Direct_and_indirect

Directness is the idea of learning being tied closely to the situation or context you want to use it in. In Jaiswal’s case, when he wanted to get enough architectural skill that firms would hire him, he opted to build a portfolio using the software those firms used and design in the style those firms practiced.

Most firms, of course, wander the second path, carefully making the most of the opportunities they get or perhaps seeing a slightly bigger picture and searching for more opportunities in the first place.

One interesting idea is how the decisions or actions you make are either dependent or independent of experience. For example, some things that are highly complex require zero experience to come to a conclusion on or do. Inversely, some things might be incredibly simple but require significant experience.

Most firms, of course, wander the second path, carefully making the most of the opportunities

The simplest way to be direct is to learn by doing. Whenever possible, if you can spend a good portion of your learning time just doing the thing you want to get better at, the problem of directness will likely go away. If this isn’t possible, you may need to create an artificial project or environment to test your skills. What matters most here is

managers say, “I’ve got to figure this out completely before I make a move.” They remain in “connecting” and “deciding,” and miss the learning that comes from experimentation (acting), and considering the results.