Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Some of Warren Bennis thoughts on education...

"Universities, unfortunately, are not always the best place to learn. Too many of them are less places of higher learning than they are high-class vocational schools. Too many produce narrow-minded specialists who may be wizards at making money, but who are unfinished as people. These specialists have been taught how to do, but they have not learned how to be. Instead of studying philosophy, history, and literature - which are the experiences of all humankind - they study specific technologies. What problems can technology solve, unless the users of that technology have first grapples with the primary questions?"

-Warren Bennis (Page 124 of "Leadership: Tidbits and Treasures" by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady)

The primary questions, mentioned above, are related to self. How much time have you spent trying to give a sense of who you are VS the amount of time spent learning a skill only usable in the 9-5 bracket?
You spend 168 hours with yourself in a week, 40 (or so) of which is at work. Do you spend more time studying for the 40 hours a week than the 168 hours?

Don't get me wrong, mastering the 40 hour skill set is important but it's not the only thing and surely not the most important.

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