How do I Learn II

...not acting on this knowledge condemns one to nonperformance.

Of all the important pieces of self-knowledge, understanding how you learn is the easiest to acquire.  When I ask people, "How do you learn?" most of them know the answer,  But when I ask, "Do you act on this knowledge?" few answer yes.  And yet, acting on this knowledge is the key to performance; or rather, not acting on this knowledge condemns one to nonperformance.

Am I a reader or a listener? and How do I learn? are the first questions to ask.  But they are by no means the only ones.  To manage yourself effectively, you also have to ask, Do I work well with people, or am I a loner?  And if you do work well with people, you then must ask, In what relationship?

Some people work best as subordinates.  General George Patton, the great American military hero of World War II, is a prime example.  Patton was America's top troop commander.  yet when he was proposed for an independent command, General George Marshall, the U.S. chief of staff--and probably the most successful picker of men in U.S. history--said, "Patton is the best subordinate the American army has ever produced, but he would be the worst commander." 

Some people work best as team members.  Others work best alone.  Some are exceptionally talented as coaches and mentors; others are simply incompetent as mentors.

ACTION POINT:  Act on your knowledge of how you learn.