The article dates back to January of 2007, but it’s relevance is still quite strong:

Keeping Leadership and Research at Home

“Nine leaders offer their opinions on what the U.S. should do to hold onto its braintrust and stay on the cutting edge of innovation”

Even though the article discusses strategies specifically for the United States, the focus on education and continuing education is something that I find many seasoned leaders take for granted in their organizations.  There seems to be an assumption that people are “skilled enough” or that training offered one time a year will keep employees inspired and competitive.  Quite frankly, I don’t believe this position is going to get anyone very far into the future.  Ongoing education (both formal and informal) is not only going to be required for employees, employers are going to be asked to develop a first in class ongoing training and development program which keeps members of the organization one step ahead of the rest of the world.     This article shares some very cutting edge suggestions (Example:  “Open Source Education”).

As we move into the next 3-5 years, this article is a must read for any leader in any corner of the world.

One of the best articles I have read in a long time appeared in the March issue of Harvard Business Review: Is Yours a Learning Organization?

If you are a leader (please remember, if you are leading 1, 2 or 50,000 people, you are a leader), I highly encourage you to pick up this issue or at least purchase a copy of this article. We are in the age of the knowledge worker, and the article starts off clearly stating the assumption many leaders are making today: “Leaders may think that getting their organizations to learn is only a matter of articulating a clear vision, giving employees the right incentives, providing lots of training. This assumption is not merely flawed — it’s risky in the face of intensifying competition, advances in technology, and shifts in customer preferences.”

I am not going to tell you about the rest of the article, but there are three critical building blocks presented in this article. For more information on the article, check out the article here: Is Yours a Learning Organization?