Difference between Training and Learning

Major Dr. Preba told us the story of Mahendra Prasad and Rajendra Prasad, of ancient India.

Mahendra Prasad was the Prime Minister of a Maharaja (King) in a faraway kingdom, and was an expert in interpreting dreams. One day, the Maharaja dreamt that he lost all his hair, and asked Mahendra to interpret the dream. Being skilled and honest, Mahendra explained that it was a sign that the queen may pass-away pretty soon. The Maharaja was super angry, and ordered Mahendra to be executed.

Rajendra Prasad was Mahendra’s younger brother and long time assistant. Being from a family of advisers, he replaced Mahedra as the Prime Minister…

After awhile, the Maharaja again dreamt that he lost all his hair, and summoned Rajendra to interpret his dream.

Rajendra remembered the fate of his elder brother. He calmly explained that the Maharaja will live very very long, longer than the queen…

He survived...

Knowledge is IQ, but presentation is EQ.

Few days back I attended a half-day seminar by Major Dr. Prebagaran (R) (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpraba/?originalSubdomain=my), organized by IEM JB, on Rescuing Troubled Projects. The seminar didn't dwell much into project management, but it was inspiring, a much needed booster in life. 

I thought I should share what I learned. 

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What is learning? How do you define learning? What is training?

As newbies at the workplace, we always lament the lack of training. Nowadays everyone, organizations, including the government is allocating large amount of budget for training or re-training. Some would demand you to train on-the-job. But do people really learn? How do you train someone effectively?

Learning brings change in behavior, and if there's no changes, learning did not happen - You may attend training, but there may not be learning. At the end, you didn't acquire knowledge that you WOULD use – You merely acquired attendance certificate. 

Training is like seeds. Training is when you have the best Roselle flower seeds, and plant it in your backyard. Afterwards, you still need to water it, add fertilizer, trim and tidy up the garden. If not, it'll become dried seeds. Most of the time, when things don't go right, we blame the seeds. It’s always someone else’s fault… We should never forget to look ourselves in the mirror.  

In pursue of training and education, we see many institutions being formed – colleges, universities, private schools, training centers… Training is big business. At the end, some institutions give education, but some give degrees. Most of the time, it's all up to the student.

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What is exercise? What is jalan-jalan (strolling around)?

There is a formula for cardio-exercise: 200 minus (your age) x 0.6 = cardio-exercise hearth rate/min, to be maintained for 15 minutes. 

Many people say walking is exercise, but it's more of jalan-jalan...

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Knowledge without action is waste, while action without knowledge is foolishness. I guess knowledge without sharing is not knowledge at all.

Being in the workforce for almost a decade, I have very much shredded the title of a fresh graduate or young engineer, in my field of expertise. Of course, if I suddenly decide to go into a brand-new field, like agriculture or culinary, I'll be a newbie all over again. 

So many a time, it's not the number of years that you've worked, but the experience for doing things right that counts. 

This also means that I have met many graduates and 'younger' engineers, who I could really relate to. I have also come across experienced people who are not well-versed on the basics. Maybe their expertise lie in other fields… All of us need to continue working on the basics and fundamentals, to solve more complex and complicated challenges. Never give up.

Graduation means, you have a license to START learning effectively. If you stop learning tomorrow, you'll be an educated idiot. Learning is not merely attending training or seminars. The ability to learn, and learn fast may only be developed when you leave someone down the drain. No pain, no gain I guess.

If learning is hard, to apply is even harder. Knowledge is meant to be shared. If we protect knowledge, we miss the opportunity to innovate and be creative. I am all for teaching and sharing knowledge. These knowledge aren't mine, as I also learned from my someone else, my professors, my mentors, my colleagues, and even my juniors. I am only a postman.

Actually, the learner must take ownership, have desire and hunger to improve. You could pull the donkey to the pond, but the donkey itself must drink. Forcing the donkey to drink may be detrimental in the long run.

Based on numerous researches, one of the top 'deadly waste' in organizations is non-utilized or under-utilized talent. This means that there are abundance of opportunities out there, craving talents. There is no reason why you can't use your talent, and do something for yourself. We should work 110% for the company, and make our bosses successful. Because when our bosses are successful, we are bound to also be. Anyway, don't let anyone determine your future. Don't let things that you can't do, prevent you from doing what you can. 

I for one, give 110% in what I do, but would go the extra mile of learning something new, or working on projects beyond work. Along the way, I was fortunate to learn some leadership skills - Leadership is action, not position. Respect is earned, not forced. Listening is more important than talking. 

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View from 旗峰公园,Dongguan, Guangzhou, China (Nov 2019)

The word ‘Guru’ is made up of ‘Gu’ which means darkness, and ‘Ru’ which means removal by knowledge. So Guru essentially means to remove darkness using knowledge. Many experts teach and use what works. The legendary Jack Welch, despite being GE’s CEO allocates 5 full-days in a calendar year for teaching. Training is what a teacher does, and learning is what a student does. But just because you are taught by a master, doesn’t mean learning took place. Nowadays, due to technology, experienced people can also learn from younger people. To test a certain learning, do a pilot project- PDCA as they say.

I think it is important to create awareness – If you wanna enjoy food, go hungry first~

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Appreciation is oxygen for the soul. A simple selfie or a thank you note from the CEO could do wonders.  

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The workshop was quite inspiring.

View of sunset at the workplace

Sometimes, we may lose our way a little, and that is why I love meeting new people, learning new things and take up new challenges.