Wisdom is an action word

Wisdom. We often hear the word, but what does it really mean?

Can you learn it?

Can we teach it?

At what point do we become wise old women and men?

I learned a couple of weeks ago that I am to be a grandfather next spring (so excited, and a granddaughter to boot). As many my age are want to do at this point, I started reflecting on who I am. More than when I was becoming a father for the first time, I felt the need to be more than just an adult figure in her life. She is going to have questions. She is going to want to make a difference. As such, I want to be a source of strength and wisdom for her. And, then I paused. What is this wisdom thing and how do I get it? Do I need to climb a mountain in Tibet and meet with a Guru in the cloud city?

Not to get too religious on anyone, but at this point I went to my weekly devotional and (call it coincidence if you must) I came upon this reading. "If you look up the definition for wisdom, you'll find this: knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgement as to action. We can have all the knowledge in the world stored in our brains, but if we don't know how to apply it and move that information to action, we don't have wisdom. Basically, we can know more than the average person, but if we don't apply what we know appropriately, we're foolish." (http://my.bible.com)

What I found interesting in this, the definition of wisdom sounds a lot like our instructional design definition for action learning. Wisdom requires application. Whether the program we are creating is for behavior interviewing, code of ethics, risk management, or anything else, if what we produce is simply a dictionary of facts and definitions of policy with no application, then our learners come away no wiser in the process. And, when you consider the issues organizations can face regarding regulatory errors and breaches of public trust, perhaps it is the result of malicious intent, and perhaps it is a lack of individual and organizational wisdom. As the passage above states — "what is true or right coupled with just judgement as to action." It is the absence of just judgement where we as humans often fail. It is also where artificial intelligence falls short entirely. Can a robot have wisdom? The great thing is as instructional designers we have the opportunity to affect the judgement and decision making process of our fellow employees to help them develop behaviors through active learning. This is uniquely human capability.

I know I want to make a difference through my work. I want to be an example for my grandchildren. And, while I cannot speak for all of you, I know many of you feel the same for those in your circle. We can improve the lives of ourselves, our peers and the world we impact on a daily basis. All it takes is caring, wisdom and action to change the world.