Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
In this episode, I reflect on the decision point that appears whenever we choose what to learn next — the moment where time, energy, and attention become real, committed, investments.
Why do some courses and learning paths feel like obligation while others create momentum?
And why do the subjects we study out of pure curiosity often shape our work more than the certifications and professional learning we pursue for career progression?
Why do some courses and learning paths feel like obligation while others create momentum?
And why do the subjects we study out of pure curiosity often shape our work more than the certifications and professional learning we pursue for career progression?
This is a gentle exploration of learning as behaviour, interest as energy, and the idea that workplaces are made of humans whose broader development can bring unexpected value.
An idea worth playing with to consider noticing what genuinely draws your attention — and to consider how curiosity, not just credentials, influences who we become at work.
Associated article - https://www.cultivatedmanagement.com/learning-as-idea-to-value/
Creators and Guests
What is Here's an idea worth playing with?
A podcast from Cultivated about words, work and the ideas hiding underneath both.
Every week, Word@Work takes a single word that we often use in work, and follows it back to where it came from - its history, its original meaning, the way we've come to use it, and what that tells us about the popular business of being at work with each other.
Because words aren't just labels. They carry assumptions, histories and ways of seeing the world. Look closely at a word like "deadline", "career", "amateur", "cultivate" or "strategy" and you often find an entirely new way of thinking about work.
Alongside Word@Work, the podcast brings ideas from the Cultivated library to life in audio: essays, field observations, conversations and explorations of work, communication, learning, creativity, attention, making and the journey from an idea to something valuable in the world.
The episodes are deliberately short.
Curious rather than preachy.
More interested in following a good question than delivering a list of answers.
For people who care about how work actually happens - and who enjoy discovering that there is usually a much more interesting story behind the words we use every day.
Hi, everybody. And welcome to this episode of here's an idea worth playing with. I hope you're doing safe and well. The weather's starting to brighten up a fair bit here in The UK after pretty much essentially a month and a half of rain. Anyway, don't know why we start these podcasts with the weather, but there you go.
Rob:I'm British after all. Anyway, this week I signed up to three courses that I thought I should do for my career, And then I didn't open any of them. I kept getting email reminders and every time I saw them I felt that that pull, that friction, that guilt, I guess. Now this wasn't because they weren't useful, but because when it came to actually investing my time, energy, and attention, I just couldn't bring myself to start. You see, I've realized the hardest part of learning for me isn't finding resources.
Rob:I mean, there's endless books, courses, podcasts, videos, everything. You've got so much choice nowadays. The hard part is the decision point. Where do I invest my human finite resources of energy, time and attention. There's always the rational voice that says, you know, do this professional qualification, it's gonna be great for your CV.
Rob:Then there's another voice that asks, you know, kind of are you are you actually interested in this subject? Is it compelling? Is it exciting? Is it interesting? And I've noticed that when I ignore interest completely, learning becomes a slog.
Rob:I mean, I've talked about my HR CIPD course on this podcast and on the website many times. But when I follow interest and energy and enthusiasm, learning becomes momentum. Some of the most valuable things I've learned in my career had no obvious professional link at the time. Things like creativity, you know, sketching, music, filmmaking, audio production, photography. You know, I talk about these things a lot on this channel and on the website.
Rob:These are subjects that really just simply caught my attention. I'm just interested in them. But here's what happens. When you're genuinely interested in something, you go deeper into that subject. You experiment more.
Rob:You remember more. The learning process itself is more fun. It's more engaging. You're committing more of yourself to it. And over time, those skills ultimately change how you think and essentially sometimes change how you behave which results in changing how you work.
Rob:I've often found that the course taken out of curiosity, out of interest, out of enthusiasm, out of a passion for the subject has given me far more unique insights than a course taken purely for certification or professional development. Not because certifications and professional development are bad, they're actually sometimes essential, but because interest changes the quality of attention, the quality of study, the quality of engagement. And ultimately, our workplaces are made up of humans. Humans who come together to take an idea and turn it into value. We aren't just job titles.
Rob:When people develop broadly, creatively, intellectually, personally, they often bring a wider perspective into their work. Different ways of seeing problems, different ways of adding more intelligence to the products and services that we're building, different ways of communicating ideas, they spot patterns, they bring in different elements and different ways of thinking from what it is that they're studying. Maybe part of development isn't only training people for the role they have today, but actually maybe it's about supporting the person, the individual that they are becoming. So the idea I'm playing with today and an idea that I think is worth playing with is this. When you reach that decision point in learning about where you're going to invest your time, your energy, and your attention, and sometimes your money, notice what genuinely interests you, not just what looks good on paper.
Rob:Because I found that the subjects that energize you, that intrigue you, that motivate you, that engage you often shape you the most. And here's the thing, I think shaped people, people who understand themselves, people who are engaged in learning, I think they bring better value than the perfectly certified, the perfectly professionally graded ones often do. Now I think that is an idea worth playing with. And if you're interested about how to use the idea to value system to learn to grow your career, then there is a supporting article on the Cultivator Management website. For studio members, there's also an insight into the tools, the process, the system, so to speak, that I personally use about how to take learning information and turn it into something of value.
Rob:Even those subjects that don't appear initially to be related to work itself. I am gonna go and play the guitar. It's unlikely to bring me much in terms of my professional development. However, it is hopefully shaping me and improving my quality of life. So with that, I'm gonna go and strum some really bad chords, pretend I'm 18 again, in a band called Merchandise Flying Ducks.
Rob:Yes, that was the name of the band that I was in with a few mates back when I was at college and university. Anyway, you didn't need to know that. I look forward to speaking to you in the next episode. You take care of yourselves. Bye bye.