Edition 5.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to attend some new release tastings around Brisbane. My daughter has accompanied me to a few, as she is enjoying being my new partner in wine. It struck me how much a person can pick up knowledge of a topic from just being exposed at arm’s length. To date, she has been observing my journey from the sidelines – supporting me from a technical perspective, sitting in on virtual tastings interested in the geographical aspects, and accompanying some trips to vineyards as the designated driver and a purveyor of the cheese plates. She has also grudgingly endured my obsessive wine podcast playlists whilst I was her handy Mother’s Taxi service.
Learning does come through many modes, and we each learn differently. Covid challenged how we seek out learning opportunities. Many traditional channels were shut down or under restrictions. We became more tolerant of virtual learning. The sayings ‘Let’s meet on Zoom’ or ‘You’re on mute’ are phrases that capture how we adapted to living with Covid. Wine tastings moved to online virtual events – like my daughter’s Uni lectures. While they presented convenience, they also enabled like-minded people from multiple cities to connect via these virtual meetings, creating new connections. Now these virtual wine tastings are becoming harder to find. Is this a sign that we are returning to our default geographic silos?
Learning in the presence of others encourages osmosis. Diversity in those groups brings different points of view. Going outside your comfort zone to broaden your knowledge through social interactions with like-minded people is one of the foundation stones of the 70-20-10 learning model. We can learn 70% through experience, yet only 10% may come from formal learning. My daughter’s sideline attendance at virtual wine tastings offered her passive participation to build her wine confidence. It also exposed her to different points of view from the audiences at those events. She recounted a poignant comment that one speaker made from an American-hosted virtual tasting. It blew me away that she picked up on this point of information – but clearly, it spoke to her.
My reflection for this week
Despite all that Covid threw us – we’ve grown through non-traditional channels and been able to reach new markets and influence thinking to a broader audience. A new normal has emerged. On an organisational level, in IT project management and the wine industry, companies are either adapting or reverting to their comfort zones. Disruption can be a consequence and an opportunity.
