At Center Centre, we’re not just focused on teaching, we’re focused on learning. We’ve embedded learning techniques in our organization’s DNA. We’re always learning, and we’re always sharing what we learn.
As we’ve been creating Center Center, we’ve had to make millions of decisions, and we’ve learned a ton of new things. We surface what we learn through our daily routine. At Center Centre, we dedicate the greatest, non-replenishable resource we have—our time—on sharing what we’re learning.
Every day our team has a stand-up meeting. Like many organizations, we use this time-boxed meeting format as a way to communicate the challenges we’re facing and the progress we’re making. Everyone on the team answers these four stand-up questions:
- What did I get done since the last stand-up?
- What are my goals to accomplish before the next stand-up?
- What’s preventing me from getting these things done, if anything?
- What’s the highest risk/most unknown thing right now about what I’m trying to do?
But we don’t stop there. We use our stand-ups as opportunities to reinforce that learning every day. We’ve added a fifth question:
- What is the most important thing I learned since the last time we met and how will what I learned change the way I approach things in the future?
(Okay, it’s really two questions, but we combine them for efficiency.)
It’s a challenge to come up with an answer for this question every day. It forces us to reflect on our actions.
The first half of the question focuses us on something new we’ve learned in the last 24 hours, whether big or small. The second half forces us to reflect on how we think this new knowledge will influence our behavior going forward. Many times, I’ve surprised myself on how much influence something small can have.
Along with everyone else, Jared and I share what we’ve learned every day. Sharing something new with the rest of the company every day shows our dedication to constant improvement. No longer are we seen as perfect know-it-alls. We’re just like everyone else, working to improve.
Here’s an example of how I answered the fifth question earlier this week:
I was totally stuck on writing a blog post. I just couldn’t get it started. I was really frustrated (which wasn’t helping my writing process). I remembered how successful Jess and I were last week when we combined our efforts and tackled a piece of content together. I asked her if we could do the same thing with the blog post. She said “yes” and that’s what we did.
It’s nice that we have a safe working environment and work with really excellent (and helpful) people. I can be vulnerable, admit I need help, and it’s okay. In the future, when I get stuck, I’m going to remember to ask for help.
Because learning is in our DNA, our students will understand that learning doesn’t end on graduation day. Our students will see how learning is a lifelong pursuit. Incorporating lifelong learning techniques helps our future graduates have the skills they need to be assets to hiring companies.
Become a Center Centre Partner Company
Would you like your organization to have access to graduates who understand the value of lifelong learning? Learn more about the Center Centre Partner Company program and get in touch with us.
Become a Center Centre student
Do you constantly push yourself to learn more? We’re looking for students that are tenacious learners, passionate about helping others, and curious about technology. No prior design or development experience required. Learn more about our program or apply now to be a student.