Education Is More Than School

We don't stop learning with graduation. It becomes curiosity, experience, books, mentors, and paying attention to the world around us. AI is a powerful tool, but it isn’t education.

 Artificial intelligence can help us find information faster, organize ideas, and improve productivity. What it can’t replace is critical thinking, judgment, experience, and the ability to ask better questions. 

 Those come from learning. 

 The most successful people never stop learning. They adapt, challenge assumptions, and stay curious because they know yesterday’s knowledge won’t solve tomorrow’s problems. 

 Whether you’re starting your career or approaching retirement, education remains one of your greatest advantages. Keep reading. Keep asking. Keep learning. 

 Stay Curious

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A.I. + A.I.

We hear about AI everywhere. Chatbots, algorithms, self-driving cars – they’re changing the way we work, learn, and communicate. It’s impressive, sometimes a little intimidating, and often makes us wonder: if machines can think, what’s left for us? 

But here’s the thing – artificial intelligence can process data, predict patterns, and solve problems. Actual intelligence? That’s deeper. It’s curiosity, creativity, empathy, and the ability to connect the dots in ways no algorithm can.

The Limits of Machines

AI can crunch numbers, recognize faces, and even write essays. But it doesn’t feel. It doesn’t care about context the way we do. It doesn’t understand a joke, a story, or why a moment matters. Actual intelligence is messy, human, and unpredictable – but it’s also what makes innovation, leadership, and culture possible. Machines can assist, but they can’t replace insight, judgment, or intuition.

The future isn’t about choosing AI over us – it’s about how we use it. When artificial intelligence augments actual intelligence, we unlock new potential. We work smarter, not just harder. We ask better questions, notice patterns we might miss, and focus on the ideas that truly matter. 

Curiosity Over Automation

Our greatest advantage is our minds. Let’s stay curious, keep asking questions, and remember what makes us human. AI is powerful; actual intelligence, fueled by creativity, empathy, and awareness, is what shapes our world.

AI and AI are here to stay. The machines will get smarter and more intuitive. They are not fads and the bottle was crushed years ago. Use AI and AI as tools and allow your own input and thoughts to have a voice as well.

We live with machines; but life is built on us. ____________________________________________________________

What's That?

It is an emotion related to natural inquisitive behavior such as exploration, investigation and learning, evident by observation in human and many animal species. The term can also be used to denote the behavior itself being caused by the emotion of curiosity.

So with that in mind...

Stay curious for learning. Stay curious about improving. Stay curious through searching. Stay curious like a child. Stay curious about now. Stay curious in life. Stay curious about others. Stay curious about learning. Stay curious for you. Stay curious through listening. Stay curious through living. Stay curious about possibilities. Stay curious in business. Stay curious about experiences. Stay curious for next.

Stay curious.

Curiosity

It is an emotion related to natural inquisitive behavior such as exploration, investigation and learning, evident by observation in human and many animal species. The term can also be used to denote the behavior itself being caused by the emotion of curiosity.

So with that in mind...

Stay curious for learning. Stay curious about improving. Stay curious through searching. Stay curious like a child. Stay curious about now. Stay curious in life. Stay curious about others. Stay curious about learning. Stay curious for you. Stay curious through listening. Stay curious through living. Stay curious about possibilities. Stay curious in business. Stay curious about experiences. Stay curious for next.

Stay curious always.
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Stay Curious

Curiosity is an emotion related to natural inquisitive behavior such as exploration, investigation and learning, evident by observation in human and many animal species. The term can also be used to denote the behavior itself being caused by the emotion of curiosity.

So with that in mind...

Stay curious for learning. Stay curious about improving. Stay curious through searching. Stay curious like a child. Stay curious about now. Stay curious in life. Stay curious about others. Stay curious about learning. Stay curious for you. Stay curious through listening. Stay curious through living. Stay curious about possibilities. Stay curious in business. Stay curious about experiences. Stay curious for next.

Stay curious always.
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Your Real Bottom Line

Training is important for any business, but I believe action learning is the best way to create positive and lasting improvement in your company. We spend more than 12,000 days at work during our life, so why not find a way for us to enjoy them?

Your employees want to enjoy being at work. Your profits will grow if you make your people your priority. It's not a nice to have; it's essential to the growth of your business.

Every employee in your company wants to know they can bring their best work and have the chance to improve, grow, and learn. You may think selling more products is the fastest way to improve your bottom line, but it’s people who will get you there and strong internal culture is the critical ingredient.

Each year, Gallup does a survey of the global workplace and through over 60,000 one-on-one interviews in 90 countries last year, only 13% of respondents said they were emotionally invested in creating value to their companies and organizations. That’s a problem. Engaging your employees is the most important way to realize measurable results. Your bottom line depends on your people.

Leadership and Team Development

I provide workshops and webinars customized to your company and team’s needs. We begin where you are right now and we address your specific needs integrated with your current business challenges.

These can take on various iterations from half-day and full-day workshops to ongoing team, department, and individual sessions, to leadership development programs which include your employees working on their growth while solving a real business project.

Business and Executive Coaching

There is a myriad assessment tools and training methods available and I deploy many of them but like the leadership and team development, we begin where you are right now. From one-on-one to team to group sessions, we create solutions-based meetings and modules to address those things that are keeping you up at night.

Call me at 519-803-7130 or email knealemann at gmail dot com and we can chat about your needs. We will create a customized solution with identified goals and objectives to ensure measurable results.

It begins with a conversation. Let's chat!
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Experience and Letters

I was recently chatting with a colleague who is a highly experienced human resources director about education, training, and degrees. He was lamenting that his company has kept raising the bar for new applicants. Twenty years ago, experience was more important than degrees. Today, if you don’t have an MBA, you can’t apply for most of the openings in his organization.

This is not to say an MBA isn’t impressive – it is – but it’s just one metric. If you have a person who has shown their ability and discipline to finish six years of university, you should acknowledge that. But my friend’s point was that they were discarding those who didn't have the letters behind their names even though clearly they had the ability and experience to be considered.

One Size Never Fits All

In my work as a leadership consultant and business coach, I've worked with a man who has built three multimillion dollar companies on a high school diploma and an extremely bright MBA graduate who struggled with the human aspects of his business. There are always exceptions but the question I had for my HR friend, can we assume the education someone has attained is a fail safe way to determine business acumen?

It’s been said that education is a lifelong pursuit but keep in mind when you are looking at new people to join your team, there are various metrics to consider. Formal education is important but experience shouldn't be ruled out. And once they do join your team, what types of continuing education and training do you offer to help them continue to grow?

That Will Do

The chat with my HR colleague ended on an interesting note when he reminded me his MBA was earned in mathematics which has very little to do with his work today. His HR training was necessary to get the gig but without an MBA, he would have never even been considered.

On the Forbes 400 Billionaire list; 35 have their law degree, 29 have a masters in science, 21 have their PhD, and 63 (or 15%) of the richest humans on the planet only have a high school diploma.

Education is critical but if we only measure it from the perspective of formal settings, are we closing our minds to possibilities?

Something to think about if you only look at letters.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

Curiosity Has No Age Limit

I posted this a few years ago and showed it to a client recently. If you visit here once in a while, you know I have a passion for leadership and culture. I also think it's a shame we begin talking about these topics far later in life than we should because they're important to people of all ages.

Meet Adora Svitak


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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

TED | Adora Svitak

The Power of Grit

What does success, excellence, and 7th graders have in common? Consultant, teacher, researcher, and psychologist Angela Lee Duckwork decided to figure it out.

Watch this.


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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

TED | Angela Lee Duckwork

Feeding Your Mind

JP Rangaswami poses a question and a challenge to all of us. In our world where information is coming at us at warp speed, what if we looked at it as fuel and something to celebrate much like we view food.

Rangaswami spends a lot of his time studying behavior and speaks at events all over the world. He loves food but equally craves learning. He shares what the two have in common after studying both for over a quarter century.


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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture strategist, writer, speaker, executive coach engaging leaders, collaborative teams, and strong business results.

TED | JP Rangaswami

Keys to Being an Extraordinary Leader

René Carayol is a broadcaster, columnist, business and leadership speaker and author. He outlines three key elements of leadership in a compelling TEDTalk you should watch with your team.


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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture strategist, writer, speaker, executive coach engaging leaders, collaborative teams, and strong business results.

René Carayol | TED

Cooperative Collaboration

There is no shortage of data on how we communicate and collaborate. We have teams, families, clients, friends, work spaces, social networks, neighbors, colleagues, partners, clubs, customers, and other ways to satisfy our inherent need to belong.

Though it's been around since the dawn of our time, collaboration is celebrating a revolution. The sharing of ideas is multiplying at speeds our minds can’t compute while we are learning and solving faster and more efficiently than ever. This is why culture and leadership are critical to our survival.

Writer and teacher Howard Rheingold published Smart Mobs in 2002 which explored the potential for technology to augment collective intelligence. He then worked with
The Institute for the Future to create and launch a broad based literacy of cooperation.

His 2005 TEDTalk remains just as relevant today.


Kneale Mann

Howard Rheingold

How's Your Info Diet?

JP Rangaswami poses a question and a challenge to all of us. In our world where information is coming at us at warp speed, what if we looked at it as fuel and something to celebrate much like we view food.

JP is an economist and rose through the ranks in finance. He then expanded his role into the technology realm becoming a CIO. Rangaswami spends a lot of his time studying behavior and speaks at events all over the world. Like most, he loves food but he equally loves learning. He shares what the two have in common after studying both for over a quarter century.

I'll add one more as you watch JP's TEDTalk. How can we include leadership in all of this?


Kneale Mann

TED | JP Rangaswami

Five Rings and a Month of Suggestions

It can be fun, serious, funny, or thought provoking, but daily on Twitter I post something that may brighten your day, cause you to pause, make you think, or give you a smile.

Since the London Olympics began on July 27th, you'll notice some silliness may have ensued in the last few days of the month and may continue through August 12th.

Here’s the list for July 2012

• Happy Birthday, Canada
• Two out of ten play mostly to their strengths. What about you?
• Context is king
• Happy 236, USA
• Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions. Bo Bennett
• Martin Streek - Three years and still doesn't seem real.
• At the end of the day, when all is said and done, we may need fewer clichés
• Never underestimate the power of quite time
• Build relationships not customers
• Leadership doesn't appear on a business card
• Nose to the grindstone, best foot forward, shoulder to the wheel, drink plenty of fluids
• Stay curious
• Drop out of the Ain’t it Awful Club. Jack Canfield
• Take a break from the internet. It will be here when you get back
• Make the choice or something else will make it for you
• Let others have the spotlight today
• Take the victory
• Leadership starts from within
• How often do you listen to your gut?
• Never. Stop. Learning.
• Thank those who help you
• Independence needs a hand. Accept it with grace
• Meet five new people this week
• Growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership
• Stress can be a self-inflicted injury
• Leadership is about helping others
• Are you giving your best?
• Remains the frontrunner in marathon napping
• Scored gold for sharp retorts
• Won silver in coverage viewing
• Stuck the couch dismount

If we give up, we may never know.

Kneale Mann

getty images

Lollipops and Leadership

I was speaking with a colleague this week and she was sharing her concern that she wasn’t being a good leader for her team and wasn't improving her leadership skills. Neither is true, of course, but points to how we view leadership and accomplishments.

Leadership isn’t about being the CEO of a Fortune 100 company. It isn’t about the title on your business card. It’s not about bossing people around because you out rank them on the org chart. And it's not about only doing big things. It's about how you improve and help those around you every day.

Drew Dudley shares his insights on leadership in his 2011 TEDxToronto talk.

It's all about weddings, lollipops and making a difference. 


Kneale Mann

vistual credit: TEDxToronto | Drew Dudley

How Curious Are You?

The minutiae of day to day meetings and poor internal customer service can crush a company faster than a nimble competitor. We watch with amazement while companies like Google and Facebook seem to thrive within a hyper creative environment. This is not to suggest these companies don't make mistakes - in fact, many make them in front of the world in spectacular fashion.

It is not also to suggest it's all rosy and fun every moment because real work is being done. But what is the difference between the companies that many read, write and talk about compared to the businesses we pass by every day?

Perhaps successful business owners and managers keep these ideas fresh in the minds.

Stay curious for learning.
Stay curious about improving.

Stay curious through searching.
Stay curious like a child.
Stay curious about now.

Be curious, not judgmental.
Walt Whitman

Stay curious in life.

Stay curious for questions.
Stay curious in discovery.
Stay curious for you.

Stay curious through listening.
Stay curious in business.

Be less curious about people 
and more curious about ideas.
Marie Curie

Stay curious about others.
Stay curious with think time.

Stay curious for next.
Stay curious in leadership.
Stay curious toward answers.

Curious people are interesting people, 
I wonder why that is?
Bill Maher

Stay curious about possibilities.
Stay curious about your strengths.

Stay curious for what drives people.
Stay curious and motivate.

Stay curious. Always.

Don't underestimate the curiosity inside your company.

Kneale Mann

image credit: omnipress | original: Apr 2011

Simple Business Strategy

It might be your biggest ally

There is non-stop chatter about this strategy and that tactic to improve business in every industry and walk of life. It happens in this space almost daily.

There have been countless surveys and research pieces examining why one company thrives while others struggle and it is quite often not about money or the idea. It can simply be a matter of those ideas getting stuck in the mind numbing process of everyday business functions.

Beating Yourself

The minutiae of day to day meetings and poor internal customer service can crush a company faster than a nimble competitor. We watch with amazement while companies like Google and Facebook seem to thrive within a hyper creative environment. This is not to suggest these companies don't make mistakes - in fact, many make them in front of the world in spectacular fashion.

It is not also to suggest it's all rosy and fun every moment because real work is being done. But what is the difference between the companies that many read, write and talk about compared to the businesses we pass by every day?

Perhaps successful business owners and managers keep these ideas fresh in the minds. .

Stay curious for learning.
Stay curious about improving.

Stay curious through searching.
Stay curious like a child.
Stay curious about now.

Be curious, not judgmental.
Walt Whitman

Stay curious in life.

Stay curious for questions.
Stay curious in discovery.
Stay curious for you.

Stay curious through listening.
Stay curious in business.

Be less curious about people 
and more curious about ideas.
Marie Curie

Stay curious about others.
Stay curious with think time.

Stay curious for next.
Stay curious in leadership.
Stay curious toward answers.

Curious people are interesting people, 
I wonder why that is?
Bill Maher

Stay curious about possibilities.
Stay curious about your strengths.

Stay curious for what drives people.
Stay curious and motivate.

Stay curious. Always.

Do you stay curious about ways to improve your business?

Kneale Mann

image credit: ioffer

Changing Education Paradigms

One of the most popular speakers to ever speak at TED is Sir Ken Robinson. He is clearly smart and very funny. He cares deeply about education. Here, he shares some of his thoughts on some of the most controversial learning topics today.



knealemann | email

video credit: TED | RSA Animate

Learning From Kids

I had the privilege of attending TEDxMcGill in Montreal over the weekend. The team of organizers did a first-class job. Visit the site, watch for videos of the presentations, enjoy and learn. The theme of the day was curiosity and one TEDTalk they featured was with brilliant phenom Adora Svitak.

Watch, learn, think and be blown away.



knealemann | email



Join me for Movember.
image credit: TED

Management is an Art

Libraries, stores and hard drives have been filled with books and videos and instructional lessons on business management.
.

This is a science that is almost as impossible to master as parenting.

I have had some fabulous mentors in my career who taught me the essence of management from a technical and strategic standpoint as well as the people perspective.

It is not enough to devise an over arching business plan, you need to cover each component in such a process. Those include an organizational map, financial preparation, marketing and media strategy and most importantly a people plan.

People study human resources for years and still don’t master it. Top sales people crash and burn as sales managers. And right brain thinkers shrivel up and rot under the crushing avalanche of meetings and protocol.

It helps to learn from others who have varied experience. That includes an event I have the pleasure of attending this coming Monday (November 15th) in Toronto entitled The Art of Management

It's black belt keynote presenters back to back to back during this one-day event. The impressive list of speakers is; Mitch Joel, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Eisner, Nilofer Merchant and Simon Sinek.

You can get more details on the official site - The Art of Management.

knealemann | email

Join me for Movember.

image credit: valerieherskowitz