, the basics, the rest of the topics have no constraints at all. Even the basics will be different for each individual. But, the rest of the topics only need to ‘flex’, ‘stretch’, ‘move’, and ‘challenge’. When the subject being studied fulfills those needs, it is exercising our mental muscles and helps us to maintain and/or grow.

Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals….

Is there anyone who knows his subject so well that he cannot benefit from a review of the basics? And once you know your basics well enough, who cannot benefit from practice? Athletes and musicians know this and use it. Pablo Cassals often said that he had to teach his hands the C Major scale again every morning. Runners don’t start a marathon race by running, they start by stretching and flexing. Have you considered reviewing your Fourier and Laplace transforms lately?

Don’t Get Stuck

In the forward to Al Chung-liang Huang’s book, “Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain”, he speaks of an ex-pupil visiting and complaining “…you have changed this…”. The reply was “Yes, of course; I move on and beyond…, and how did you get stuck back then and there?” The lesson is, unless you are helping move the subject forward and opening new approaches, you need to occasionally review what you were taught and see if there are better ways of doing it that have been developed while you were away.

If it has been a while since you actively studied a subject with a master, it is a good idea to revisit a class, or attend a lecture, or a symposium on the subject to find out what has developed recently that may help you in your work. Yeah, the basics are the basics, but better methods of getting to the answer are always surfacing. It makes sense to find out about them when you have a chance. I suspect that this is one reason why Maqsood Mohd’s EMC fundamental tutorials are so popular with ‘senior’ EMC engineers at the annual EMC Society symposia.

And, to Really Make it Stick…

I recently saw data regarding how much of a class content is retained by students given differing levels of class participation. To restate it again:

20% Lecture only.
40% Perform as an exercise.
70% Apply it directly in your work.
90% Teach it to someone else right away.

Obviously the jump from 20 to 40 percent is why we do homework for a class. If we can find immediate practical use we can reach the 70 percent mark. But, best of all is returning from a learning experience and finding someone to whom you can teach what you’ve learned.

I believe that I have mentioned in the past that teaching is like magic. You can give away all you have, and still have it all, and it gets clearer in the process. Plus you have the extra benefit of having more people understand what you just taught. It’s wonderful!

Follow Your Nose

Again, let me state this as clearly as I can. Study what interests you. “Follow your nose” as the old adage states. You have a natural compass in your gut that can lead you to what you need, can use, can benefit from. It is there to help and guide you. Trust it! Your natural inclinations will not lead you astray.

This is not to say that you, or anyone else, may be able to tell what the subject that you are interested in today will have for you that will benefit you tomorrow. The path will not always be clearly marked. But it will be clearly felt. I am reminded of the question that foreign travelers in Tibet are greeted with on the road: “Which of the great paths are you following?” The question was not referring to the road they were walking on that day, but to the spiritual journey that Tibetans assumed everyone was taking in life. They believe that there were many ‘paths’; Buddhism, Tao, Christianity, Mohadism, Shinto, etc.… They also knew that they all lead to the same place, enlightenment. For the Tibetan, since all paths lead to the same place, all are equally honored.

With your studies also, expect that all paths will eventually lead to enlightenment. If you are learning what you are interested in, then you are on the right path for you.

Learning that Benefits All

So the individual within an organization is learning and growing. How does that help the organization? Earlier I mentioned that one of the objectives of learning is increased flexibility and range. That ability to adjust to new conditions, situations, and requirements helps the individual in the organization accept and adapt to change. If it becomes necessary to sustain a mental drive to a solution for the organization, a staff with increased mental stamina has what it takes to continue the effort when others would have given up. When the individual adapts, he learns new approaches and skills and inevitability passes them on to the rest of the organization. His success becomes the organization’s success. They all win!

“Get a Life”

When we get to the end of all this discussion, what have we been able to conclude? I submit that point one is that learning anything serves the same function for the mind as muscular exercise serves for the body. Neglect either at your peril.
Second, that no one can predict what subject will benefit the individual, more than the individual themselves. And, since the organization as a whole has no more insight into the future than any of the individuals that make it up, the choice of what to study is best left to the individual.
Finally, any learning, no matter how divergent it appears to be to the goals of the organization, will eventually benefit the organization as the individual learns, grows and evolves. In the slang of a few years ago, as your learning benefits you, you “get a life” in that you are walking your own ‘path’ to enlightenment.

“May we both work together with great energy.”
“May our study be thorough and fruitful.”

From the “Vedas”

Return to Contents page