Share the Wealth: How a Learning Culture Elevates Teams and Clients
Learning is a fundamental process necessary for life, growth, and relationships. It’s a part of our daily lives that we’ve been doing since birth. As the late Steve Jobs said, “Learn continually–there’s always ‘one more thing’ to learn!”
Human beings seek development, especially in the workplace. While it can be tough to find time to dedicate to professional development and learning in today's world, the outcome is worth the time and effort.
Where can I start?
With FREE learning opportunities! Did I catch your attention? There are countless free learning opportunities out there, from LinkedIn courses to massive open online courses (MOOCs) to free webinars on current marketing trends. For example, I’ve attended several free webinars this year about AI. I use ChatGPT periodically (mostly for identifying plants or bugs in my garden), but I wanted to learn more about using AI for my work. I’ve taken several free webinars on up-and-coming AI trends, what AI means for government contracting, and more. Webinars are also great because you’re often provided with a webinar recording afterwards to refer back to.
Associations and industry trade organizations are great places for learning, too. Most are industry-specific and provide a wide range of resources and services, from content to training to data. LMD recently joined Second Wind, a resource for small- to mid-sized marketing and advertising agencies. Second Wind offers self-serve learning through articles and publications, as well as training courses for agency staff. The 4As is another association for advertising and marketing agencies. Similar to Second Wind, the 4As offers resources, industry news, and training for marketing professionals.
Share the wealth
An essential part of learning is sharing. I’ll often share notes or slide decks from webinars with colleagues here at LMD.
Every month, LMD and MarCom host an internal webinar called ColabWorks. It’s a “lunch and learn” type of event open to everyone in both companies. Recently, a few people who attended an Adobe conference hosted ColabWorks and shared their favorite exhibits and nuggets from various breakout sessions. ColabWorks is also a great way to share insight into client work and take that insight back to our teams and clients.
Learning Boosts Culture
Employees are always looking for purpose and professional development in the workplace–and employers that fulfill this need will reap the benefits. Gallup states, “Organizations that have made a strategic investment in employee development report 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain their employees.”
Our core values here at LMD include “Never stop learning.” LMDers receive an annual stipend for learning development and encouragement from leadership to take advantage of this benefit. Maybe this is one (of the many) reasons LMD was recently named a Best Place to Work in Greater Baltimore by the Baltimore Business Journal.
Equally as important, our clients benefit from LMD’s culture of learning. Equipping employees with the resources and opportunities to learn brings more value and trust to agency-client relationships. Staying current on industry trends enables us to bring insights and new ideas to our clients. Learning the latest and greatest AI or design software advancements can level up our creative deliverables.
Want to learn more about how LMD’s culture of learning helps our clients “lead, market, and deliver” positive change? Send us a note. We can’t wait to talk to you and learn more.
Disclaimer: The title of this blog was created with the help of ChatGPT, because I just learned today that you can ask ChatGPT for help creating titles of blogs. The rest of this blog was written by yours truly.
