"When you are green you are growing, but when you are ripe you are starting to rot." That was one of the many quotes of Ray Kroc, the MacDonald's chain founder. I believe it totally. It is the natural order of all things in nature. Look at the plants and animals.

Only he know what he was refering to for sure. For me, it means you have to keep learning, keep experiencing new things and continually use your imagination. Used, your brain will grow. Unsued, your brain will fade. Without hard use, your brain will fade and die.

A simple concept to accept really. Kids know the value of this idea. They all soak up new information and new experiences. It doesn not have to be new to kids. They will go over the same material many many times. They want to know everything cold. It is not they did not "get it", they love the mental stimulation. They're a perfect example of being “green” and growing.

Many believe that when they receive instruction or input on a topic they are on the path to learning and growing. The philosophy of that is a good one to internalize. This exposure to new material is an excellent catalyst for growth. It’s addictive to many.

Use a young person as your role model for this exercise. You really want to be as curious as a little child about everything. You were enormously skillful at curiosity when you were little. Return to that level.

As you use your mind to absorb and understand the information, your mind grows. This is a very healthy state to be in. This result is exactly the one you want to have.

This Become a continuous learner right away. These is excellent online management training to help.

Let us discuss a couple of additional issues. The first one is learning something new and exciting, but not taking any action with this new knowledge. It is a variation of an issue I have written about before. Not taking action is the problem.

The real trouble begins when we trick ourselves to believe we actually know something about something. Many experts get themselves in this jam. Many people can fall into this trap. It could be a senior manager at some organization or someone who's moved up through the trades. Some trade associations try to fix this. Many of them have minimum numbers of educational hours every year. This additional education is designed to keep people from getting stale.
Don't laugh. It could actually happen to you if you're not careful.

What's the best way to prevent this situation happening to you personally?
When you say something like “I know all about that” that's an early sign of a tendency to be a non-learner. If you think that way you probably already are limiting yourself.

Think about it. Saying, “I know that” at any time could be a clue to you. Think about it. If you do say something like that how likely is it for the person talking to continue. You have stopped communications.

Or, you will say "I know" or "I have heard this all before" in your mind and stop listening.

I consider myself a student—always learning. Many look on me as a guru in business and management. I think that's great they feel that way, but I prefer to think myself a student. I focus on attending any educational venue I can. Whenever possible I seek out and talk to others in my field.

You need to adapt the same philosophy or...

Have a problem? That's a great place to start. 

Additional resources are within these management short courses.