People naturally like to share what they know. It’s validating to show expertise in a subject and get positive feedback. Still, I continue to meet people who conceal what they know, particularly in the work place. They are either worried about exposing what they don’t know or consider it job security to protect what they do, so others will continue to need them. While this may be true, it also ensures that they will continue to do those same tasks, indefinitely. The benefit to sharing what you know at work is that this allows others to help with the work so you can learn something new. When you stop sharing, you stop learning.
I consider myself a lifelong learner with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. I’m motivated to share and teach others what I know so I can continue to learn and grow myself. I don’t want to do be static and I consider this attitude a value to my employer and clients. Every time I learn something new I am able to make a fresh contribution. I subscribe to the mantra: “there is always a better way.” It’s simple. If you collaborate with others, you increase your options. Problems are solved and people learn.
I marvel at the success of social media (including blogs) to engage people in discussion. It’s a contagious sensation igniting people’s natural inclination to share. It also causes the publishing elite to scramble for a new definition of publishing. When I was working on my masters in publishing, I was drawn into many spirited debates on the role and effectiveness of electronic publishing. Although everyone agreed on where publishing was going, there were disagreements about how it would affect the quality of the industry. Then and now, I like to take the role of devil’s advocate to keep the conversation going. And, it’s a great conversation.
Today I am relaunching the ePublish Media business site as a blog to contribute to the web publishing community and help educate and promote best practices. This is also my new learning sandbox—for testing theories, experimenting, and allowing others to watch me work. My hope is that this will encourage people to engage in dialogue with me on topics of writing and electronic publishing, web design, marketing and communications, and technology. I look forward to learning from you.
