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Today, I received the following question via LinkedIn from a new connection: "...do you still believe in learning via reading books?..."
I believe in continuous Kaizen (改善) - and that also touches on self-directed personal learning. I am probably relatively high, among most cohorts, on any Autodidacticism spectrum.
Well-written books are a great treasure. When a competent author - who is also a subject-matter expert - has taken the time to think deeply about a subject - and has invested (usually) 12-18 months in researching, preparing, outlining, drafting, revising, writing, rewriting, reviewing, and rewriting some more - the finished work is usually a holistic view/treatment of the subject matter.
My personal library includes over 3,000 books - on a broad and deep cross-section of topics - including art, literature, writing, sales & marketing, business management, consulting, start-ups, entrepreneurship, mentoring/coaching, psychology, history, languages, philosophy, game theory, many different areas of science specialization (medicine, surgery, pharmacology, computer science, information technology, many areas of mathematics, physics, astronomy, geology, biology, chemistry, ...), several different areas of mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines, archaeology, travel, biographies, fiction, many different types of technical/craftsmanship skilled trade manuals, sailing, adventure, wilderness/pioneering skills, architecture, house building, farming and gardening, survival manuals, solo sports that rely on the individual's skill and performance, many different religions, several types of dictionaries, and a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica - as well as the 60 volume set of Great Books of the Western World.
As a solo consultant practitioner - knowledge management is a critically important skill. I must be able to develop (or expand, or refresh) strong and deep domain and technical expertise quickly - and maintain selected areas of expertise on an on-going basis. What follows are some of the essential components of my personal strategy.
My commitment to learning also involves working on a freelance basis with Manning Publications - as a Technical Development Editor (TDE) for new books that are in development.
I also read quite a few blogs, articles, and papers on a weekly basis (my favorite source for research papers: arxiv.org).
Additional resources that I leverage:
- coursera.com
- YouTube.com - for conference talks, tech channels, etc.
- DZone.com
- InfoQ.com
I also read quite a few blogs, articles, and papers on a weekly basis (my favorite source for research papers: arxiv.org).
Additional resources that I leverage:
- coursera.com
- YouTube.com - for conference talks, tech channels, etc.
- DZone.com
- InfoQ.com
- SlideShare.net
- HighScalability.com
- Dev.to
- Hackernoon.com
...are also sometimes good sources for interesting articles
- My "short list" of useful links includes 1,935 entries, organized by many specialized topics and sub-topics...in addition to many technical podcasts that I monitor with iTunes...
I also spend quite a bit of time doing hands-on experimenting with new/leading edge technologies - which I leverage my 99 github repositories - or this research notebook blog - as simple knowledge management tools to capture lessons-learned, useful notes, reminders, tips, how-to's...
Following 3,500+ Twitter.com profiles (with many dozens of Lists defined to organize into specialized topics), and subscribing to 60+ Meetup.com groups, and 50+ LinkedIn.com groups - gives me additional vectors from which to maintain (or, quickly develop) a current situational-awareness of interesting technologies, discussions, and topics that are trending/emerging.
- HighScalability.com
- Dev.to
- Hackernoon.com
...are also sometimes good sources for interesting articles
- My "short list" of useful links includes 1,935 entries, organized by many specialized topics and sub-topics...in addition to many technical podcasts that I monitor with iTunes...
I also spend quite a bit of time doing hands-on experimenting with new/leading edge technologies - which I leverage my 99 github repositories - or this research notebook blog - as simple knowledge management tools to capture lessons-learned, useful notes, reminders, tips, how-to's...
Following 3,500+ Twitter.com profiles (with many dozens of Lists defined to organize into specialized topics), and subscribing to 60+ Meetup.com groups, and 50+ LinkedIn.com groups - gives me additional vectors from which to maintain (or, quickly develop) a current situational-awareness of interesting technologies, discussions, and topics that are trending/emerging.
I've also invested time in building a carefully selected LinkedIn network of 5,000+ thought leaders, creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, inventors, executives, and highly skilled technologists - that I can quickly tap for their insights, experience, and expertise.
I often leverage StackOverflow.com - when I need short/quick/urgent answers
For broader/deeper efforts to keep an eye on the horizon, and a bit further out...I leverage the following:
Conferences:
The Strange Loop conference held in St. Louis
QConSF.com San Francisco
Membership with the ACM.org and IEEE.org are also excellent resource for keeping your eyes on the prize, and a weather eye on the horizon. Their library of articles, as well as their journals - are top shelf.
I often leverage StackOverflow.com - when I need short/quick/urgent answers
For broader/deeper efforts to keep an eye on the horizon, and a bit further out...I leverage the following:
Conferences:
The Strange Loop conference held in St. Louis
QConSF.com San Francisco
Membership with the ACM.org and IEEE.org are also excellent resource for keeping your eyes on the prize, and a weather eye on the horizon. Their library of articles, as well as their journals - are top shelf.
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