Fail to learn, fail to live.

Education has many facets. (and many faucets). There are the formal education processes and the informal.

The formal education process (complete with an instructor and course materials) plays an continual role in many disciplines including technology. Technology has an evolutionary path. You don't have to look far to see daily articles in the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal to see the latest path of technology. But pause for a moment and look back a scant 10 years. Microsoft.Net was a vision not a reality. Linux was for uber geeks. Today these technologies and many others offer hard-earned stability in the workplace. Books can and have been written about the huge advantages of today's internet technologies vs. those of ten years ago. But to bring these technologies to your business requires knowledge. Knowledge that is best gained through a combination of work effort and formal educational tracks. Whenever I am in a conversation with an up & coming technology staffer, I inquire about their certifications and challenge them to get the paper. When I am dealing with veterans, I ask the same questions. ITS NOT THE PAPER that counts. Its about the drive to improve. If I run into a technology veteran who puts down the certifications, I have a doubt in the back of my mind. In essence, I wonder if they get the big picture. By the way, I never have been certified. I have come close in Novell 3.12, and in Microsoft 4.0 In both cases, I was promoted before I could finish the ticket. But the knowledge I have gained still pays off today. Its always about new challenges, new adventures and new things to learn. These days, its SQL 2005 Reporting Services.

If you fail to provide an environment where your technology staff (and all disciplines as well) can continue to expand their knowledge. You will;
1.) Lose your top talent.
2.) Fail to attract new creative talent.
3.) Lose your technology edge (assuming you have one)
4.) Fail to be competitive in the marketplace.

All this being said, education comes in many flavors. I have had a personal educational track since the 4th grade. I always desired to learn more, to acquire more. Whether it was building my own devices, or today learning the inside guts of the Ubuntu 7.10 release. Find a focus and challenge yourself. One of my favorite stories, is about a Network Admin that I used to work with. He truly qualifies as an Alpha Geek. One day, I got a call from him asking about a broken printer. I told him to call our 3rd party vendor. I came into the office around 7pm that evening. There in the bullpen was a HP LaserJetIII stripped down to frame and lay out across the entire set of shelving units. His response to me was, "I wanted to know how it worked". I know of a Director of Development who is continually up to his eyeballs in deadlines. But he too, is exploring Ubuntu and other personal technologies. Those that get it, are immersed.

This is the talent that you want to find, want to hire and want to retain. Create a culture that can sustain the search for knowledge and you will sustain your company. I truly believe that if you "fail to learn, you fail to live.".