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Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive
Keep learning, or risk becoming irrelevant.
It's a truism in today's the only constant is change. Technological automation is making jobs less routine and more cognitively challenging. Globalization means you're competing with workers around the world. Simultaneously, the internet and other communication technologies have radically increased the potential impact of individual knowledge.The relentless dynamism of these forces shaping our lives has created a new we must strive to become dynamic learners. In every industry and sector, dynamic learners outperform their peers and realize higher impact and fulfillment by learning continuously and by leveraging that learning to build yet more knowledge.
In Never Stop Learning, behavioral scientist and operations expert Bradley R. Staats describes the principles and practices that comprise dynamic learning and outlines a framework to help you become more effective as a lifelong learner. The steps
Valuing failureFocusing on process, not outcome, and on questions, not answersMaking time for reflectionLearning to be true to yourself by playing to your strengthsPairing specialization with varietyTreating others as learning partners
Replete with the most recent research about how we learn as well as engaging stories that show how real learning happens, Never Stop Learning will become the operating manual for leaders, managers, and anyone who wants to keep thriving in the new world of work.
It's a truism in today's the only constant is change. Technological automation is making jobs less routine and more cognitively challenging. Globalization means you're competing with workers around the world. Simultaneously, the internet and other communication technologies have radically increased the potential impact of individual knowledge.The relentless dynamism of these forces shaping our lives has created a new we must strive to become dynamic learners. In every industry and sector, dynamic learners outperform their peers and realize higher impact and fulfillment by learning continuously and by leveraging that learning to build yet more knowledge.
In Never Stop Learning, behavioral scientist and operations expert Bradley R. Staats describes the principles and practices that comprise dynamic learning and outlines a framework to help you become more effective as a lifelong learner. The steps
Valuing failureFocusing on process, not outcome, and on questions, not answersMaking time for reflectionLearning to be true to yourself by playing to your strengthsPairing specialization with varietyTreating others as learning partners
Replete with the most recent research about how we learn as well as engaging stories that show how real learning happens, Never Stop Learning will become the operating manual for leaders, managers, and anyone who wants to keep thriving in the new world of work.
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2018
159 people are currently reading
1203 people want to read
About the author
Bradley R. Staats
4 books10 followersBrad Staats integrates work in operations management and human behavior to understand how and under what conditions individuals, teams, and organizations can perform their best. His first book, Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself and Thrive was selected by Susan Cain, Adam Grant, Malcolm Gladwell, and Dan Pink as a Summer 2018 selection for their Next Big Idea Book Club. His research uses archival data and field experiments to provide an interdisciplinary perspective that contributes to improving operations in the service, technology, and healthcare industries. He works with many companies around the world on their learning and analytics strategies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 2, 2018
In NEVER STOP LEARNING, professor Bradley Staats explains why we often do just that. His research shows we fall into all kinds of traps, which impede our learning.
I found it helpful to first skim through the book to get a feel for his points. Then, I went back and read in greater detail the points that seemed most relevant to me.
I found two chapters in particular to be especially valuable:
Chapter 2: "Why Don't We Learn from Failure?" and
Chapter 4: "Asking Questions."
Our society frowns on failure. When it happens, we think that "something has gone wrong." Therefore, we are hesitant to try new ideas that could fail. The problem is, to be a growing learner, we have to be willing to fail.
Our learning is also inhibited because we don't explore different avenues. And when we do, we choose answers that tend to confirm our presuppositions: "We too quickly assume that we understand a situation given the information that surrounds us."
In Chapter 3, the professor suggests we change our focus a bit. We tend to focus too much on the actual end result. This is often unwarranted. Instead, we should look more at the process. We need to develop a "keen eye for where value is created."
So all in all, I found NEVER STOP LEARNING to be a fun, helpful read. Several of the chapters were quite beneficial to me, whereas other chapters not so much. Naturally, this will vary among the readers.
I found it helpful to first skim through the book to get a feel for his points. Then, I went back and read in greater detail the points that seemed most relevant to me.
I found two chapters in particular to be especially valuable:
Chapter 2: "Why Don't We Learn from Failure?" and
Chapter 4: "Asking Questions."
Our society frowns on failure. When it happens, we think that "something has gone wrong." Therefore, we are hesitant to try new ideas that could fail. The problem is, to be a growing learner, we have to be willing to fail.
Our learning is also inhibited because we don't explore different avenues. And when we do, we choose answers that tend to confirm our presuppositions: "We too quickly assume that we understand a situation given the information that surrounds us."
In Chapter 3, the professor suggests we change our focus a bit. We tend to focus too much on the actual end result. This is often unwarranted. Instead, we should look more at the process. We need to develop a "keen eye for where value is created."
So all in all, I found NEVER STOP LEARNING to be a fun, helpful read. Several of the chapters were quite beneficial to me, whereas other chapters not so much. Naturally, this will vary among the readers.
July 23, 2019
Few important points discussed in the book as follows:
- One must be dynamic learner for survival in career
- Routine jobs will be taken by AI, whereas there will emergence of non-routine cognitive jobs
- One must learn in such a way that she could compete in global arena, because jobs will be like that
- Strengthen one's strength. It is better than rectifying one's weakness
- Be aware of Bias like -
Outcome - when outcome of an action is good then thinking that process is flaw less and vice versa
Action - always needs to be active
Availability - taking decision on readily available data and
Confirmation - whatever I am saying is true
- T-shaped learning - "stay specialized within the short term, but over time branch out"
- One must be dynamic learner for survival in career
- Routine jobs will be taken by AI, whereas there will emergence of non-routine cognitive jobs
- One must learn in such a way that she could compete in global arena, because jobs will be like that
- Strengthen one's strength. It is better than rectifying one's weakness
- Be aware of Bias like -
Outcome - when outcome of an action is good then thinking that process is flaw less and vice versa
Action - always needs to be active
Availability - taking decision on readily available data and
Confirmation - whatever I am saying is true
- T-shaped learning - "stay specialized within the short term, but over time branch out"
October 20, 2019
There's nothing particularly earth-shattering in these pages - a few nuggets I am able to utilize with my team as we talk about playing to their strengths, but that's about it.
January 10, 2019
I read this book as part of the Next Big Idea Book Club. The content in Never Stop Learning is easy to understand and has a lot of practical applications that can easily be immediately implemented as part of day-to-day business operations. The two most important concepts for me were one (1) taking time to reflect on what just occurred, and two (2) the process is just as important as the result. I would recommend this book if you are an adult learner and want to incorporate more learning into the everyday.
September 19, 2018
If you are in the business world.....you & your team need to read this book! Subtitle says it all: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, & Thrive.
Lots of positive practical research driven ideas for you & your team to try. Even if it's just you...read the book.
An easy read but slow it down to absorb all of the research.
Lots of positive practical research driven ideas for you & your team to try. Even if it's just you...read the book.
An easy read but slow it down to absorb all of the research.
November 26, 2019
I learned some interesting tidbits from the first couple of chapters, but the book is mostly common sense. It’s a quick read about the challenges and pitfalls of learning, both on an individual level and in teams, it could serve as a list of helpful reminders.
A couple of oldies-but-goodies:
* Valuing failure—We should be willing to fail in order to learn.
* Process rather than outcome—Focusing on the outcome is misguided, because we don’t know how we got there, whereas a process focus frees us to learn.
Fav quote:
To [...] learn from failure, you must begin by recognizing that failure is not typically as bad as you think it will be. Moreover, when you do fail, don’t let the learning opportunity escape by attributing the cause to outside events or denying that the failure even occurred. To learn, remember that “success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
A couple of oldies-but-goodies:
* Valuing failure—We should be willing to fail in order to learn.
* Process rather than outcome—Focusing on the outcome is misguided, because we don’t know how we got there, whereas a process focus frees us to learn.
Fav quote:
To [...] learn from failure, you must begin by recognizing that failure is not typically as bad as you think it will be. Moreover, when you do fail, don’t let the learning opportunity escape by attributing the cause to outside events or denying that the failure even occurred. To learn, remember that “success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
October 28, 2020
If you know me, you won’t be surprised that I was drawn to this book when a copy was sent to me. After all, I am a lifelong learner, and nearly all of my writing implies (if not overtly suggests) the value of lifelong learning.
Title alone, of course, doesn’t make a book good, so I was pleased when I dove in to find the book lived up my hopes and expectations. The author and I agree on the value and importance of learning (and he sells that idea in the first chapter), and we agree that while humans can be voracious learners, we seldom are.
Read more...
Title alone, of course, doesn’t make a book good, so I was pleased when I dove in to find the book lived up my hopes and expectations. The author and I agree on the value and importance of learning (and he sells that idea in the first chapter), and we agree that while humans can be voracious learners, we seldom are.
Read more...
January 3, 2019
A read that was both easy and compelling
It was great to read something by an Academic that was mainly in laymens terms. This book is for all audiences. If you know a blocked learner definitely slip them this book as it's a great education piece with practical tips that also holds up a mirror.
It was great to read something by an Academic that was mainly in laymens terms. This book is for all audiences. If you know a blocked learner definitely slip them this book as it's a great education piece with practical tips that also holds up a mirror.
September 15, 2018
A great look at continuous learning, which I’m a big fan of. I believe that learning is a life-long endeavor. There’s not a ton of mind bending new information, but a good read nonetheless.
September 27, 2025
I picked up this book because I needed help. I wanted to add structure and intentionality to what I am learning. This book provides a fantastic review of fundamental concepts - stated simply and with applicable suggestions.
Simple is easy to execute, and success is about execution. Let the concepts sink in. Think about whether you're reading this book to learn or to gather information only to forget it in a month. A true lifelong learner will appreciate this book.
It's a great reference manual for those who care about intentional learning. I love the research support.
Some of the critiques about the focus on your strength section in the reviews are flat out inaccurate - pages 129-132 address strategically working on your weaknesses.
Depending on your personality and experiences, there are going to be sections that hit you hard and other sections are helpful reminders of good habits.
The only thing I wish the book had was a large summary section compiling the exercises and recapping the main points.
Ill also add that this book may seem outdated to people who only read new books, but the underlying concepts are evergreen.
Fantastic book.
Simple is easy to execute, and success is about execution. Let the concepts sink in. Think about whether you're reading this book to learn or to gather information only to forget it in a month. A true lifelong learner will appreciate this book.
It's a great reference manual for those who care about intentional learning. I love the research support.
Some of the critiques about the focus on your strength section in the reviews are flat out inaccurate - pages 129-132 address strategically working on your weaknesses.
Depending on your personality and experiences, there are going to be sections that hit you hard and other sections are helpful reminders of good habits.
The only thing I wish the book had was a large summary section compiling the exercises and recapping the main points.
Ill also add that this book may seem outdated to people who only read new books, but the underlying concepts are evergreen.
Fantastic book.
November 9, 2018
This was a great book that explains how to keep learning in the context of a busy life. Staats explains why continuous learning is not only important, but enjoyable, and he provides advice on how to keep learning, including overcoming the barriers -- often self inflicted-- in front of us. Staats addresses one guideline per chapter, and the pattern in most of the chapters is especially helpful. He starts by motivating the principle. Then he follows up by explaining why its effective (with data and stories). Finally he discusses the common barriers we face to implementing the guideline with advice about how to overcome them.
An easy to read book that clearly explains ideas about how to be a better learned, supports them with data, and clarifies them with stories. The book is addressed at adults in the business world, but you can apply the advice as a manager, individual, or even parent (or teacher).
An easy to read book that clearly explains ideas about how to be a better learned, supports them with data, and clarifies them with stories. The book is addressed at adults in the business world, but you can apply the advice as a manager, individual, or even parent (or teacher).
July 20, 2019
I must say that I, overall, enjoyed this book. However, the first half of the book was much stronger than the latter half. Reading about the changing learning economy, the process of learning, and asking questions to learn was fascinating and interesting from a business perspective. I'm not exactly sure how the second part of the title applies to the book though. Possibly staying relevant through the series of learning exercises but hardly reinventing yourself. I guess if you used the methodologies to learn new thing then you could if you wanted? Maybe that's the implied premise. At any rate, I thought the book could have included more educational psychology principles and foundations. The book was a lot of each of the author's own research discoveries which is quite limiting considering the boundaries of educational science. However, I'm being overly critical now. I enjoyed the book and it's obvious that Bradley has a way with words and the book is interesting.
May 5, 2023
If your deciding to read this book then it means you value learning.
this is what made me read this book
"Bradley said, I decided to become an academic to understand how we learn and then teach others about the process."
I read the whole book but you don't need to read the whole chapter to get the point of the chapter title.
The table of contents is the key points of learning. So my recommendation is, read just enough of the chapter to get an understanding of the chapter title then move on. If you find it interesting then go ahead and read the whole chapter.
Then when your done with the book take a moment to reflect and remember the keys to learning.
My favorite chapters are
Chapter 3 - Learning requires process focus, not outcome Focus
Chapter 4 - Asking questions
Chapter 7 - Playing to strength, not fixating on weaknesses.
this is what made me read this book
"Bradley said, I decided to become an academic to understand how we learn and then teach others about the process."
I read the whole book but you don't need to read the whole chapter to get the point of the chapter title.
The table of contents is the key points of learning. So my recommendation is, read just enough of the chapter to get an understanding of the chapter title then move on. If you find it interesting then go ahead and read the whole chapter.
Then when your done with the book take a moment to reflect and remember the keys to learning.
My favorite chapters are
Chapter 3 - Learning requires process focus, not outcome Focus
Chapter 4 - Asking questions
Chapter 7 - Playing to strength, not fixating on weaknesses.
April 16, 2021
I really enjoyed this book! This was another ‘HBR Ideacast” recommended book (Notice a theme..)Bradley Staats has compiled years of research on how we learn in an ever changing knowledge worker economy. Embrace and value failure (Common Silicon Valley jargon), Focus on the process (My new life mantra) , make time for reflection (For me its daily meditation), Learn to be your authentic self by focusing on your strengths (So wait..focus on my strengths instead of my weaknesses?!) Focus on specialization (Become a Subject Matter Expert in your strong area), Treat others as learning partners (Make everyone around you a valid learning partner). The story at the end about his kid and dee-termination is funny and true.
March 25, 2019
Never Stop Learning was an interesting read. The author goes into detail about how the average person has 12 jobs in their lifetime and constant learning is now a requirement to stay relevant and thrive. There's some great content in this book but I found it to be very chapter specific. Some chapters were packed with value, and others I felt like I could have skipped altogether. Each has a specific topic that the author covers. Some of my favorites were learning from failure, asking questions, playing to strengths, and learning from others. Overall, it's a short read and worth making your way through.
April 16, 2019
Obvious but sheds the light on details.
It’s obvious that learning is important, but in our daily routine and distractions hours, days and years pass by with no new skills or knowledge this book states the obvious but breaks it down to the basics for you to place the building blocks of how to actually keep learning.
It was summarized in the last chapter from this “Living in a learning economy means that we must all approach learning with four mindsets: focused, fast, frequent, and flexible.”
It’s obvious that learning is important, but in our daily routine and distractions hours, days and years pass by with no new skills or knowledge this book states the obvious but breaks it down to the basics for you to place the building blocks of how to actually keep learning.
It was summarized in the last chapter from this “Living in a learning economy means that we must all approach learning with four mindsets: focused, fast, frequent, and flexible.”
August 13, 2020
The culture of education was not as aggressive as in the 21st century compared to the 80s and other ages. The existence of Internet accelerates the rate of how we gain our knowledge and use this as edges versus other competitor. Knowledge is even more vital because your competitors are not just in your country, but also comes from all over the world.
April 12, 2021
Each chapter can be read like a single blog post with a very predictable structure: what is X > why is X important > challenges in doing X > how to improve X. The author provides many anecdotes to illustrate his ideas and then gives practical advice for you to implement in your own life. It's not a particularly engaging or eye-opening book through.
February 4, 2023
Interesting read for all who believe that learning is a lifelong process. Prof Bradley covers the basics and it is refreshing to read it as a jog to remember the basics again.
Learning is fun and one needs to keep moving out of one’s comfort zone, ask questions, reflect and keep moving ahead. Will be getting a hard copy for my bookshelf.
Learning is fun and one needs to keep moving out of one’s comfort zone, ask questions, reflect and keep moving ahead. Will be getting a hard copy for my bookshelf.
October 21, 2018
Nee ideas and reflections about learning process
I do like that the author presented new ideas about the learning process and new information supported on research about tips to better learn
I do like that the author presented new ideas about the learning process and new information supported on research about tips to better learn
December 10, 2018
Excellent
As a lawyer I was looking for a book that helped me to find different ways to improve my career. The book may be an excellent source of ideas for any person that wants to learn and keep progressing as live goes on.
As a lawyer I was looking for a book that helped me to find different ways to improve my career. The book may be an excellent source of ideas for any person that wants to learn and keep progressing as live goes on.
December 14, 2018
I found this to be a very readable compendium of research on learning, especially noting the actions we can take to increase our learning experiences and maximize the physical and cognitive environment we learn in.
February 14, 2019
I read this via audiobook and loved it! I learned (or was reminded of) so many great strategies for lifelong learning not just as a professional, but I also made connections to teaching. Highly recommended for those hungry for more knowledge!!
February 28, 2020
This was a book I had to read for school. It had really good lessons, lists of actionable items, and would definitely be worth trying to apply to your life. A solid addition to the researched-backed lineup of self-help books out there.
December 21, 2020
There’s nothing too special about this book, except perhaps for the nexus between learning capabilities and the fear of failure. It does provide a similar insight to the thinking modes to Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow”
July 2, 2018
This book was a Best of the Best for July 2018 selection by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet: http://forums.delphiforums.com/stevo1...
July 24, 2018
Excelente
Un buen libro con técnicas mas claras de porque aprender a aprender. Además con estudios que soportan cada herramienta. Recomendado
Un buen libro con técnicas mas claras de porque aprender a aprender. Además con estudios que soportan cada herramienta. Recomendado
October 1, 2018
Practical. Encouraging. I appreciate that this is not just for the aging.
October 7, 2018
I enjoyed this book and the insight that learning is more important than ever.
October 10, 2018
Very interesting and easy read on the research done on How we Learn and how to improve the process.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews