Hi

When I trained as an accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co. all those years ago, I was lucky to be immersed in a culture that believed learning was more than a compliance exercise. Andersens invested in developing its people as thinkers. We didn’t just memorise the standards - we discussed them, questioned them, and applied them.

That experience has shaped how I see learning today. The truth is most of us were never taught how to learn. We were taught what to think, but not how to adapt when the landscape shifts. And the landscape now is shifting faster than ever.

If there’s one skill every professional needs now, it’s this: learning how to learn. Not just to keep up with technology or new regulations but to stay curious, resilient and able to reinvent ourselves as circumstances demand.

The Paradox of Modern Learning

It’s never been easier—or harder—to learn.

We live in an age of infinite information. Any skill, topic, or tool is a few clicks away. Yet this abundance can overwhelm us. We start dozens of courses we never finish. We skim articles without applying them. We let AI summarise everything but rarely pause to think critically about what we’ve read.

Meanwhile, workplaces have shifted. Learning isn’t something you ‘go away and do’ anymore. It happens in the flow of work: solving client problems, testing new systems, experimenting with fresh approaches.

The paradox is clear: the tools to learn are everywhere, but so are the distractions and the illusions of mastery.

Why Lifelong Learning is Now a Survival Strategy

In the past, you could master a set of skills and rely on them for decades. That era is over. McKinsey predicts that nearly 40% of skills will be obsolete within five years.

What’s replacing them? Skills that change faster than we can memorise them.

And this is where many small firms get stuck. They imagine lifelong learning requires big budgets, glossy platforms, and armies of trainers. But that’s just not true.

What you need is a mindset—a culture where learning is normal, visible, and expected.

It starts with understanding that your most valuable asset isn’t what you know. It’s how quickly you can learn, unlearn, and relearn.

The Three Practices That Make Learning Stick

If you strip away the fads and the jargon, learning how to learn comes down to three practices:

1. Experimentation
   Don’t just absorb information. Try things. In your business, this might look like testing a new pricing model for a month or piloting a digital tool with one client. Small experiments produce real data about what works and what doesn’t.
2. Metacognition
   This simply means observing your own thinking. After any project or training, pause to ask:
   • What worked well?
   • What didn’t?
   • What would I do differently next time?
     It sounds obvious, but few people do it consistently. The Plus-Minus-Next method can turn every experience into a learning opportunity.
3. Iteration
   Learning compounds when you act on your reflections. Drop what doesn’t serve you. Double down on what does. Adjust your approach one small step at a time.

In my own business, this cycle—experiment, reflect, adjust—is what keeps us moving forward. It’s also what keeps the work interesting.

Learning in the Flow of Work

One of the most powerful shifts you can make is to design work itself as a learning engine.

Instead of expecting people to find time to learn after the ‘real work’ is done, build development into everyday tasks:

• Give team members stretch assignments that grow their skills.
• Use project debriefs as coaching opportunities.
• Encourage peer learning through short knowledge-sharing sessions.

Technology can help here too. Simple tools like AI assistants or curated learning resources can make support available on demand. But don’t let the tech become the main event. The heart of learning is reflection and action.

Curiosity: The Unspoken Ingredient

No learning strategy works without curiosity. If you want your team to embrace change, you need to model curiosity yourself.

Share what you’re exploring. Admit when you don’t know something. Celebrate experimentation, even when it fails.

In a small firm, culture is set by what you do every day, not what you say in an all-hands meeting.

Supporting Different Brains

One final thought: not everyone learns the same way.

Neurodivergent colleagues, for example, might be hyper-focused on some topics and struggle with others. That’s not a problem to fix. It’s a difference to respect.

Offer flexibility. Let people set learning goals that align with their strengths and interests. Make space for different rhythms.

When people feel safe to learn in the way that works for them, they do their best work.

A Practical Path Forward

If you’re wondering how to start building a learning culture, here’s a simple framework:

1. Anchor learning to your business goals.
   What skills will your firm need in the next three years?
2. Make learning visible and recognised.
   Celebrate progress, however small.
3. Embed learning in the flow of work.
   Design tasks that stretch people.
4. Support reflection and recuperation.
   Balance effort with time to think and recharge.
5. Lead by example.
   Show your team that you’re learning too.

The Skill Behind All Skills

If there’s one message I’d leave you with, it’s this: In a world where knowledge changes faster than any of us can keep up, your competitive advantage isn’t knowing the most.

It’s staying curious.

It’s experimenting, reflecting, and adjusting - over and over again.

It’s learning how to learn.

And you don’t need a map for that. Just a willingness to start.

Noel Guilford

PS This concludes my ‘mini-series’ on learning. If you’ve found it interesting and would like help to develop a learning culture either for your own development, your business or for your team let’s have a conversation.