This was a year for learning new things. We all witnessed a chaotic and unpredictable Presidential election. We saw changes in local leadership. We also saw significant progress in some local efforts to grow the region. But what is there to learn from all these activities and changes?
The Harvest Team works at being a learning organization. Learning isn’t something that just happens, and I recently heard it described as being willing to take the risk of learning something new or to being open to changing your mind. Not everyone wants to take that risk or do that on a regular basis. So we put the process behind the efforts to try to make learning normalized and less risky.
Earlier this year, we read the book, Think Again by Adam Grant. Mr. Grant is a well-known organizational psychologist and published author and podcaster. Sheryl Agee wrote a summary about her learning in the October newsletter.
The essence of the book is to challenge yourself to think like a scientist. Never assume you know all the information and be willing to receive new information and modify your opinion based on the newest data or research. This can be hard since it seems some research is always changing — like constantly changing advice if chocolate and wine are good for you or not.
But in a more serious light, one of the lessons I took from this book was to always challenge my assumptions and to seek other ways of understanding and other perspectives.
This year provided many opportunities to practice this lesson. I am practicing and learning how to understand someone’s pathways to why they believe or think a way about a certain issue or project so that understanding can lead to progress. (This practice is also very helpful at home, too!)
It’s easy to disregard people’s opinions that are different than yours, but it is worth the risk to think a bit differently and find a way to common ground. Not only do you benefit personally, but the community should, too.
I hope you and those you love have a joyful holiday season and a blessed 2025!
