Learning is...not a "perfect" verb

Pardon the twist on proper grammar, but this expression points to a special weakness in some training programs. For years as I worked with Fortune 100 companies and noticed the viewpoint of training was often it's a once-and-done process. Check it off the project plan, done, finished, walk away. Like a "perfect" verb, the action is complete - they are trained.

Rather learning is "imperfect" -- it is NEVER complete. Here are two reasons.

First all learning is perishable. Use it or lose it as the old saying goes. We go back to the pressures of life and they crowd out and begin to erase the learning. Second, humans learn progressively. We progress from the beginner state, to intermediate and eventually to expert. But that only happens with continual reinforcement and use. Otherwise, see above…it gradually disappears.

So learning is an "imperfect" verb, a never ending process to maintain the learning. (see airline pilots, surgeons, lawyers and other professionals who are constantly learning and recertifying.)

This makes perfect sense, because the scholarship on any given topic is constantly changing and updating. New discoveries are made, new products are introduced and experience in the field teaches a new group of lessons. Study the best practitioners in any field and you will find people that are constantly learning, adapting, adjusting their viewpoints.

If it's true it then brings up a host of other concerns. Have you seen the same?