Use Your Resources

Recently, I was telling my friend a story of how I "cheated" on a crossword puzzle by using the internet to answer a few clues. The consummate kindergarten teacher told me, "That wasn't cheating. You were making good use of your resources." I've had more than a few opportunities over the past couple of weeks to "use my resources" for things that are a bit more challenging than the crossword in the Washington Post Magazine. These were indeed opportunities for me to cross into the realm of technology -- an area that is more and more pushing into my comfort zone. And now that I have successfully moved music from my mp3 player to a new computer, and synced my new phone with the calendar-not-the-contacts, I'm a bit more confident about "getting under the hood" of some of these devices.

Some of our very best resources are our friends and colleagues. While we might be hesitant to expose a weakness, when we do, everyone learns from the experience. Certainly, we all have knowledge gaps, and learning flows both ways from the teacher to the student and from the student to the teacher.

As the professional organization for workplace learning and performance professionals, the ASTD members should know this well. Your ASTD colleages are ready for any challenge you can give them. Tell us about a time a colleague helped you reach the road to success!