Learning

Learning and Hype cycles

Learning & Change, , , ,

‘Hype Cycle’s are an interesting read. The phases that a hype cycle mentions are particularly revealing.

‘Hype Cycle’ was a term coined by Gartner. It offers a cycle of maturity of adoption of a particular technology. Its akin to the ‘Product Life Cycle’ concept : introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

Its similarities end with the “broad concept”. The ‘hype cycle’ is rather an incisive description of a tech / concept’s evolution. Plotted against the axes of time & visibility, the cycle offers five different stages.

 

a. Technology Trigger: Which is the first phase of the hype cycle. There is a trigger that sets the hype on its journey. A breakthrough concept, product launch or approach automatically generates interest.

b. Peak of Inflated Expectations: The phrase sums it up. The triggers have triggered off expectations which are well beyond real. ‘Inflated expectations’.  Technologies in this stage are actually riding a wave. So to speak. And literally so. And you know what happens to any ‘wave’ ! When the energy dissipates, it leads to the next stage, which is ..

c. Trough of disillusionment: When expectations aren’t met, well, it leads to disillusionment. At the least, there is disappointment. Disappointment leads to non-use which in turn leads to abandoning and consequent fade out from the screen. There of course are some adopters who still are working on it and they lead us to the next stage.

d. Slope of enlightenment: The technology might have fallen out of favour of the mainstream, but there sure are businesses who have adopted it to meet objectives. And when they see value, they keep working on it, to utilise the practical applications of the technology.

e. Plateau of productivity: And when enlightenment happens, it sure is a way of evolving further on ! The technology becomes more widely accepted. Better demonstrated. More stable. And the final height would be a function of how broadly applicable the technology is.

Hype Cycles give an idea of relative maturity of technologies and concepts.

Looking at the hype cycle, you find that authoring suites are at the ‘peak of inflated expectations’, you know whats coming your way! And therefore plan your strategy accordingly.

While making a presentation on the Hype Cycle, the other day, I realised how closely applicable the concept was to many things in life! Romance and marriage are perfect examples: A trigger leading to ‘inflated expectations” which in turn leads to a “trough of disillusionment”, a “slope of enlightenment” and finally where things fall into a rhythm and the “plateau of productivity” arrives! ( of course, the trough of disillusionment can strike anytime later as well. We know what happens after that! )

There is usually a trigger. Best if the trigger happens to be line managers / business / leadership team. That works all the time. Even better, when the trigger is accompanied by a trigger within individuals. Usually, basic information, education, research, which provide for a basis for an evaluation of alternatives works here.

The solution worked out as a response usually sets expectations of meeting the business needs. Especially so, when the solutions are co-evolved with line leadership. It is quite normal and natural for expectations to be ‘inflated’.

In both the second and third stage, ‘managing expectations’ become crucial. To set the right expectations can stave off disappointment and to remind people of the agreed goals and committed support is key.

When the rubber meets the road, there are practical challenges that emerge. Sometimes old habits just refuse to die. Memory could be strong about erstwhile processes. Also, new skill may take a while to get deep rooted. Which is when disillusionment kicks in. Disappointments rule! With a lack of practice, forgetting kicks in!

If the ‘trough of disillusionment’ is managed well, the slope of enlightenment can begin to appear. Sharing success that happen in small pockets, intense communication, keeping a community spirit going, executive coaching, all go a long way in helping the ‘slope of enlightenment’ happen.

When that slope is climbed by many, when ‘pockets of success’ become more prevalent, there is a level of change and operationalising that is higher than where it all started out from.

Each stage is different and needs to be managed differently. It gave me wonderful compartmentalised ideas for several projects that I was working on.

Wonder what you think.

Questions are the answer!

Learning & Change, ,

There are many skills that are imbibed during formative years and years of study.  The one skill that perhaps will stand in great stead is that of asking good questions!

 For it is in the asking of questions that answers emerge.  For many years I thought of questions and questioning to be a prerogative of teachers. Which changed one day, when upon asking a few questions in a chemistry class, my teacher asked me to think up of five more questions!

 I was reminded of that incident reading  ‘Teaching Students to Ask their own Questions’ in the Harvard Education Letter.

 The process of teaching undergoes a fundamental change when students are entrusted with the idea of seeking out questions that would enable them to search for answers.  Automatically, the responsibility for ‘learning’ shifts to the ‘learner’ and away from the ‘instructor’.

 The beauty of questions is the space it creates for ‘exploration’. And exploration is a function of wonder! Developing an acumen for asking the right question, is furthering the prowess of exploration and often leading to a choice set for action.

 The link quoted above introduces you to a step by step process called, the ‘Question Formulation Technique’ or QFT.  This technique is supposed to help students learn how to produce, improve upon and strategise on how to use the questions they come up with.

 Step 1: Teachers Design a Question Focus

Step 2: Students Produce Questions

Step 3: Students Improve Their Questions

Step 4: Students Prioritize Their Questions.

Step 5: Students and Teachers Decide on Next Steps.

Step 6: Students Reflect on What They Have Learned.

To see this as an easy set of steps to pursue, will be oversimplifying the approach.  For the fundamental nature of relying on ‘questions’ requires a shift in the way a learner  approaches a subject. It requires an bigger shift in the way a teacher or a trainer would approach the student as well.

The role of the trainer / teacher, as a facilitator who holds the space for questions to flourish and discussions to take place requires a certain ‘courage’.  A willingness to hold the urge to ‘give the answer’ or to prove expertise, and engage with perpetuating a ceaseless exploration!  Yet, being very present, encouraging and participatory!  And to stimulate wonder!

Its simple ! Asking questions help children stay in control.  When they are in control, their interest grows and obviously it has a big positive impact on their learning.  Of all the facilitators and trainers who I have worked with, the ones that I have relished working with are ones that  left me with more questions than answers at the end of the program !

So is the case with my managers and business leaders.

The case for leaders being teachers was made in this post.  An essential (and much under rated) skill in the repertoire of skills, leaders that I have held in high esteem have possessed is the art of asking thought provoking questions, that enable teams to figure out answers!

More often than not, in the quest for giving the right answers we miss the point that the trick is not in the ‘right’ answers.  But rather in realising that questions elicit the answers !

Life & growth !

Learning & Change, ,
I was on a walk with my four year old nephew last week. As any other four year old would be, he was brimming with questions. An inquisitive mind and an extremely curious thought process meant a battery of questions fired with a tenacity of a quiz master on a rapid fire round.

We were exploring many subjects. But the subjects that stuck for the longest period of time was ‘What is a living thing ?’

We explored different objects of his interest and held them up under the light of his ‘living’ or ‘non living thing’.

Chocolate.

Car.

Toy gun.

Uncle.

Ball.

Leaf.

Machine.

He was getting almost all of it right on his own. And the rest on some basic prompting.   Out of curiosity on what his mind map was around this,  I asked him how he came to conclusions. Teasing him with statements like ‘oh, but chocolates are wonderful. Why are they non-living’.

His prompt and clear response : ‘Chocolates are wonderful. But they don’t breathe. They don’t grow’.

Which brought a smile on my face. For with a simple answer to define life, he had brought to life, its defining essential : Growth !

Technically, he could have been speaking of physical growth and changes. My mind leapt to the other growth that has potential to happen till a human being is lowered into a grave. Growth that is deeper, taller, wider than that which is merely physical.

Development is an integral part of ‘possibilities’ for the future.  Development is anchored around ‘change’.  Change in knowledge, skills, attitude, behaviour !

Change when sustained, brings about development. Development that lurks and becomes part of a being, brings about growth !

Growth is the great sustenance for life in itself.

That airy morning, with a four year old clutching an outstretched hand, this lesson seeped in !

Life !

Bound by chains !

Word Cache, , , , ,

My morning walks acquaint me with scooters. In chains ! For a few days, i didn’t quite know what these scooters bound in chains signified.

Some wise man had said that man was born free, but was found in chains everywhere. But scooters ? This was indeed new.

And then, I was introduced to a ‘driving’ school for women. Which parked their bikes here. All chained together.

And in the morning, when the learners come up, the locks are removed and the unchained scooters come alive with an array of women with scooters marked ‘L’ signifying ‘a learner’.

‘Learning breaks down chains’ they say. Seems to be true here. And right here, it’s the chains that were latched on by the learning school ! The belief in the securing objects reigns here.

When not in use, objects are chained. There is still hope that the mind stays unchained. To the dark ages of the past.

Movie Land Lessons

Word Cache, ,
Friday evenings were movie times. For the past few weeks. In the quest of sustaining and solidifying a tradition of sorts, the two movies that were releasing this week stared at us.

a. Mission Istanbul
b. Money hai to honey hai.

After watching movies like Love Story 2050 and Kismet Konnection, reason did not permit a risk in the name of ‘entertainment’. So, here we are, at home. After a long while, spending the evening, looking into the cloud filled night sky as it pelts rain with such ferocity resembling a self respecting movie goer who has been taken for a ride by movie makers !

Movies are stories and good movies are stories well told. Stories that grip & leave an impact. That cause you to reflect. Prepare you for something bigger. Or at the least, lighten your heart and leave your mind pampered. After each of the movies that we saw in the recent times ( except for JTYJN), every shade of the opposite effect took place.

By abstaining from watching a movie this week, we are infact, letting our esteemed movie makers know that we have no trust in them !

Dear Movie makers / Director / Actor…

We also know, you would care two hoots to our opinion. Your industry runs on the steady stream of normal people, who you mistake for ‘dimwits who will pay and lap up any crap’ that you dish out.

Such ‘normal’ people take a while, for evolving to stay out of the zealous crap that you spell as ‘m-o-v-i-e’ ! Until then you would have a field day. Enjoy it while it lasts. We are losing patience !

Just as i write, i see that both movies releasing today, have got a zero rating in a review by a TV channel. Sure baby, money is honey. Time is honey ! Emotion is honey.

Am glad i metaphorically learn’t all of that, without watching ‘money hai to honey hai’!

Listening to Harsha Bhogle !

Word Cache, , ,
I had an opportunity to listen to Harsha Bhogle at a conference. And it was an insightful discussion. Harsha threw open the floor to questions in sometime, and as much as i marveled at the spontaneity and ease of his answers, i couldn’t help but notice the depth of some questions that came from the audience. Young minds and their passion exhibited best through and innate understanding of cricket and its nuances.
I found this on ABC’s website : “Harsha is regarded as Indian cricket’s first non-player celebrity. He hosts television programs such as Harsha Online and Harsha Unplugged and refreshingly combines the talents of Oprah Winfrey and Richie Benaud in the roles of presenter, quizmaster, interviewer, panellist and commentator.” After listening to him, i cant help agree more !

The IIM-A grad metamorphising into the cricket commentator that we all know of, was quite insightful to understand. So were some of the vagaries of cricket,from somebody who is up-close and personal to the pitch of the game! As i sat listening to him respond & push the audience to think and keep the conversation relevant to context, i couldn’t help but notice that Harsh has grown & evolved as well.

He talked of Ravi Shastri as somebody who grew into a commentator. I would imagine that Harsha himself has unlearnt and relearnt quite a few things to be where he is : a household name in Indian cricket. Yet not surrounded by talks of retirement or the odd controversy that seems to invariably tag players!

When asked about some of the best times and people that he had worked with, he talked about his liking of working with people who ‘provoke’ him, that caused him to be ‘on gaurd’ and ‘better prepared’ ! Naturally, its the aussies that he loves working with ! And it is ‘earnest’ cricketers like Anil Kumble that he admires quite a bit.

To me, the most enjoyable parts of his presentation were the quips that flew like a water from half closed hose pipe ! Some his and some quoted. Here are a few :

‘Bowling to Azhar would be like bowling to a revolving door. You never knew where the ball was going to be despatched to’

Laxman treats the ball with a certain degree of kindness. A kindness that the bat talks through a friendly caressing of the ball, to the boundary !

Sehwag’s reported comment : “Am playing the ball. Not the bowler’ If you dont grow, your standing actually comes down !

Shane Warne comes up with lines on his SMS that he perhaps cant come up with a ball !

McGrath’s reported comment after turning up, tired for a game : “I dont have petrol in the tank. I am running on fumes”

The learning was metaphorical. And extremely relevant and impactful ! Some parts of the interaction with him stay with me. Here is a small sprinking.

  • Humility wins & how the real champions are proud of who they play for, yet very humble.
  • Champions staying respectful of the opposition, yet being fiercely competitive.
  • On how important it is set big targets and go towards them.
  • On how the real champions let their game do all the talking.
  • On why trying too hard sometimes can be our undoing.
  • And how different times require different leaders.

These are universal truths. But the fact that it came packaged in the guise of a chap who comments on a game that the nation follows, has impact. The fact that he has got me think and reflect on broad connects is in itself an indication that the pathway to learning has been well created.

The cherry on the cake was this quip, that cracked me up so much that i had a hard time stopping myself from rolling on the floor !

“Siddhu cant do commentary anymore, because in commentary you have to pause” !!!!

I am still laughing !