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Are You Qualified To Learn?

by tpw
10 replies
LOL

There has already been a rant this morning about "who is qualified to call themselves a marketer..."

I frequently like playing the contrarian, especially when I meet someone who sees the world so clearly in black-and-white...

Anyone, who fails to see the world in the other 254 colors on the RGB-scale, is someone who baffles my mind.

The Troll Rant kind of introduced a question that might make a good discussion... OR I am a bit too contrarian...

"Are You Qualified To Learn?"

In college, we had to take marketing 101 before we could take marketing 102. We had to take marketing 101, 102, 103 and psychology 101, before they would allow us to take marketing 201.

In a certified learning environment, we are forced to take certain studies, before we can take other studies, and for a good reason in most cases.

So I guess my question today is whether you have learned the pre-requisite ideas, before you tackled the more advanced ideas?

And are there certain things we should probably learn, before going to the next step in the process?

What do you think?
#college #education #learn #qualified #studies
  • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
    That person sure likes big fonts. To your question, I don't want a doctor operating on me who skipped Anatomy 201 or Chemistry 302. So, yes, step by step learning is critical. However, medicine you have to learn in school. But selling and marketing can be learned from books, e-books, videos, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by Joe Ditzel View Post

      That person sure likes big fonts.

      Like Caliban said, he was over-compensating.
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      Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
      Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
      Originally Posted by Joe Ditzel View Post

      That person sure likes big fonts. To your question, I don't want a doctor operating on me who skipped Anatomy 201 or Chemistry 302. So, yes, step by step learning is critical.
      Yes, wasn't it scary with all those big words.

      I liked Calibans comment that he must have had a small w****.

      Incidentally, did Frank Abagnale Jr. train to be a pilot, legal prosecutor or doctor?

      "Are you qualified to learn" is a good question. Can you be bothered to learn, is another. I reckon most people like to skip to the make money part first.
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      Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

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      • Profile picture of the author Steve B
        TPW:

        I couldn't agree more. Most every kind of effective learning I know requires some kind of systematic progression from beginner to professional that takes effort and time.

        Having said that however, in some respects, we marketers have to at least share the blame for new marketers thinking that success should be easy and work free.

        How many headlines, ads, products, and squeeze pages are directed toward newbies and proclaim such things as -

        - Push-button easy
        - Anyone can do this
        - Immediate success
        - Auto-pilot wealth
        - No sweat simple blueprint
        - Set it and forget it
        - So simple a six year old could do it
        - Six figures in six months

        Of course, you get the point.

        In some regards, Pogo's parody of Commodore Perry's famous words apply to all marketers -

        "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

        Steve
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        Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
        SteveBrowneDirect

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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    Originally Posted by tpw View Post

    LOL

    There has already been a rant this morning about "who is qualified to call themselves a marketer..."

    I frequently like playing the contrarian, especially when I meet someone who sees the world so clearly in black-and-white...

    Anyone, who fails to see the world in the other 254 colors on the RGB-scale, is someone who baffles my mind.

    The Troll Rant kind of introduced a question that might make a good discussion... OR I am a bit too contrarian...

    "Are You Qualified To Learn?"

    In college, we had to take marketing 101 before we could take marketing 102. We had to take marketing 101, 102, 103 and psychology 101, before they would allow us to take marketing 201.

    In a certified learning environment, we are forced to take certain studies, before we can take other studies, and for a good reason in most cases.

    So I guess my question today is whether you have learned the pre-requisite ideas, before you tackled the more advanced ideas?

    And are there certain things we should probably learn, before going to the next step in the process?

    What do you think?
    I think that one of the issues in IM is that it SOUNDS easy to a lot of people, so they don't have a clue as to what a sing pre-requisite is.

    However, if they really want to learn then they need to learn the things they do not know as pointed out in the current thing they're learning. For example, if they are learning how to build a list and the teaching material says "put up a form on your site", and the learner doesn't know how to make a website, THEN the onus is on them to learn how to make a website IF they are serious about wanting to learn how to build a list.

    It is a two-way street, but only to some degree. The teacher shouldn't misrepresent what they will be teaching, but the student also needs to be responsible for absorbing the material.

    If a product says "I will teach you EVERYTHING you need to know" then the product creator better be able to deliver on that promise, qualify the statement, say what the pre-requisites are or be ready to answer a lot of questions.

    At the same time, a student should understand that the concept of "everything" is unrealistic and at some point TOO much detail will bog things down.

    All the best,
    Michael
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    "Ich bin en fuego!"
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  • Profile picture of the author NestZone
    Learning is simply a matter of interest.
    People quickly learn what they are interested in, and the rest from their mistakes.

    ...except you will be using a wipe to let them learn by use of force.
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    • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
      Hi Bill,

      Good question.

      Being qualified to learn isn't just about whether you've gone through the formal stages of your subject. The essence of any basic education should be the instilling of a lifelong love of learning in the student. The more advanced education should go on to equip that student with the ability and the tools to learn, whatever the subject.

      That learning ability would include knowing how and where to find the required information as well as how to ask the right questions. And, increasingly, the learner needs to know how to discern what's accurate and truthful amidst all the cacophony, distractions and contradicting opinions that make up today's attention-siphoning environment.

      The fact is, you're never fully qualified to learn - but you do get better at it as you practise.

      Of course, an equally valid question that could be aimed at many in our business is: "Are You Qualified To Teach?" That's probably a topic for another thread, but just to drop in a clue - knowing your subject (or even being successful in it) doesn't automatically make you a good or effective teacher.


      Frank
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      • Profile picture of the author TianaBanana
        So where do we start? I know what I want to do... but I don't know what to start reading to get good.

        Like...
        - Basics of marketing?
        - Basics of personal relations?
        - Basics of Web Technology?
        - Basics of SEO?

        Where do we start to become good at what we do?
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Loved reading that thread - you have to be sort of desperate to go to a place where you aren't popular and put down people you don't like in order to make yourself feel important....my favorite comment in the thread...

      I feel like I'm on a leash.
      Not a bad idea.

      What tickled my funny bone was the entire premise of the thread. When I was in college the common thinking was that slow students went for marketing degrees because they were the easiest to get (along with phys. ed.). That student body opinion hadn't changed years later when my sons went to college

      Oops...now I'll have marketing majors banging on my head....

      kay
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  • Profile picture of the author Brandon Huang
    Of course a step by step is crucial. Imagine learning algebra or calculus without basic knowledge of subtraction and divisions. You need to do it one step at a time and plan it because i see most people rush and are confuse on where to go. You need to have an idea before selling your products just like you need knowledge to apply knowledge.
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