WHY IS MONA LISA SMILING?

WHY IS MONA LISA SMILING?

In his best-selling book How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day (Delacorte Press, 1998), author Michael Gelb draws on Leonardo's notebooks, inventions and legendary works of art to introduce seven principles for thinking like history's greatest genius. OLN&R recently spoke with Gelb about his work:

OLN&R: What are three practical things that Leonardo did in his daily work that might help learning professionals to not only improve their own work, but the work of those they train and teach?

GELB:
He kept a notebook to record his observations, musings, insights and inspirations.
He found an optimal balance between concentrated, focused work and relaxation/incubation time.
He disciplined himself to consider all his subjects from at least three perspectives.


OLN&R: What inhibits great thinking at work? What steps can individuals take to overcome these obstacles?

GELB: Great thinking is inhibited by the belief that it is reserved only for those who are especially gifted. And most people don't understand that thinking is a skill that can be developed. In other words, they aren't aware of their true capacity to think and they haven't been trained to access that capacity.

OLN&R: Similarly, what inhibits learning at work? What steps can we take to overcome these obstacles?
GELB: The number one inhibition to learning at work is the fear of failure and embarrassment. Individuals can cultivate their understanding of the nature of the learning process by, for example, modeling the behaviors of Leonardo Da Vinci, but in most cases a major organizational culture change is required.

OLN&R: We know Leonardo was a great thinker, but how would you describe him as a learner? How did he approach learning, and what made him a particularly effective student?

GELB: Great learning and thinking go hand-in-hand. Leonardo was a committed, passionate lifelong learner. He taught himself Latin when he was 40 so he could read the classics. In his notebooks, he records the definition of more than 9,000 vocabulary words. He wrote, "Iron rusts from disuse, water that does not flow becomes stagnant. Thus it is with the human mind!" Freud wrote that, "The great Leonardo continued to play as a child throughout his adult life, thus baffling his contemporaries."

OLN&R: If you could only give one piece of advice, based on your work, to training professionals on how to make their training more effective, what would that advice be -- and why?

GELB: Always be engaged in learning something new! If you are stretching your own comfort zone with new learning challenges then you'll nurture the "beginner's mind" that inspires the best teaching/training.

OLN&R: Why is Mona Lisa smiling?
GELB: Because she knows how to think like Leonardo, and after this presentation, you will, too!


as published in Training Magazine.