It is clear that GeorgesKettenmeyer is not ready to coastthrough the rest of his life. He contin-ues to thirst for knowledge and to seeknew experiences. His attitude andlifestyle indicate that there is much yetto be embraced—books to read, lec-tures to attend, languages to be mas-tered, and friends to make. I metGeorges through my wife, Cheryl, whoteaches the English-as-a-second-language classes in Brussels thatGeorges faithfully attends. Georges,who already speaks three languagesfluently, takes the classes to hone hisEnglish skills and is thinking of begin-ning to study Spanish.

Georges recently invited my wifeand me to an evening lecture and after-ward for a drink at his elegant Brusselsapartment, where we marveled at hisart collection, rare books, and medicallibrary. Georges is a retired physicianwho specialized in forensic medicine,and though he no longer practices, hestill likes to keep up with the latestmedical information. On his desk wasa current textbook on anatomy andphysiology, open to the chapter whereGeorges, as something of a continuingeducation student, had last left off. Aswe chatted about health and nutrition,his advice was helpful and as currentas the articles in the morning paper.

Have I mentioned that GeorgesKettenmeyer is ninety-three years old?Or that he retired from medicine aboutthirty years ago? Placed next to hismedical textbook was a powerful mag-nifying glass, which he needs becauseof advancing macular degeneration.

My wife and I had driven him acrossthe city to the lecture, but he usuallymakes such journeys alone by taxi ortram, despite his halting gait and fail-ing eyesight.

That evening in his apartment Igingerly held one of his rare,sixteenth-century books and remarkedwith awe, “This book is ancient!”

This grand old gentleman repliedwith a grin, “Yes, like its owner!”Although that may be true chronolog-ically and physically, Georges is stillyoung at heart and in mind, and hecontinues to grow and learn everyday. Bring on the new tricks for thisold dog.

PERPETUAL STRETCHThe common wisdom is that childrenare the best learners because theyhaven’t become too set in their ways,and that the older people get the lessadept at learning they become. ButGeorges and the other senior citizenswho attend the Thursday afternoonEnglish classes sponsored by theFederation Independante des Seniorsmust not have heard this theory.

Georges is not the only one in theclasses who continues to stretch. Onefellow student, another Georges (whois also ninety-three), practices everyday by reading English journals, andhe still drives around his neighbor-hood. Josèe is an active seventysome-thing who travels extensively, attendscultural events, and is taking a com-puter class so she can use her recentlypurchased first computer. Geneviève,

a spring chicken in her sixties, startedstudying English after her husband’sdeath some years ago and now travelsthe world when she is not reading,playing the violin, or taking care ofher grandchildren. Daisy, seventy-five,has joined a choir for the first timeand is practicing her singing. (In oneof the English classes she proudlydemonstrated her newly learnedbreathing techniques.) Claire, sixty,wants to expand her language studiesso she can “understand and communi-cate with everybody everywhere.”

CCL research has found that mostmanagers are not active and continuallearners. For many of them, gettingout of their comfort zones and goingagainst the grain to learn new behav-iors and approaches is not easy.Perhaps they could learn a thing ortwo from these elderly Belgians.

I recently conducted an informalresearch project in which I asked theseactive learners (whose average age isseventy) a simple question: what atti-tudes are important for learning? Theirresponses mirror those found in otherstudies that have examined the charac-teristics and mind-sets of managersand others who are effective learners.

In answering the survey, severalclass members mentioned the need tobe open-minded and receptive toother people and new ideas. Thesesenior learners are eager to learn fromone another, and they solicit informa-tion from others in the group. Theyare not bashful about gently correct-ing one another’s English pronuncia-tion and grammar, and they are recep-

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Dividends & Interest

Learning for a LifetimeDon W. Prince

tive to using the information toimprove their skills (a phenomenonknown in the leadership developmentfield as a feedback loop). They alsoengage in spirited discussions aboutpolitics, current events, and a varietyof other topics. They have effectivelycreated a supportive learning commu-nity, something that many managerslack in their careers.

MOVING AHEADSeveral of the class members also citedcuriosity as an attitude important forlearning. And they demonstrate thisattitude themselves, enjoying delvinginto new areas of study and experienceand learning from these pursuits.

Not everyone exhibits this type ofinquisitiveness. Anthropologist MaryCatherine Bateson, in her bookPeripheral Visions: Learning Alongthe Way (HarperCollins, 1994), writesabout experiments conducted byophthalmologist Adelbert Ames atPrinceton University in the mid-twentieth century. Ames set up a seriesof rooms and boxes that created vari-ous optical illusions. In one experi-ment, subjects looked through a peep-hole and tried to touch various pointswith a stick. Because of the deliberatedistortions of perspective they wouldusually miss the mark. It is said thatwhen Dwight Eisenhower tried it, hesoon lost his temper and threw downthe stick in frustration. When AlbertEinstein tried it, however, he grew fas-cinated and drew on his errors toexplore further. Both men were highlyintelligent, but they had differentmind-sets about the same challenge.

Curiosity may be related to anotherattitude that has been cited as impor-tant to learning—courage, whichincludes the willingness to take risks,learn from mistakes, and admit one’signorance. Morgan McCall, a profes-sor of management and organization atthe University of Southern California’sMarshall School of Business, says akey barrier to executive learning iswhat he calls “the mask of compe-

tency.” Continual learners are morelikely to try new things and seek activ-ities that move them beyond their cur-rent level of experience.

A friend of mine in Spain tells ofhis aunt who got married for the firsttime when she was eighty years old.It seems that she ate lunch every dayat the same small café, where she gotto know another regular diner, aninety-year-old widower. Theystarted sharing a table, grew closer,married, and lived together for fouryears until his death. What wouldpossess a woman who has never mar-ried to make her decide to take theplunge after eighty years? Withoutdiscounting the power of love, I sus-pect that a strong spirit of adventure

and a healthy dose of courage helpedlead her to that new, late chapter inher life. I am reminded of a remark Ionce read: “When was the last timeyou did something for the first time?”

Jeanne Calment was a French-woman who lived to age 121. Sheonce was asked about the key to herlongevity. Calment cited dietary fac-tors (olive oil and port wine) but alsosaid something telling: “I dream, Ithink, I go over my life. I never getbored.” She described herself as “verybrave and afraid of nothing.” She tookup fencing at eighty-five and rode herbicycle till she was one hundred.

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVEMy brief survey turned up anotherintriguing finding: the attitude thatwas cited most often as important for

learning was a positive outlook. Therespondents said it was critical “tolike learning” or “to like what youare learning.”

Kamato Hongo of Japan, who was116 when she died in October 2003,once said that the secret of her longlife was “not moping around.” Thatsame attitude is evident in theThursday afternoon English students,who enjoy humor, a good party, andlife in general. They like learning andlike what they are learning.

Psychologist and clinical researcherMartin Seligman, the author ofLearned Optimism: How to ChangeYour Mind and Your Life (Knopf,1991), says that optimism can bedeveloped and that it leads to persist-ence. The learning attitude mostprevalently noted by the seniors fol-lows naturally from those traits.Learning takes discipline and, as oneof the seniors put it, “regularity.” Formany people, inertia constantly threat-ens to keep them at rest and satisfiedwith the status quo, resisting the effortit takes to continue learning. As Ithink of Georges Kettenmeyer, I won-der what I would do if I were ninety-three and physically frail, and everyjourney out of my third-floor apart-ment took monumental effort. Would Icontinue to seek new experiences?

I’ve got forty more years to pon-der that question before I turn ninety-three, but I don’t have time to worryabout it now. Georges has againinvited me to his apartment, this timeto meet another of his friends, ayoung (in his mid-forties) educator.Georges thinks the two of us mighthave a lot in common and wouldenjoy learning from each other, so heeagerly arranged this rendezvous.

So, like the senior English stu-dents, I’m off to my next learningadventure.

Don W. Prince is manager of emergingmarkets at CCL’s campus in Brussels.He holds a Th.M. degree fromSouthwestern Baptist TheologicalSeminary.

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Inertia constantly

threatens to keep peo-

ple at rest and satisfied

with the status quo.