Education 2.0 & 3.0

Google is currently testing driverless cars in Arizona. The two of us had lunch one afternoon in Scottsdale and watched the noticeable cars (with their rooftop honing devices) pass by our restaurant. As the car passed we heard a gentleman at a nearby table say, “Not a chance I’d get in that car.”

As unnerving as driverless cars may seem, change can be hard for many people to accept. We often fear the worst — that music videos would be the end of radio, and tablets would eliminate traditional books. Just consider how many people find it concerning every time Apple changes its charging cord on the iPhone. Yes, it’s concerning. But, we adapt…because we have to.

Change, in all areas of life, can be daunting, and especially at work where our natural tendency is to find a groove that works for us. Still, the resistance to change can be dangerous — as the way we work, the when we work, and the things we work on are consistently in a state of flux.

Being able to communicate effectively, I believe, is one of the best life skills you can develop. Think about it, colleagues who can masterfully communicate their thoughts, feelings, ideas, concerns and wishes are better equipped to manage or avoid conflict, negotiate win-win scenarios, and increase their ability to collaborate at a high level.

Yet effective communication isn't just about talking; it is also the ability to listen and understand the other side of the fence, to "read" and interpret body language, and to know how to approach another person so you can get your points across in a respectful manner.

Think about the last time you solved a business problem, such as coming up with a new product idea, formulating a new marketing plan, or deciding which job candidate to hire. How did you do it. Did you sit down with the facts and figures, make pro/con lists, and analyze the situation until you found the solution? Or did it come to you as a sudden insight--an "Aha!" moment, as some people call it?

It turns out many problems can be solved either of these two ways. But the two methods are not equal. In a fascinating experiment, a research team at Northwestern University led by Carola Salvi, set out to learn whether analysis or insight leads to better problem-solving. To find out, they presented more than 200 students at Northwestern and the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy were given various problems to solve that included word puzzles, anagrams, rebuses, and a puzzle where you had to identify a partial image of an object.