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M. G. Parameswaran, Executive Director & CEO, FCB-Ulka Advertising

It was Perelman who said that `Learning is what most adults do for a living in the 21st century.'

The same can be said of today's managers, working in the tremendously exciting Indian market.

The need for learning new skills and new ways of handling challenges has been accentuated with the rapid pace of change.

We see this all around us. In new products and services, in media habits, in distribution systems, in consumption patterns and more.

Those of us who can learn new processes and new skills can master these challenges, and help our organisations succeed.

What are new job skills? Start with the office. It is no longer what it was. The 24/7 world has done in the good old secretary. The mobile phone, e-mail and voice mail have all made us our own secretary.

So, let me start with the most basic of skills: How good is your typing speed? Have you heard of a `Typing Tutor Platinum'?

Not only do we need to learn new skills, we also need to develop new ways of looking at and solving problems.

For example, with competition increasing in every market, is there a need to understand competitive behaviour better. Organisations need to innovate in order to grow, and learning is a key to innovation.

New processes, new ideas and new skills can only be generated through what I would call SLP [Systematic Learning Programmes]. Learning is no longer something we do only in colleges and schools.

Each organisation has to become `learning organisations' that actively encourage learning and help every individual improve his skills and work to his full potential. We will then be able to build world-beater companies.

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